Sierra Aracena lies to the north west of Seville and makes for a good stop on our way to Mertola. From a birding point of view it's particularly good place for black and griffon vultures, and it's place where many woodland species can be found which are perhaps not quite so easy elsewhere, and in the past I've seen lesser spotted woodpecker, woodcock and short-toed treecreeper here.
Today we walked from Alajar following trails to the village of Linares de la Sierra and back, a round trip of about 8 miles. The woodland on this walk is mainly cork oak and there was a colourful understorey of gorse, not the same species that we have in the UK, it was altogether a more delicate plant, more like Petty whin Genista anglica though not that species either. My best guess is Genista hirsuta. Sometimes it's best to enjoy the spectacle and not worry too much a out the finer details!
Male stonechat of the race Saxicola rubicola rubicola. This is different, brighter race than the birds we see in the UK.
Late winter / early spring is the time for clementines and oranges in Iberia, and they certainly add a lot of colour to the countryside.
We saw plenty of butterflies during the week, including this large tortoiseshell. Other species seen were clouded yellow, painted lady, speckled wood, small tortoiseshell and various whites.
Black vulture.
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