Crossing Sierra Nevada

28-29 June, crossing Sierra Nevada
Nacho García, one of our SEO-Málaga group, is an addict to the high ground and weekend 28-29 June he and some mountaineering friends walked the 30 km length of the Sierra Nevada, from Puerto de la Ragua (2.000m) in the east, and crossing the peaks of Morrón del Hornillo (2.375 m), Morrón Sanjuanero (2.610 m), Morrón del Mediodia (2.753 m), descending to Collado del Puerto (2.400 m), climbing to the Alto de San Juan (2.768 m), Peñón del Lobo, Peñón del Puerto (2.754 m), Collado del Puerto (2.600 m), climbing to Gallo (2.919 m), crossing Loma de las Albardas at about 2.800 m, Cerro de Trevélez (2.877 m) and finally Puerto de Trevélez, maintaining a mean altitude of around 2.600m.

Apart from being addicted to the mountains, Nacho is a birder, and hence the following sightings and comments, even though it was a walking rather than birding trip: Tawny Pipit (high densities all the way), Northern Wheatear (low density, seen at highest levels), Skylark (high densities), Black Redstart, flocks of of Red-billed Choughs, Sparrowhawk, Peregrine, Alpine Swift and the surprising record of a Quail calling at 2.400m altitude at Puerto del Lobo. Surprisingly, he saw no Ortolan Buntings, it appears that their distribution is rather patchy.

I am most grateful to Nacho for his permission to extract the bird information from his longer account in naturAnd and to use the photo.