Contra-embalse de Bermejalis and near Moraleda, Granada Province, Spain.

Down the Cacín Valley with Paqui.

Eird List for the Embalse.

 

Sunrise down the Fields.

Paqui and I met early down at the Fields but after a short walk we went for a coffee and then headed down the Cacín Valley to the Contra-embalse de Bermejalis, just before we got there we had the first of several Short-toed Snake Eagles (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus) and a pale morph Booted Eagle (Aguila Calzada / Aquila penntuas).

Short-toed Snake Eagle (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus).

Short-toed Snake Eagle (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus).

Short-toed Snake Eagle (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus).

Short-toed Snake Eagle (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus).

We parked at the Embalse and we scanned the water using the scope finding Northern Shoveler (Cuchara Común / Spatula clypeata), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca), Common Pochard (Porrón Europeo / Aythya ferina), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis) and Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus).

Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo).

Around the margins and above the water there were Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa), Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Western Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Europeo / Merops apiaster), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major), Iberian Green Woodpecker (Pito ibérico / Picus sharpei), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real / Lanius meridionalis), Iberian Magpie (Rabilargo Ibérico / Cyanopica cooki), Western Jackdaw (Grajilla occidental / Corvus monedula), Crested Lark (Cogujada Común / Galerida cristata), Zitting Cisticola (Cistícola Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Common Reed Warbler (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus), Eurasian Crag (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris) and Western House Martin (Avión Común Occidental / Delichon urbicum), Barn (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica) and Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Cecropis daurica), Cetti's (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti) and Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Curruca melanocephala), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), European Stonechat (Tarabilla Europea / Saxicola rubicola), Common Waxbill (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild), Rock Sparrow (Gorrión Chillón / Petronia petronia), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Chloris chloris), European Goldfinch (Jilguero Europeo / Carduelis carduelis), European Serin (Serin Verdecillo / Serinus serinus) and Corn Bunting (Escribano Triguero / Emberiza calandra).

Desert Orange-tip (Colotis evagore) ♀.

Desert Orange-tip (Colotis evagore) ♀.

We moved back up the Cacín Valley back to the A92 but as we went back towards Huétor we came off at the Villanueva Mesía exit and spent a short while trying to get shots of the Desert Orange-tip (Colotis evagore) butterflies x8.

Epaulet Skimmer (Orthetrum chrysostigma) ♂.

Other species included Small White (Pieris rapae), Epaulet Skimmer (Orthetrum chrysostigma) and a ♂ Orange-winged Dropwing (Trithemis kirbyi).