www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Our flights back to the UK were at 12.45pm local time, meaning an early start to ensure we arrived at Zagreb airport the obligatory two hours early. It meant there was sadly no time to stop anywhere for any last butterfly spotting. That said, we did have a comfort break in a motorway service station, and two lucky guests spotted a Map (araschnia levana), which I missed out on!

In total, over the eight days, a grand total of 105 butterfly species were seen. I saw 82 of these, highlighting the point I made in an earlier post about other guests taking photos and only identifying different butterflies in the evenings, when reviewing photos.

Of the 23 species I missed, as I write this in late 2019, I’ve seen all but two of them either before or after. These two are Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow (colias erate), Common Glider (neptis sappho). Both remain on my “To See” list.

Of the 82 I did see, 36 were brand new species for me, reflecting the fact that this was still only my second “proper” European butterfly trip, and in a completely different part of Europe to anywhere I’d been before.

It was very sad to be saying goodbye to all the other guests at the end of the holiday. We had all gelled really well, partly because of the fact we were all on the same bus all holiday. Croatia is a wonderful country, good chunks of it are still relatively unspoiled, and I definitely intend to return one day.

Andy and Gerrard were also excellent guides. The area was new to Andy, so whilst he knew how to identify all the species, he was as excited as some of the guests at seeing some of the species, particularly the Little Tiger Blue, which was new for him. Gerrard was also excellent, his sense of humour being pretty legendary amongst Naturetrek holidaymakers.

Thankfully though, despite my sadness to leave Croatia, I only had four weeks to wait until my next European trip.

My second butterfly holiday of 2017 was originally meant to be the Naturetrek Butterflies of the Swiss Alps trip. Sadly, with 8 weeks to go, the Switzerland trip had to be cancelled due to only two people having signed up. There was a limited number of places left on other Naturetrek butterfly holidays, with such short notice. Of the limited choice, I decided upon the Butterflies and Moths of the Spanish Pyrenees.
https://www.naturetrek.co.uk/tours/butt ... h-pyrenees

I was disappointed not to be visiting Switzerland, but the Spanish trip did sound interesting. As you’ll see from what follows, the Spanish Pyrenees turned out to be spectacular! In a way, in hindsight, I was almost glad the Swiss holiday had been cancelled.

Day 1 of the Butterflies and Moths of the Spanish Pyrenees was Wednesday 5th July 2017, and began with a 1.30pm flight from Stansted airport to Zaragoza in Spain, landing at 4.30pm local time.

Our tour leaders for the week were Chris Gibson and Peter Rich. Chris is an all round naturalist, and has years of experience guiding this trip. Peter is also a naturalist, and is the co-owner (with his wife) of the hotel we were staying at.

The airport in Zaragoza is pretty small and quiet, so we were quickly into the minibuses, and on our way to our location for the week. It was actually a two hour drive, so we stopped to stretch our legs in the foothills of the “pre-Pyrenees” underneath the cliffs of Los Mallos de Riglos.
Despite being relatively late, given it was mid-summer, and still very warm and sunny, some butterflies were flying, and indeed six species were seen, five by me, including three new species for me. Those new species were:
Southern Brown Argus (aricia cramera)
Southern Gatekeeper (pyronia cecilia)
Spanish Gatekeeper (pyronia bathseba)
These of course were just tempters for what was to come later in the holiday. We continued the drive to our home for the week, a town called Berdun which is built on an outlying foothill, just under the main Pyrenees. Our hotel, Casa Sarasa, was right on the edge of the town, at the very foot of the hill. And what a beautiful hotel it was too, as the pictures below show.
There were nine other guests on the holiday with me, so ten in total. Two of the ten, Neil and Jan, were also on my previous holiday in Croatia, only four weeks before, so it was good to have some familiar faces.

After a fantastic home cooked meal from Mel (Peter’s wife), and plentiful local wine, we all went to bed excited about what the next seven days might hold.

Looking forward to this one, Paul. Spain is a very interesting country for butterflies (as we both know).

Day 2 of the holiday was billed by Chris as an acclimatising day, in the farmland and scrub just around the town of Berdun. The idea was to begin to build up our identification knowledge and skills of some of the commoner butterflies in the area.

It was very hot and muggy all day, and mostly overcast, apart from some sunny spells between around lunchtime.

The morning was spent on a circular walk from the hotel, to Vira Real. The afternoon was spent in various spots around the Rio Aragon. There were still lots of species about though, 34 in total for the group. Of the 34, I saw 25, of which six were new species for me. These were:
Spanish Swallowtail (iphiclides feisthamelii)
Spanish Purple Hairstreak (laeosopsis roboris)
Catalonian (Forster’s) Furry Blue (polyommatus fulgens)
Spanish Chalkhill Blue (lysandra albicans)
Knapweed Fritillary (melitaea phoebe)
Tufted Marbled Skipper (carcharodus flocciferus)

Day 3 dawned with clear blue skies, and it remained sunny all day. We spent all of it in various spots in the Roncal valley.

We first stopped briefly by a grove of Strawberry trees, in the lower valley, the hope being to see some Two Tailed Pasha (charaxes jasius). Sadly no luck. So the first proper stop was at a meadow near Isaba, which proved highly fruitful.

The minibuses then climbed the winding road all the way to the top of the pass, and just crossed the French border, at 1600 metres altitude, where we stopped for about an hour, spotting various erebia species. We dropped down slightly, back on the Spanish side of the border, stopping at La Contienda for lunch and a short walk. Finally, after lunch, we spent about 90 minutes lower down the valley at a place called Balagna.

It was an excellent day, and the group as a whole saw 60 species in total, of which I saw 46. Six of the 46 were new species for me, namely:
Green Underside Blue (glaucopsyche alexis)
Escher’s Blue (polyommatus escheri)
De Prunner’s Ringlet (erebia triaria)
Pyrenean Brassy Ringlet (erebia rondoui)
Piedmont Ringlet (erebia meolans)
Lefebvres Ringlet (erebia lefebvrei)

Day 4 was sadly the worst day of weather, on what was potentially going to be our highest stops of the week, at just over 1800 metres altitude. We set off from overcast but dry Berdun, straight into heavy rain. Our first stop, on the slopes above Foz de Jaca, was aborted after just 10 minutes, as the rain was heavy and showed no sign of stopping.

So we moved on to Portalet, right on the Spain/France border. It was very atmospheric here, with the clouds slowly swirling in only a very light breeze around the peaks of the mountains surrounding Portalet. The rain was only intermittent here, but it was cool. We stopped for a coffee, and did admire the wildflowers, particularly the stunning dark blue Iris’. With hope that the rain might be clearing, we drove back down to La Serra (roughly 1450 metres), for lunch. Pretty much as we arrived the sun broke out. As soon as it did, it became hot, and the butterflies came out. So we spent a good three hours in this spot. On the way back to Berdun, we stopped by a river near Atares. It had become overcast, and it soon began raining again, so we headed back to the hotel early.

Despite the poor weather, we still managed to see 54 species as a group, 36 by me. Of the 36, two were new species for me. These were:
Chapman’s Blue (polyommatus thersites)
Lesser Purple Emperor (apatura ilia)

Day 5 was a complete contrast to the previous day. It was scorching hot, with only very few clouds in the sky all day, and we stayed at low to medium altitudes. We spent the first part of the morning at a sculpture park near Berdun, full of old coppiced Holm Oaks and other scrub, amongst the meadows. We then drove into the Fago valley, stopping four times, including one stop at the top of the gorge, for lunch. We then spent the afternoon in the Anso valley, stopping twice, once with a short walk to a “wild swimming” location, and then at the very narrow Binies Gorge. This was another high species total day, seeing 69 species, a very high number. Of the 69, I saw 52, ten of them new species for me. These were:
Bath White (pontia daplidice)
Pale Clouded Yellow (colias hyale)
False Ilex Hairstreak (satyricum esculi)
Lang’s Short Tailed Blue (leptotes pirithous)
Ripart’s Anomalous Blue (polyommatus ripartii)
Rock Grayling (hipparchia alcyone)
Striped Grayling (hipparchia fidia)
Black Satyr (satyrus actaea)
Dusky Meadow Brown (hypone lycaon)
Dusky Heath (coenonympha dorus)
After such a hot and enjoyable day, we were all ready for refreshments that evening. After dinner, with clear skies, the stars were showing brightly. One of the guests had brought a stargazing telescope, so we all decamped into the garden and were treated to views of Jupiter, Saturn, and their moons.

Day 6 was a cooler day, and mostly overcast, but thankfully with no rain.

We spent all of it in the Hecho valley. Our first stop was walking up the very narrow gorge, known as the Boca del Infierno. At some times in the year, this location is known for its Wallcreeper’s, a much sought after bird, but there were none today. It was cool enough to mean that very few butterflies were out. So we moved on, stopping briefly at a meadow near Selva de Oza, again with not much around.

So we moved even further up the valley, to where the road turned into a footpath. Here, apart from the butterflies which had started to appear, we also saw a Lammergeier (Bearded Vulture), which was one of the main target bird species for the week. After lunch, we returned to the meadow near Selva de Oza, where the weather had improved, with some sunny spells. A very obliging Purple Emperor (apatura iris) kept us entertained for 20 minutes by the minibuses. The total species count for the group today was 49, which again is very large considering the conditions were not brilliant. Of the 49, I saw 36, one being a new species for me. This was:
Alcon Blue (phengaris alcon form rebeli)
Note this is sometimes named as a separate species, the Mountain Alcon Blue, but the latest thinking, as I write this in late 2019, is that it remains just a form of Alcon Blue.

Day 7 was spent in the Aisa valley. It was warm with sunny spells all day. We stopped three times in the valley. First was in a meadow just outside the village of Aisa. Second was halfway up the valley, by the river. Finally, the third stop was right at the head of the valley, where the road stops, and becomes a footpath. It is at this final stop, and after a short walk, that our main guide Chris calls the most beautiful view in the world. It is certainly up there. (This highest point of the day was at 1540 metres altitude). The group saw 73 species today, the highest total of the holiday, an incredible amount in just one day. Of the 73, I saw 55. One of these was a brand new species for me, namely:
Meadow Fritillary (melitaea parthenoides)

Sadly I didn’t manage a photo of it.

I also saw the Spanish version of Chestnut Heath (coenonympha glycerion form iphiodes). It is very different to the normal version, which I’d seen in Croatia four weeks earlier. Perhaps one day it will be separated out as a species, in which case I’ve banked it!

Thankfully our return flight to the UK from Zaragoza airport wasn’t until 5pm local time, which meant we had a proper Day 8 of the holiday, and allowed is time for two butterfly watching stops. Before we left, we took this group photo outside of the hotel. The first was at the dam of the Pena Reservoir. This was an interesting stop for the views in particular, if not the butterflies, as there were few. The second was near Aguero, where we had lunch. This spot was more interesting, and we spent a good time looking at the various highly active Blue species. Panoptes Blue (pseudophilotes panoptes) and Provencal Chalkhill Blue (lysandra hispana) were both seen by others, and I photographed lots of different individual butterflies. But I could not confirm any of them as being either. So I dipped out on those two sadly.

In total, on this final day, the group saw 31 species, 18 by me. And having missed out on the two Blue’s above, none of the 18 were new species for me.

We left Peter at Zaragoza airport, for him to drive back home to the Casa Sarasa hotel. Peter and his wife Mel had been superb hosts, and Peter an excellent guide also. I firmly intend to return to stay with them again, perhaps at a different time of year, to see different species.

The rest of us arrived back in the UK at 6.30pm, and we all said our sad goodbyes. For a holiday that had been selected at the last minute, as a replacement for Switzerland, this had turned out to be a superb holiday. Our main guide Chris had also been brilliant.

In total, over the eight days, the species list for the group was an incredible 112 species, 24% of all European butterfly species, reflecting the huge diversity of the habitat we visited over the course of the week.

Of the 112 species, I saw 103 of them, of which 29 were brand new species for me.

Of the nine species I missed out on during the week, I’ve thankfully seen all nine either before or since.

Back in the UK, I began researching my 2018 butterfly trips.

Fabulous reportage, Paul. The scenery in that part of the world is quite breathtaking, and quite a few of the butterflies too, for example Forster's Furry Blue, Lefebvre's Ringlet & Ripart's Anomalous Blue.

The shots you posted from the Aisa Valley are especially appealing. This is a part of Europe I'd very much like to visit.

Hi Paul. I've been popping into this thread from time to time but for some reason most of the pictures fail to show on my computer. They do show if I click on the link but not in the thread, even when I repeatedly reload the page. It may just be my computer. The ones I have clicked on have been excellent shots of fantastic butterflies (though you do have a turquoise blue masquerading as Chapman's ... ) and other creatures. When I get time I'll systematically work through all the links! In the meantime, accept my apologies for not having commented sooner.

Guy

Sounds like a great holiday. I’ve done the French side a couple of times, which was also excellent. But the Spanish side is on my (rather long) wish list, and your report confirms this.

David M wrote:Fabulous reportage, Paul. The scenery in that part of the world is quite breathtaking, and quite a few of the butterflies too, for example Forster's Furry Blue, Lefebvre's Ringlet & Ripart's Anomalous Blue.

The shots you posted from the Aisa Valley are especially appealing. This is a part of Europe I'd very much like to visit.

Thanks David
It really is a fantastic part of the world. I'd not heard before of it being a good place to visit, either in butterfly terms, or in normal holiday terms. But it really is superb in every way. I do intend to go back sometime, possibly in Spring, to see a different range of butterfly species
Paul

Padfield wrote:Hi Paul. I've been popping into this thread from time to time but for some reason most of the pictures fail to show on my computer. They do show if I click on the link but not in the thread, even when I repeatedly reload the page. It may just be my computer. The ones I have clicked on have been excellent shots of fantastic butterflies (though you do have a turquoise blue masquerading as Chapman's ... ) and other creatures. When I get time I'll systematically work through all the links! In the meantime, accept my apologies for not having commented sooner.

Guy

Thanks Guy
I have the same problem with the photos not loading fully, some do some don't. But I've found that for about a year on this whole website, not just my own posts.

And I feared I'd get some of the photo ID's wrong, so cheers for being eagle eyed. I'll look to edit.
Paul

essexbuzzard wrote:Sounds like a great holiday. I’ve done the French side a couple of times, which was also excellent. But the Spanish side is on my (rather long) wish list, and your report confirms this.

It really is, I highly recommend it. Like you though, I have a very long list of European destinations to visit in the future. I'll post about this once I'm up to the present in this thread. But before that point, I've got four further expeditions to write about....!

Can’t wait, Paul....!

Before my main two 2018 butterfly holidays however, I had a week in Madeira for some winter sun, specifically the second week of 2018.

Whilst most of the holiday was spent relaxing, I did see a Canary Red Admiral (vanessa vulcania) by the hotel swimming pool, plus a Madeiran Speckled Wood (pararge xiphia) elsewhere. So two new species without even trying!

The disadvantage of not trying, of course, was that I was not prepared. I therefore only had my phone camera, which doesn’t do macro shots or long zoom shots. So only a very blurred photo of the Canary Red Admiral sadly.

Butterfly holiday number one of 2018 was the Naturetrek Butterflies of Southern Greece trip, beginning on the 16th June.
https://www.naturetrek.co.uk/tours/butt ... ern-greece

It was a two base holiday, the first half of the week based in Kalavrita in the Peloponese mountains. The second half the week based across the Gulf of Corinth in Delphi, near Mount Parnassos.

Day 1 of the holiday began with a very early 6.55am flight from Heathrow airport to Athens airport, landing just after 12.30pm local time. The weather in Greece was unusually cool, and thunderstorms were building as we left the terminal to find the minibus. Including me, there were seven guests on this holiday, plus our one tour leader, Philip Thompson.

We began the roughly two hour drive westwards, stopping halfway at the town of Isthmia, to stretch our legs and take in the views of the engineering marvel that is the Corinth Canal. We saw two butterfly species, but nothing special. The thunderstorms seemed to be focused on Athens, so we drove out of the bad weather thankfully.
We continued the journey, arriving in the lovely town of Kalvrita at about 5pm. After such an early start, and long day, we were very glad to sit down and enjoy the Greek food and wine in a local restaurant, and then head to bed, ready for the excitements of the week ahead.

The weather forecast for Day 2 was not good, with cloud forecast all day, and thunderstorms from lunchtime. However we set off early, from Kalavrita, up the road to Mount Chelmos.

Our first stop, at 9.30am for an hour was a lower track, where the tour leader Philip helped to familiarise us with some of the butterflies we would be seeing all week. Amazingly, despite this being the fourth guided butterfly holiday, this was the first time I discovered the quick ID technique for Common Blue (ie the additional cell spot close to the body on the forewing underside). Had I known or learned this previously, I’d have much reduced my time spent trying to get photos of every Blue butterfly!

The weather was warm with sunny spells at this first stop, so we progressed higher to the Mount Chelmos Ski Centre. By this time, it was overcast, but still warm, and the butterflies were still flying. We spent a further hour here, and we racked up a very good number of additional butterflies.

We then made an optimistic move to a known Odd Spot Blue (turanana taygetica) location, but the clouds were at ground level, and rain was in the air, so after a fruitless 20 minutes, we set off back to the lowlands below Kalavrita. We had our lunch, and in a brief break in the rain did a short river walk, which had to be abandoned as a heavy thunderstorm and torrential rain rolled in. We then drove 20 minutes into a different valley, which had missed the rain, and had a successful 45 minutes, seeing a number of new species, before the rain then reached that valley.

We made one final attempt at a short walk elsewhere, but by then the rain had really set in, so we had an early 3pm finish.

Despite the mixed weather, it was still a pretty decent day for the group. We saw 28 species, 25 seen by me, and of the 25, four were brand new species for me, namely:
Eastern Wood White (leptidea duponcheli)
Zephyr Blue (kretania sephirus)
Hermit (chazara briseis)
Oriental Marbled Skipper (carcharodus orientalis)