Departure of birds, abundant fungi, cool blustery conditions, summer a memory. On sunny days however, still butterflies flying, not least Queen of Spain Fritillaries and Pale Clouded Yellows, plus late records of Silver-spotted Skipper, Brown Hairstreak and Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary. Even more remarkable, a Large Copper, Large Skipper and two Camberwell Beauties in the latter parts of the month.

September in Andalusia, raptors across the Strait of Gibraltar, flocks of Greater Flamingoes and other waterbirds on the saltpans, a fantastic array of traditional resident species across the region. However, for me, the main focus of this four-day trip was the search for several late season butterflies, most specifically Two-tailed Pasha, Geranium Bronze and the highly localised Desert Orange Tip and Zeller's Skipper.

Despite September being way past the peak butterfly season, I did still manage to see a total of 22 species, including all my targets, plus some additional bonuses such as European Chameleon and a good range of birds, including impressive raptor movements and some highly desirable species such as Rüppell's Vulture, Long-legged Buzzard and Bald Ibis.