Valencia diaries, final instalment: Sunday-Tuesday, days 6-8
Sunday 15 March – hills above Pego It was a day of various stops for pottering or particular wildlife highlights, with sites for particular orchid species often prompting the locations. The first of these, in an open area having driven up through woods, was for conical orchid Orchis conica . The orchids were rather underwhelming, though the general area was so nice it hardly mattered. The supporting cast of flowers, outshining the orchid, included the silver-leafed pea argyrolobium, star-of-Bethlehem and a red-flowered houndstongue. A broomrape didn't seem to fit any in the book and Pau checked with a friend who confirmed it as Orobanche lastiquama , parasitic on rosemary, and not in the book. A trilling sound revealed at least two crested tits that fed for a while in an open tree. Beyond them, Christina picked up on two distant raptors which, as they neared us, proved to be short-toed eagles. Cynoglossum cheirifolium We moved onto Vall de Gallinera where orchards of ch