Peter Moore's Wildlife Blog: Picos de Europa trip report day 2: Fuente De

One of the best known attractions in the Picos de Europa is the Feunte De cable car, the longest single span aerial lift in Europe, rising from 3,576 ft at its base to 6,070 ft at the top - a vertical interval of 2,494 ft which is completed in 4 minutes. Such is its popularity that visiting birders are advised to arrive early (no later than 0830) at this time of the year to beat the queues at the bottom and the crowds at the top. We were a 40 minute drive away which would mean leaving the apartment ideally around 0730 as I wasn't sure whether the roadworks which we had encountered the previous day would continue up to Fuente De.

First and best Wallcreeper of the trip

A shot of the open wing as it flicked across the rockface

Difficult to get a shot of the open wings despite them being flicked constantly

Another view of the stunning upperwing

The Wallcreeper was carrying some kind of larvae throughout and carried it off up the cliff - to feed young perhaps?

A mesmerising experience close up

A very restless bird!

Raising my family at this hour is a daunting challenge but with some cajoling we left in good time. Happily there were no roadworks, we arrived by 0830 and, having booked in advance on-line, were able to skip the queue for tickets and secure a place on the second car of the morning, the first having left shortly after 0900. Within minutes we had seen Griffon Vulture, Alpine Chough and Lammergeier, and higher up I started to tune into the song of the seemingly ubiquitous Black Redstart and the almost equally vocal White-winged Snowfinch.

Looking down the Fuente De cable car

The view from the top

The large boulders casting shadows (top, centre) were where we saw the Wallcreeper - the path can be seen just below

The imposing face of Pena Olividada

Picos de Europa

We watched Wallcreeper feeding on the lower boulders just above the scree here

The view from the upper cable car station

Looking up the Fuente De cable car from the bottom

The continental heatwave was still in full flow on 28th June and it was warming up fast. Within the hour we had reached a col where the path splits, the left fork leading us mercifully into the long, cool shadows cast by the towering cliffs of Pena Olividada. Claire and Rowan had gone on ahead as I was busy photographing another alpine speciality, the Lefevbre's Ringlet butterfly, on the path.

This pair of Alpine Accentor were engaged in courtship behaviour next to the upper cable car station

Presumed female in front who was strutting her stuff for the male beyond

Male Alpine Accentor singing from a boulder further up the track from the cable car station

Juvenile Alpine Accentor above Fuente De

Alpine Accentor photographed from the upper cable car station balcony

Alpine Accentor on the steps of the upper cable car station

This individual was feeding around Claire's feet whilst she had a drink in the cafe at the top of the cable car

Close-up of the cafe-dwelling Alpine Accentor - some sparrow!

Having obtained a few decent shots (easier said than done with this very dark butterfly on the very pale, sunny limestone path), I quickened my pace to catch up with them and as I rounded the corner of a large boulder I could see Rowan beaming and beckoning me forward furiously. I had offered him 20 Euro to find me a Wallcreeper but it seemed unlikely he would locate one this quickly so I assumed it was a wind-up - then a movement over his shoulder revealed it was no such thing: a pristine male Wallcreeper was flitting along an overhanging boulder just yards in front of him at almost eye-level.

Alpine Chough - another visitor to the cafe

Alpine Chough

It turned out that it was Claire who first saw the Wallcreeper (Rowan gallantly refused to accept the 20 Euro I offered him anyway) - it was in front of them for less than 30 seconds before I arrived and I watched it for less than 2 minutes before it flew distantly up to the lower slopes of Pena Olividada. I had the presence of mind to dial up the exposure to zero on moving from bright sunshine to deep shade but otherwise there was no time to mess with settings so it was a case of raise the lens, rattle off a few bursts and hope for the best. At this point I realised that photographing Wallcreeper is a bit like photographing Treecreeper: easy enough to get a shot but hard to get a good one as they are almost always looking away, feeding on a rock face, or tree, respectively!

Adult White-winged Snowfinch in the wildflower meadows above Fuente De

Adult White-winged Snowfinch

Juvenile White-winged Snowfinch

The distinctive wing pattern of Snowfinch in flight

Adult White-winged Snowfinch

I managed a couple of shots with the bird taking a sideways glance, however, and we watched it for an extended period, albeit at greater distance, as it fed around the lower slopes of the cliffs high above. After an hour or so of on and off views, the shadows had shortened and we found ourselves in the sun again. Concluding we would be unlikely to get better views we headed for the shade of an over-hanging boulder and an early lunch.

My butterfly ID is a bit rusty so please correct me in the comments if you know better for any of the following! I think this is Marbled Skipper - Southern Marbled is an option but I think we were too far north for that species?

Pretty sure this is Large Wall Brown

A few options but on size alone I think this is Large Grizzled Skipper...

...underwing also suggests Large Grizzled Skipper I think

The near absence of black spots on the underside hindwing helps clinch this as Gavarnie Blue

The subtle upperwing of the Gavarnie Blue

Pretty sure this is Lefebvre's Ringlet - it was very dark and I have lightened the image a shade to show some features - if I'm right this is a high alpine specialist of the region

A variety of blues 'puddling'

Suitably refreshed, Claire and Rowan made their way slowly back towards the cafe while I dropped down to a small pond to look for butterflies, enjoying close views of family parties of White-winged Snowfinch and Alpine Accentor en route. My target pond was like an Attenborough documentary, the shore being covered with clouds of Blues and Skippers, identification of which is still a work in progress!

I think the light spotting on the underside makes this a Turquoise Blue

And I think, but am not sure, that the out of focus one in flight is Turquoise Blue with Common Blue(?) in focus behind

More skippers and blues 'puddling'

Painted Lady on a high col

This striking moth was about the size of an Ermine but with a bit of help from Phil Sterling and Mark Parsons it's been resolved as Setina cantabrica - a relative of our Dew Moth but an endemic species of Cantabria, Spain and Portugal.

At last, an easy one: Hummingbird Hawkmoth

Same individual as above which I think is Common Blue it lacked the purple hue of Common Blues we see at home but with the thin white margin bordered with thin black line (and underwing pattern - see next image), I couldn't make it anything else?

As suggested above, underwing of what I think is Common Blue

Reluctantly, with the last cable car leaving at 1800, I started to head down to catch up with the others for a snack and a drink in the cafe. Here Alpine Accentors and Alpine Chough fed at the feet of diners, and Griffon Vultures and a couple of Red-billed Chough soared above and below the viewing balcony overlooking Fuente De beneath us. Eventually we bid our farewells to these special alpine species and headed down on a very hot cable car to the equally warm valley below.

One of the last patches of snow left in the Picos

Juvenile Water Pipit

A young Lammergeier floated past just above the upper cable car station - a wing-tagged bird (white 5L)

A much more distant adult Lammergeier was high above just before we headed down

Griffon Vulture against the cliffs of Pena Olividada

Griffon Vulture flying past at eye level at the upper cable car station

Black Redstart - easy to hear but not easy to photograph in the Picos!

None of us were ready to go home so an air-conditioned detour to Puerto de San Glorio, a high mountain pass at 1609m, seemed in order and we enjoyed spectacular views from here. The mire next to the car park at the top of the pass is apparently a reliable site for Citril Finch, but although Serin were ever-present, I was unable to find one on six visits on the way to or from various other locations. The birds use it as a watering hole so it may be that later in the year is better when there is less water around elsewhere - a few rainstorms before and after our visit meant this was not a problem in late June. Nonetheless, it had been an excellent first full day and a great introduction to the Picos so I vowed to return to Fuente De at the earliest opportunity.