RIO GUADIARO AT EL COLMENAR
WEATHER: hot and sunny all day with a nice breeze.
Dawn and I spent most of the day just chilling on the river bank watching the world go by. There were not too many birds on show but plenty of butterflies and dragonflies kept us happy.
the view we had from our picnic site at the river
I had a good look for the AFRICAN GRASS BLUE butterfly, it was very common there last year but today I only found one specimen. Weather conditions greatly affect the populations of these tiny little butterflies.
African Grass Blue - they are minute, I only found one individual
Many other species were flitting by, Small White, Speckled Wood, Small Heath, Scarce and Common Swallowtails, Lang's Short-tailed Blue and Long-tailed Blue.
The Long-tailed Blue
Many Cleopatras were visiting the flowering shrubs along the river bank along with the Swallowtails and both Lang's Short-tailed Blue and Long-tailed Blue.
The male (lower) and female Cleopatra
I tried to capture pictures of the male showing its bright orange patch on the upper forewing
Apart from hundreds of Copper Demoiselle Damselflies We saw Ringed Cascader, Small Pincertail, Orange-winged Dropwing and Red-veined Darter.
Copper Demoiselle Damselfly - female
Bird-wise we only saw Blackcap, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Sardinian Warbler, Grey Wagtail and a few Griffon Vultures.