SPAIN, EARLY 2015.

[NickMorgan]

Fantastic to see the Panoptes Blues. I am so jealous!!

[Chris Jackson]

Hi Nick - how you doing ?

And Hi Russ,
Nice Panoptes Blue. I remember you spotting some last year. I must keep an eye open for their cousin, the Baton Blue, over my way.
Today I briefly saw my 1st Swallowtail of the year, it was very excited in its early days and did not stop for a photo - they calm down gradually as the weeks pass and as they mature.
I will reserve judgement on those Irises - we need a specialist .
Cheers, Chris

[LancsRover]

Cheers Nick & Chris for comments.

Thursday pm. 12.3.2015. sunny 20c+, light wind.
We went to Benicassim to have a look at another camp site for next year and after a little lunch we went to have a look at El Desert Da La Palmes(The Palm Desert nature reserve) in the mountains a couple of miles in land of the coastal town.
This is a cracking area for wildlife and butterflies in particular, full report to come later, but I need confirmation or otherwise of this blue butterfly, I think it is a Black-Eyed Blue(lifer) but I stand to be corrected.
Sorry the pics aren't great but they were shot from distance across a jungle of shurbs.
Russ

[Mikhail]

Black-eyed Blue is spot on. Keep your eyes peeled for Spanish Festoons: they have been seen from 28 Feb.onwards.

M.

[LancsRover]

Hi Michael, thanks for the confirmation.
Yes I've been looking for a few b/f's that I saw last year but I'm running out of time as I leave for home tomorrow(Sunday). I will be driving back through a cool France over the next week.
I saw a Spanish Festoon on 17th March last year but I think I will miss them this year.
Russ

[LancsRover]

Hi Folks, This report is a follow-up on Thursday's(12.3.15) visit to the Palm Desert nature reserve.
It's a very bendy and tight route(for a motorhome) up the otherwise excellent tarmac road to the top overlooking the ruined monastery and back down the other side to Benicassim.
On our journey up we managed to stop in a little lay-by and while my wife read her "Kindle" I was up and down the road and fighting my way through the dense shrubbery to try and take photo's of the various butterflies that kept passing-by me, it was manic in the 22c heat.
These are the butterflies I saw;
Swallowtails 2 or 3,
Black-eyed Blues 8+(mentioned in last report),
Walls 6+,
Small Whites 8+,
Mallow Skipper 2,
Cleopatra, beautiful orange and green, only 1,
Provence Orange Tip(I think, as I drove past it on the side of the road???)
Humming-Bird Hawk-moth only 1,
and a rather large black,red and yellow/orange butterfly which flew across my vehicle and up a ravine at pace, right at the top of the pass/road, I've no idea what it was, I don't think it was a Spanish Festoon(too small)??? I will try and find this b/f next year all being well.
I'm now in France(just south of Clermont Ferrand) having drove about 550 miles in 2 days, through the rain and cold, 6c in Narbonne yesterday.
Still hopefrully of seeing something on my way back home.
Russ

[Chris Jackson]

That scenery looks nice around Benicassim, Russ. I'm sure you'll have some good holiday souvenirs.
Good shot of the Humming-bird Hawkmoth - they can be quite rapid little creatures.
Have a safe trip home.
Cheers, Chris

[LancsRover]

Cheers Chris, Spain is a beautiful country, not just the costa's,..... I also love France.
I hope you enjoy your hols in the Pyrenees later this year.
Russ.

[Matsukaze]

Back from a few days around Malaga - butterflies seen - Small White (everywhere), Speckled Wood (a good few), Clouded Yellow (a good few and the best numbers I have seen in southern Spain), Wall, Western Dappled White, Provence Orange-tip (males common in woodland, absent elsewhere), Spanish Festoon (a few), African Grass Blue, Common Blue, Mallow Skipper sp. (alceae/tripolinus).

Despite an abundance of gorsy/broomy vegetation I have never come across Green Hairstreak in southern Spain. Is it genuinely rare/absent or am I just timing my visits wrongly for it?

[Padfield]

Despite an abundance of gorsy/broomy vegetation I have never come across Green Hairstreak in southern Spain. Is it genuinely rare/absent or am I just timing my visits wrongly for it?

I think you must be getting the timing wrong, as it's very common in the hills around Málaga.

Guy

[LancsRover]

Despite an abundance of gorsy/broomy vegetation I have never come across Green Hairstreak in southern Spain. Is it genuinely rare/absent or am I just timing my visits wrongly for it?

I think you must be getting the timing wrong, as it's very common in the hills around Málaga.

Guy

I didn't see any Green Hairstreaks in Spain this year either(I left on 14th March) but as Guy says you were possibly too early. I saw them last year after 9th of March and that was only in the northern half of Spain(Alcossebre) and then they were all over place after that. The weather in Spain has been colder than normal this year.

Russ

[LancsRover]

Wednesday, 18.3.2015. St.Pere-s-Loire(25 miles east of ORLEANS)
We stopped for a couple of nights on a lovely camp site on the banks of the LOIRE.

The weather had been dull in the morning but in the afternoon the sun came out and the temp. went up to around 18C with little wind.
After a short ride/walk I came across some open ground along side the woods that I had passed through, here I found 2 or 3 Peacocks and at least 8 Commas flying up and down the edge of the wood, I took a few photos' and then moved farther along the path where some Brimstone/Cleopatra???(not sure which) had been flying but not stopping earlier.
I found a bench and sat down for a short rest and a drink, after a couple of minutes a Brim/Cleo.??? landed just to the side of me, I took some photos of it on a purple flower(?) which I had already photographed earlier(the flower).
I then went back to the place where I had seen the Peacocks and Commas earlier and there was another quite large b/f attacking everything in it's site Peacocks,Commas,Brim/Cleo and even checking me out. It turned out to be a Large Tortoiseshell in very good condition, I'd only every seen faded ones before in Spain last year, so I was quite pleased The sun went in for a while and everything stopped flying but it came out later and it all "kicked off" again, it was brilliant, the TORT would chase the other b/f's miles up into the sky, disappear and then return again, I'm glad to say. I did get a couple of half decent shots when it did land for a rest.A great bonus to the end of my trip.
I need a little help from my expert friends to confirm a Cleopatra or Brimstone?, they looked like Cleopatra but I did not see any orange(male) so where they all females? which would be unusual and it could be too far north(ORLEANS) for Cleo's according to my book, all advise welcome.

Russ

[Pieter Vantieghem]

All pictures show brimstones, second one is a male. The Loire region is just a bit too much to the NW for cleopatra.

[LancsRover]

Thanks Pieter, I thought it was too far north for Cleopatra and no males.
Cheers Russ

[Goldie M]

Great photos Russ, Your seeing much more than is here at present it's still on the chilly side minus 3 they say tonight Goldie

[LancsRover]

Cheers Goldie, I'm just south of London tonight(Saturday), back home to sunny Lancashire tomorrow. I'll be hoping the Orange Tips and Green Hairstreak will be out shortly

Russ

[Chris Jackson]

Back home Russ ?

... I took some photos of it on a purple flower(?) ... ,
Russ

For your purple flower higher up, how about Violet ? Viola hirta or Viola odorata ?
Both in flower between March and April.

Your fleeting sighting of an Orange Tip in Spain around Monday 16th seems likely; weather permitting, I am expecting to see my first Orange Tip down here in the South of France anytime from the end of this coming week.

Cheers, Chris