essex buzzard

[essexbuzzard]

For the middle part of the trip,we headed west to the Adriatic coast,and Paklenica National Park. The habitat could hardly have been more different here-it was hot and dry. The hotel was different too-with its swimming pool and beach,it was more like a resort in the Med! But it turned out to be a stroke of genius,for next to the hotel,was an area of waste land, with Spotted Frits,Clouded yellows, skippers,blues,a Swallowtail and our only Hermits of the trip-my first ever! If that wasn't enough,the birders were happy with breeding Red-backed Shrike,Turtle Doves and Wrynecks! No wonder i was out there at the crack of dawn each day .
And imagine our delight on the first evening,when a Large Tortoiseshell landed in front of us near the hotel!
On our outings,an excellent range of southern butterflies were seen,including for me,several firsts. Ilex and Blue-spot Harstreaks were everywhere,and Mountain and Southern Small Whites were identified,among many that sped by too quick for i.d. The single Little Tiger Blue was a hilight for us all,and to see 3 large green Balkain Green Lizards together was a treat.
Also,i soon learned to identify the Nettle Trees,and after some searching,a Nettle Tree Butterfly was found,with several more later. Aren't they strange,with that long snout? A Camberwell Beauty caused understandable excitement,as it breifly landed,but was gone in seconds! Not so a Cardinal male,it posed nicely for photo's.
The birders had a good time,too,with Rock Partridge,Alpine Swifts,Honey Buzzards,Short-toed Eagles and Sardinian and Subalpine Warbler putting on a good show.One valley in particular echoed to the glorious song of Nightingales.
Photo's to follow .

[Wurzel]

Looking forward to the photos and I have my bucket ready for when I'm ill with envy

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[essexbuzzard]

Cheers Wurzel. The first round of photo's from this part of the trip. More tomorrow.

[Pauline]

Morning Essex Buzzard, just had to say I love your hairstreak photos. Hairstreaks are my favourite group and your lovely photos show them at their best. Beautiful examples. Green just doesn't come close

[Nick Broomer]

Lovely photos
All the best, Nick.

[essexbuzzard]

Thanks so much for your comments Pauline and Hideandseek. Yes,the Hairstreaks were super,and they were common at nearly all the sites we visited. They clustered at stonecrop,bramble and many other flowers,we were almost ignoring them at the end,which is criminal really.Here are a few more pic's;

[essexbuzzard]

A few more pictures from Croatia,the last for this section of the trip. High in the mountains behind the hotel,were several Blue Rockthrushes,my first ever. The image below is cropped.

[Wurzel]

Nuff said!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[essexbuzzard]

Cheers,Wurzel. Will try to get the last section up over the weekend,before i go to Dorset next week .

[essexbuzzard]

So,for our final couple of days,we took he spectacular journey allong the coast,then turned right,which took us high into the mountains,towards the Velebit Nature Park,a UNESCO biosphere reserve.
The hotel here was a more traditional Naturetrek type,just outside a village and surrounded by lush green meadows,full of butterflies. Plenty of haymaking was going on,too-taking advantage of the continuing glorious weather. One meadow,in front of the hotel,was owned by the hotel,which meant i could have a good look through before breakfast! It was full of Fritillaries,Marbled Whites,Black-veined Whites,Skippers and Meadow Browns.
During our day outings here,high in the mountains,butterflies were abundant,with several new ones for the trip. Several Cleopatra were seen-now this is a species i want to see more of! High Brown Fritilary and Clouded Apollo were on the higher slopes. Orbed Red-underwing Skipper was new for me,and several Nettle Tree Butterflies by a stream were a surprise and a delight. A Duke of Burgundy was seen,a new species for some of the group.The many Fritillaries included Knapwed,Glanville, Heath and Queen of Spain. The Marbled Whites were a much darker form than ours.
A great veiw of a Crested Tit was a delight to see. In the evenings,we fell asleep to the sound of crickets and Nightingales through the open windows and balcony door.
Even the road trip back to Zagreb was of interest,with Buzzard,Honey Buzzard,Black Kite and a White Stork,which circled right over our minibus! Pictures to follow.

[Nick Broomer]

Sounds like you had a great trip, seeing a lot of lovely butterflies and birds [being a birder as well]. Look forward to seeing some more photos.
All the best, Nick.

[essexbuzzard]

Thanks Nick.I will hopefully do the photo's sunday evening. Cheers.

[essexbuzzard]

Good evening everyone,just back from the Isle of Purbeck,which was most enjoyable,although the weather wasn't always butterfly friendly! But we managed to get some butterflies in,more to come later.
Here are some photo's of our trips in the Velebit National Park,Croatia;

[essexbuzzard]

And here are a few i took in the mist in the meadow in front of the hotel on the very last day,while everyone else was eating breakfast;

[Wurzel]

Especially the Marbled White

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[essexbuzzard]

Yes,they were cracking,so defferent to ours,though the same species.
Enjoy the sunshine tomorrow Wurzel,if you have it. Cheers.

[Neil Freeman]

Some nice reports and photos, that Marbled White is a beauty

Cheers,

Neil F.

[essexbuzzard]

Thanks Neil.It's one of my favorites,too. It's amazing how different they look,even though they are the same species as ours.
To finish off,here are a few pictures of Hrvatska/Croatia for the botanists.

[essexbuzzard]

ISLE OF PURBECK,13-16 AUGUST.
Tuesday 14 August. After a wet day Monday in Dorset,the sun returned on Tuesday. Staying at Lulworth Cove itself was a definate advantage-i even managed to see a few butterflies before breakfast! Just east of the cove is Bindon Hill,and this is where we spent most of the day today. With warm sun and light winds,we were soon seeing Chalkhill Blues by the hundred- a great year for these here and elsewhere. Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers were still abundant,and it was nice to see plenty of Walls-outside Cornwall,where it is still locally common,this is the most walls i've seen in a long time.
Lulworth Skippers are one of the main attractions here,and they did not dissapoint-good nunbers of both male and females were seen on the cliff tops,while families enjoyed the beach,far below.What a long season these tiny little crackers have! Small and one late Large Skipper were noted,too.
Marbled Whites were in numbers here,indicating the late season this year.
Dark Green Frits were in good numbers,including some fresh ones-see picture below. Small Tort,Peacock, Large and Small Whites,Red Admirals,Gryling and Brown Argus all seen.
Several Common Lizards,while Raven,late Swifts and Stonechats were among the other species noted. Lots of Swallows were probably scooping up the Chalkhill Blues.

[Wurzel]

Cracking stuff great to know that Dorset is still producing the goods great shot of the skipper but the Wall is my favourite

Have a goodun

Wurzel