Thanks for the comments guys. I'm afraid the next few posts are going to be a bit further afield
Benjamin, it'll be a few weeks before I get round to posting any more local butterflies
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
The sun was most definitely shining for me when you wrote that
Janet
Spain, March 2019 part 1
16th March
This trip is going to take a while to get through, I arrived home with an image count of over 2000
![Shocked :shock:](./images/smilies/icon_eek.gif)
. It was inspired in part by Essexbuzzards trip to Gibraltar a few years back and was booked with a friend who is conveniently fluent in Spanish shortly after my operation at the beginning of January, giving me something nice to look forward too
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
.
An early morning flight got us to Malaga mid-morning where we picked up our hire car and drove down to our base of operations, San Roque, a few miles north of Gibraltar, under a glorious blue sky
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
.
Dumping our stuff we still had a good portion of the day spare so we headed off to Gibraltar to get the lay of the land and see if I could add to my UK species list… only a slight cheat
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
. In the end I managed to add the Geranium Bronze, but it was just a fleeting glance and I hadn’t even got my camera in hand anyway, but with the weather forecast set to remain good for the next few days I was sure better results were as good as in the bag!
17th March
After breakfast it was off to the winding roads and paths up the rock again. The steep sides of the Rock mean that it takes a while for the morning sun to reach much of the more accessible western side and it wasn’t until about halfway up that I saw my first butterfly, a Red Admiral, quickly followed by a second.
A little more wandering and straying off the beaten track and one of the true targets of the trip casually fluttered by and settled in a little sheltered suntrap. A Festoon, ANY species, has been on my bucket list since I was a young lad and saw pictures of these incredible intricately patterned insects in my books. Well here it was, a Spanish Festoon, a little worn but in no hurry to go anywhere and the books just don’t do them justice, what an insect!
We spent 10 minutes with it before moving on. The odd Large White fluttered by, another Festoon or two flittered here and there, a handsome Lizard lounged in the sun and then I caught site of an orangy butterfly which my instinct told me must be a Wall. I still needed to reset myself to the continental Speckled Wood. It was too hot now for it to display the uppers so I had to settle for an underside for now.
Nearing the top Festoons started to pop up around every turn, every one getting photographed because well you know, it’s a FESTOON
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
!!!
As well as Festoons, the Rock is also full of of Yellow-legged Gulls, a recently recognised species which most books say replaces the Herring Gull in southern Europe but genetic studies suggest is more closely related to the Lesser Black-Backed Gull.
After an attempted mugging or two by the local primates we found the steps of the Charles V Wall which has a nice open grassy area next to it all the way down. It was here that a couple more target species finally showed up, both yellow and closely related to some more familiar UK springtime species. I could make out the familiar patrolling of brimstone like butterflies along the far side of the open area, both males and females were present but through my long lens I was able to make out the fiery flash of a male Cleopatra. For now I’d have to settle for a very long-distance grab shot.
![IMG_0233.JPG (163.55 KiB) Viewed 2467 times Don't be fooled by the casual innocence!](./files/thumb_13753_b9febdc7a21f7001e080907daee1d5e9)
- Don't be fooled by the casual innocence!
![IMG_0237.JPG (182.83 KiB) Viewed 2467 times female Brimstone?](./files/thumb_13753_3f84000b366ffb11d3df9b50dc937072)
- female Brimstone?
Closer to me, but no less mobile, were male Provence Orange-tips. The only one that did settle was on a Cape Sorrel flower that was growing halfway down the upper wall in such a position that the only way to grab a shot was to lean over and aim with my long lens, so I’m pretty chuffed with what I managed to achieve.
We took the steps all the way down to take a short cut to the bottom and once again found more Festoons and some female Brimstones… or were they Cleopatra’s? I’m leaning towards the latter but I need an expert eye to confirm one way or the other.
![IMG_0243.JPG (294.77 KiB) Viewed 2467 times Female Cleopatra?](./files/thumb_13753_afdf8ed7c0a38e80d65120c1a6491c2d)
- Female Cleopatra?
Next, as if the day wasn’t already full of highlights, as I was pointing out the foodplant for the Provence Orange-tips my friend pointed out a pair of Festoons in cop and close by I found a few Festoon larvae
Well that was a damn good start to the trip and that was only the first part of the first full day
Tbc…