A brilliant day looking for Orchids with Paqui and Sue Eatock.
Ebird list for Laguna Dulce.
I started the days list with Eurasian Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus), Red-necked Nightjar (Chotacabras Cuellirrojo / Caprimulgus ruficollis) and Woodlark (Alondra Totovía / Lullula arborea).
I headed down to Huétor where I met Paqui and we went off to the west heading out towards Grazalema where we were going to meet up with Sue for a day looking for Orchids.
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| Black-necked Grebe (Zampullín Cuellinegro / Podiceps nigricollis). |
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| Black-necked Grebe (Zampullín Cuellinegro / Podiceps nigricollis). |
Our first stop of the day was at Laguna Dulce where we scanned the lake finding
Red-crested (Pato Colorado / Netta rufina) and
Common Pochard (Porrón Europeo / Aythya ferina),
Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus),
European Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur),
Common Swift (Vencejo Común / Apus apus), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra),
Gull-billed Tern (Pagaza Piconegra / Gelochelidon nilotica), Greater Flamingo (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus), Little (Zampullín Común /
Tachybaptus ruficollis) and Black-necked Grebes (Zampullín Cuellinegro / Podiceps nigricollis), a ♂
Montagu's Harrier (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Europeo / Merops apiaster),
Zitting Cisticola (Cistícola Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica),
Western House Martin (Avión Común Occidental / Delichon urbicum),
Cetti's (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti) and
Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Curruca melanocephala),
Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor),
European Stonechat (Tarabilla Europea / Saxicola rubicola),
Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs),
European Goldfinch (Jilguero Europeo / Carduelis carduelis),
European Serin (Serin Verdecillo / Serinus serinus) and
Corn Bunting (Escribano Triguero / Emberiza calandra).
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| Laguna Dulce. |
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| Paqui watching the Black-necked Grebes (Zampullín Cuellinegro / Podiceps nigricollis). |
We returned to the car and then headed off towards Grazalema, on the way we saw good numbers of
Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus) around Olvera and then at a spot not too far from the village we did our first bit of Orchid hunting. |
| Lax-flowered Orchid (Orchis laxiflora). |
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| Lax-flowered Orchid (Orchis laxiflora). |
Here we found several spikes of Lax-flowered Orchids (Orchis laxiflora) as well as
Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera), Small Tongue Orchid (Serapias parviflora),
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| Hairy Lupin (Lupinus micranthus). |
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| Adonis Blue (Lysandra bellargus). |
We returned to the car and made our way to Mesón Los Alamillos, where we had a coffee and met up with Sue, we recorded European Crested Tit (Herrerillo Capuchino / Lophophanes cristatus) and
Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Europeo / Certhia brachydactyla)
before heading out to a spot nearby to look for the first Orchids of the day, as we walked we found Late Sawfly Orchid (Ophrys ficalhoana),
Firecrests (Reyezuelo Listado / Regulus ignicapillus),
Hairy Lupin (Lupinus micranthus), Adonis Blue (Lysandra bellargus), Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) and at least 6 spikes of
Ophrys apifera var. bicolor.
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| Ophrys apifera var. bicolor. |
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| Ophrys apifera var. bicolor. |
We got back to the car and went to another site just a few KMs down the road where we walked out onto some roadside fields, on the way to the main site we saw Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Europeo / Merops apiaster), Corn Bunting (Escribano Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Scilla peruviana, Armeria villosa subsp. longiaristata, Small Tongue, Tongue (Serapias lingua) and Heart-flowered Tongue Orchid (Serapias cordigera), Ophrys algarviensis, Black-veined White (Aporia crataegi) and Clouded Yellow.
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| Tongue Orchid (Serapias lingua). |
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| Tongue Orchid (Serapias lingua). |
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| Heart-flowered Tongue Orchid (Serapias cordigera). |
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| Heart-flowered Tongue Orchid (Serapias cordigera). |
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| Heart-flowered Tongue Orchid (Serapias cordigera) ?????????? |
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| Black-veined White (Aporia crataegi). |
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| Black-veined White (Aporia crataegi) on Scilla peruviana. |
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| Black-veined White (Aporia crataegi). |
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| Black-veined White (Aporia crataegi) on Armeria villosa subsp. longiaristata. |
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| Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) on Scilla peruviana. |
We headed back towards Grazalema and stopped Spanish Iris (Iris xiphium), St Bernard's lily (Anthericum baeticum),
Rosy Garlic (Allium roseum),
Champagne Orchid (Orchis champagneuxii),
Ophrys algarviensis including a hypochromatic plant,
a surprise Aetherie Fritillary (Melitaea aetherie) which landed several times but not long enough for me to get a photo and an Iberian Wingless Mantis (Apteromantis aptera). |
| Paqui amongst the Iris. |
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| Spanish Iris (Iris xiphium). |
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| Spanish Iris (Iris xiphium) hypochromatic. |
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| Rosy Garlic (Allium roseum) and a Burnet species. |
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| Paqui and Sue amongst the Spanish Iris (Iris xiphium). |
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| Ophrys algarviensis hypochromatic. |
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| Ophrys algarviensis. |
Once we had seen everything in this area we made a quick visit to another spot for
Ophrys apifera var. bicolor with more plants, as well as a few spikes of
Small Woodcock Orchid (Ophrys picta) and more
Ophrys algarviensis.
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| Yellow Bee Orchid (Ophrys lutea). |
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| Yellow Bee Orchid (Ophrys lutea) form Minor. |
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| Yellow Bee Orchid (Ophrys lutea) form Minor. |
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| Lange's Orchid (Orchis langei). |
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| Dense-flowered Orchid (Neotinea maculata). |
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| Late Sawfly Orchid (Ophrys ficalhoana). |
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| An odd Yellow Bee Orchid (Ophrys lutea). |
Our final stop was above the town of Grazalema, after parking Sue showed us several spikes of
Yellow Bee (Ophrys lutea) and its more uncommon form
Minor,
Dense-flowered (Neotinea maculata), Lange's (Orchis langei) and
Late Sawfly Orchid (Ophrys ficalhoana).
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| Paqui and Sue. |
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| Paqui and Me. |
After Lunch on our way back to collect Sue's car we called at another roadside spot where there were a good number of
Lax-flowered Orchid spikes with some of them in better condition than the ones we had seen earlier.
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| Lax-flowered Orchid (Orchis laxiflora). |
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| Lax-flowered Orchid (Orchis laxiflora). |
Back at
Mesón Los Alamillos we said goodbye to Sue after a brilliant few hours with her and thanked her for showing us some great species, Paqui and I then headed off back to Huétor.
