www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

David M wrote: ↑Tue Dec 24, 2019 8:17 pm I just love those images from your Greek trip, Paul. Lush, verdant fields with many species that don't occur in western Europe and a bit of ancient history thrown in too! I must take the plunge real soon and become familiar with some of these eastern European specialities.

I have a Greek trip from 2019 still to report on here David. You really do need to visit. It is a stunning country in every way

Day 4 was hot with sunny spells all day. We travelled to a beautiful little village called Gimmelwald, via Lauterbrunnen, using a combination of train, bus and cable car. From Gimmelwald, we walked down “butterfly valley” famous for its Apollo’s amongst other species. We spent the whole morning here, plus lunch, before walking back to the cable car station, and then back down it. It really was full of butterflies of various species, the Apollo’s being as numerous as suggested, and the False Heath Fritillaries also being very obliging too. We then caught the bus to the incredible Trummelbach Falls, a set of very powerful waterfalls hidden inside the mountain, and fed by glacier meltwater. Following an hour here, we then walked back to Lauterbrunnen, and caught the train back to Wengen.

In total, the group saw 45 species, of which I saw 33. Of the 33, there was one new species for me, which was a single Hungarian Glider (neptis rivularis). Sadly no photo however, as it was just a “fly by.”

Day 5 was a cool day, with the odd dry spell, but mainly drizzle and showers all day.

Our first stop was the “First” cable car station, reached using two Cable Car rides, via Mannlichen and Grindelwald. We managed a short walk before the rain set in, and we had an early lunch. With the weather outlook not getting any better, we took the scenic long route back to the hotel, taking cable car and train back via Grindelwald and Kleine Schiedegg.

Given the poor weather pretty much all day, the group for the day was just 13 species, of which I saw only 10. Even so, one of these was a new species for me, a Dusky Grizzled Skipper (pyrgus cacaliae)

Sadly, Day 6 had even worse weather, with rain pretty much the whole day. So we focused on doing a scenic walk and boat trip, as the scenery was still stunning, despite it being grey. We caught the train to Interlaken Ost, and then caught a boat across Lake Brienzersee to Iseltwald. This took us to late morning, and we then walked along the lake shore from here to the Giessbach Ferry stop, where we caught the boat to Brienz. Finally we caught three trains back to Wengen. Lots of modes of transport, and lots of nice scenery, just a shame about the weather.

In total, the group saw 15 species, of which I saw only 2, none of which were new species for me.

After two days of being constrained by the weather, it was to great pleasure that the sun was out pretty much all of Day 7. There was a cool wind at times, but that didn’t seem to hamper the butterflies.

Our first stop was at Kleine Schiedegg itself, via train, where we did a short walk. We then caught the train to Grindelwald, and then a bus to the top of Grosse Schiedegg by mid-morning. We then slowly walked back down the winding road to Grindelwald, spending most of the rest of the day to walk halfway down, such was the number of butterflies. Catching the bus the rest of the way back to Grindelwald, then the train to Allmend, we then walked the rest of the distance back to Wengen.

In total, the group saw 57 species, of which I saw 47. Of the 47, there was one new species for me, which was the Violet Copper (lycaena helle). It was the Violet Copper that was the most exciting find, one I found for myself, and which our guide Jon and others were sceptical about me having seen, even after seeing my photo.

But as you can see, it definitely was. And when I got home and researched it, I found that the species hadn’t been seen anywhere near that part of Switzerland for over 20 years, so I reported it to the local recorder, who was very grateful.

Jon Stokes (our guide) was also kind enough to email me in July 2019, a year later, to say his group had found a whole colony of Violet Copper in the same location, so it wasn’t a one off. For such a rapidly declining European species, this was indeed an excellent find, one I am very proud of.

Our flights back to Heathrow weren’t until 7pm local time. So despite the four trains needed to get back to Zurich, we still had a half day. The weather was the best since the first day, with clear blue skies and hot too. We spent the whole morning near the hotel, at the meadow we had visited on the first afternoon. Again there was lots to keep us interested, with the total for this final day being 39 species, of which I saw 31. And even on this last day, there was one new species for me, specifically Damon Blue (polyommatus damon) The grand total for the group for the whole week was 94 species, of which I saw 81 species. And despite this now being my fifth full week looking for butterfly species in Europe, I was still able to see 10 new species.

Of the 13 species I missed out on during the week, I have seen seven either before or since, elsewhere. But that means there were six species seen by others which I very much regret dipping out on! These were Peak White, Moorland Clouded Yellow, Mnestre’s Ringlet, Swiss Brassy Ringlet, Dewy Ringlet and Alpine Grayling. Both for what I missed, but most importantly, for what I saw too, I will return to this part of Switzerland. It is an incredible country. Beautiful, clean, efficient, full of alpine meadows, friendly people, good food and stunning scenery.

My butterflying year for 2019 was a busy one, and it began in the second week of January, in Lanzarote. As a new Canary Isle for me, and with a pretty different climate to Tenerife, I was hoping to see some different butterflies. And that I did. In fact the first butterfly I saw was a brand new species for me, a Greenish Black Tip (euchloe charlonia). Sadly only a blurred photo however, taken with my phone camera. I’d seen an African Grass Blue (zizeeria knysna) before, in Cyprus in 2014, but I was still happy to see one again, this time properly, knowing what I was looking for. I had also hoped to see Southern/Austat’s Blue (polyommatus celina) and Geranium Bronze (cacyreus marshalli), but despite a few efforts during the week, I had no luck.

Perhaps the most significant sightings of the holiday however, were the literally hundreds of Painted Lady butterflies, literally everywhere. Obviously very early to predict an “invasion year” across Europe, but it felt to me that it was likely to be, and indeed it did turn out to be.

My next trip to Europe in 2019 was also not a butterflying holiday, instead a long weekend trip to Nice and Monaco with my brother.

But this still allowed half a day walking up one of the hills on the eastern edge of Nice, looking over the city, where I hoped to see at least some butterflies. I was therefore very pleased to see, but not photograph, a Two Tailed Pascha (charaxes jasius). Another new species for me, without even really trying.

HI Paul- I'm especially glad you enjoyed your trip to Switzerland when you eventually got there! I know well the meadows where sudetica flies and have happy memories of that species, though the region is a bit outside my usual stamping-grounds.

Guy

Padfield wrote: ↑Thu Dec 26, 2019 5:15 pm HI Paul- I'm especially glad you enjoyed your trip to Switzerland when you eventually got there! I know well the meadows where sudetica flies and have happy memories of that species, though the region is a bit outside my usual stamping-grounds.

Guy

Thanks Guy
I can absolutely see why you chose to live there, prior to moving back to the UK. It really is such a stunning country. I'm planning a visit to a different part of Switzerland (using the Sion/Visp area as a base) in 2021.

My first proper butterflying holiday of 2019 was to Greece. All my previous holidays had been with Naturetrek, but I thought I’d try Greenwings’ Butterflies and Birds of North Greece. (https://greenwings.co/product/butterfli ... th-greece/)

Day 1 was 8th June, and involved an early morning flight from Gatwick to Thessaloniki, arriving at midday local time. Our two guides were Julian Dowding and Jon Dunn, both excellent guides. Including me, there were 12 guests.

It was actually a pretty short 90 minute drive to our hotel, the Hotel Villa Belles, on the slopes of Mount Belles, looking out over the expanse of Lake Kerkini. So after a spot of late lunch, we then set out for a short afternoon of butterfly spotting, visiting four local sites, all pretty close together, in or near the village of Porroia. The weather was hot and sunny.

Notable sightings included Little Tiger Blue, Cardinal, Southern Comma, Southern White Admiral, amongst others. The most impressive sights however were the thousands of Nettle Tree Butterfly, sometimes in clouds.

In total, the group saw 29 species, of which I saw 20. And of the 20, there were two new species for me, namely:
Nettle Tree Butterfly (libythea celtis)
Large Tortoiseshell (nymphalis polychloros)

Day 2 was primarily, though not exclusively, a birdwatching day, spent mostly at various sites around the edge of Lake Kerkini itself. The weather was excellent, hot, sunny, and very little wind.

Stop 1 was at Mandraki harbour, and it was great to see so many new bird species I had never seen before, including Squacco Heron, Purple Heron, Little Bittern, Pygmy Cormorant, White Pelican and Dalmatian Pelican.

We then headed uphill in the hills above Mandraki, by a small reservoir. I spotted a Black Stork circling, and a Woodchat Shrike, which were the main birding highlights. There were again clouds of Nettle Tree butterflies, all breeding frantically and laying eggs on the profusion of Nettle Trees. Here we stopped for lunch and had some excellent views of a Large Tortoiseshell, which landed on one of the other guests hats! After lunch, we moved to the other side of Lake Kerkini, where we visited a known spot for Iola’s Blue. We were successful, and I saw much better views of this large butterfly than I’d seen the year before. Our final stop for the day was further along Lake Kerkini, near a little chapel. It was arguably a stop too far, as the heat was quite sapping!

In total, the group saw 40 species, of which I saw 31. A very good day, but no new species for me.

Day 3 started cloudless and hot again. We first spent an hour on the road just outside the hotel, which was pretty productive, and I achieved my best ever photos of Lesser Fiery Copper, such a beautiful butterfly. There were also a good number of White Letter Hairstreak too, not surprising given the large number of Field Elms (ulmus minor) in the field boundaries. The rest of the morning was spent looking for birds in river channels near the dam that holds back Lake Kerkini. The highlight was a pair of Penduline Tits building a nest. By lunch it had clouded over, and was very muggy. Our first afternoon stop was at a quarry just to the south of the lake. The hope was to see a Mediterranean Skipper (gegenes nostradamus), which had been seen there before, but we were out of luck.

There was then a torrential downpour, which we missed as we were driving to our final stop for the day, Vironia quarry. Another excellent view of a Large Tortoiseshell and around twenty Lattice Brown mud pudding underneath a White Mulberry tree was the highlight. In total, the group saw 35 species, of which I saw 31. Sadly, again no new species for me today, but it had still been a great day of wildlife watching.

Day 4 was a day of two halves. The morning was spent on a boat on Lake Kerkini, getting close to the breeding birds on the lake. We were so lucky with the weather. Near cloudless skies, not a breath of wind, the lake was like a mirror at times. The close views of the birds was also a highlight of the holiday as whole. The afternoon was then spent at a secret site in search of a very butterfly, the Tessellated Skipper. It was a new location for both Julian and Jon (our guides) and we were not at all sure we were looking in the right place, given the habitat was near woodland scrub on a steep slope. After about an hour of searching, all of us spread out across the hillside, a shout went up, and all of us ran up or down hill as quickly as possible to where the shout had come from. A Tessellated Skipper! Definitely the butterfly highlight of the holiday for many of us. We then headed back to the hotel, again most of us needing a cold shower given the very high temperatures.

In total, the group saw 36 species, of which I saw 31. And of the 31, the Tessellated Skipper (muschampia tessellum) was a new species for me.

Day 5 was the first day of the holiday that was fully focused on butterflies. The first stop was near Promachonas, at a woodland glade which marks the Greece/Bulgaria border. The aim was to see Common Glider, but this was sadly not seen. But the site proved to be an excellent one for other reasons. A Masked Shrike was seen feeding its young in a nest. Plus we saw the Map butterfly, a species I had dipped out on seeing on various of my other butterfly holidays. Most interesting however was a still unidentified Clouded Yellow species. (See my next post as I’m looking still looking for identification help with this one).

The rest of the day was then mostly near Achladochori, in various meadows, all full of lots of different butterfly species. In total, the group saw 63 species, of which I saw 55. And of the 55, there were four or five new species for me, namely:
Eastern Festoon (zerynthia cerisy)
Anomolous Blue (polyommatus admetus)
Map (araschnia levana)
Eastern Knapweed Fritillary (melitaea ornata)
Balkan Grayling (hipparchia senthes)

The Clouded Yellow mystery

Jon (the guide) and I were the only ones to see it. From a distance it caught our eye as being very orange on its top side in flight. We did get a few photos of it, some better than others. Confusing things was another two Clouded Yellow species individuals, which the original had brief aerial fights with. Jon and I therefore took photos of three different individuals. Possibly the same species or possibly not? Having seen Greek Clouded Yellow (colias aurorina) the year before, my first identification guess was this species again, given the orange upperside in flight. However the underside photos taken by both Jon and I do not look anything like Greek Clouded Yellow (colias aurorina).

Back in the hotel that evening, based on my study of the identification guides, my next guess on visuals alone, was Balkan Clouded Yellow (colias caucasica). But our altitude was only 150 metres above sea level, whereas the guides suggest it flies above a minimum of 1200 metres.

I ruled out Danube Clouded Yellow (colias myrmidone) simply because it is such a rare butterfly, never seen in this area before. But the orange was orange enough, and this is a border area that is minimally explored by butterfly experts.

My best guess is that it was probably just an unusually orange “Common” Clouded Yellow (colias crocea). It just didn’t feel like it, as we saw many of these throughout the holiday, and this felt different.

Jon has promised to revisit this location again next year (when this Greenwings holiday is re-run), with the express aim of trying to see the species again, and trying to confirm its ID.

So what are your thoughts? Was it:

• Greek Clouded Yellow (colias aurorina); or
  Balkan Clouded Yellow (colias caucasica); or
  Clouded Yellow (colias crocea); or
  Danube Clouded Yellow (colias myrmidone)

All thoughts would be very much appreciated!

Day 6 was the longest drive, to an area called Lailias in the Vrontous mountains. The ski slope here was highly productive, and we spent three hours in total over the course of the day, in two spells. The woodland tracks around this main location were also great for butterflies, the highlight being two sightings of Camberwell Beauty (nymphalis antiopa). This butterfly holds a special place in my heart, having seen one in the Lake District in 1995, that I believe sparked my interest in butterflies. Our final stop was slightly lower down, in more open hillside. We had been seeing masses of Painted Ladies all week, but this afternoon saw a peak for the week. I had seen the UK invasion in Hampshire in May 2009, but what I saw in Greece this week, particularly on this day, was perhaps doubly spectacular. I wonder whether I’ll see such an incredible spectacle of Painted Lady migration again in my lifetime? I hope so. In total, the group saw 62 species, of which I saw 48. And of the 48, there were two new species for me, namely:
Northern Wall Brown (lasiommata petropolitana)
Eros Blue (polyommatus eros form eroides) – False Eros Blue not currently being counted as a separate species

Day 7 was also spent mostly in the Vrontous mountains again, albeit this time we were lower down and further west.

The morning was spent walking the length of two different tracks, one out in the open, and one in the shade. This allowed quite a large diversity of species.

After lunch, we headed to back closer to the hotel, and into the wooded mountain roads that make up the border between Greece and Bulgaria. There were different species here, including our first Clouded Apollo of the week, a mating pair.

By 3pm, the temperature in the hills reached an incredible 38 degrees centigrade, as a large thunderstorm approached. This was the hottest it reached all week, and some of the guests started to feel unwell, so we got back into the air conditioned minibuses and drove back to the hotel, arriving just in time to escape a 10 minute battering of marble sized hailstones!

In total, the group saw 60 species across the day, of which I saw 50. And of the 50, there was one new species for me, the Purple Shot Copper (lycaena alciphron).

Our flight back to the UK was at midday, so Day 8 allowed no time for butterflying sadly.

I took this photo from the hotel entrance, just as we left for the airport. The Greece of this holiday was very different from the coastal Greece most people see. So wild, and so beautiful, and so full of wildlife. As I write this in December 2019, I know I’ll definitely be back, albeit briefly, in summer 2020. In total, over the course of the week, the whole group saw 95 species, of which I saw 87. Of the 87, eleven were new species for me.

Of the 8 species I missed out on seeing, I have seen five either before or since, leaving three that I regret not seeing, specifically Yellow Banded Skipper (pyrgus sidae), Balkan Copper (lycaena candens) and Kreuper’s Small White (pieris krueperi). My aim is to see all three of these in 2020.

One of the notable features of this holiday is that I had spent a good chunk of time preparing for it, honing my ID skills in the weeks before, more so even than in 2018. This helped me to help the guides Julian and Jon in helping some of the other guests with identifying photos they had taken, taking some of the burden off them. Overall I was not disappointed with my first Greenwings holiday. Equally as good as all my previous Naturetrek holidays, and it wouldn’t be long until my second!

It was only six weeks after my trip to North Greece that I was on my second Greenwings butterfly holiday of the year. This time it was to the Montes Universales area of central Spain, between Valencia and Madrid.
https://greenwings.co/our-holidays/butt ... iversales/

The area is pretty much unknown to most UK people, but it is acquiring a strong reputation amongst European butterfly enthusiasts due to its long list of endemic and near endemic species.

So on the morning of 27th July 2019, I flew out to Valencia airport, and met up with the group and two guides. One of the guides was the excellent Jon Dunn, who had been my guide just six weeks earlier in Greece. The other guide was the equally excellent David Moore, who has written separately about this trip on here, and is one of the most regular contributors on this UK Butterflies Forum. Joining us were 10 other guests.

It was a two hour drive from Valencia to Albarracin where we were based for the week. The weather was mostly broken sunshine. We stopped just outside Albarracin at a place called Xavier’s Rambla, a mostly dried out stream, and spent about an hour familiarising ourselves with the local butterflies.

The heat of the afternoon meant that less butterflies were flying, and in total, the group saw 12 species, all of which I saw. Of the four, 12 were new species for me, namely:
Cinquefoil Skipper (pyrgus cirsii)
Azure Chalkhill Blue (lysandra caelestissima)
Oberthur’s Anomolous Blue (polyommatus fabressei)
Iberian Marbled White (melanargia lachesis)
Albarracin was as pretty as David described it when we arrived at the airport, even in the grey skies.