My wife does not like walking when it was hot so I usually had a few hours in the afternoon to climb into the hills to search for birds, butterflies and reptiles. Here are a few shots of the areas that I worked the most. Blackberries were everywhere at lower elevations so it was impossible to move off the trail.




Higher up, the habitat changed to pine-oak woodland. Some areas had terraced vineyards. This was a moister area with a few different butterflies to those that I observed closer to the village.




Hummingbird Moths were common along the trail. I have not had much experience with this group before. They certaintly are well named and look so much like a small species of hummer. Their abdomen even has scales that look fanned like the open tail of a hummer when hovering at a flower.




These blues were common. I think that they are Holly Blues (Celastrina argiolus).