Sierra Nevada, Granada Province, Spain.

Missing our target but still a great few hours butterfly photography with good friend Andy Tweed from the UK.

Ebird List for 2700m

 

We were up in the mountains before the Sun.

I met Friend And Tweed who was over from the UK at 07:00 up at Hoya De La Mora in the Sierra Nevada after an 05:00 alarm for some Butterfly hunting (with the cameras).

Observatorio del Mojón del Trigo.

Looking back down to the Observatorio del Mojón del Trigo.

We got our kit together and started to walk up the road towards a spot at around 2700m where we were hoping to find the rare endemic Zullich's Blue (Agriades zullichi) but we were up there well before anything was moving. 

The Habitat for the Butterflies.

Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Capra pyrenaica hispanica).

On the walk up we saw several Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Capra pyrenaica hispanica) including a very smart male which stood nicely for a while to allow us to take some photos, Eurasian Skylark (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis), the first of a lot of Northern Wheatears (Collalba Gris / Oenanthe oenanthe), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Western House Martin (Avión Común Occidental / Delichon urbicum) and Common Linnet (Pardillo Común / Linaria cannabina).

Escher's Blue (Polyommatus escheri).

Escher's Blue (Polyommatus escheri).

Escher's Blue (Polyommatus escheri).

Spanish Argus (Aricia morronensis).

Spanish Argus (Aricia morronensis).

Spanish Argus (Aricia morronensis).

Spanish Argus (Aricia morronensis).

Spanish Argus (Aricia morronensis).

Erodium cheilanthifolium the larval food plant of the Spanish Argus (Aricia morronensis).

Our first butterfly find of the morning was a nice fresh Escher's Blue (Polyommatus escheri) followed by  Spanish Argus (Aricia morronensis), Bath White (Pontia daplidice), Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus), Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui), Long-tailed (Lampides boeticus) and Nevada Blue (Polyommatus golgus), Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas), Mountain Argus (Aricia montensis), Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae), Spanish Brassy Ringlet (Erebia hispania), Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera), and as we walked back to the car we added Niobe Fritillary (Fabriciana niobe) and Purple-shot Copper (Lycaena alciphron).

Spanish Brassy Ringlet (Erebia hispania).

Spanish Brassy Ringlet (Erebia hispania).

Nevada Blue (Polyommatus golgus).

Nevada Blue (Polyommatus golgus).

Mountain Stone Grasshopper (Eumigus monticola).

Large Psammodromus (Psammodromus algirus).

Gold Germander (Teucrium aureum).

Nevada House Leek (Sempervivum minutum).

Pyrausta limbopunctalis.

Other species seen during the walk included Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus), Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus), Pallid Swift (Vencejo Pálido /Apus pallidus), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Tawny Pipit (Bisbita Camprstre / Anthus campestris), Large Psammodromus (Psammodromus algirus), Mountain Stone Grasshopper (Eumigus monticola), Pyrausta limbopunctalis, Erodium cheilanthifolium, Nevada House Leek (Sempervivum minutum), Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), Hormathophylla spinosa, Jurinea humilis, Clasping Stonecrop (Petrosedum amplexicaule), Eryngium glaciale, Erigeron major,  Gold Germander (Teucrium aureum), Astragalus nevadensis, Silene boryi, Cerastium gibraltaricum and Sideritis glacialis. 

Escher's Blue (Polyommatus escheri) female.

Southern Blue (Polyommatus celina) female.

Southern Blue (Polyommatus celina) female.

Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas).

Bath White (Pontia daplidice).

With no sign of the target Blue we decided to drop back down to the cars where we got a coffee before  we dropped down to the track out to the Albergue de San Francisco our target species here was the Apollo (Parnassius apollo) and not far down the hill we saw the first of around a dozen, other species seen were Cardinal Fritillary (Argynnis pandora) x2, Cleopatra (Gonepteryx cleopatra) x3, Lang's Short-tailed (Leptotes pirithous) x1, Southern (Polyommatus celina) x2, Mazarine (Cyaniris semiargus) x1 and Idas Blue (Plebejus idas) x20+, Bath and Small White (Pieris rapae) x25+, Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) x3, Queen of Spain (Issoria lathonia) x5, Safflower Skipper (Pyrgus carthami), Rock Grayling (Hipparchia alcyone) x2,  Large Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis polychloros) x1 possible which flew over us, a rather pale looking Purple Hairstreak (Favonius Quercus iberica) x1 and Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) x1.

Apollo (Parnassius apollo nevadensis).

Apollo (Parnassius apollo nevadensis).

Apollo (Parnassius apollo nevadensis).

Purple-shot Copper (Lycaena alciphron).

Safflower Skipper (Pyrgus carthami).

Mazarine Blue (Cyaniris semiargus).

Rock Grayling (Hipparchia alcyone).

Purple Hairstreak (Favonius Quercus iberica).

We also had Foxglove, Linaria salzmannii, Blue-winged Grasshopper (Oedipoda caerulescens) and Hummingbird Hawkmoth.

Queen of Spain (Issoria lathonia).

Queen of Spain (Issoria lathonia).

Southern Blue (Polyommatus celina).

Track of many bends.

After awhile Andy had to head off so we said Bye and he started the walk back which he also thought was a damn sight longer than the walk down, each bend I rounded seemed to be followed by another, more than I remember on the way out.

Lesser Spotted Fritillary (Melitaea trivia).

Lesser Spotted Fritillary (Melitaea trivia).

Iberian Marbled White (Melanargia lachesis).

Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera).

I walked up a little later and then dropped down to Hostal Restaurante El Desvio where I has a couple of Sin Alchole Tostardas and a bocadillo carne en salsa, messy but damn good before going to a site along the Old Road down to Güéjar Sierra where I found Iberian Marbled White (Melanargia lachesis), Lesser Spotted Fritillary (Melitaea trivia), Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera), False Ilex Hairstreak (Satyrium esculi), Common Golden Ringed (Cordulegaster boltonii), Phlomis crinita, Santolina canescens, before dropping down the hill and heading to Durcal where I was staying as I was again meeting Andy in the morning.

Common Golden Ringed (Cordulegaster boltonii).

Common Golden Ringed (Cordulegaster boltonii).