David M

[David M]

Hautes Pyrenees, 13th-20th July cont…

Tracking down Gavarnie Ringlet is tough.

In flight, it is tricky to tell apart from the slightly smaller Mountain Ringlet and the slightly larger Bright-Eyed Ringlet.

It doesn’t help that these Erebia don’t settle very often, and that when they do it isn’t usually for long enough to get a sufficiently good look to be sure of identity.

So, I spent nearly two hours high up on Col des Tentes with Piedmont Ringlets everywhere, looking for something with a silver dusted underside.
Eventually, I found one, and it was a female:

The females are quite beautifully marked and much more prone to settle than the males:

With that, all the 5 main targets had been successfully recorded on this trip: Lefebvre’s, False Dewy, Pyrenean Brassy, Gavarnie Ringlet and Gavarnie Blue. Additionally, the constans form of Yellow-Spotted Ringlet was seen, but only in small numbers.

I wasn’t sure this would be possible, as there is practically a month between the emergence of the first (False Dewy) to the flight period of the last (Gavarnie Ringlet).

The season had been turned upside down due to conditions earlier in the year and the mid-June species were late emerging but the later ones were only a little behind.

For once, the crazy weather in western Europe this year was an advantage.

[David M]

Hautes Pyrenees, 13th-20th July cont…

In summary, this was a thoroughly enjoyable week. The weather was near perfect; sunny every day bar one and nice temperatures in the high twenties Celsius.

The range of butterflies was fabulous, with the day spent on the Spanish side helping lift the total into three figures.

The morning near Aragnouet in amongst the rare and localised Erebia was probably my second best of the year, after the amazing first day in Romania where a range of desirables were seen in a small area of woodland.

To notch up more species here than I did in the French Alps 3 weeks before is not something I thought possible.

Here is the full list:

1. Tufted Marbled Skipper
2. Marbled Skipper
3. Dingy Skipper
4. Large Skipper
5. Lulworth Skipper
6. Essex Skipper
7. Small Skipper
8. Large Grizzled Skipper
9. Alpine Grizzled Skipper
10. Oberthur’s Grizzled Skipper
11. Safflower Skipper
12. Southern Grizzled Skipper
13. Olive Skipper
14. Red Underwing Skipper
15. Geranium Bronze
16. Brown Argus
17. Mountain Argus
18. Ripart’s Anomalous Blue
19. Holly Blue
20. Small Blue
21. Mazarine Blue
22. Long-Tailed Blue
23. Silver Studded Blue
24. Idas Blue
25. Large Blue
26. Glandon Blue
27. Gavarnie Blue
28. Adonis Blue
29. Chalkhill Blue
30. Spanish Chalkhill Blue
31. Turquoise Blue
32. Eros Blue
33. Escher’s Blue
34. Common Blue
35. Chapman’s Blue
36. Purple-Shot Copper
37. Purple-Edged Copper
38. Small Copper
39. Sooty Copper
40. Scarce Copper
41. Spanish Purple Hairstreak
42. Ilex Hairstreak
43. Blue Spot Hairstreak
44. Duke of Burgundy
45. Apollo
46. Clouded Apollo
47. Swallowtail
48. Scarce Swallowtail
49. Iberian Scarce Swallowtail
50. Small Tortoiseshell
51. White Admiral
52. Southern White Admiral
53. Map
54. Comma
55. Red Admiral
56. High Brown Fritillary
57. Dark Green Fritillary
58. Silver Washed Fritillary
59. Weaver’s Fritillary
60. Pearl Bordered Fritillary
61. Shepherd’s Fritillary
62. Lesser Marbled Fritillary
63. Queen of Spain Fritillary
64. Heath Fritillary
65. False Heath Fritillary
66. Spotted Fritillary
67. Meadow Fritillary
68. Knapweed Fritillary
69. Provencal Fritillary
70. Orange Tip
71. Black Veined White
72. Mountain Dappled White
73. Peak White
74. Bath White
75. Berger’s Clouded Yellow
76. Clouded Yellow
77. Mountain Clouded Yellow
78. Cleopatra
79. Brimstone
80. Wood White
81. Large White
82. Small White
83. Green Veined White
84. Ringlet
85. Great Banded Grayling
86. Rock Grayling
87. Grayling
88. Pearly Heath
89. Dusky Heath
90. Chestnut Heath
91. Small Heath
92. False Dewy Ringlet
93. Lefebvre’s Ringlet
94. Pyrenean Brassy Ringlet
95. Western Brassy Ringlet
96. Gavarnie Ringlet
97. Piedmont Ringlet
98. Bright-Eyed Ringlet
99. Mountain Ringlet
100. Yellow-Spotted Ringlet
101. Large Wall Brown
102. Wall Brown
103. Meadow Brown
104. Marbled White
105. Speckled Wood
106. Gatekeeper
107. Spanish Gatekeeper
108. Southern Gatekeeper

[David M]

Tuesday 23rd July – Good selection….

Following a draining spell of foreign trips, I finally had a reasonable stint at home in front of me (10 days).

After arriving back from France on 20th, it took till the afternoon of 23rd July before conditions were right to go looking for local butterflies and I duly headed down to nearby Nicholaston Burrows at around 2.30pm.

Having been absent for so long, I still hadn’t seen any Hedge Browns domestically this summer, but that didn’t take long to resolve:

They, along with Meadow Browns were the commonest species, with around four dozen of each seen.

None of the other 11 species I recorded reached double figures. Large Whites hit a total of 7 and so, surprisingly, did Purple Hairstreaks.

The oak woodland by the limestone ridge is normally productive for this species, although getting near them is usually out of the question. The best I could manage was a ‘click shutter and hope’ shot which just about shows the butterfly:

Another welcome find was Small Blue, with a total of 5 seen:

The dunes were full of flowering plants, including plenty of scabious:

This attracted quite a few butterflies, including my first UK Marbled Whites of the year:

Other species seen were Small White, Red Admiral, Common Blue, Large Skipper, Small Copper, Small Heath & Speckled Wood.

[David M]

Friday 26th July – Big contrast….

A visit to Rhossili Head on the SW Gower coast is always a pleasure on a sunny day with light winds, and there were reasonable numbers of butterflies around, although far fewer than on an identical visit on virtually the same date in 2023.

Back then, I saw over 1,500 Meadow Browns and around 500 Hedge Browns. This time round, there were only 100-150 of the former and no more than 80 of the latter:

By contrast, the rainfall we’ve had this year meant the wild flower meadows were even brighter than last year:

One particular delight was seeing a Small Tortoiseshell, just the third I’d seen locally this year:

Given the time I’d spent out of the country this year, there were a few ‘firsts’ for the year. This Small Skipper was one of them:

So was this Dark Green Fritillary:

Likewise, the 2 Graylings I saw on the rocky cliffs were first timers for me in 2024:

Two Painted Ladies were welcome. Although I’d seen one in May these were the first I was able to photograph:

Other species seen were Small & Green Veined White, Common Blue, Brown Argus, Wall Brown and Small Copper:

[David M]

Friday 26th July – Ringlet chasing….

After leaving Rhossili, I realised that amid the multiple species of butterfly present there, Ringlets weren’t amongst them and I still hadn’t yet seen any this year domestically.

This species isn’t keen on exposed habitat, so on my way back I thought I’d call in to Park Wood near my home.

I found one fairly quickly, although it ended up being the only one I came across:

Not much else about; a handful of Meadow Browns, a solitary Hedge Brown and a Small White.

[David M]

Sunday 28th July – Very strange feeling…

I visit Alun Valley every year. In fact, I used to participate in the winter work parties there and have come to love the site over time.

It is the best site in the whole of Wales in my opinion, and still holds the record for number of species seen in a single day for me with 24 way back in 2013.

I duly saw 18 species today which sounds good….but general numbers were phenomenally poor, as if there had been some kind of extinction event.

The first sign of this was after I’d arrived and gone into the lower meadow, where the thistles are usually replete with many dozens of butterflies:

Not one butterfly was nectaring here, and on the other side of the dried up river there were only a handful – Common Blues, the odd Meadow Brown and a few Whites.

I decided to kill a little time by checking out the mature elm nearby. This female Green Veined White was a welcome intrusion:

Happily, there were 4 White Letter Hairstreaks about, although none descended anywhere within reasonable camera reach. I had to rely on trying to take distance shots in the canopy:

I headed up the hill onto Old Castle Down which was where I got the biggest shock. Normally, this tract of land is alive with butterflies, but there were hardly any, even in the field edges where the brambles usually attract dozens of them.

This Brimstone was one of very few butterflies seen:

I ended up walking back down to the road where a Silver Washed Fritillary was briefly seen in flight and then I saw another Frit on a patch of brambles by the roadside:

At first, I’d assumed it to be a Dark Green Fritillary, but the raised sex brands prove it was a High Brown:

It was such a shame as it was possibly the nicest day of the year that I’ve experienced, with strong sunshine and very warm temperatures.

[Goldie M]

Things have certainly been bad this year for Butterflies David, I think the exception here has been the Holly Blue and the Whites, hope fully things will be better next year. Goldie

[David M]

Montes Universales, 31st July to 6th August….

Time for my annual jaunt to central Spain for a fest of hot weather and butterflies (not to mention the stunning environs of my base in Albarracin).

Had to be on my best behaviour during the week as I was in the company of a well-known BBC presenter but all went smoothly and butterfly numbers were pretty good, although like in other areas of western Europe the range was a little lower than I am used to.

Pleased to say Zapater’s Ringlet was around in the low dozens. This stunning Erebia is one of my favourite butterflies, and seeing my first each time I visit is rather like the feeling I get when I encounter female Brown Hairstreaks in Pembrokeshire each August:

[David M]

Things have certainly been bad this year for Butterflies David, I think the exception here has been the Holly Blue and the Whites, hope fully things will be better next year.

Been a year from hell, Goldie, although Small Whites have managed to do rather well these last few weeks.

I'll be glad to see the back of 2024 in all honesty.

[David M]

Montes Universales, 31st July to 6th August cont….

For the first time in 3 years, a Southern Hermit was seen (although sadly not by me). This butterfly has recently been subject to research supported financially by EBG, with the results confirming that the species seems to be disappearing fast.

The other members of this group were generally well represented however, with Rock & Great Banded Graylings especially common. Tree Grayling was reasonably common as was Striped Grayling, with semele also around in good numbers in the right places.

Hermits would randomly appear virtually wherever habitat was suitable for them, whilst False Grayling was a regular and welcome companion at some of the grassier sites:

As ever, Chestnut Heath was also common in these same grassier locations:

By contrast, Dusky Heath was only encountered at the drier, scrubbier sites, where there were decent numbers of them:

[Matsukaze]

Lovely beasts, those Dusky Heaths.

[David M]

Montes Universales, 31st July to 6th August cont….

As far as Fritillaries were concerned, I saw a record number of Cardinals, certainly 40+ which was nice:

High Browns were numerous although once again Niobe Fritillary eluded me here. Twin-Spot, Lesser Marbled & Spotted Fritillary were seen in small numbers.

Silver Washed were fairly commonplace, as were Queens of Spain:

[David M]

Montes Universales, 31st July to 6th August cont….

Hesperids weren’t terribly common this year. Even Cinquefoil Skipper numbers were nothing like what they usually are, although there were still several dozen recorded:

The odd Sage Skipper would make an appearance, but only one Southern Marbled Skipper turned up, leaving Small and Silver Spotted Skippers as the only others within this group to get seriously into double figures:

As ever, a handful of Mediterranean Skippers were found on the Valencia coast prior to departure.

[David M]

Montes Universales, 31st July to 6th August cont….

The Lycaenid group is always very interesting in this part of Spain.

There aren’t many places where you can all but guarantee Spanish Argus, but one of the local cols is such a location, although given their size they aren’t the easiest to photograph:

Much less tricky is Iberian Sooty Copper:

Both Oberthur’s and Ripart’s Anomalous Blue are found in this region. I can’t say either do much for me from a looks-perspective. Oberthur’s especially is rather dull:

Much more vibrant is Azure Chalkhill Blue, and there are plenty to see:

Spanish Chalkhill Blues are fairly common too in the right places. They are bigger than the Azures but don’t have the intense blue on the uppersides:

[David M]

Lovely beasts, those Dusky Heaths.

Definitely a favourite of mine, Chris, although the Chestnut Heaths in this area are possibly even more impressive.

[essexbuzzard]

Bringing back the memories, David! A fantastic area of a brilliant country.

The Azure Chalkhills were a favourite of mine!

[David M]

Montes Universales, 31st July to 6th August cont….

In summary, this was a highly enjoyable week. This part of Spain is well off the tourist track and is consequently fairly cheap. It helps that the weather is practically guaranteed hot and sunny too.

Although this region had a cold spell during April, it had been fine throughout the summer, and although butterfly numbers were down on what I usually record here, there were still plenty of them, with the usual suspects into four figures, e.g., Azure Chalkhill Blue, Iberian Marbled White & Great Banded Grayling.

Here is the full list:

1. Mediterranean Skipper
2. Mallow Skipper
3. Marbled Skipper
4. Southern Marbled Skipper
5. Red-Underwing Skipper
6. Sage Skipper
7. Safflower Skipper
8. Cinquefoil Skipper
9. Rosy Grizzled Skipper
10. Large Grizzled Skipper
11. Essex Skipper
12. Small Skipper
13. Lulworth Skipper
14. Large Skipper
15. Silver Spotted Skipper
16. Iberian Scarce Swallowtail
17. Swallowtail
18. Wood White
19. Large White
20. Small White
21. Green Veined White
22. Bath White
23. Clouded Yellow
24. Berger’s Clouded Yellow
25. Brimstone
26. Cleopatra
27. Small Copper
28. Purple Shot Copper
29. Iberian Sooty Copper
30. Blue-Spot Hairstreak
31. Ilex Hairstreak
32. Sloe Hairstreak
33. Long-Tailed Blue
34. Lang’s Short-Tailed Blue
35. Holly Blue
36. Southern Brown Argus
37. Mountain Argus
38. Spanish Argus
39. Turquoise Blue
40. Mother-of-Pearl Blue
41. Amanda’s Blue
42. Escher’s Blue
43. Chapman’s Blue
44. Common Blue
45. Adonis Blue
46. Azure Chalkhill Blue
47. Spanish Chalkhill Blue
48. Oberthur’s Anomalous Blue
49. Ripart’s Anomalous Blue
50. Damon Blue
51. Panoptes Blue
52. Silver Washed Fritillary
53. Cardinal
54. Dark Green Fritillary
55. High Brown Fritillary
56. Queen of Spain Fritillary
57. Lesser Marbled Fritillary
58. Twin-Spot Fritillary
59. Knapweed Fritillary
60. Spotted Fritillary
61. Provencal Fritillary
62. Red Admiral
63. Painted Lady
64. Peacock
65. Comma
66. Southern White Admiral
67. Nettle Tree Butterfly
68. Speckled Wood
69. Wall Brown
70. Large Wall Brown
71. Chestnut Heath
72. Dusky Heath
73. Small Heath
74. Gatekeeper
75. Southern Gatekeeper
76. Spanish Gatekeeper
77. Meadow Brown
78. Dusky Meadow Brown
79. Oriental Meadow Brown
80. Zapater’s Ringlet
81. Esper’s Marbled White
82. Iberian Marbled White
83. Black Satyr
84. Rock Grayling
85. Grayling
86. Tree Grayling
87. Striped Grayling
88. False Grayling
89. Great Banded Grayling
90. Hermit

*In addition to the above, Southern Hermit was seen by one of my travelling companions but not by me.

[John Vergo]

Good to hear that the Southern Hermit is still around, was it at the most “normal” lokation ?

[selbypaul]

Loved doing that trip with you in 2019, David - the first time we met!

Like John Vergo, I'm so glad Southern Hermit is hanging on. Fingers crossed some miracle happens and it gets a population boost soon!

[David M]

Bringing back the memories, David! A fantastic area of a brilliant country. The Azure Chalkhills were a favourite of mine!

Yes, Mark. Was 6 years ago. Seems like a lifetime!