El Temple, GR-3310 near Ventas de Huelma, Contraembalse de los Bermejales, GR-4304 North of El Turro, Moraleda Crags, Balsa del Regidor and Realenga de Agicampe, Granada Province, Spain.

El Temple and then worked my way back onto the Local Patch.

Ebird List for El Temple.

Ebird List for GR-3310 near Ventas de Huelma. 

Ebird List for Contraembalse de los Bermejales.

Ebird List for GR-4304 North of El Turro.

Ebird List for Moraleda Crags.

Ebird List for Balsa del Regidor.

Ebird List for Realenga. 

 

Golden Eagle (Águila Real / Aquila chrysaetos).

I had originally planned to head up towards Granada for a couple of species, but in the end turned off and made my way to Chimeneas and then I took to a more minor road out towards La Malaha and a couple of the tracks.

Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax).

In the area I saw an immature Golden Eagle (Águila Real / Aquila chrysaetos), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax) x1, Eurasian Hoopoe (Abubilla Común / Upupa epops), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real / Lanius meridionalis), Eurasian Magpie (Urraca Común / Pica pica), Western Jackdaw (Grajilla occidental / Corvus monedula), Eurasian Skylark (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis), Crested (Cogujada Común / Galerida cristata) and Calandra Lark (Calandria Común / Melanocorypha calandra), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Chloris chloris), Common Linnet (Pardillo Común / Linaria cannabina), European Serin (Serin Verdecillo / Serinus serinus) and Corn Bunting (Escribano Triguero / Emberiza calandra).

This was until recently a nice view of the Sierra Nevada.

I headed off the site and went through Ventas de Huelma out towards Cacín but stopped near the Cortijo Ochíchar where I scanned the skies and ridges looking for Raptor's, for many years there was a very good wintering population of larger Eagles, mostly Golden but with the occasional Iberian Imperial Eagle (Aguila Imperial Ibérica / Aguila adalberti) which came here to hunt the large numbers of Rabbits (Conejo / Oryctolagus cuniculus) but since they have turned the area into a solar desert it has become very hard work finding any and today I didn't see a single raptor here.

I did however see Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Magpie, Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), Western Jackdaw, Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Thekla's Lark (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, European Serin and Corn Bunting.

The low waters of the Contraembalse de los Bermejales.

After a while I gave up and dropped into the Cacín Valley and drove up to the Contraembalse de los Bermejales, I parked in the usual spot and walked down to the edge of the lake where I saw Northern Shoveler (Cuchara Común / Spatula clypeata), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca), Common Pochard (Porrón Europeo / Aythya ferina), Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenuela Común / Himantopus himantopus), Common (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos) and Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus), Western Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus), Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major), Common Chiffchaff, Cetti's Warbler (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti), Sardinian Warbler, Grey (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea) and White Wagtail, European Goldfinch and Corn Bunting.

A bit further up the valley I stopped in the Pine woodlands and checked the fields on either side of the road adding Iberian Green Woodpecker (Pito ibérico / Picus sharpei), Iberian Magpie (Rabilargo Ibérico / Cyanopica cooki), Coal (Carbonero Garrapinos / Periparus ater), Eurasian Blue (Herrerillo Común / Cyanistes caeruleus) and Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Woodlark (Alondra Totovía / Lullula arborea), Eurasian Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), Eurasian Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Curruca capirotada), European Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula) and Common Chaffinch.

My last stop in the Cacín Valley saw to check the cliffs at Moraleda where I was hoping for a Black Wheatear (Collalba Negra / Oenanthe leucura) and after a while I managed to find a nice ♂ sat out on the rocks along with a ♂ Blue-rock Thrush (Roquero Solitario / Monticola solitarius).

The final site of the run around the patch was at the Balsa del Regidor, the light was not great as the sun was reflecting off the water, I did find Northern Shoveler, Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Common Pochard, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Little and Black-necked Grebe (Zampullín Cuellinegro / Podiceps nigricollis), Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egretta garzetta), Common Buzzard, Eurasian Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris) and a Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) which was my first butterfly of the year.

Sierra Nevada as the light starts to drop.

I headed back to the house and caught up with a few bits, later I went for a walk up the road and along the road through the Olives at dusk, after about 20 minutes It was getting quite dark and the first Little Owls (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua) were calling and then the first of 2 Eurasian Eagle Owls (Búho Real / Bubo bubo) started up.

Hacho and Sierra de Loja.

Sierra de Loja.

After a few minutes standing listening to this bird a second bird flew across the road and off down the hill and once it landed it started to call back to the first bird. 

Huétor in the foreground with the Sierra behind.