El Temple and the Cacín Valley, Granada Province, Spain.

A day out with friend Polly.

 

I started the day with breakfast at Combustibles Gómez before driving up to Restaurante La Abadía near Padul where I had another coffee before meeting up with Polly.

We headed out onto the area known as El Temple to the West of Granada, along the main road through the centre of the area we started the list with Eurasian Magpie (Urraca Común / Pica pica), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), European Goldfinch (Jilguero Europeo / Carduelis carduelis), European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Chloris chloris), European Serin (Serin Verdecillo / Serinus serinus) and Crested Lark (Cogujada Común / Galerida cristata).

Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis).

Further along the road we took to the tracks and soon added Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Peregrine Falcon (Halcón Peregrino / Falco peregrinus), Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis) x8, Western Jackdaw (Grajilla occidental / Corvus monedula), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus), Eurasian Skylark (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis), European Stonechat (Tarabilla Europea / Saxicola rubicola), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Common Linnet (Pardillo Común / Linaria cannabina) and Corn Bunting (Escribano Triguero / Emberiza calandra). 

European Stonechat (Tarabilla Europea / Saxicola rubicola).

European Stonechat (Tarabilla Europea / Saxicola rubicola).

We crossed to the opposite side of the road through the site and checked some more fields, finding the first of several Common Buzzards (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo) which was quite a pale bird, Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real / Lanius meridionalis), Calandra Lark (Calandria Común / Melanocorypha calandra), Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) x1 and Crimson Speckled (Utetheisa pulchella) moths.

We left the El Temple area and popped into Restaurante Casa Luciano where we had a drink and some food before heading along the GR-3310 towards Cacín, on the way we saw Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Rabbit (Conejo / Oryctolagus cuniculus) and as we dropped into the village we saw a single Desert Orange-tip (Colotis evagore) x1.

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major).

Once we were through Cacín we stopped by the Rio Cacín and then did a short walk finding Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Curruca melanocephala), European Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos), Long-tailed (Mito Común / Aegithalos caudatus), Eurasian Blue (Herrerillo Común / Cyanistes caeruleus) and Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Eurasian Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Curruca capirotada), Common Waxbill (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild) x3, Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Squirting Cucumber (Ecballium elaterium), Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) x3, Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta) x1, Large (Pieris brassicae) x3+ and Small White (Pieris rapae) x14+.

Large White (Pieris brassicae).

Our net stop was up at the Contra-embalse de Bermejalis finding at least 10x Black-winged Stilts (Ciguenuela Común / Himantopus himantopus), 5x Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus), 1x Common Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallinago gallinago), Common Pochard (Porrón Europeo / Aythya ferina), Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca), Northern Shoveler (Cuchara Común / Spatula clypeata), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus) and Cetti's Warbler (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti).

Looking over to Castillo de Tajarja.

A lone Oak.

We then did a drive across country back towards Granada and back to Restaurante La Abadía seeing a Blue-rock Thrush (Roquero Solitario / Monticola solitarius) on the way.