Eastern France – A tale of triumph over adversity
Eastern France – A tale of triumph over adversity
Allow me to set the scene for my latest butterfly odyssey in Eastern France, from which I have just returned. The plan for this trip was that I would fly out to Geneva on Wednesday 1st June in the company of lifelong friend and fellow enthusiast Bob Lambert and cross over into France for a two-base holiday. We had four nights booked in an apartment in Malbuisson, from where we aimed to visit a number of wetland sites in the departments of Doubs and the Jura. Here, our main targets would be Violet Copper, Scarce Heath and Woodland Ringlet. We then planned to move further west to the Dijon area and search for Scarce, Nickerl’s and Bog Fritillaries, Woodland Brown and Reverdin’s Blue. Our target species included some of France’s rarest and most localised butterflies, many of which would be life-ticks for Bob if we managed to find them, and although I wouldn’t be in with a chance of any lifers myself, I was very keen to reconnect with some rather special species that I had only seen once before.
All of the complications of travel during the pandemic were receding: no more requirements for PCR tests, passenger location forms etc. and it was even permissible to fly on an aeroplane without wearing a facemask! But in the days prior to our departure, the media was suddenly full of tales of chaos at airport check in and security desks, staff shortages, and the last-minute cancellation of many flights by several big operators, so it was with a degree of trepidation that we pulled up to Manchester airport on the morning of the 1st June.
Bag-drop and security were negotiated with relative ease and we were soon in the departure lounge. The departure screen showed our flight as being on time, and instructed us to “relax”, with gate information promised at 10:20hrs. A little later, this had been delayed to 11:30hrs, but shortly after this, the word that no air traveller wishes to see appeared in red on the screen – CANCELLED. The nightmare began. What do we do? There were no Easyjet staff anywhere to be seen; the help desk was unmanned, and frantic calls to the Easyjet phoneline went straight to answerphone. Eventually, I got a message through on my Easyjet app, and was offered the option of requesting a refund, or rebooking for an alternative flight, the next one available being late afternoon the following day, so we duly rebooked this, hoping to salvage most of the trip and just lose one full day. We were whisked back through security in the wrong direction, taken to baggage reclaim to pick up our bags, and then got a taxi to a hotel in central Manchester, to two rooms provided and paid for by the airline.
I have travelled widely during my European butterfly career, but for any fellow Lepidopterist contemplating a trip to Manchester city centre, I must advise that the habitat quality is exceedingly poor – we didn’t see a single butterfly all day! A couple of pints of Guinness and some nice but expensive red wine took the edge off our disappointment, but there was another problem to overcome. We needed to re-arrange the hire car, but holidayautos do not permit alterations to pre-booked cars. The only option is to cancel the existing booking (made a year ago at a competitive price), and rebook a new car (on a much higher short-notice tariff). We tried to do this, only to be told that there were no cars available at Geneva airport for our new arrival time and date. With no hire car, the whole trip was dead in the water. After some frantic trawling through alternative companies, we finally managed to book a Nissan Qashqai through Sixt, at more than three times the cost of our now-cancelled previous vehicle. Stress!
Happily, our rescheduled flight late on Thursday departed on time and we arrived in Geneva, where we had to book an additional hotel for the night, prior to picking up the Nissan first thing Friday morning.
Friday 3rd June
By mid-morning on Friday, this was the vista before us:
Violet copper habitat
We had arrived! The weather was damp and overcast to begin with, and not particularly warm, with occasional light rain, but as soon as the smallest bright spells broke, our first major target species, the Violet Copper, appeared on the wing. The weather in Doubs is notoriously poor – the locals have a saying that translates approximately as “there are two seasons here, the ongoing winter, then the following winter”, but Violet Coppers have bred here successfully for many thousands of years and are well-adapted to making the most of small windows of opportunity.
This year the butterfly season was running early here, due to some uncharacteristically warm weather in the weeks before we arrived, and many of the male coppers were already looking tatty and past their best. We visited a couple more sites for this beauty in the afternoon. Although rare and localised across most of Europe, in places where good colonies do occur the species can be on the wing in excellent numbers, and there are plenty of colonies in Doubs where Violet Coppers fly in their hundreds. Bob was unsurprisingly elated to finally see and photograph a species that he had coveted since childhood!
L.helle
We arrived at our apartment in Malbuisson and settled in to celebrate with a bottle of red, sat on the balcony overlooking a lovely lake, wrote up our butterfly records and reviewed our photographs from earlier on. We had bought pizzas from the supermarket en route for a quick and easy dinner, but they were of little use as it turned out that there was no oven in the kitchen area. There was however a hob, and fortunately we had also bought some sausages, but we couldn’t get the hob to work at all. Lights came on, buttons were duly pressed, but no heat was forthcoming. It seems that this holiday was intent on challenging us! Finally, after a tricky French telephone conversation with the owner of the apartment, we worked out that the hob only gets hot if a pan is actually placed onto it. Simple. Food was now available, and followed by an early night.
Saturday 4th June
Today we travelled to another wetland site in search of a species that is even rarer in France – the Scarce Heath. These too had been on the wing for a few weeks already, and like the Violet Copper, the males were mostly worn. I mentioned to Bob that I would really like to get a photo of a mating pair. As if by magic, a fresh female took to the wing in front of us, and out of nowhere a male appeared. A frantic, fast and furious courtship ensued and within fifteen seconds they were paired up in front of us! They moved around a couple of times until they got comfortable - twenty minutes later they separated; the male disappeared and the female rested up. All told, we only saw a couple of dozen of Scarce Heaths; they were less numerous than during my visit a few years back. The sexual dimorphism in this species is very noticeable even when the butterflies are in flight - the males are extremely dark when on the wing, whereas the females are much lighter and more orange, almost half way between a male Scarce and a Pearly Heath in appearance in flight.
C.hero
Bob photographing a male Scarce Heath
Purple-edged Coppers were just emerging here and most were immaculately fresh.
L.hippothoe
Other species on the wing included Dingy, Grizzled and Chequered Skippers, False Heath, Marsh and Lesser Marbled Fritillaries, Black-veined White, Pearly and Chestnut Heaths, Mazarine Blue, and a single Violet Copper, as well as huge numbers of freshly emerged Small Tortoiseshells. We saw just a single example of the Woodland Ringlet, rather ragged and worn. It seems that this localised species was also past its best.
B.ino
M.diamina
C.palaemon
Later in the afternoon we visited a couple of other Violet Copper sites. At one of these I found a particularly gorgeous example. This is a highly variable species in terms of markings, but I think this must qualify as being mildly aberrant, what with those copper streaks on the forewing. These are three of my favourite photographs from the whole trip.
L.helle
Duke of Burgundy and Chequered Skipper both put in appearances at these two wetlands, along with Silver-studded Blues by the roadside, and the ubiquitous Black-veined White.
We retired to our 2nd night in the apartment at Malbuisson, which of course should have been our 4th night had our original schedule not been disrupted, but nevertheless we had managed to successfully find and photograph all three of our key target species in the wonderful wetlands of this very special area in just two days, along with some other very desirable species. Tomorrow was transit day, as we headed west towards Dijon, where we would face a few more challenges, and make a few unexpected finds. Part 2 to follow…
All of the complications of travel during the pandemic were receding: no more requirements for PCR tests, passenger location forms etc. and it was even permissible to fly on an aeroplane without wearing a facemask! But in the days prior to our departure, the media was suddenly full of tales of chaos at airport check in and security desks, staff shortages, and the last-minute cancellation of many flights by several big operators, so it was with a degree of trepidation that we pulled up to Manchester airport on the morning of the 1st June.
Bag-drop and security were negotiated with relative ease and we were soon in the departure lounge. The departure screen showed our flight as being on time, and instructed us to “relax”, with gate information promised at 10:20hrs. A little later, this had been delayed to 11:30hrs, but shortly after this, the word that no air traveller wishes to see appeared in red on the screen – CANCELLED. The nightmare began. What do we do? There were no Easyjet staff anywhere to be seen; the help desk was unmanned, and frantic calls to the Easyjet phoneline went straight to answerphone. Eventually, I got a message through on my Easyjet app, and was offered the option of requesting a refund, or rebooking for an alternative flight, the next one available being late afternoon the following day, so we duly rebooked this, hoping to salvage most of the trip and just lose one full day. We were whisked back through security in the wrong direction, taken to baggage reclaim to pick up our bags, and then got a taxi to a hotel in central Manchester, to two rooms provided and paid for by the airline.
I have travelled widely during my European butterfly career, but for any fellow Lepidopterist contemplating a trip to Manchester city centre, I must advise that the habitat quality is exceedingly poor – we didn’t see a single butterfly all day! A couple of pints of Guinness and some nice but expensive red wine took the edge off our disappointment, but there was another problem to overcome. We needed to re-arrange the hire car, but holidayautos do not permit alterations to pre-booked cars. The only option is to cancel the existing booking (made a year ago at a competitive price), and rebook a new car (on a much higher short-notice tariff). We tried to do this, only to be told that there were no cars available at Geneva airport for our new arrival time and date. With no hire car, the whole trip was dead in the water. After some frantic trawling through alternative companies, we finally managed to book a Nissan Qashqai through Sixt, at more than three times the cost of our now-cancelled previous vehicle. Stress!
Happily, our rescheduled flight late on Thursday departed on time and we arrived in Geneva, where we had to book an additional hotel for the night, prior to picking up the Nissan first thing Friday morning.
Friday 3rd June
By mid-morning on Friday, this was the vista before us:
Violet copper habitat
We had arrived! The weather was damp and overcast to begin with, and not particularly warm, with occasional light rain, but as soon as the smallest bright spells broke, our first major target species, the Violet Copper, appeared on the wing. The weather in Doubs is notoriously poor – the locals have a saying that translates approximately as “there are two seasons here, the ongoing winter, then the following winter”, but Violet Coppers have bred here successfully for many thousands of years and are well-adapted to making the most of small windows of opportunity.
This year the butterfly season was running early here, due to some uncharacteristically warm weather in the weeks before we arrived, and many of the male coppers were already looking tatty and past their best. We visited a couple more sites for this beauty in the afternoon. Although rare and localised across most of Europe, in places where good colonies do occur the species can be on the wing in excellent numbers, and there are plenty of colonies in Doubs where Violet Coppers fly in their hundreds. Bob was unsurprisingly elated to finally see and photograph a species that he had coveted since childhood!
L.helle
We arrived at our apartment in Malbuisson and settled in to celebrate with a bottle of red, sat on the balcony overlooking a lovely lake, wrote up our butterfly records and reviewed our photographs from earlier on. We had bought pizzas from the supermarket en route for a quick and easy dinner, but they were of little use as it turned out that there was no oven in the kitchen area. There was however a hob, and fortunately we had also bought some sausages, but we couldn’t get the hob to work at all. Lights came on, buttons were duly pressed, but no heat was forthcoming. It seems that this holiday was intent on challenging us! Finally, after a tricky French telephone conversation with the owner of the apartment, we worked out that the hob only gets hot if a pan is actually placed onto it. Simple. Food was now available, and followed by an early night.
Saturday 4th June
Today we travelled to another wetland site in search of a species that is even rarer in France – the Scarce Heath. These too had been on the wing for a few weeks already, and like the Violet Copper, the males were mostly worn. I mentioned to Bob that I would really like to get a photo of a mating pair. As if by magic, a fresh female took to the wing in front of us, and out of nowhere a male appeared. A frantic, fast and furious courtship ensued and within fifteen seconds they were paired up in front of us! They moved around a couple of times until they got comfortable - twenty minutes later they separated; the male disappeared and the female rested up. All told, we only saw a couple of dozen of Scarce Heaths; they were less numerous than during my visit a few years back. The sexual dimorphism in this species is very noticeable even when the butterflies are in flight - the males are extremely dark when on the wing, whereas the females are much lighter and more orange, almost half way between a male Scarce and a Pearly Heath in appearance in flight.
C.hero
Bob photographing a male Scarce Heath
Purple-edged Coppers were just emerging here and most were immaculately fresh.
L.hippothoe
Other species on the wing included Dingy, Grizzled and Chequered Skippers, False Heath, Marsh and Lesser Marbled Fritillaries, Black-veined White, Pearly and Chestnut Heaths, Mazarine Blue, and a single Violet Copper, as well as huge numbers of freshly emerged Small Tortoiseshells. We saw just a single example of the Woodland Ringlet, rather ragged and worn. It seems that this localised species was also past its best.
B.ino
M.diamina
C.palaemon
Later in the afternoon we visited a couple of other Violet Copper sites. At one of these I found a particularly gorgeous example. This is a highly variable species in terms of markings, but I think this must qualify as being mildly aberrant, what with those copper streaks on the forewing. These are three of my favourite photographs from the whole trip.
L.helle
Duke of Burgundy and Chequered Skipper both put in appearances at these two wetlands, along with Silver-studded Blues by the roadside, and the ubiquitous Black-veined White.
We retired to our 2nd night in the apartment at Malbuisson, which of course should have been our 4th night had our original schedule not been disrupted, but nevertheless we had managed to successfully find and photograph all three of our key target species in the wonderful wetlands of this very special area in just two days, along with some other very desirable species. Tomorrow was transit day, as we headed west towards Dijon, where we would face a few more challenges, and make a few unexpected finds. Part 2 to follow…
Re: Eastern France – A tale of triumph over adversity
Part 2
Sunday 5th June
On Sunday morning we drove west, through a fairly agricultural landscape, on our way from the wetlands to Dijon and into a very different landscape. The area to the north, west and south-west of Dijon is dominated by mile after mile of vineyards, where the pinot-noir grape is the cash crop that keeps much of the local economy ticking over, and also produces many famous brands of Burgundy red wine. But there is also plenty of woodland here, and some interesting limestone hillsides, both habitats that are rich in butterflies. The Cote-d’Or department is, in particular, renowned as pretty much the last French stronghold for the aptly named and rapidly declining Scarce Fritillary, and it was this species that we first sought out. Again, as with most butterflies, it appears that the Scarce Fritillary was also having an early season. We visited a reliable site and only found a single male, not by any means pristine, but worthy nevertheless of a photograph.
Habitat of Scarce Fritillary
E.maturna
At the same site were numerous Heath Fritillaries, along with Marsh, Marbled and Dark Green Fritillaries, Common, Adonis and Mazarine Blues, Black-veined White and many other common species. Pearly Heath was particularly abundant here.
M.athalia
B.daphne
A.crataegi
In the afternoon we drove up to a limestone hillside where I had found a strong colony of Black Hairstreaks a few years ago. The habitat was rich, with a lovely ground flora including copious horseshoe vetch and numerous orchids of a variety of species. As we walked up to the site along a farm track, Bob had a rather special moment. We were watching a fresh Small Tortoiseshell which kept landing on the path in front of us, when suddenly Bob became very animated, letting out a cry of “LARGE TORTOISESHELL!” I should point out that this species has been Bob’s nemesis for decades – he has never seen one anywhere despite being in the right place at the right time on a good many occasions, so this was indeed a magical and unexpected life-tick for him and he got a good view but no photo before it flew off. Southern White Admirals, Spotted, Heath, Dark Green and Silver-washed Fritillaries appeared, including a beautiful valesina female; a Woodland Grayling dropped down to the ground, but when we got to the Black Hairstreak area, there were none to be seen. In their place we came across a group of 6 Sloe Hairstreaks on a single Umbellifer flower, which was a great find, as I have only ever seen an occasional Sloe Hairstreak as the odd individual on very few occasions. Finally, a single worn Black Hairstreak also descended to nectar.
S.acaciae
A.paphia f.valesina
Another great day out, and more lifers for Bob in the bag. Now it was time to move to our next gite in Comblanchien. We were both tired from the travelling and the excitement of the day, and were looking forward to relaxing with a glass of wine. We found the gite easily enough and rang the bell, only to be greeted by an elderly French woman who spoke no English, and was trying to tell us that the gite was closed, there was no booking for tonight. I showed her our booking.com confirmation, but she insisted that the gite hadn’t been cleaned and the beds weren’t made, so we couldn’t go in. This was a little desperate, as there was no nearby alternative accommodation to be had. It looked like we might be sleeping in the car tonight.
Anyway, it transpired that the gite was owned by her son, who lived in Paris, and that he had failed to inform her of our booking and imminent arrival. She invited us into her home, introduced us to her 90 year old husband, grabbed a tablet and began chatting to us via google translate. She had contacted the cleaning lady, who was fortunately just 3 minutes down the road, and before long she had arrived, made up the beds, and we were in. Madame then gave us the full history of the house, the local area, every possible tourist attraction, showed us how to work the cooker, gave us the history behind the wine glasses and the floorboards of the staircase, and, breathe, half an hour later left us in peace to recover from another moment of potential strife! What else could the travel gods throw down at us? We may have overdone the red wine that evening…
Monday 6th June
Today I had arranged to meet up with Dave Plowman at another nearby site for Scarce Fritillary. Dave and I had been communicating via email and telephone for a few years, and it was great to finally get together in person out in the field. We had a fantastic morning, with Reverdin’s, Green-underside and Adonis Blues, Woodland Brown, Knapweed, Marsh, Dark-Green, Marbled and Heath Fritillary, including a pretty extreme aberrant Heath. This was all served up with a side dish of Lizard Orchids in good numbers, if slightly going over. More lifers for Bob!
G.alexis and L.bellargus females
L.achine
M.athalia aberration
P.argyrognomon
Later in the day we moved on to a second site that I had found during my last visit to the Cote d’Or, where we also briefly bumped into Bill Raymond. It was an entomological version of Brits abroad – a Scot, a Brummie, an honourary Scouser and an ex-Londoner all pulled together by the hands of fate and destiny, in a rather ordinary-looking woodland clearing which was actually anything but.
Woodland clearing
This site has a gravel pull-in, and there are a few tracks leading off which don’t look especially great, but here fly Duke of Burgundy in strong numbers, plus the highest concentration of Woodland Browns that I have ever encountered. Oh, did I also mention that there were a couple of Scarce Fritillaries flying around? At one point Bob had wandered off away from us back towards the road, and suddenly there was another shout of “Large Tortoiseshell!” He had found another one, and his shout was answered by a stampede of feet as Dave and I rushed down to join in the excitement. This was a female, surprisingly taking up salts or minerals from the gravel and occasionally giving us great soaring flights around the clearing before coming back down to exactly the same spot.
N.polychloros
What a fantastic day! Now we just needed to head home via the supermarket to stock up on wine, as our supplies had all but dried up. But for some reason all of the supermarkets appeared to be closed. What was going on? Simply put, we had fallen foul of the French bank holiday. I hadn’t bothered to check, but of course the French have way more bank holidays than we do, and supermarkets invariably close. The pressure was on. I was ready for my late pm glass of red. In desperation, we visited a huge shopping centre on the edge of Dijon and finally found an Italian restaurant that was prepared to sell us two take-away bottles of Puglian Primitivo at a premium price of 26 Euro’s each! Needs must when the devil vomits in your kettle, yet on the way home we did actually spot an Aldi that was open, so we stopped and got a few more bits for dinner, and a couple of emergency bottles as well, just in case…
Part 3 to follow
Sunday 5th June
On Sunday morning we drove west, through a fairly agricultural landscape, on our way from the wetlands to Dijon and into a very different landscape. The area to the north, west and south-west of Dijon is dominated by mile after mile of vineyards, where the pinot-noir grape is the cash crop that keeps much of the local economy ticking over, and also produces many famous brands of Burgundy red wine. But there is also plenty of woodland here, and some interesting limestone hillsides, both habitats that are rich in butterflies. The Cote-d’Or department is, in particular, renowned as pretty much the last French stronghold for the aptly named and rapidly declining Scarce Fritillary, and it was this species that we first sought out. Again, as with most butterflies, it appears that the Scarce Fritillary was also having an early season. We visited a reliable site and only found a single male, not by any means pristine, but worthy nevertheless of a photograph.
Habitat of Scarce Fritillary
E.maturna
At the same site were numerous Heath Fritillaries, along with Marsh, Marbled and Dark Green Fritillaries, Common, Adonis and Mazarine Blues, Black-veined White and many other common species. Pearly Heath was particularly abundant here.
M.athalia
B.daphne
A.crataegi
In the afternoon we drove up to a limestone hillside where I had found a strong colony of Black Hairstreaks a few years ago. The habitat was rich, with a lovely ground flora including copious horseshoe vetch and numerous orchids of a variety of species. As we walked up to the site along a farm track, Bob had a rather special moment. We were watching a fresh Small Tortoiseshell which kept landing on the path in front of us, when suddenly Bob became very animated, letting out a cry of “LARGE TORTOISESHELL!” I should point out that this species has been Bob’s nemesis for decades – he has never seen one anywhere despite being in the right place at the right time on a good many occasions, so this was indeed a magical and unexpected life-tick for him and he got a good view but no photo before it flew off. Southern White Admirals, Spotted, Heath, Dark Green and Silver-washed Fritillaries appeared, including a beautiful valesina female; a Woodland Grayling dropped down to the ground, but when we got to the Black Hairstreak area, there were none to be seen. In their place we came across a group of 6 Sloe Hairstreaks on a single Umbellifer flower, which was a great find, as I have only ever seen an occasional Sloe Hairstreak as the odd individual on very few occasions. Finally, a single worn Black Hairstreak also descended to nectar.
S.acaciae
A.paphia f.valesina
Another great day out, and more lifers for Bob in the bag. Now it was time to move to our next gite in Comblanchien. We were both tired from the travelling and the excitement of the day, and were looking forward to relaxing with a glass of wine. We found the gite easily enough and rang the bell, only to be greeted by an elderly French woman who spoke no English, and was trying to tell us that the gite was closed, there was no booking for tonight. I showed her our booking.com confirmation, but she insisted that the gite hadn’t been cleaned and the beds weren’t made, so we couldn’t go in. This was a little desperate, as there was no nearby alternative accommodation to be had. It looked like we might be sleeping in the car tonight.
Anyway, it transpired that the gite was owned by her son, who lived in Paris, and that he had failed to inform her of our booking and imminent arrival. She invited us into her home, introduced us to her 90 year old husband, grabbed a tablet and began chatting to us via google translate. She had contacted the cleaning lady, who was fortunately just 3 minutes down the road, and before long she had arrived, made up the beds, and we were in. Madame then gave us the full history of the house, the local area, every possible tourist attraction, showed us how to work the cooker, gave us the history behind the wine glasses and the floorboards of the staircase, and, breathe, half an hour later left us in peace to recover from another moment of potential strife! What else could the travel gods throw down at us? We may have overdone the red wine that evening…
Monday 6th June
Today I had arranged to meet up with Dave Plowman at another nearby site for Scarce Fritillary. Dave and I had been communicating via email and telephone for a few years, and it was great to finally get together in person out in the field. We had a fantastic morning, with Reverdin’s, Green-underside and Adonis Blues, Woodland Brown, Knapweed, Marsh, Dark-Green, Marbled and Heath Fritillary, including a pretty extreme aberrant Heath. This was all served up with a side dish of Lizard Orchids in good numbers, if slightly going over. More lifers for Bob!
G.alexis and L.bellargus females
L.achine
M.athalia aberration
P.argyrognomon
Later in the day we moved on to a second site that I had found during my last visit to the Cote d’Or, where we also briefly bumped into Bill Raymond. It was an entomological version of Brits abroad – a Scot, a Brummie, an honourary Scouser and an ex-Londoner all pulled together by the hands of fate and destiny, in a rather ordinary-looking woodland clearing which was actually anything but.
Woodland clearing
This site has a gravel pull-in, and there are a few tracks leading off which don’t look especially great, but here fly Duke of Burgundy in strong numbers, plus the highest concentration of Woodland Browns that I have ever encountered. Oh, did I also mention that there were a couple of Scarce Fritillaries flying around? At one point Bob had wandered off away from us back towards the road, and suddenly there was another shout of “Large Tortoiseshell!” He had found another one, and his shout was answered by a stampede of feet as Dave and I rushed down to join in the excitement. This was a female, surprisingly taking up salts or minerals from the gravel and occasionally giving us great soaring flights around the clearing before coming back down to exactly the same spot.
N.polychloros
What a fantastic day! Now we just needed to head home via the supermarket to stock up on wine, as our supplies had all but dried up. But for some reason all of the supermarkets appeared to be closed. What was going on? Simply put, we had fallen foul of the French bank holiday. I hadn’t bothered to check, but of course the French have way more bank holidays than we do, and supermarkets invariably close. The pressure was on. I was ready for my late pm glass of red. In desperation, we visited a huge shopping centre on the edge of Dijon and finally found an Italian restaurant that was prepared to sell us two take-away bottles of Puglian Primitivo at a premium price of 26 Euro’s each! Needs must when the devil vomits in your kettle, yet on the way home we did actually spot an Aldi that was open, so we stopped and got a few more bits for dinner, and a couple of emergency bottles as well, just in case…
Part 3 to follow
Re: Eastern France – A tale of triumph over adversity
Part 3
Tuesday 7th June
Today’s plan was to head west to the Morvan Regional Natural Park in search of Bog Fritillary. The forecast suggested a poor damp morning with weather improving from midday, so we arrived late morning. There was a farmer on the site feeding two cows when we arrived, but he shortly departed after giving us a rather suspicious stare. The weather was cool and overcast, and the vegetation very damp. No chance of anything flying in these conditions, but fortunately within 30 seconds I had spotted a Bog Fritillary roosted up on a Bistort flower-head. I took a quick shot, and Bob went in for some photo’s. A couple of minutes later the local farmer, Monsieur Fâché, reappeared and unceremoniously kicked us off the site. He was irate and aggressive and shouting a lot of French, little of which I could understand, but it was clear we were unwelcome. We climbed back over the style and returned to our car by the roadside. The farmer, who had got back into his 4x4 by now, then got out again and issued a final threat, with a severe wagging of the fingers, warning us of dire consequences if we came back. “Si vous revenez, je…” I didn’t catch the end of his threat, but I might possibly have heard him mention his “fusil à pompe”! I hope Bob got a decent shot, because mine was blurred – I had accidentally knocked the mode selector switch on my dSLR and was shooting in Aperture priority with a tiny aperture and ridiculously slow shutter speed, so here’s a shot of Bog Fritillary that I took a few years back.
B.eunomia
Clearly a change of plan was called for, so we headed back east, a three hour round trip undertaken for a single brief sighting and a good bollocking! Our next site was a lovely rich limestone hillside, alive with Marbled Whites, Common and Adonis Blues, Red-underwing, Grizzled, Olive, Large and Essex Skippers, plus several fritillary species including Glanville, Knapweed, Heath, Marbled, Dark Green, Silver-washed, and our main target, Nickerl’s Fritillary, another very localised French species. A surprisingly large blue appeared on this hillside, a male, which we initially assumed was indeed the Large Blue, but on closer examination the hindwing underside marginal spotting looked wrong for this species, and there didn’t appear to be any upper-side spots. A few minutes later a female appeared and started egg-laying on Cross-leaved Gentian – confirmation that we were indeed in the unexpected presence of the Alcon Blue, and there were quite a few of them! This was a very special place, and we spent several hours enjoying the wealth of species, as Bob got another couple of lifers under his belt. The orchids were pretty decent also. I am not sure about this but think it may be Late Spider Orchid:
Habitat of Nickerl's Fritillary and Alcon Blue
M.aurelia
C.crocea f.helice
P.serratulae
P.alcon
Then it was home for our last night in Comblanchien.
Wednesday 8th June
Despite our initial setbacks we had by now hit every one of our target species, so today was a relaxed mooch around in rather poor weather. It rained quite a bit, but we had a brief sunny spell and just happened to be passing a nice looking open area of woodland as the sun came out. A wander around gave us some slightly fresher Woodland Ringlets that the one that we saw earlier in the wetlands, plus a Duke of Burgundy, a few Heath and Dark Green Fritillaries, White Admiral and some very fresh Adonis Blue males, along with Black-veined Whites, Grizzled, Large and Essex Skippers, Meadow Browns and Pearly and Small Heaths.
E.medusa
L.bellargus
We spent Wednesday night in a cheap B&B Hotel on the edge of Dijon.
Thursday 9th June
Today we decided on a trip to a known site for Cranberry Fritillary in the Haut Doubs. This was a very optimistic call, as this species usually flies at the end of June and through July, but as everything else was out early it seemed worthy of a punt. The sight was fabulous, an amazing patchwork of different types of wetlands, some dominated by bistort, some areas of open water, some cotton-grass areas, lots of cranberry. Simply wonderful.
Habitat of Moorland Clouded Yellow and many others
Sadly, we didn’t find a miraculously early Cranberry Fritillary, but we did see some beautiful fresh Moorland Clouded Yellows, about 15 individuals, all males patrolling the food-plant for emerging females. Violet Copper was also on the wing here, in somewhat better conditions that at many of the other sites we had visited, and we had some nice fresh Mazarine Blues and the only Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary of the trip.
C.semiargus
B.selene
C.palaeno
After a final night in the Campanile Hotel at Pontarlier, we got up early on Friday morning to travel back to Geneva Airport, return the hire car, and successfuly catch our return flight to Manchester.
All in all a fabulous trip with a whole host of rarities, a few unexpected species, great company, some wonderfully rich habitat, and some unforgettable memories. It was certainly a case of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, but those magic moments always seem even more special if you have to endure a degree of hardship to achieve them.
Many thanks to Bob for his company throughout, and to Dave for meeting up with us!
Tuesday 7th June
Today’s plan was to head west to the Morvan Regional Natural Park in search of Bog Fritillary. The forecast suggested a poor damp morning with weather improving from midday, so we arrived late morning. There was a farmer on the site feeding two cows when we arrived, but he shortly departed after giving us a rather suspicious stare. The weather was cool and overcast, and the vegetation very damp. No chance of anything flying in these conditions, but fortunately within 30 seconds I had spotted a Bog Fritillary roosted up on a Bistort flower-head. I took a quick shot, and Bob went in for some photo’s. A couple of minutes later the local farmer, Monsieur Fâché, reappeared and unceremoniously kicked us off the site. He was irate and aggressive and shouting a lot of French, little of which I could understand, but it was clear we were unwelcome. We climbed back over the style and returned to our car by the roadside. The farmer, who had got back into his 4x4 by now, then got out again and issued a final threat, with a severe wagging of the fingers, warning us of dire consequences if we came back. “Si vous revenez, je…” I didn’t catch the end of his threat, but I might possibly have heard him mention his “fusil à pompe”! I hope Bob got a decent shot, because mine was blurred – I had accidentally knocked the mode selector switch on my dSLR and was shooting in Aperture priority with a tiny aperture and ridiculously slow shutter speed, so here’s a shot of Bog Fritillary that I took a few years back.
B.eunomia
Clearly a change of plan was called for, so we headed back east, a three hour round trip undertaken for a single brief sighting and a good bollocking! Our next site was a lovely rich limestone hillside, alive with Marbled Whites, Common and Adonis Blues, Red-underwing, Grizzled, Olive, Large and Essex Skippers, plus several fritillary species including Glanville, Knapweed, Heath, Marbled, Dark Green, Silver-washed, and our main target, Nickerl’s Fritillary, another very localised French species. A surprisingly large blue appeared on this hillside, a male, which we initially assumed was indeed the Large Blue, but on closer examination the hindwing underside marginal spotting looked wrong for this species, and there didn’t appear to be any upper-side spots. A few minutes later a female appeared and started egg-laying on Cross-leaved Gentian – confirmation that we were indeed in the unexpected presence of the Alcon Blue, and there were quite a few of them! This was a very special place, and we spent several hours enjoying the wealth of species, as Bob got another couple of lifers under his belt. The orchids were pretty decent also. I am not sure about this but think it may be Late Spider Orchid:
Habitat of Nickerl's Fritillary and Alcon Blue
M.aurelia
C.crocea f.helice
P.serratulae
P.alcon
Then it was home for our last night in Comblanchien.
Wednesday 8th June
Despite our initial setbacks we had by now hit every one of our target species, so today was a relaxed mooch around in rather poor weather. It rained quite a bit, but we had a brief sunny spell and just happened to be passing a nice looking open area of woodland as the sun came out. A wander around gave us some slightly fresher Woodland Ringlets that the one that we saw earlier in the wetlands, plus a Duke of Burgundy, a few Heath and Dark Green Fritillaries, White Admiral and some very fresh Adonis Blue males, along with Black-veined Whites, Grizzled, Large and Essex Skippers, Meadow Browns and Pearly and Small Heaths.
E.medusa
L.bellargus
We spent Wednesday night in a cheap B&B Hotel on the edge of Dijon.
Thursday 9th June
Today we decided on a trip to a known site for Cranberry Fritillary in the Haut Doubs. This was a very optimistic call, as this species usually flies at the end of June and through July, but as everything else was out early it seemed worthy of a punt. The sight was fabulous, an amazing patchwork of different types of wetlands, some dominated by bistort, some areas of open water, some cotton-grass areas, lots of cranberry. Simply wonderful.
Habitat of Moorland Clouded Yellow and many others
Sadly, we didn’t find a miraculously early Cranberry Fritillary, but we did see some beautiful fresh Moorland Clouded Yellows, about 15 individuals, all males patrolling the food-plant for emerging females. Violet Copper was also on the wing here, in somewhat better conditions that at many of the other sites we had visited, and we had some nice fresh Mazarine Blues and the only Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary of the trip.
C.semiargus
B.selene
C.palaeno
After a final night in the Campanile Hotel at Pontarlier, we got up early on Friday morning to travel back to Geneva Airport, return the hire car, and successfuly catch our return flight to Manchester.
All in all a fabulous trip with a whole host of rarities, a few unexpected species, great company, some wonderfully rich habitat, and some unforgettable memories. It was certainly a case of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, but those magic moments always seem even more special if you have to endure a degree of hardship to achieve them.
Many thanks to Bob for his company throughout, and to Dave for meeting up with us!
Last edited by petesmith on Wed Jun 15, 2022 7:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Eastern France – A tale of triumph over adversity
What a fantastic trip.
This is my best Bog Fritillary shot. I can still hear the farmer ranting away. I think its probably best we didn't understand him too well!
This is my best Bog Fritillary shot. I can still hear the farmer ranting away. I think its probably best we didn't understand him too well!
Re: Eastern France – A tale of triumph over adversity
Nice shot Bob! I am so glad that you had the presence of mind to keep photographing while the farmer unleashed his tirade of abuse!
Re: Eastern France – A tale of triumph over adversity
I'm glad you had the grit and determination to overcome the obstacles that were put in front of you, Pete.
Some stunning beauties in there; species which I covet greatly and have not yet seen, such as Bog Fritillary & Scarce Heath.
I also envy the comprehensive violet hue on the northern form of male helle. In the Pyrenees they only have a faint dusting.
The tale involving the irate farmer is real 'Last of The Summer Wine' stuff!
Great stuff!
Some stunning beauties in there; species which I covet greatly and have not yet seen, such as Bog Fritillary & Scarce Heath.
I also envy the comprehensive violet hue on the northern form of male helle. In the Pyrenees they only have a faint dusting.
The tale involving the irate farmer is real 'Last of The Summer Wine' stuff!
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
Great stuff!
Re: Eastern France – A tale of triumph over adversity
Hi Pete
My deep sympathies in relation to the stresses you went through. Such is the current travel situation, I've had a number of similar issues this last two years! But hopefully the butterflies you saw in the end made it all worth it!
Cheers as ever for sharing your travel stories
Best Wishes
Paul
My deep sympathies in relation to the stresses you went through. Such is the current travel situation, I've had a number of similar issues this last two years! But hopefully the butterflies you saw in the end made it all worth it!
Cheers as ever for sharing your travel stories
Best Wishes
Paul
Re: Eastern France – A tale of triumph over adversity
Thanks David - they have to be seen to be believed. When the light catches them just right, they are absolutely exquisite, although I have to say that I find the females equally divine!
Re: Eastern France – A tale of triumph over adversity
Always a pleasure to recount these trips Paul - the stresses were real, but the end results more than compensated us for our trials!selbypaul wrote: ↑Tue Jun 14, 2022 5:05 pm Hi Pete
My deep sympathies in relation to the stresses you went through. Such is the current travel situation, I've had a number of similar issues this last two years! But hopefully the butterflies you saw in the end made it all worth it!
Cheers as ever for sharing your travel stories
Best Wishes
Paul
Cheers.
Pete
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Re: Eastern France – A tale of triumph over adversity
Here are a few of my better efforts from an unbelievable week.
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Re: Eastern France – A tale of triumph over adversity
thanks Pete (& Bob) for your excellent histoire. my favourite pic was the Large Tortoiseshell.
i guess the farmer may not have been a fan of Brexit....
i guess the farmer may not have been a fan of Brexit....
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Re: Eastern France – A tale of triumph over adversity
What a fantastic report. Thoroughly enjoyable reading.
Triumph over adversity indeed!
Thanks so much for sharing.
Hope you have recovered from all that stress!
Triumph over adversity indeed!
Thanks so much for sharing.
Hope you have recovered from all that stress!
Re: Eastern France – A tale of triumph over adversity
Agreed! Those iridescent submarginal lines are one of the finest sights in European butterflying.