This is my write-up of our one week holiday in Tourgueille, Cevennes region, during the second week of the Easter break. The place we stayed ‘Chez billy’, is owned by an English couple who have re-situated in France. Tourgueille is a small hamlet near the very southernmost edge of the Cevennes National Park – a two hour drive from Nimes Airport, and about half an hour drive from St Jean de Gard. It’s a quiet spot perfect for nature walks – the villagers are friendly but are quite content to let you get on with your own thing. This was our second visit, so we are just getting a handle on some of the best walks around the village and the nearby mountain range
Sunday 24th April
We got up at 0:30 am – hardly time for a sleep – and flew from Luton Airport and got into Nimes Airport at 9.10 in the morning. With an hour to check-in, and a couple of hours to get to our hamlet of Tourgueille via Anduze (plus picking up a bit of shopping) we arrived after mid-day. The first butterfly seen was a Camberwell Beauty - at the bottom of the garden near the neighbours’ stashed log-pile. Unfortunately I only had my macro-lens on me when I walked to the end of the garden so the butterfly was soon off and I wondered if I would get another chance during the holiday to see a Camberwell Beauty! Other butterflies in the garden were ‘slightly tatty’ Weavers Fritillary and the occasional Dingy and Grizzled Skippers. We spent the afternoon walking down the main road and saw several Provencal Fritillaries and plenty of Pale Clouded yellows. We also watched next doors sheep sheep herded via the gardens at the back of the house and watched a local Black Redstart also in the back garden. A kestrel was seen hovering above the house and Crag Martins were flying round the roof.
Other butterflies such as Brimstone, Peacock, Wood White, Black-veined White, Small Heath, Small Copper, Scarce Swallowtail, Wall and Orange Tip would fly through the garden which has Lilacs in bloom in spring replacing the Buddleias that are in bloom during Summer. I was also passed several times in the garden by a large butterfly – possibly a Large Tortoiseshell trying to dive-bomb me.
Monday 25th AprilI took some photos of the Crag Martins first thing while they were clinging to the walls of the nearby houses – they were too fast to photograph when on the wing. We then drove to Col-du-Pas (mountain range about 25 minutes drive away) and saw a Hare in the woods on the way. We walked North from the Col-du-Pas (a route we had tried in our summer visit) but disappointingly the scrub on the trail had been burnt in several places and there was very little in terms of butterflies except Small Coppers and Walls and the Southern form of the Speckled Wood. So we walked back to Col-du-Pas and drove to a small roadside walk further down the road (about 300 yards). Here we saw the strange insect Ascalaphid (a Yellow & Black insect related to ant lions) and several blues – I presume these were Adonis Blues. Several Silver-Washed Friillaries were passing over the path (about 2 months early in their emergence!) The weather was nice at this point. We then went back to Chez Billy then a brief storm came in and washed the afternoon out. Later – about 4pm – we did a walk from further east down road (walking up the slopes above the village) – and saw several strange Beetle larvae feeding on Bedstraw plants after the rain. We also got to the turn in the path where there were some local bee Hives. Rain and thunder started again so we returned to base. Along this route we had seen Wall Browns, Small Coppers, Adonis Blues, Pale Clouded Yellow and driving back from Col-du-Pas we saw various assorted Fritillaries resting on the road – these remained unidentified for the moment. I was left feeling nervous at the end of the second day – would the weather be a wash-out for any more of the week?
Chez Billy in the hamlet of Tourgueille
Weavers Fritillary - in the back garden..
First view of Provincal Fritillary in the heard of the village
Underwing shot, Provincal Fritillary.
Another underwing photo.
This one stops during a proper bit of sunny spells..
Walk near Col-du-Pas
Ascalaphid - a strange but beautiful insect..
First sight of what I presume to be an Adonis Blue.
Underwings photo.
Couple of Adonis Blues mating on the local 'white heather' shrubs.
A millipede crossing the path.
Crag Martin on one of the houses opposite our Gite.
Plenty of Sweet Chesnut Trees on the walk about the Villages.
I think this is a Grizzled Skipper, but you know..someone else might know otherwise.
Strange Beetle Larvae feeding after the afternoon storm on Lady's Bedstraw plants.
Funny thing - is that when I first saw the Provencal Fritillary, I didn't think I'd get a photo, it flew over a local wall, then came back, and finally stopped and posed very nicely for me. It's all very well being in the right spot but a bit of luck always helps. It looked to me like a lot of the Provencal Frits were quite newly hatched. We'd passed through some 'dodgy' weather driving up and the sun came out nicely for the first afternoon.
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I like your Sooty Copper picture though - especially a nice contrast against the green background. All your shots have a fantastic sharpness, as do so many of the best photographers on here (Paul's recent images of the Festoons being a classic example). The standard is so consistently high with so many posters here. I still need to 'raise my game'.
