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Saturday, 8 March 2025

Huétor Fields, Granada Province, Spain.

A wet visit to the fields.
Ebird List.
 
I popped down to the fields during a break in the rain but by the time I got there the rain had started again so I watched from the car and picked up the male Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax) and a little while later a group of 7 more birds flew in which all looked like females.
Other species included Eurasian Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus), Black-winged Kite (Elanio Común / Elanus caeruleus), Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo Ibérico / Cyanopica cooki), Eurasian Skylark (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis), Zitting Cisticola (Cistícola Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Cetti's Warbler (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Curruca melanocephala), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), European Stonechat (Tarabilla Europea / Saxicola rubicola), Common Waxbill (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild), Spanish (Yellow) (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae) and White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis), European Goldfinch (Jilguero Europeo / Carduelis carduelis), European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Chloris chloris), European Serin (Serin Verdecillo / Serinus serinus) and several Corn Buntings (Escribano Triguero / Emberiza calandra).

Near Huétor Tajar, Granada Province, Spain.

Moth Records for the 7th March 25.
15W Actinic on the terrace, +9
16 Moth of 10 Species.
Any corrections PLEASE send me a comment on the post, thanks.

7504 Watsonalla uncinula (Spiny Hook-tip).

6496 Evergestis isatidalis x1, 6719 Nomophila noctuella (Rush Veneer) x1, 7504 Watsonalla uncinula (Spiny Hook-tip) x1, 8059 Scopula marginepunctata (Mullein Wave) x1, 8328 Nebula Ibericata x1, 9433 Paradrina clavipalpis (Pale Mottled Willow) x5, 9435/6 Caradrina noctivaga / flavirena x1, 10037 Orthosia incerta (Clouded Drab) x1, 10343 Agrotis puta (Shuttle Shaped Dart) x3 and 10351 Agrotis segetum (Turnip Moth) x1.
8059 Scopula marginepunctata (Mullein Wave).

8328 Nebula Ibericata.

9433 Paradrina clavipalpis (Pale Mottled Willow).

9435/6 Caradrina noctivaga / flavirena.

10037 Orthosia incerta (Clouded Drab).

10343 Agrotis puta (Shuttle Shaped Dart).

10343 Agrotis puta (Shuttle Shaped Dart).

10351 Agrotis segetum (Turnip Moth).

 

Friday, 7 March 2025

Huétor Fields, Granada Province, Spain.

A quick walk around the fields.
Ebird List.
 
European Stonechat (Tarabilla Europea / Saxicola rubicola).
I was up and out early getting the ITV (MOT) done on the car and then I went to sort a few bit of paperwork in Loja and then I wet for a walk around the Lucerne Fields seeing the male Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax), Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua), Eurasian Skylark (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Cetti's Warbler (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti), European Stonechat (Tarabilla Europea / Saxicola rubicola), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Common Waxbill (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild), Red Avadavat (Bengali Rojo / Amandava amandava), Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae) and Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Gorrión Molinero / Passer montanus). 
Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula).
I returned home and got on with some jobs and whilst doing some staining of the Garden Furniture up on the terrace I picked up 
Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo Ibérico / Cyanopica cooki), Eurasian Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Curruca capirotada), Western Jackdaw (Grajilla occidental / Corvus monedula) and Grey Wagtail (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea).
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Gorrión Molinero / Passer montanus).

Thursday, 6 March 2025

Huétor Fields, Arroyo near the House, Granada Province, Spain.

Birds, Butterflies and Orchids around the house.
Ebird List for the Fields.
 
Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua).
I started the day by getting a few jobs done but then the power went off so I went for a walk around the Lucerne Fields, on the way down I saw the two regular Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua) and added a third bird on the walls of the Cortijo.
Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax) male.
I parked and did the walk out to the crossroads, turned right and right again at the bridge and followed the Arroyo Vilano back to the car, as I walked I saw 7x Little Bustards (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax) including a smart calling male bird, Eurasian Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus), Black-winged Kite (Elanio Común / Elanus caeruleus), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae), Cetti's Warbler (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti), Zitting Cisticola (Cistícola Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis) and Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Gorrión Molinero / Passer montanus). 
Provence Hairstreak (Tomares ballus).
Provence Hairstreak (Tomares ballus).
I returned to the house but there was still no Electric so I did a couple of hours in the garden before going for a walk to an area of Olives where a father and Son farm the area with as little amount of chemicals as they can which means there are lots of wild flowers below the trees and the butterflies and other insects love it as do several species of bird.
False Mallow Skipper (Carcharodus tripolinus).
Southern Blue (Polyommatus celina).
Southern Blue (Polyommatus celina).
Butterflies included a 
Provence Hairstreak (Tomares ballus) x1, Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) x6, False Mallow Skipper (Carcharodus tripolinus) x3, Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) x1, Western Dappled (Euchloe crameri) x1 and Small White (Pieris rapae) x8+, Southern Blue (Polyommatus celina) x8+ and Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera) x2.
Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera).
Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera).
Western Dappled White (Euchloe crameri).
Western Dappled White (Euchloe crameri).
As I walked I also saw Giant Orchid (Himanthoglosum Robertiana) x1 a new species for the site, Fan-lipped Orchid (Anacamptis collina) x5, Common Mallow (Malva sylvestris), Field Marigold (Calendula arvensis), Southern Knapweed (Centaurea pullata) and Wild Grape Hyacinth (Muscari neglectum).
Fan-lipped Orchid (Anacamptis collina).

Fan-lipped Orchid (Anacamptis collina).

Giant Orchid (Himanthoglosum Robertiana).

Wednesday, 5 March 2025

Puerto de Deportivo, Algeciras, Cadiz Province, Spain.

A morning looking for the Ring-billed Gull again but a dip again.
Ebird List for Algeciras Port. 

Little Gull (Gaviota Enana / Hydrocoloeus minutus).
After a decent nights sleep and a cold shower I made my way to the car and then back to the site where I had been yesterday looking for the Ring-billed Gull (Gaviota de Delaware / Larus delawarensis) but the weather was horrendous, heavy rain and wind.
Little Gull (Gaviota Enana / Hydrocoloeus minutus).
There were more Gulls around and I was pleased to find a single Little Gull (Gaviota Enana / Hydrocoloeus minutus) in amongst a large group of Black-headed (Gaviota Reidora / Chroicocephalus ridibundus).
Little Gull (Gaviota Enana / Hydrocoloeus minutus).
I also had Mediterranean (Gaviota Cabecinegra / Larus melanocephalus), Lesser Black-backed (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus), Yellow-legged (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis) and Audouin's Gull (Gaviota de Audouin / Larus audouinii), Sandwich Tern (Charrán Patinegro / Thalasseus sandvicensis), Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos), Ruddy Turnstone (Vuelvepiedras Común / Arenaria interpres), Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egretta garzetta), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba) and European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Chloris chloris).
Audouin's Gull (Gaviota de Audouin / Larus audouinii).
The rain got worse so after around 2.5 hours I decided to head home which turned out to be a good idea as I saw that there were some flooding problems later in the morning.

Tuesday, 4 March 2025

Mirador Desembocadura del Guadalhorce, Puerto de Fuengirola, Sierra de Mijas, Rio Pereilas, Monda area and near Refugio De Juanar in Malaga Province and Puerto de Deportivo, Algeciras, Cadiz Province, Spain.

A Gull to start with, then some brilliant Orchids and then another Gull that didn't show up.
Ebird List for Fuengirola Port.
Ebird List for Algeciras Port.
 
A very muddy, plastic filled Guadalhorce pushing all the crap out into the Med.
I Started the day visiting the Mirador Desembocadura del Guadalhorce in search of a Common Scoter (Negrón Común / Melanitta nigra) that had been reported but as soon as I arrived I was sure there wasn't going to be as the Rio Guadalhorce was emptying masses of brown topsoil filled water out into the Med along with masses of discarded Plastic bottles, chemical containers and fertiliser bags from the farmers further up river as well as other general shit and crap discarded in the Spanish Countryside.
Whilst I was there I did see Black-headed (Gaviota Reidora / Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Yellow-legged (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis) and Lesser Black-backed Gull (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus), Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Curruca melanocephala), Monk Parakeet (Cotorra Argentina / Myiopsitta monachus), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus) and Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor).
Black-legged Kittiwake (Gaviota Tridáctila / Rissa tridactyla).
I decided to cut my losses and headed for a bar for some breakfast and then went to the meeting point where I was catching up with Andy Patterson, Derek and Barbara Etherton for a local trip to the Port of Fuengirola for a Black-legged Kittiwake (Gaviota Tridáctila / Rissa tridactyla) which has been around for a few days.
Black-legged Kittiwake (Gaviota Tridáctila / Rissa tridactyla).
We parked and walked down to the point in the Port where we could see through the barriers and we soon had the Kittiwake in view and as we were watching it a very kind Guy who was going to one of the boats let us in through the gate so we could get a better view for a few minute.
Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo).
We also recorded Black-headed, Mediterranean (Gaviota Cabecinegra / Larus melanocephalus), Yellow-legged and Lesser Black-backed Gull, Sandwich Tern (Charrán Patinegro / Thalasseus sandvicensis), Great Cormorant, Ruddy Turnstone (Vuelvepiedras Común / Arenaria interpres) and Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egretta garzetta).
After getting good views of the bird we walked back towards the car but stopped for a coffee in the Freiduria El Cenachero de Fuengirola bar in the Port, as we drank the ladies there kept bring out some very nice looking bread rolls out which means we will have to make another visit.
Sawfly Orchid (Ophrys tenthredinifera).
Once back at the cars I said goodbye to the others and headed off up to the Sierra de Mijas area where I was looking for some Orchid species and after parking I found my first 
Sawfly (Ophrys tenthredinifera) and Pink Butterfly Orchids (Orchis papilionacea) of the year, as well as the Hybrid Ophrys x Castroviejoi (O. speculum x O. scolopax).
Ophrys x Castroviejoi (O. speculum x O. scolopax).
Ophrys x Castroviejoi (O. speculum x O. scolopax).
I also saw plenty of 
Woodcock (Ophrys Scolopax) and a few going over Fan-lipped Orchid (Anacamptis collina), Palmate Anemone (Anemone palmata), Sardinian Warbler, Common Firecrest (Reyezuelo Listado / Regulus ignicapilla), Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra), Eurasian Jay (Arrendajo Euroasiático / Garrulus glandarius) and European Crested Tit (Herrerillo Capuchino / Lophophanes cristatus).
Woodcock Orchid (Ophrys Scolopax).
I returned to the car and moved to a site near to Coin where I stopped briefly to see Two-leaved Gennaria (Gennaria diphylla) before I again moved on to a spot friend Kevin Wade had given me near Monda, at two spots just a couple of hundred meters apart I saw two new Ophrys hybrids, the first between O. alpujata x O. lupercalis which was right on the roadside.
Two-leaved Gennaria (Gennaria diphylla).
Two-leaved Gennaria (Gennaria diphylla).
Two-leaved Gennaria (Gennaria diphylla).
The second Hybrid
Ophrys × diazii (O. alpujata × O. scolopax) which was in some nearby Olives along with Oprys alpujata and Woodcock Orchid.
Ophrys alpujata x O. lupercalis.
Ophrys alpujata x O. lupercalis.
Oprys alpujata.
Ophrys × diazii.

Ophrys × diazii.
As I was heading down to the coast on my way to Algeciras I popped into Refugio De Juanar where I found 3 more spikes of
Oprys alpujata before I dropped back to the coast and then along to a spot near Algecirus where friend Ricky Owen had seen a couple of days ago.
Oprys alpujata.
Narcissus Species.
I got there and spent a few hours searching but there were very few Gull in the area and I only found Yellow-legged and Lesser Black-backed, as well as Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Spotless Starling, Common Blackbird, White Wagtail, Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis), European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Chloris chloris) and European Serin (Serin Verdecillo / Serinus serinus).
Later I went to my hotel in Algeciras and then went for quite a long walk along the prom before I turned in.

Monday, 3 March 2025

Rio Genil in Granada and Huétor Fields, Granada Province, Spain.

A morning on the edge of Granada City and then back on my patch which gave me a new Butterfly species.
Ebird List for Granada.
Ebird List for the fields. 

Mandarin Duck (Pato mandarín / Aix galericulata) partly eclipse Male.
I started the day with a drive up to Granada to get a boot load of logs but did a detour to a spot friend Juan had told me about for a Mandarin Duck (Pato mandarín / Aix galericulata) which had been around for some time.
Mandarin Duck (Pato mandarín / Aix galericulata) partly eclipse Male.
I arrived and couldn't find it where it was expected so I walked further up stream into the City but found nothing, so on the way back I crossed the Rio Genil and walked back on the opposite side and soon found the target sat on a shelf in the stone wall with a female Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos).
Mandarin Duck (Pato mandarín / Aix galericulata) partly eclipse Male.
During the walk I also saw
Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Eurasian Magpie (Urraca Común / Pica pica), Cetti's (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti) and Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Curruca melanocephala), Eurasian Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Curruca capirotada), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), European Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Grey (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea) and White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba) and European Serin (Serin Verdecillo / Serinus serinus).
Somber Bee Orchid (Ophrys lupercalis).
I returned to my car and then headed just down the road to Bobadilla for the logs and then I headed home before going up to Cerro Hacho to check on some Orchids, I parked and walked a shot way along the lower loop and soon found 5 spikes of Fan-lipped Orchids (Anacamptis collina) 2 of which were of the var. flavescens.
Fan-lipped Orchids (Anacamptis collina) var. flavescens.
Fan-lipped Orchids (Anacamptis collina) var. flavescens.
Fan-lipped Orchids (Anacamptis collina).
I also saw Giant (Himanthoglosum Robertiana) and Somber Bee Orchid (Ophrys lupercalis), Wild Grape Hyacinth (Muscari neglectum), Large Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis polychloros), Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra), Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia) and Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo Ibérico / Cyanopica cooki).
Southern Small Whites (Pieris mannii).
I dropped back to the house but decided to have a quick look at the fields but it was fairly quiet and I only recorded Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo Ibérico / Cyanopica cooki), Zitting Cisticola (Cistícola Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Gorrión Molinero / Passer montanus), Common Waxbill (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild), Red Avadavat (Bengali Rojo / Amandava amandava), Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus), Green-Striped (Euchloe belemia) x2, Small White (Pieris rapae) x4 and what I had thought were another pair of mating Small Whites but it appears I got it wrong and was put right by friend Ed McKrill-Verstraeten (THANKS) who pointed out that they were actually Southern Small Whites (Pieris mannii) a lifer species for me.