At the moment, I am in Spain for work. On this past weekend, my wife and I headed to Grazalema National Park for a couple of nights. This area was about a 3 hour drive from Almonaster La Real where we are staying. The park is situated a little north of Gibralter and Cadiz. This post includes a few reptile shots but mostly consists of general natural history types of photos with a number of butterfly photos.
Grazalema is a mountainous place with high limestone outcrops. It has a good trail system and we spent much of our time exploring these. It is summer and temperatures were faily high in the mid-afternoon (low 30Cs). The lowland areas were dry with golden grasses but higher up, there still were areas with flowers and green growth. Butterflies were abundant and I saw several that I have not previously encountered. I found lizards but unfortunately no snakes. I was not able to get out on night walks on either of my two nights in this area.
Here are a few habitat shots that I took along the drive from El Bosque (where we stayed) towards Zahara at the northern end of the park. It really was a beautiful place.
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These are shots along a trail that passed over a high ridge and then dropped down to Grazalema. I worked this area a couple of times.
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Black Wheatear: these birds were one of several that seem to be restricted to the rocky outcrops. I also saw Roch Thrush, Rock Buntings, Common Wheatears, Black Redstarts, Woodchat Shrikes, Hoopoe and Sardinian Warblers in the same area.
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Griffon Vulture: These giant birds were common in the park in areas similar to the above photos. They nested on cliff tops high above some of the tails. Once it became hot each morning, they would take flight about the same time. For awhile, there would be large numbers of these soaring along the edges of the cliff before they dispersed for the day.
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Red-billed Choughs: large corvids that flew in flocks usually high up above the cliffs.
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Large Psammodromus (Psammodromus algirus): These lacertids were a frequent sight in rocky areas along the trails.
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This poor lizard appeared to be near the end of its life. One of its legs was non-functional and the scales on its back looked to be damaged.
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Not certain but I think these to be Andalusian Wall Lizards (Podarcis vaucheri). Some of these were mostly blue but they all were shy and hard to photograph.
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... busy lapping up water that it found on the top of a rock below an oak tree:
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... always suspicious:
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Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas): common in the morning. They seemed to retire in the early afternoon and I saw none late in the day.
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Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)? Not certain about the id. These small blues were common on the same plant as was frequented by Small Coppers.
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Southern Brown Argus (Aricia agestis): common on the same plant as frequented by the blues above.
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Cleopatra (Gonepteryx cleopatra): fairly common
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Bath White (Pontia daplidice): I only saw a few of these
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Clouded Yellow (Colias crocea): common
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Swallowtail (Papilio machaon): I only saw this single butterfly near the top of one of the peaks. I also saw a Scarce Swallowtail, a smaller swallow tail with long tails and white rather than yellow wings.
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Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera)
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Striped Greyling (Pseudotergumia fidia): common at higher elevations.
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Tree Greyling (Neohipparchias tatilinus): A few seen, especially late in the day.
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Dusky Heath (Coenonympha dorus): common and active in the late afternoon
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I am not certain but I think these to be Iberian Marbled Whites (Melanargia lachesis). I saw them occasionally on our walks.
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Skipper1:
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Skipper 2:
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Skipper 3:
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Spanish Ibex: We found two of these late one afternoon on the edge of cliffs.
male:
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female:
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Stonechat:
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Flowers:
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Thistles: Their flowers had rigid, sharp spines.
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Grazalema, a little village in the north center of the park:
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Grazalema is a mountainous place with high limestone outcrops. It has a good trail system and we spent much of our time exploring these. It is summer and temperatures were faily high in the mid-afternoon (low 30Cs). The lowland areas were dry with golden grasses but higher up, there still were areas with flowers and green growth. Butterflies were abundant and I saw several that I have not previously encountered. I found lizards but unfortunately no snakes. I was not able to get out on night walks on either of my two nights in this area.
Here are a few habitat shots that I took along the drive from El Bosque (where we stayed) towards Zahara at the northern end of the park. It really was a beautiful place.
These are shots along a trail that passed over a high ridge and then dropped down to Grazalema. I worked this area a couple of times.
Black Wheatear: these birds were one of several that seem to be restricted to the rocky outcrops. I also saw Roch Thrush, Rock Buntings, Common Wheatears, Black Redstarts, Woodchat Shrikes, Hoopoe and Sardinian Warblers in the same area.
Griffon Vulture: These giant birds were common in the park in areas similar to the above photos. They nested on cliff tops high above some of the tails. Once it became hot each morning, they would take flight about the same time. For awhile, there would be large numbers of these soaring along the edges of the cliff before they dispersed for the day.
Red-billed Choughs: large corvids that flew in flocks usually high up above the cliffs.
Large Psammodromus (Psammodromus algirus): These lacertids were a frequent sight in rocky areas along the trails.
This poor lizard appeared to be near the end of its life. One of its legs was non-functional and the scales on its back looked to be damaged.
Not certain but I think these to be Andalusian Wall Lizards (Podarcis vaucheri). Some of these were mostly blue but they all were shy and hard to photograph.
... busy lapping up water that it found on the top of a rock below an oak tree:
... always suspicious:
Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas): common in the morning. They seemed to retire in the early afternoon and I saw none late in the day.
Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)? Not certain about the id. These small blues were common on the same plant as was frequented by Small Coppers.
Southern Brown Argus (Aricia agestis): common on the same plant as frequented by the blues above.
Cleopatra (Gonepteryx cleopatra): fairly common
Bath White (Pontia daplidice): I only saw a few of these
Clouded Yellow (Colias crocea): common
Swallowtail (Papilio machaon): I only saw this single butterfly near the top of one of the peaks. I also saw a Scarce Swallowtail, a smaller swallow tail with long tails and white rather than yellow wings.
Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera)
Striped Greyling (Pseudotergumia fidia): common at higher elevations.
Tree Greyling (Neohipparchias tatilinus): A few seen, especially late in the day.
Dusky Heath (Coenonympha dorus): common and active in the late afternoon
I am not certain but I think these to be Iberian Marbled Whites (Melanargia lachesis). I saw them occasionally on our walks.
Skipper1:
Skipper 2:
Skipper 3:
Spanish Ibex: We found two of these late one afternoon on the edge of cliffs.
male:
female:
Stonechat:
Flowers:
Thistles: Their flowers had rigid, sharp spines.
Grazalema, a little village in the north center of the park:
