essex buzzard

[Goldie M]

Hi! essex, I really envy your visit to Temple Ewell I'm always there too soon and miss the Adonis, so good to know there's still lots about now. great shots of all the Butterflies, it really is one of the best spots to them.Goldie

[millerd]

Good to see everything continuing nicely down in the southeast corner of the country, Mark. They all look reasonably fresh too!

Dave

[Wurzel]

Those Silver-spots are looking mighty fine for the stage of the season Essex I hope the less observant one got away

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Maximus]

I enjoyed your recent report from Montes Universales and your mouth watering photos of some stunning species. Looks like a fabulous place to visit.

[ernie f]

My favourite recent pic of yours is the "female Adonis with a view". Brilliant.

[essexbuzzard]

Yes, the Montes Universales is a truly great place for a butterfly holiday, as David M will testify. I would recommend it to anyone.

Hi Earnie, I like that one,too. When taking photos like this, I take inspiration from Guy Padfields pages.

[essexbuzzard]

MALAGA

Just returned from a few days in Malaga. The main reason for going was to enjoy one last blast of hot, sunny weather, sample some culture-the Picasso museum for example- and enjoy warm evenings in the beachside cafes are restaurants. Here the sun in late September is still stronger than it is high summer in Britain, so it was necessary to avoid it during early afternoons. However, we kept an eye open for butterflies, and having been here at the same time a few years ago, we had some idea where to look. Clearly, there would not be a great diversity of species in autumn on the Costa del Sol, but those seen would be very different to anything seen in Britain.

African Grass Blue.

This was a butterfly I wanted to seek out, as we only saw one during our visit in 2015. But I needn’t have worried, as they were common in several places in Malaga, and were also found at Fuengirola. Some were worn, but several good ones were found, showing best for pictures on Monday when it was cloudy,though still 80 Degrees F.

The caterpillar foodplants are various medics and trefoil, so I was surprised to find this female laying eggs on a fat-hen type plant, growing in damp, irrigated areas.

[Wurzel]

Great shots Essex An interesting looking species - a little like a duller female Holly Blue from the topside, I wonder how closely related it is?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

You sure get about, Mark.

Good choice at this time of year. As you say, we won't be seeing those balmy temperatures here for quite some while.

Nice images of the African Grass Blue. There are quite a few species down there that are on my radar. It's an interesting part of Europe for sure.

[essexbuzzard]

Probably closer to Small Blue, judging by size...

Thanks David. One species you might expect, but doesn’t really occur in the Malaga area, is Two Tail Pasha. Still never seen one.

Geranium Bronze. We saw the odd one in several places, often well away from any Geraniums, suggesting they are wide ranging. This helps to explain why they have been such successful colonisers, in areas geraniums survive the winter. But, at the marina in Malaga, there were some ivy-leaf geraniums, and this was the only place we saw several Bronzes together. Here is the habitat.

Here is an adult from Malaga Hill Fort, on our first full day.

One from Fuengirola.

And one at the geraniums at Malaga marina.

[David M]

Thanks David. One species you might expect, but doesn’t really occur in the Malaga area, is Two Tail Pasha. Still never seen one.

Me neither, Mark. It continues to elude me which I suppose is largely because most continental areas I visit are at altitude. One day....

Not surprising there were several Geranium Bronze in that area. I guess the climate is pretty similar to that of coastal South Africa.

[Padfield]

Good to see the shots from Málaga, Buzzard. I did in fact see two-tailed pasha there last summer, in the hills above the town (http://www.guypadfield.com/images2017/j ... l2017a.jpg). I don’t know where the strawberry trees are - I always look for them in the hope of avis.

Guy

[Wurzel]

Great open wing shot Essex The last Geranium Bronze I saw was on Clover

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[essexbuzzard]

Thanks David and Guy for your response. It seems Two Tailed Pasha is more common in the western Costa Del Sol, past Gibraltar, and into Portugal. It’s numbers appear lower towards Malaga, perhaps due to lack of strawberry trees. As Guy knows, it is a hill topping species, so perhaps that’s where I need to look next time!

Lang’s Short-tailed Blue.

As previously, there is a large colony of Lang’s up by the Hill fort above Malaga, and this extends into the gardens below. Although numbers were high, they were buggers to photograph! Constantly chasing each other about, every on the cloudy, though still hot, day, they rarely landed even for a few seconds. The distinctively average shots below took some time to achieve!

[Wurzel]

They're still great pretty fine images Essex, especially the open wing shots as I found them really hard to get

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

I know exactly what you mean with those Lang's STBs, Mark. Unless you can find an ovi-positing female, they are frustrating little critters, and their small size means you need that bit more time to achieve a clear image.

[essexbuzzard]

Long Tailed Blue.

This is another Hill-topping species. We didn’t visit any hill tops this time, and the only LTB we saw was this attractive and fresh individual, photographed at Fuengirola.

[David M]

Surprised you only saw one of this species, Mark. I'd have thought September in southern Spain would have been the ideal time/place to see dozens. Maybe they're having a bad year?

[essexbuzzard]

A little surprising, perhaps. Perhaps LTB numbers build up later in autumn, at they erupt out of the rest of Europe.

Saving the best ‘till last!

When we last came to Malaga in 2015, we found, by complete surprise, the Desert Orangetip near the hill fort. So coming back this time, I was really hoping we would find it again. But, despite looking for it all week, including where we last saw it, there were no sightings. So it seemed we would be leaving empty handed. However, on our last morning, there was time for one last try, up by the fort. The views from the top are splendid , and makes you realise what a big city Malaga is.

Also at the top we saw this little fellow, burying cones from the Aleppo pines.

We spent a hour searching the site, and had a couple of false alarms-Small Whites, but no Orangetips. But it had been worth the try, and the views made it worthwhile. We headed back down, through the gardens. Suddenly, something small and white fluttered by. In a split second, a hint of Orange was detected. Desert Orange Tip! It land briefly a couple of times, allowing a few quick shots, then it was gone.

Finally, on the beach, some irrigated palm trees had abundant clover underneath and here, Clouded Yellows were laying eggs. Here they should survive, to provide next years migrants.

[Maximus]

A great find in the Desert Orangetip, Mark, and on your last morning too. What a stunning butterfly

Mike