essex buzzard

[David M]

Nice start, Buzzard. If you take a walk near water at relatively low altitudes where there is tree cover keep an eye out for Map Butterflies and Lesser Purple Emperors!

[essexbuzzard]

Day 3 Wednesday.

It was misty and foggy as we drove up to the Barrage des Gloriettes. A vast array of flowers,including alpenrose and turks cap lily,were covered in dewdrops,as were several Black-veined Whites. Eventually,the sun started to penetrate and large numbers of griffon vultures took off,powering upwards to try to catch thermals. These are really huge birds,with a wingspan of 8 feet.

Butterflies were starting to be seen,and in the cool air,many were settled,allowing closer views than yesterday. Ringlets seemed to be Yellow Spotted Ringlet-without yellow spots! Also a few Mountain and Piedemont. Several grizzled skippers were seen, including Large,Red-underwing and Olive Skipper. Turquoise Blues showed well,and Silver-studded,Large and Long-tailed Blues were found.

By afternoon,butterflies were more active,with plenty of Apollos flying through,and a few Clouded Yellows. Fritillaries included Heath,Lesser Marbled,Small Pearl-border and Spotted. On the bird front,a nice ring ouzel showed several times and chough and alpine chough were present. Back at the village,nesting black redstart were again seen.

[essexbuzzard]

Pyrenees day 4.Today dawned damp again. A stop at Pont de Nepolian produced the normal black redstarts and crag martins but the,overhead,3 fabulous black woodpeckers. As the cloud was lifting,we headed higher,seeing short-toed eagle and Egyptian vulture. But as we got higher,we went back into the fog and at the top of a hill,it was clear the damp was going nowhere soon. However,i did find some Piedemont ringlets fooding on Pyrenean thistle,an endemic species. And,while enjoying the flowers and grass cowered in water droplets,a male whinchat was seen,my first for many years.

So we headed down to the valley floor for lunch,where it was brighter and warmer. We always intentended to do some lowland butterflying,to get the best diversity of species. Our efforts were well rewarded,with Clouded Yellows including a helice female,Common Blues,Small Heath,Painted Lady anf Heath Fritillaries all seen. Then,while having lunch,a small buttrfly flew past and landed on a riverside Buddleija-a Map. Unfortunately,it flew off before i got a picture A small meadow was yellow with trefoil,and both Short tail and Provence Short-tailed blue were present.. We spent early afternoon here,enjoying the surroundings including beautiful demoiseles,hummingbird hawkmoth and a cattle egret.

We finished the day with a walk down a country lane,with verges of flowers. Here were several British species- Ringlets, Meadow Browns, Dark Green and Silver-washed Frits and a Purple Emperor. Several Long-tailed Blues were on the flowers, and the day ended with a couple of buzzards seen as we were leaving.

[Pauline]

Love the Long-tailed Blue shots Mark - very reminiscent of a couple of memorable days here in the UK

[essexbuzzard]

For me too,Pauline. They were fairly common in the Pyrenees,so they are not far away!

More Pyrenees shortly but i've got to say,cycling home this evening,i've just seen my first local Purple Emperor,just half a mile from home! It landed on an ash,about 10 feet above me where i had to do a double take! Then it soared up,over the canopy and was gone. Never seen one here,or any where in Essex,before. I need to pinch myself,i'm dreaming!!!

Pyrenees day 5- Gavarnie.
Today we spent a hot day in perhaps the most impressive of the cirques-Gavarnie.A pair of red-back shrikes showed well. Heading down the track,it was still cool,and butterflies were settling. First up was Black-veined White,followed by Dark Green and False Heath Frits, Marbled Whites and a White Admiral. Further down,a thistle patch was attracting many butterflies,especially fritillaries. Heath, False Heath, Lesser Marbled and several lovely Silver-washed Fritillaries were active here,as well as Black-veined Whites. In the grass,Silver-studded and Turquoise Blues and Piedemont Ringlets were present. Apollos flew through,and a Wall was on the track. With all the action,it took quite a while to reach the refreshment stop,where cool beers,drinks and ice-cream were avalable. Here we ate our bagettes,then some of us opted to go right into the Cirque,to the foot of the very impressive waterfall,leaving the others to relax in the shade and seach the nearby grassland for butterflies.

I'm glad i went for the longer walk, for the Cirque had lots of alpine flowers,many found nowhere else. Among them,flew black mountain ringlets. Most shot past,but one stopped for a photo,the white veins later identified it as a Gavarnie Ringlet. Found nowhere else,it was a great find. Back near the refreshment stop,a male Brimstone was chasing a female,and a Bright-eyed Ringlet was feeding. Taking the high path back,a high mountain clearing had a splendid show of Pyrenean irises,and a Small Blue was spotted. Firecrest and crested tit were heard before we made our way down,and more Apollos and a Swallowtail caped off a super day.

[Willrow]

My goodness Mark, I think you must be on a season long butterflying sabbatical...job to know where you will turn up next Lovely report by the way.

BW's

Bill

"When in doubt - venture out"

[essexbuzzard]

Ha ha,thanks Bill. As you know,i like to get about!

Pyrenees day 6, Ossoue Valley.

Everyone wanted to see Apollo's up close,and some wanted photo's as well. We got our chance today. For the lower Ossoue Vallet was foggy,and a grassy bank soon produced a roosting adult,then another was found,wings open,nearby.

Heading higher,we cleared the mist and broke into sun. Here,ring ouzel and rock thrush were seen and a mountain slope had lots of Silver-studded Blues warming up. At the top,near a lake,the now familiar griffon vultures were present,and also a bearded vulture. A pebble stream produced our first Eshers Blue of the trip. This was good,but even better soon followed. For while photo's were taken i just happened to look behind me,and there was-a Gavarnie Blue! Quickly everyone crowded round to get a glimpse-even a picture-of this great rarity. Even the tour leaders were delighted,for none have been seen for several years!

Although nothing could beat that,we walked allong the lake seeing Marbled Skippers and many blues mud-puddling. These included Common,Chalkhill,Eshers,Silver-studded,Smal and Turquoise Blues. After enjoying these,it was time for another delicious picnic lunch. Pic's to follow!

[essexbuzzard]

Pictures as promised,

[essexbuzzard]

After lunch,we headed back down the valley. A stream side produced many kinds of butterflies-too many to mention them all, but a nice colony of Scarce Coppers were enjoyed and,as a little patchy cloud came over,a few settled for the photographers. Purple Edge and Purple Shot Coppers were seen by other members of our group. Our first De Prunner's Ringlets of the week were found,and some of the Yellow Spot Ringets here actually had yellow spots!

Olive and Oburther's Grizzled Skippers were seen,as were more Apollo's. Fritillaries included Heath,False Heath,Lesser Marbled and many Dark Greens,including the 'freak' DGF i posted on a seperate post. Too soon,it was time to head back, down the valley and back to the hotel,another super day had come to an end.

[essexbuzzard]

Everyone say ahhhh. Just look at these chubby Marmots. They are remarkably fat for an animal which eats grass and things. Marmots were present in many places we visited,their thin,bird-like calls often heard. But they were plentiful in the Ossoue valley,although Marmots seem to retire to their burrows after lunch so we only saw them in the morning. These hansome animals were a pleasure to see.

[Neil Freeman]

Ahhhh... cute looking critters

Just catching up on your reports from the Pyrenees Mark. Great descriptions and photos from what looks like a beautiful part of the world.

Cheers,

Neil

[essexbuzzard]

Thanks Neil. It IS a fantastic place!

Pyrenees day 7. Today was our last full day. It started with a drive up to the Col des Tentes,from where we walked to the Port de Boucharo,high up on the Spanish border. While the others walked on,i checked the grassy slopes for mountain ringlets. On finding one,i chased it down untill it landed,wings open-a Gavarnie Ringlet. Another flickered blue-grey in flight- a Pyrenees Bressy Ringlet. On the Spanish border,flowers included ashy cranesbill and tiny snow gentians. Here,a Mountain Clouded Yellow was seen. Soon,it was time to head back down,for lunch.

The afternoon was spent in the lower Ossoue valley. A stream side was full of mud-puddling butterflies. Essex,Oburthers and Marbled Skippers,several kinds of blue,Wood White, False Heath and Dark Green Fritillaries were all present. We spent some time here,watching with wonder,then checked the streamside fields. Apollos,Swallowtail,Clouded Yellow,Purple-edge Copper,Brown Argus,Yellow Spotted Ringlets, Lesser Marbled Fritillaries and SafflowerSkipper were all clocked up. For the birders,a nice family of rock buntings were enjoyed. By 5 pm,it was time to head back to Gedre for the last time.

[essexbuzzard]

On arriving at the hotel,most of the group wanted to start their packing for tomorrow. But i can do mine in about 10 mins flat,so we took a short walk in the village for a last look. On a verge,this Black Veined White was showing well,oblivious to the nearby traffic...

[David M]

Some lovely images there, Buzzard. It's a part of the world that I simply must revisit fairly soon.

[Wurzel]

A mouthwatering set of reports Essex that sent my envy-meter through the roof and in fact the needle spun off

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[essexbuzzard]

Yes Dave,it was great to go back to an area i visited in 2004. But i am very,very impressed with your trip to the Alps. And great pictures,too!

Hi Wurzel, the Pyrenees,as well as the French Alps, will blow the mind of anyone more used to a mere sprinkling of British species!

Pyrenees day 8. Homebound today . We thanked the hotel staff for their great hospitality and cuisine,then i took one last walk around Gedre,seeing black redstart,honey buzzard and short toed eagle. Then we headed toward Lourdes. But there was still time to take in a couple of mountain passes along the route used by Chris Froome and the Tour de France two days later. At the top of the first pass, Mountain and Piedemont Ringlets and Olive Skippers were seen,and also a colony of Shepherds Fritillarie,the only ones of the trip. The next slightly lower pass had lots of Dark Green Frits feeding on musk thistles,and the odd High Brown Frit,again,the only ones of the trip. We had lunch here,enjoying the scenery one last time and seeing Red Admiral,Apollo and our last griffon vultures soaring nearby. Now it was time to head down to the foothills,and one last stop. Here, British species were seen,including Clouded Yellow, Common Blue, Marbled White and Meadow Brown,and our last new species just as we were leaving-a Dingy Skipper. Buzzards and lots of kites and black kites were seen here,and one kite had a tussle with a black kite. Just before the airport was a field of sunflowers, as if waving us goodbye. Or is that au revoir!

[essexbuzzard]

So to end,this was a truely great holiday. Huge thanks go to our tour leaders,Mark and Jason,who did a brilliant job throughout the week. Highlights were too many to mention,but include the lovely group of people i shared the week with, the Gavarnie Blue and Ringlet, the griffon vultures and those lovely marmots,also the great scenery and weather!

Strane sighting of the week must be the Dark Green Frit in the Ossoue Valley. I've never seen anything like it. For those who missed it elsewhere,here is the picture again...

[essexbuzzard]

THURSDAY 23 JULY

Today we spent the morning at Hatfield Forest, Essex. I don't come here for rarities,although Purple Emperors have been seen in recent years and Silver-washed Fritillaries are common. But it is more the sheer number of common butterflies- skippers,whites,Ringlets and Gatekeepers- that i come for,plus it is very close to home! We enjoyed these and other delights,plus lunch at the lake side cafe,then off to Devils Dyke for afternoon.

It was rather cloudy and chilly when we arrived at Devils Dyke near Newmarket,but this erhaps played into our hands. For this is home to a colony of thousands of Chalkhill Blues,and because of the chill,they were quite easy to see and photograph. They made a splendid sight. Other species seen here included Essex Skipper,Dark Green Fritillary and Marbled Whites.

Photo's shortly...

[essexbuzzard]

Pictures as promised...

[Pauline]

Great account of your recent trip Mark and your lovely photos of the scenery and wildlife complement it perfectly.