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Picos de Europa, NW Spain - 6th to 12th July 2021
Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2021 4:00 am
by David M
In spite of the current obstacles to foreign travel, I simply couldn't remain in the UK during the early part of July, especially given how miserable the weather was.
Normally, I would take off to France, but Spain was the more appealing option this year given that the Spanish were allowing fully vaccinated Britons to enter without any additional testing requirements.
Thankfully, my second vaccination was on 14th June, so the mandatory fortnight following that second dose had elapsed prior to flying out on 5th July, arriving in Santander at 1620hrs.
It was a smooth enough trip; near-empty airports and a quick turnaround at the car rental desk, meaning I arrived at my hotel in the Liebana Valley just after 6pm.
There were a couple of other obligatory hurdles to overcome, the first being the requirement to test myself within 72 hours of flying home and the second being the completion of the passenger locator form to present upon landing back in the UK.
These were relatively easy to deal with though, even if the 10 day quarantine period is still in situ for amber destinations (this won't be removed until 19th July).
So, I am confined to barracks until 23rd July, but that is a small price to pay for the 80+ butterfly species seen in 6 days in what is a beautiful part of Spain; quite green and verdant in contrast to much of the rest of the country.
I based myself in a small town called Potes, which gave me easy access to the areas I wished to explore, and it is a lovely place, with plenty of old buildings to admire as well as rivers, woodland and lush hillsides:
Re: Picos de Europa, NW Spain - 6th to 12th July 2021
Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2021 4:07 am
by David M
The weather improved as the week went by - Tuesday was sunny but cool, Wednesday was largely cloudy, Thursday saw a change to warmer weather, whilst Friday, Saturday & Sunday were hot (25-28c) and sunny.
Here is a selection of the scenery from this area:
Re: Picos de Europa, NW Spain - 6th to 12th July 2021
Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2021 8:33 am
by David M
Highlights - Fuente Dé montane plateau
This was always likely to be the highlight of the trip; all I needed to do was to choose a day when the weather was opportune for the ascent.
On Friday 9th, I awoke to thick cloud in Potes, but the forecast maintained that higher up things would be sunny all day. I used my (pleased to say improving) Spanish on the hotel owner, and he confirmed what I suspected, that the
mar de nubes was lower valley cloud and that I should rise above it once I approached the cable car station.
This proved to be correct, but there was an unforeseen problem - despite arriving just after 9am, the car park was nearly full and when I went to buy my ticket for the teleferico, I was told I would need to wait till 12.30pm to get up there!!
This cable car journey is not for the faint hearted. There is just one long cable connecting the lower and upper stations and the climb towards the end is practically vertical!! Here's an image I took a couple of days before when it was cloudy (the upper station is shrouded in cloud but you can see the cabins):
This is the view from the top looking back down:
The scenery once up there was quite something:
Re: Picos de Europa, NW Spain - 6th to 12th July 2021
Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2021 1:29 pm
by David M
There were two particular species I wanted to find at this elevated location, but the first butterfly to greet me was a Small Tortoiseshell!!
Rather than follow the stony path, I elected to move down into the grassy craters and it wasn't long before I saw my first Gavarnie Blue:
There were several more in this area:
This was the only female I came across:
Further on, I spotted another hollow where there was standing water:
Knowing how much Glandon Blues like puddling, I reckoned its close relative would behave similarly. That assumption proved correct, as there must have been 40+ round the damp areas:
This is form
asturiensis, which appears slightly paler and larger than the
pyrenaicus found in France:
After spending time in this water-filled crater, I found plenty more just fluttering generally round the pathways. I must have seen approaching 100 in total in the two and a quarter hours I was up there.
A rare & beautiful butterfly in a quite breathtaking location.
Re: Picos de Europa, NW Spain - 6th to 12th July 2021
Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2021 2:40 pm
by Stevieb
You lucky man David
Looking forward to the next instalment.
Re: Picos de Europa, NW Spain - 6th to 12th July 2021
Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2021 11:14 am
by David M
Had to be done, Steve. 58 domestic species just isn't enough!!
![Sad :(](./images/smilies/icon_sad.gif)
Re: Picos de Europa, NW Spain - 6th to 12th July 2021
Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2021 11:38 am
by Matsukaze
If it is dodgy weather you are trying to escape from then Cantabria is a bit of a gamble, but it looked like it worked out for you. Those Gavarnie blues look lovely!
Re: Picos de Europa, NW Spain - 6th to 12th July 2021
Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2021 12:36 pm
by David M
Matsukaze wrote: ↑Fri Jul 16, 2021 11:38 am
If it is dodgy weather you are trying to escape from then Cantabria is a bit of a gamble, but it looked like it worked out for you. Those Gavarnie blues look lovely!
Yes, Chris, Cantabria can be cool and cloudy even in July but you can always drop down into Castille y Leon should those conditions arise. I figured it likely that there'd be at least 3 sunny days (and, in the event, there were 4).
Re: Picos de Europa, NW Spain - 6th to 12th July 2021
Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2021 12:46 pm
by David M
Another species I'd been forewarned to look out for on this high plateau was Lefebvre's Ringlet. The form here is
astur, which lacks the red of the nominate form.
I saw quite a few 'black' Ringlets flying around the scree but unfortunately was unable to get within 20 yards of any of them. On the rare occasions when they settled they spooked well before I got near enough to take an image, meaning that I eventually had to resort to standing a fair distance away and using my zoom, which isn't ideal for a very dark, rather featureless butterfly:
Re: Picos de Europa, NW Spain - 6th to 12th July 2021
Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2021 3:01 pm
by David M
Highlights - Chapman's Ringlet
If you want to see Europe's largest
erebia, you have no choice but to visit this region as it is endemic to NW Spain.
I'm pleased to say I saw 40-50 of them. They're not high altitude butterflies; they prefer the 1,000-1,300m range, especially where there is broom growing.
I saw my first on Day 1 when driving back from a damp meadow spot. As I was coming down this stretch of road, a couple of very large, dark butterflies flew across the road, and fortunately there was an area where I could pull in about 100m further on:
The first few were extremely difficult to get near, flying up the slopes at the roadside and disappearing into the scrub. However, as I continued to walk down the road, I saw a male nectaring and was able to move in successfully:
The wind was blowing the flower around and I ended up getting a full upperside, albeit a little blurry:
This is a beautiful
erebia species, big with clear, bold markings. I read in Tolman that females were secretive, but on my final day I managed to find one nectaring in a sheltered dip near a river:
Re: Picos de Europa, NW Spain - 6th to 12th July 2021
Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2021 4:46 am
by aeshna5
Exquisite Erebia! Lovely travelogue. Can't see me travelling overseas this year, so this helps to see some exotica.
Re: Picos de Europa, NW Spain - 6th to 12th July 2021
Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2021 2:04 pm
by petesmith
This report is bringing back many happy memoires of our trip out there back in 2019! Looks like you had many similar highlights David - Gavarnie Blues are sensational and you got some lovely shots there, similarly Chapman's Ringlet - a huge Erebia.
Like you, I also struggled to get anywhere near LeFebvre's Ringlet in the rocky, dramatic landscape above Fuente De...
Re: Picos de Europa, NW Spain - 6th to 12th July 2021
Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2021 12:50 pm
by David M
Thanks, aeshna/Pete.
With France behaving so unreasonably, Spain was the only real option, Pete, although Picos is an area that I had wanted to visit for a few years (and your trip two years ago strengthened that desire).
To be honest, it was possibly a once-in-a-decade opportunity because if/when things return to normal, I'll be in the French Alps in early to mid July, so I'm glad I was able to fit it in this year.
Re: Picos de Europa, NW Spain - 6th to 12th July 2021
Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2021 3:26 pm
by Padfield
Great stuff David. I left for Spain myself just as you started writing this up and have only just now taken a look, as I sit on the train from Benalmádena back to Málaga. Your flight experience sounds like mine last year - empty airports &c. I flew on 17th from Stansted this year and it was a very packed airport - queues of 2 hours plus and lots of people getting angry, missing planes &c. I even queued at security in Málaga, something I’ve never done before.
Anyway - Gavarnie blue and Chapman’s ringlet … Brilliant stuff!
Guy
Re: Picos de Europa, NW Spain - 6th to 12th July 2021
Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2021 9:10 pm
by David M
Thanks, Guy. I hope you have at least an equally good trip to Spain, and judging by your whereabouts I'm sure you'll see quite a few things I didn't.
![Mr. Green :mrgreen:](./images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif)
Re: Picos de Europa, NW Spain - 6th to 12th July 2021
Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2021 10:08 am
by David M
Highlights - Dusky Large Blue
This was a species I really wanted to see, so it was first up on the agenda when I woke up on my first morning.
I travelled to a damp meadow an hour's drive from my base, and after seeing a few Pearly Heaths and a Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, I suddenly noticed one bobbing around the sanguisorba.
They dither around for an eternity but once settled they tend to stay put for quite a while, and are fairly easy to approach:
Only the males have a blue upperwing suffusion. They generally don't rest with their wings open, but this one did (maybe to reward me for going through so much to see him):
There were plenty about; certainly at least two dozen, although once you moved away from the area where the foodplant was growing, the butterflies disappeared too. I did manage to find this mating pair in amongst all the action:
It was very satisfying to have this encounter within half an hour of starting my rounds. I found a couple at another site in a different valley, but this location was definitely the best one.
Re: Picos de Europa, NW Spain - 6th to 12th July 2021
Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2021 1:05 pm
by petesmith
David M wrote: ↑Mon Jul 19, 2021 10:08 am
Highlights - Dusky Large Blue
They generally don't rest with their wings open, but this one did (maybe to reward me for going through so much to see him):
Brilliant stuff David! They are a fabulous insect aren't they - and you definitely deserve your open-winged shot, something I am ever so slightly envious of, as I didn't manage to get that, or a mating pair, during our trip out there. (Good reason for me to go back some day...) Congrats!
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
Re: Picos de Europa, NW Spain - 6th to 12th July 2021
Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2021 4:25 pm
by selbypaul
Great start to the report David!
I'm so glad you managed to get away, and to an area of Europe I also want to visit at some point in the next few years too. Garvanie Blue, Chapmans Ringlet and Dusky Large Blue are three species I have yet to see!
Look forward to reading the rest of your report too.
Re: Picos de Europa, NW Spain - 6th to 12th July 2021
Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2021 8:18 pm
by David M
petesmith wrote: ↑Mon Jul 19, 2021 1:05 pm..Brilliant stuff David! They are a fabulous insect aren't they - and you definitely deserve your open-winged shot..
They sure are, Pete. The females you can mistake for the Anomalous Blues with their uniformly dark colouring, but the males are highly identifiable in flight, and whilst they can frustrate you whilst you wait several minutes for them to alight, they are then usually fairly sedentary till they decide to take to the air again.
Helpful that their damp meadow habitat also attracts many other very desirable species. More of that later...
Re: Picos de Europa, NW Spain - 6th to 12th July 2021
Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2021 9:22 am
by David M
selbypaul wrote: ↑Mon Jul 19, 2021 4:25 pm
Great start to the report David!
I'm so glad you managed to get away, and to an area of Europe I also want to visit at some point in the next few years too. Garvanie Blue, Chapmans Ringlet and Dusky Large Blue are three species I have yet to see!
Look forward to reading the rest of your report too.
Thanks, Paul. Yes, if you've never been to this region, you won't have ever seen Chapman's Ringlet. Gavarnie & Dusky Large Blue are pretty scarce elsewhere too.
Had I have had the energy to undertake a 5 hour round trip I might have looked for Forster's Furry Blue (near Burgos). That's another you won't see outside northern Spain.