Greenwings: Pyrenées Orientales, 26 May - 1 June 2022

[David M]

At last! A spring trip to the delightful Eastern French Pyrenees after a Covid-induced hiatus of 3 years.

This one was excellent for a variety of reasons, not least the 88 butterfly species recorded by the group over the course of the tour, which included a few surprises.

The weather was generally very favourable, with temperatures between 22 and 28c in the afternoons and mainly sunny skies.

The trip takes in a smorgasbord of different types of habitat, from Mediterranean maquis and garrigue to high altitude alpine, and of course there are the mountain roads which allow you to range from under 1,000m to over 1,600m, with the butterflies changing as you ascend.

Here are some images of the landscapes and habitats found here:

[Stevieb]

I feel a lot of coming on

[David M]

There might be one or two to tickle your fancy, Steve.

[John Vergo]

Looking foreward to see the rest David

[selbypaul]

And so the report of the trip begins....

Of course, I know what happened and was seen on the trip, having had the privilege of being a part of this trip.

I'm sure those reading this thread will enjoy reading it, and I'd encourage people to consider booking onto next years trip if they've never been before.

[David M]

Looking foreward to see the rest David

Thanks, John. Plenty to get through...

[David M]

...Of course, I know what happened and was seen on the trip, having had the privilege of being a part of this trip...

As ever, Paul, it was great to have you along. We'd have had a couple of species fewer on the list but for you.

[David M]

The 'headline' species on this trip is Violet Copper, and once again we picked the best weather day to go and visit the site, which is high up in the mountains not far from Andorra.

Pleased to say there were several around, although the fields they inhabit are damp and one needs to be careful walking through the tussocks.

We found a male within 2 minutes:

The iridescent violet markings on the female are sublime:

[David M]

Whilst Violet Copper is the routine headliner, for the first time on this tour an iconic species was seen that generated even more excitement.

The late morning spent at the 500m Força Real was enjoyable for the amount of hilltopping species found there, including Dusky Heath, Wall Brown, Swallowtail, Cardinal, a very early Great Banded Grayling and Iberian Scarce Swallowtail.

The bulk of the group were watching things unfold in this spot:

Suddenly, in amongst this buzzing maelstrom of beating wings came not one, but three stunning 'exocets' in the form of Two Tailed Pashas:

There were strawberry trees in this spot, and the Pashas kept returning to favoured perches nearby:

I'd been up here at least half a dozen times without ever seeing them, so this was a special moment for me as well as everybody else.

[Charles Nicol]

lovely pics of the Pasha !
am looking forward to the next thrilling instalment

[Stevieb]

Suddenly, in amongst this buzzing maelstrom of beating wings came not one, but three stunning 'exocets' in the form of Two Tailed Pashas:

There were strawberry trees in this spot, and the Pashas kept returning to favoured perches nearby:

I'd been up here at least half a dozen times without ever seeing them, so this was a special moment for me as well as everybody else.

There you go, my first

[David M]

Thanks Charles/Steve,

Nothing like a Pasha to get people gasping.

Only the second time I've seen them, so quite a moment for me too.

[Charles Nicol]

Thanks Charles/Steve,

Nothing like a Pasha to get people gasping.

Only the second time I've seen them, so quite a moment for me too.

Pashas are very entertaining

[David M]

They sure are, Charles, although these ones weren't as tame as the beauty in your image.

[David M]

Many of the sites on this trip see the occasional Apollo turn up, but there is one stretch of mountain road, with steep banks either side, which draws good numbers of them in.

We visited twice and the second time was in the heat of the afternoon which saw several of them nectaring on the thistles at the roadside.

This one was briefly sharing a flower with a Clouded Apollo:

There were also occasions where two Apollos would battle for occupation of the same thistle:

I saw over two dozen in total, which is a decent return at this time of year.

[kevling]

David,

A fantastic start to your Pyrenees diary, especially the Two Tailed Pashas. I will never forget my first encounter with this species. A true heavyweight species.

Kind Regards
Kev Ling

[David M]

Thanks, Kev. Yes, TTP is 'heavyweight' in every sense!

[David M]

The biggest surprise (after the TTPs) was finding Provence Chalkhill Blues at two separate locations.

I think this second individual seen nearer the coast is indisputedly hispana:

However, the earlier one seen was at 1,500m which seems too high for this species. The ground colour is also brighter and the hindwing spots smaller and less suffused with black. There were plenty of Adonis Blues flying at this site and I wonder whether this is a hybrid between bellargus and coridon:

[David M]

After a 3 year absence, it was great to catch up again with Provence Orange Tips in France. I saw a handful in Spain but usually in just ones and twos. Here though, they appeared in much greater numbers and I saw 40-60 during the week. Such a great delight to see their lemon yellow flying by:

[PhilM]

Those Pashas are beautiful David. Thanks for posting the various habitats on the trip too, something I always like to see.

Cheers,
Phil.