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Monday 4th June – Trip to Batak Lake (continued)...

After a couple of hours at the side of the Batak Lake we ventured back to the car with very soggy feet and boots – nevertheless we persevered with the area and drove further along the road, finding another spot further away from the lake, which had some larger dirt paths moving up into the meadows that edged the higher forest slopes. Nearer the top of this path there were several fresh Cardinal and Queen of Spain Fritillaries: it was really surprising to see the difference in size of the females and Male of the latter – the males seemed to be only the size of a smaller fritillary, the females another size completely – nearer the size of male Silver-Washed Fritillaries. Working our way up the slopes near to the forest edges, there were Chequered Skippers, Mazarine Blues, Woodland Ringlets, More Queen of Spain Fritillaries, some Sooty Coppers and Grizzled Skippers. There were also a number of larger and smaller birds of prey in the skies here so we sat for a while watching these overhead – some were likely to be Buzzards, but there were also Kestrels and possibly Honey-Buzzards.


The view up towards the higher slopes along the dirt track. Pines and decidious trees are in the distance on the further edges.


Cardinal Fritillaries are the first butterflies to greet us, feeding on the path minerals.


It's easy to get good views of the Cardinals and they are all in fresh condition.
A much understimated butterfly in terms of beauty, in my opinion!


One of the many Ringlets also on the path, presumably a Woodland Ringlet.


A lovely view of one of the Mazarine Blues, only spoilt slightly by the grass in the way...


Another of the Grizzled Skippers on the higher grassy slopes.


A Queen of Spain Fritillary - no wonder there were so many with that many Violas and Pansies amongst the grass.


A view amongst the grass of one of the Ringlet butterflies.

After a while it started to cloud over a little so we left this spot, and working across the top meadows I came across (possibly) a lone Eastern Baton Blue amongst the many Orchids on the slopes. We were about to head down to the car when a very big, bright orange butterfly passed me – stopping on the mud track, this turned out to be a very fresh Large Tortoiseshell (I had noticed that the deciduous trees on the way up seemed to be Elm and Poplar). I felt quite lucky as the LT stopped on the mud and was quite happy for me to take photographs as it basked in the sun breaking through the clouds. This made up for the previous visit to Bulgaria when all the Large Tortoiseshells seemed to be too flighty for any close shots – I was also glad as this could only be the very start of their new emergence.


The single Eastern Baton Blue, stopping on the grass stems during the cloud break.


Another of the many Orchid flowers on the higher slopes above the Batak Lake.


First view from a distance of the fresh Large Tortoiseshell..would I get closer to this beauty?


Indeed I would be allowed nice and close to the Large Tortoiseshell as the sun came out again.


Looking down the slopes towards Batak Lake just before leaving to go to the car.

We left Batak Lake just as a thunderstorm came over, and went back to the hotel. After the sun came out later that afternoon we did a quick walk in the hills next to the hotel in Velingrad, visiting a pretty church on the mountain slopes – the church also had a lovely range of wildflowers growing next to it which attracted some Pearl-Bordered Fritillaries and a few Whites and a Pale Clouded Yellow. Walking through the Pine forest we came across our second Fire Salamander of our trip, and this one could even be seen burrowing into the forest dirt for the night. Unfortunately the weather forecast for Tuesday for SW Bulgaria was due to be the worst of the week so my hopes weren’t high for the next day regarding butterflies...


The slopes above our hotel back at Velingrad - a beautiful spot with a very small church.


A good spot for a frog on the slopes of the local river.


As with other days near our hotel in Velingrad, Pearl Bordered Fritillaries were normally on the Bugle flowers.

Hi Michael,

Just catching up with this thread. Great pictures and a great narrative. A few ID comments:

The argus/idas blue is argus.

The brown female further on could be argus, much less probably idas, or, as a thought, one of the Zephyr blue complex. It appears to have no hint of any silver studs ... It's definitely Plebejus.

Most of your Pyrgus skippers are malvae but the one you call large grizzled skipper is orbed red underwing skipper, Spialia orbifer.

Your ringlets are all good for woodland ringlet (medusa).

I would think it worth checking the undersides of as many Glanville fritillary shots as you have, in case you have any Freyer's fritillary there (arduinna) ... The first uppersides made me think of that as they struck me as being very different from the Glanvilles around here.

Guy

Great Large Tortoiseshell sighting, Michael. It's positively glowing!

Hi Guy,
thanks for your comments - I definitely struggle with the blues and the skippers, so thanks for the suggestions. I thought that by law of averages some must have been different from Pyrgus malvae (Grizzled). Before I took went on the trip I had some suggestions on locations from Nikolay Shtinkov, who has his own site on Bulgarian butterflies - he may have suggestions for some of the ID's especially on the Glanvilles. Unfortunately I have some underside shots on some and not on others - luck of the draw (and of the sunshine & conditions etc).

David - the Large Tortoiseshell was a real beauty, and I could certainly have posted more pictures of him / her. I was also glad I was 'let near enough' to have such great views. There would be several more sightings later in the week of LT's (nice that this species is doing well at least in Bulgaria) but none that quite compared quite to this one .
Thanks,

Michael

Great travelogue with splendid photos to match. I hope there is more to come?
Ian

Hi Ian,
thanks - there's definitely more to come, with three of the last four days in perfect sunshine and some different species to finish off the report...

I should also say, somewhat ashamedly, that I am 'nipping back' to Bulgaria for a week in August, to try and see some of the species I missed.
Michael

Great stuff Michael.
Some absolutely stunning shots of the butterflies but the scenic shots of yours do it for me.
We've recently arrived home from 3 weeks in south west Bulgaria visiting some places quite close to where you were but the scenery was much browner and drier when we we were there with temperatures as high as 42. The mountain areas were still green though.
I'm looking forward to some more of your photos and narrative and if you are planning on going back to Bulgaria my trip report when it arrives may be helpful for species to see from late June to early July if you're interested.
keep the photos coming.

Hi Paul,
I wasn't sure if you'd gone or not as planned. I've no doubt I'll be envious and excited by what you saw on your trip when you've posted . You'll probably have seen some of the species that I was hoping too but missed. Interesting that the landscape had changed quite a bit by the time you were there .
Michael

Tuesday 5th June, East edge of Velingrad Town

As the forecast for Tuesday was due to be the worst of the week, we took a short ride early in the morning just to the east side of the Village, to the small bit of scrubland we had visited late afternoon on Sunday where I’d seen a Black Hairstreak colony. On the way to the Blackthorn bushes this morning were a few butterflies in the form of Common Blues and Orange Tips and Large Whites amongst the wet grass.

Arriving at the scrub, I was pleasantly surprised by the early morning sunshine, and in the lovely morning light the Black Hairstreaks were all over the Blackthorn bushes, many at head or shoulder height warming up for the morning: although a few were a bit jumpy, quite a few could be followed on to a bush where they would stay as I photographed them. Nearly all the Hairstreaks were in immaculate condition, and with the birdsong in the air and only the bees buzzing about in the sunshine, one could forget we were only about 500 yards from the main road. And also on a strip of land that could easily be overlooked.


A Common Blue keeping to himself in the early morning dewy grass.


A view across the scrubland towards Velingrad town, with the main road not quite visible below the nearest tree line.


The first sight of one of the Black Hairstreaks warming up on the Blackthorn leaves.
Notice at this point they are using their wings as solar panels - soon they would seek shade instead!


The Black Hairstreaks soon started flying into the shaded parts of the Blackthorn - here they would let the photographer to be close!


All of the Black Hairstreaks were in great condition, and in a small meadow there must have been at least 30 adults.

Also on the Blackthorn bushes were a whole host of Black-Veined White caterpillar webs: these could be surprisingly big and looked more like white bird nests than something produced by caterpillars. Several of these nests had caterpillars that were in their last stages (not the velvety black-sheened version of the caterpillars that signified younger stages) and I would also come across the odd fully grown caterpillar that had left the nest to feed up prior to pupation. We wandered along the meadows a bit further towards the town, and would see a host of different butterflies: a few Commas, some of our first Meadow Browns of the trip, some unidentified Blues and a few Painted Ladies. There was also a few moth caterpillars (somewhat reminiscent of Fox or Lappet moth caterpillars) feeding amongst the grass. The only other company we had this morning was a local herd of goats being driven by a couple of shepherding women.


A view of one of the Black-Veined White caterpillar webs. These caterpillars are almost fully grown.


One of the fully-grown Black-Veined White caterpillars, now feeding away from the communal web.


One of the many Comma butterflies that were nearer the roadside bushes and shrubs.


Another view across towards the Town and more cultivated areas.


Another view of a fresh Black Hairstreak as we headed over the meadows to more grassy (and wet) areas.


One of the pretty moth caterpillars feeding this morning in the fields. It reminds me of a Fox or Lappet moth caterpillar...


An unidentified Blue amongst the grass in the roadside meadows.


A single Painted Lady is out as the morning temperatures climb and get increasingly humid.


A brief underside view of the Painted Lady as we flee the oncoming thunderstorms.

Tuesday 5th June, East edge of Velingrad Town (continued)

The sunshine and warmth surprisingly continued for at least a couple of hours, but soon we could see the oncoming thunderstorm coming from the direction of the town. We headed back to the car, but on the way I noticed the first Thistles out in bloom on the scrubland – these were now attracting Cardinal Fritillaries and some fresh Black-Veined Whites. We got back to the car just in time as the late morning rains hit the meadows. Karen wanted to visit the local Museum in Velingrad so we spent about an hour there, and only ventured out again from the village when the rains had gone which turned out to be later in the afternoon. In the last few hours of the afternoon we drove to the South-West of the village along the river valley main road, but the clouds seemed to follow us and soon it was a good time to return to the hotel and some dinner (also in the Hotel this week were the Bulgarian Volleyball team preparing for the Olympics).

Although I hadn’t expected much from the day due to the forecast, for me the morning had turned out to be one of the most enjoyable of the trip, with some lovely views of Black Hairstreaks (one of my favourite butterflies) up close and personal. And the good news was that the weather was now due to be full sunshine for the last three days of our trip....


Some of the first Thistles were now out in bloom in the scrubland, soon attracting a few Cardinal Fritillaries.


The Thistles were also attracting Black-Veined Whites. Guessing from the caterpillar webs around there would be many more adults to come..


Another Black-Veined White clambering to get some nectar. The butterfly doesn't realise that rain-clouds are on their way!


The only notable sighting of the afternoon was this Grass-Snake at the side of the road to the South-West of the Village.


Another shot of the lurking Grass-Snake. It seems extremely fat in the middle, so I'm guessing it's either pregnant or just eaten.

Hi Michael

It's interesting to see what butterflies are around at different times of the year. We searched in vein for Russian Heath and couldn't find them so you probably have a few species that were on my list to look out for that we missed as their flight periods had ended or they were in between flight periods.

Keep up with the excellent photos and interesting trip report.

The Eastern Bath Whites are I think Dappled Whites (Euchloe crameri/ausonia) or whatever Euchloe species flies in that region.

Hi Roger,
I'd never considered Dappled Whites, so I'm sure you're right. For the region it would be the Eastern Dappled White (Euchloe ausonia). Thanks for the help .
Michael

Wednesday 6th June – return to the edge of Eleshnitsa Village

The weather forecast for the last three days in Bulgaria left us all set for good weather, so on Wednesday we took the near-two hour journey South to the roadside walk I had found on Saturday near the village of Eleshnitsa. We arrived just before 10am and were greeted by beautiful cloudless skies, though there was a little breeze which disguised the heat of the morning.

As soon as I started the mornings walk there was a lone Sloe Hairstreak in the bushes near the main path, though it was just the other side of where I could reach out so a distance photo was all I could get. There were a few frogs jumping across the dirt path so I had a quick look at these just before we scrambled up the slopes nearby. Here we could see great views across to the Pirin Mountains: as with the previous visit the slopes were covered with wild flowers and a few areas at the top of the slopes which were covered by a few larger deciduous trees and bushes.


First butterfly of the morning was a lone Sloe Hairstreak, just out of range of a good photo.


A frog on the dirt track, glistening in the morning sun, not quite bothered by the photographer..


A nice view of one of the Frogs just before it skips off into the meadow nearby...


The view towards the mountain range from one of the slopes, showing the wealth of wildflowers available.

Here there were plenty of butterflies flying in the breeze: the most common on top of the slopes were Russian and Balkan Heaths: the trees had several Black Hairstreaks in, and also there were multiple Blues around the grassy swales including a few Eastern Baton Blues, Silver-Studded Blues, Woodland Ringlets, Common Blues and possibly a few Brown Argus. Along the spine of the slope the wind was at its strongest and here were also several Spotted Fritillaries and a few Cardinal Fritillaries along with many whites including Clouded Apollos, Black-Veined Whites and Clouded Yellows. These were all flying to fast to bother about stopping: with so many wildflowers on the slopes these butterflies could afford to just skim quickly and only dropping onto the flowers at a moment’s notice before flying off again.


A Russian Heath warming up amongst the smaller bushes atop the slopes.


I think that this is the Balkan Heath - there was a good mix of both species here.


A nice view of the Balkan Heath nectaring from one of the smaller flowers amongst the grass.


As with the previous day in Velingrad, there were some very fresh Black Hairstreaks amongst the bushes.


My first look at an Eastern Baton Blue, stopping to avoid the wind on one of the suckler bushes.


The underside view of the Eastern Baton Blue.


Another shot of the Eastern Baton Blue before I follow the slopes in search of other species.


A Spotted Fritillary amongst the grass on the very spine of the hills above Eleshnitsa.


Another view of the Spotted Fritillary before making our way back down the slope.


Another view of the wildflower slopes.


There were plenty of other more common species on the slopes, such as this Clouded Apollo.


Not sure about this one - maybe a female Common Blue (no red on the upperwings?) on the flowery slopes.


Another Woodland Ringlet just before we clamber back to the main path.

After about an hour we descended back to the main path, and would again see White Storks looking for food in the grassy meadows opposite. The weather was decidedly hot now (and still disguised by the breeze) and on the path there were several blues feeding on the salts and some lovely Yellow-Banded Skippers, which was one of the smaller species I had hoped to see since our visit to Bulgaria the previous year. As the weather continued to be good I was looking forward to following the main path along the river to see anything else that was on the wing.


The view across to the nearby river and the more open fields where White Storks would look for food.


One of the White Storks looking out for an easy pickings...


One of the first views of a Yellow-Banded Skipper, a beautiful little butterfly.


The tendency of the Yellow-Banded Skippers was to stay on the paths, but occasionally they would visit the flowers.


Bizarrely, the best photo I got of a Yellow-Banded Skipper is this individual 'having a fag' (not mine, I should add)..


One of the Blues stopping on the dirt path in the morning heat.


Another Blue or Argus, looking quite nice set against the red soil.

The female blue has the look of Amanda's (Polyommatus amandus) and your last blue could be Escher's (P. escheri) although the underside lunules are much more rounded than French specimens, but the colouring (the clean grey), the strength of the spots and the general feel strongly suggest escheri. Of course, there may be other species in Bulgaria that I am not familiar with.

I would suggest Balkan Zephyr Blue Plebejus sephirus rather than Escher's. The female with the large lunules on the hindwing may also be that species. By the way, the caterpillars you identify as Black-veined White are those of the Small Eggar Eriogaster lanestris. The large solitary larva is probably the Grass Eggar Lasiocampa trifolii.
For comparison, here is a Bulgarian Escher's of the sub-species dalmaticus, photographed earlier this month.
M.

Hi Roger and Mikhail,
oops - regarding the larval webs - I made the mistake earlier in the week due to the glossy look of the younger stages, to my untrained eye much closer to Black-Veined White caterpillars. I'll go through my posts a bit later this week to update the ID's. If the blues are Plebejus sephirus I'll see if I can re-name those shots and will have a look again in my European guides - I also have several Blues from later the same day which may be the same species.

Thanks again,
Michael

The last underside is Plebejus, not Polyommatus, so ruling out escheri, though I can see why Roger went for that. The lack of any hint of silver pupils suggests the pylaon complex (which means sephirus, for Bulgaria), though their absence is not in any way definitive as they are sometimes absent in the others, particularly argus). The female, higher up, looks very good for sephirus and not good for the other Plebejus, with those fat, enlarged orange spots. So I support Misha on the last one though wouldn't want to commmit on the upperside female.

The blue above the last underside looks like a common blue to me.

Guy

Hi all,
Regarding the female Blue with the upperside shown, here it is again with an underside photo of the same individual - neither were great shots but perhaps useful for the ID. I'm quite happy if this and the last underside Blue shown were both Balkan Zephyr Blue (Plebejus sephirus) - certainly nice to have seen this species. And there are more Blues to come from this day's sightings which may be similiar species.
Michael


Upper shot of female Blue, possibly female Balkan Zephyr Blue (Plebejus sephirus)


Underside shot of same individual female Blue, possibly female Balkan Zephyr Blue (Plebejus sephirus).

That leaves no doubt. Good call Misha!

Guy