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David,

Where we are there was very heavy rain for a relatively short time but there were no problems chez nous. But down-stream towards Biot and towards the coast there was exceptionally heavy rain for a longer time. At Biot two or three people were drowned, and some shops and camping sites had a meter or so of water, and the Biot glass-blowing factory was severely damaged.

To come back to butterflies, this morning I saw the same Painted Lady as yesterday.
At the same place was this female Berger's Clouded Yellow,
as well as an Adonis Blue, a Woodland Grayling, Speckled Woods, a Red Admiral and Wall Browns.
--
Colin

Cheers for the info, Colin. I'm so glad you escaped relatively unscathed.

Nice to see the butterflies weren't too badly affected either.

This morning around breakfast time it was raining quite heavily and I resigned myself to not going out . But a bit later on, miracolo!, there was a blue sky and sunshine , so I went for my walk towards Roche d'Ardy.

There was one Small Copper in the company of some sort of fly,
two Berger's Clouded Yellows, this one being a male,
several male Provence Chalkhill Blues,
and many unphotographed Wall Browns.
--
Colin

I don't know where they all were, but the only butterfly I saw today was this delightful Small Copper.
--
Colin

This morning I saw and photographed my first butterfly of the year, a slightly damaged solitary Red Admiral. Last year I had to wait until the beginning of March before my first sighting, a Cleopatra. But the year before that I saw a Lang's Short-tailed Blue on the first day of the year. It was cold (3°C) this morning when we got up, but the sun soon warmed things up, and this afternoon I sat outside in the garden and read a Jack Reacher book. What more could one want .
--
Colin

You lucky devil Colin, apart from the lovely butterfly whether damaged or not, you could actually sit out, WOW! Goldie

After rain all day yesterday (and quite a lot of snow in the mountains) it was sunny with a few clouds this morning. Along the Piste de Darbousson I encountered my second butterfly of the year, a solitary Painted Lady. I was a bit surprised, as in previous years I've had to wait until the end of April or mid-May to see one.
It is now overcast .
--
Colin

Things are progressing very slowly in my area. In the last few days I saw a few Painted Ladies, mostly in fast flight, and that's all. Today I saw my first Wall Brown (#3) of the year, but no other butterflies .
But there are lots of Anemone hortensis .
--
Colin

Is this 'slow progress' normal for your part of the world, Colin? I understand that parts of southern France have experienced a particularly mild winter in 2015/16.

Magic!. Your season has started .

Best wishes,
Trevor.

David M wrote:Is this 'slow progress' normal for your part of the world, Colin?

David, I think that it's more or less normal based on the last four or five years. And yes, we have had a particularly mild winter so far.

This morning I saw two Wall Browns at the same place as yesterday. I had expected to see other species, as it is sunny and warm here at the moment.
--
Colin

This morning in the Parc de la Brague there were several Cleopatras (#4) and more than several Brimstones (#5). I only managed to take photos of one of them, which I think is a female Brimstone, trying to hide behind a leaf.
I also saw what were probably a Red Admiral and a Painted Lady.

During the weekend it rained almost without stopping, and in the mountains it snowed. This is a photo of the Crête du Cheiron. The ski resort Gréolières les Neiges is just on the northern side of these mountains.
--
Colin

This morning in the Parc de la Brague I saw my first Green Hairstreaks (#6) of the year. There were 3 or 4 of them, and this one was quite happy to let me approach it .
I also saw many Brimstones and Cleopatras, one Wall Brown and a few unidentified Blues, but no decent photos of any of them .
--
Colin

Hi! Colin, your Green Hair Streaks look great though Goldie

Thanks Goldie. Another specimen wasn't in such a good condition, but at least it shows some of the upper-side, which we don't usually see.
--
Colin

Two days ago the temperature was 10°C at 8 o'clock in the morning and it was sunny, so I thought I would see more butterflies than I did. But I only saw four or so Wall Browns, two Brimstones, one Painted Ladies and one Small Copper (#7) the first of the year. But no photos.

This morning once again there weren't many butterflies around, just a couple of Speckled Woods, the first of the year (#8), and a few Brimstones including this male in the garden.
--
Colin

Hello Colin,
Considering the relatively small (but somehow significant) distance between us, it is interesting to see your Brimstone - a species I have never seen in the département of the 'Bouches du Rhone'. Your Rock Roses are also flowering ahead of ours, and I am still looking out for a Small Copper and my first identifiable 'blue' of the year. Looking forward to following your season, Colin.
Best wishes,
Chris

Hello Chris,

I seem to remember that Roger once said that Brimstones were relatively rare in his part of the Var.

The Rock Roses are not yet abundantly in flower here, just a couple of flowers.

Best regards,
Colin

I'm still not finding many butterflies. Yesterday I saw many Brimstones, one Cleopatra, two unidentified Whites, one unidentified Blue, a probable Speckled Wood and a probable Painted Lady. And no photos .

This morning, even though it was sunny with no clouds, I saw even fewer species: a few Speckled Woods and a few Green Hairstreaks. But I did get a decent photo of the latter.
--
Colin

During the last few days I saw my first Holly Blues (#9) and Orange-tips (#10) of the year, but no photos of either.
There were also Brimstones, Speckled Woods, Green Hairstreaks (including this one with the tip of a wing bent over), a couple of Cleopatras and one Small Copper.
This morning the only butterflies seen were a few Orange-tips and my first Western Dappled White (#11) of the year.
--
Colin