Our friend and Guide for the day Peter Jones from Spanish Nature picked us up from our villa on what was a beautiful hot and sunny day. We headed off towards Ronda and then into the Sierra de las Nieves a beautiful mountainous area.
The meadows and grasses were full of various wild flowers including Scabious. The Scabious in turn a great attraction for many butterflies. In one small area we saw 3 types of Fritillary, Marsh, Spanish and Cardinal. Cleopatra, plenty of Painted Ladies and Clouded Yellows, Walł, Grayling, Skippers and to top it all a beautiful Black Veined White. Four 'lifers' in one area!
We found a couple of Orchids along the way including a fine Lizard Orchid. As we drove to the more mountainous areas the floral landscape was breathtaking - like one vast rockery of various plants.
Plenty of birds also seen in this area including Griffon Vultures, Short toed Eagle, Alpine and Pallid Swifts, Choughs, Crested and Wood Larks, Crag Martins, Spectacled, Melodious and Sub Alpine Warblers, Black Wheatear, Rock Sparrow, Black Redstart, White Wagtail, Serin, Linnet, Corn, Rock and Cirl Bunting plus Stonechats. A truly awesome day from wildlife, flora, scenery and company.
One or two Orchids still to be found
Clouded Yellow
Fritillary- Marsh?
Grayling
Cardinal Fritillary
Fritillary
Lizard Orchid - didn't realise how tall they are!
Lizard Orchid
Rock Rose?
Lizard - great colours
Wow! What a tail!
Natures rockery
Superb mountain views
Melodious Warbler
Verbascum
Woodlark
Cirl Bunting
Spectacled Warbler
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