Cuevas Bajas, Guadalhorce and Hoz de Marín in Málaga Province and near Huétor Tajar in Granada Province, Spain.

Dip, Dip and another Dip, a hard days birding.

Sue and Dave, Day Eleven.

Ebird List for Cuevas Bajas 1. 

Ebird List for Cuevas Bajas 2. 

Ebird List for Hoz de Marín.

Ebird List for near Huétor Tajar.

 

We made our way over the border into Malaga Province for what turned out to be a difficult days birding with three dips.

European Pied Flycatcher (Papamoscas Cerrojillo / Ficedula hypoleuca).

We started by heading out west again into Malaga Province to a spot where I had seen Lesser-spotted Woodpecker (Pico Menor / Dryobates minor) or as Dave calls it the Never-spotted Woodpecker and unfortunately this is the way it remained even though just minutes after arriving a bird called.

Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Europeo / Certhia brachydactyla).

Species seen included Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Eurasian Hoopoe (Abubilla Común / Upupa epops), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major), Eurasian Golden Oriole (Oropéndola Europea / Oriolus oriolus), Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo Ibérico / Cyanopica cooki), Northern Raven (Cuervo grande / Corvus corax), Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major) and Eurasian Blue Tit (Herrerillo Común / Cyanistes caeruleus), Common Reed Warbler (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus), Western House Martin (Avión Común Occidental / Delichon urbicum), Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Cecropis daurica), Sardinian (Curruca Cabecinegra / Curruca melanocephala), Cetti's (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti) and Willow Warbler (Mosquitero Musical / Phylloscopus trochillus), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Europeo / Certhia brachydactyla), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Spotted (Papamoscas Gris / Muscicapa striata) and European Pied Flycatcher (Papamoscas Cerrojillo / Ficedula hypoleuca) and Common Waxbill (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild).

We didn't have any luck so we went to another spot just a bit further along the river but only managed to add Pallid Swift (Vencejo Pálido /Apus pallidus), Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus), Booted Eagle (Aguila Calzada / Aquila penntuas), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Europeo / Merops apiaster), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs) and European Goldfinch (Jilguero Europeo / Carduelis carduelis).

Lang's Short-tailed Blue (Leptotes pirithous).

Lang's Short-tailed Blue (Leptotes pirithous).

During the time at the two sites we also recorded Iberian Bluetail (Ischnura graellsii) x5, Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathinerum) x2, Blue / Common Emperor (Anax imperator) x1, Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii) x13, Bath White (Pontia daplidice) x3, Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) x2, Long-tailed (Lampides boeticus) x1 and Lang's Short-tailed Blue (Leptotes pirithous) x2, Small White (Pieris rapae), Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas), Perez's Frog (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi) and Rabbit (Conejo / Oryctolagus cuniculus).

When we were about to leave we got some news from Andy Patterson about a Eurasian Dotterel (Chorlito Carambolo / Eudromias morinellus) on the beach at Guadalhorce, he said it was extremely windy and conditions weren't great but we decided to give it a shot but unfortunately as hard as we searched it turned out to be the second dip of the day so we headed back inland and headed for the Marin Valley where I drove part of the way along the track before parking and continuing on foot as far as the Arroyo and then back along the bank of the Arroyo to the car.

Coal Tit  (Carbonero Garrapinos / Periparus ater).

Coal Tit  (Carbonero Garrapinos / Periparus ater).

As we walked we picked up Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Gavilán Común / Accipiter nisus), Eurasian Hoopoe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Iberian Green Woodpecker (Pito ibérico / Picus sharpei), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Iberian  Magpie, Coal (Carbonero Garrapinos / Periparus ater), European Crested (Herrerillo Capuchino / Lophophanes cristatus) and Eurasian Blue Tit, Eurasian Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), Red-rumped Swallow, Western Subalpine (Curruca Carrasqueña Occidental / Curruca iberiae) and Dartford Warbler (Curruca Rabilarga / Curruca undata), Common Firecrest (Reyezuelo Listado / Regulus ignicapilla), Eurasian Nuthatch (Trepador Azul / Sitta europaea), Short-toed Treecreeper, Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Spotted and European Pied Flycatcher, European Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Blue-rock Thrush (Roquero Solitario / Monticola solitarius), European Stonechat (Tarabilla Europea / Saxicola rubicola), European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Chloris chloris), European Goldfinch (Jilguero Europeo / Carduelis carduelis), Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra) and European Serin (Serin Verdecillo / Serinus serinus).

Desert Orange-tip (Colotis evagore).

Desert Orange-tip (Colotis evagore).

We also saw Sage Skipper (Muschampia proto) x1, Iberian Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides feisthameli) x2, Desert Orange-tip (Colotis evagore) x3, Cleopatra (Gonepteryx cleopatra) x1, Long-tailed Blue x2 and Southern Blue (Polyommatus celina) x5, Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) x4, Southern Gatekeeper (Pyronia cecilia) x9, Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) x3, Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera) x1 and a smart young male Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Capra pyrenaica hispanica).

Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Capra pyrenaica hispanica).

We returned to the house and chilled on the terrace, whilst we sat there a group of 5 European Honey Buzzards (Aberjero Europeo / Pernis apivorus) dropped in over the house and into the Olives for the night.

Another very nice one of Dave's meals up on the Terrace.