Return Trip to SW Bulgaria, 30 May-8 June 2012
Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 9:25 pm
Return Trip to SW Bulgaria, 30 May-8 June 2012
We had our first visit to SW Bulgaria at the end of June 2011. I had enjoyed the visit but having only spent a week in Bulgaria (with a last day washed out from rainfall) I felt a certain feeling of ‘unfinished business’ about the first trip: Karen and I had decided that on our second visit we would spend 10 days in Bulgaria, and looking at the ‘Prime Butterfly areas in Bulgaria’ by Abadjiev and Beshkov, I had decided that the best place in SW Bulgaria to base ourselves this time was in the Yadenitsa Valley, slightly south of our first visit which had been based around the Pirin mountains (Bankso and Melnik). This would be the first time I had worked out where to go purely on the references from the ‘Prime butterfly areas’ book, and the Yadenitsa Valley seemed to have all the target species that I wanted to see in the smallest area. I should add at this point that nothing ever quite works out the way you plan with Butterflies...
We flew via Ryan Air on Tuesday 29th May from Stanstead to Plovdiv airport. Plovdiv is very much the lesser know airport, with Sofia being the most known airport in SW Bulgaria: however, Plovdiv airport turned out to be a great choice, being a small airport away from the town but with good car-hire and a lot nearer to our destination than Sofia would have been. The only snag being that between booking the flight and flying, Ryan Air had done their usual best to change the flight times completely, so by the time we arrived in Plovdiv on Tuesday night it was already 9pm by the time we left the airport in our hire-car. Satnav is a must in Bulgaria and again proved useful as we made our way to the village of Velingrad where we were staying (a 2 hour drive). Unfortunately the Satnav had no recognition of our hotel or the road it was on, so we spent a very fraught hour in darkness trying to find our Hotel (Velina Spa Hotel): we were really glad to finally find the Hotel that night as the hour struck midnight, and were greeted by a friendly porter who took our bags – a welcome experience..
Wednesday 30th May – Velingrad Forest Walk
It had rained our arrival to Velingrad the night before, but thankfully the rain had stopped by the time Wednesday came round, greeting with nice blue skies. We had a quick breakfast in the Hotel and headed out to the forest on the east side of the hotel – the track into the forest wasn’t entirely clear – with a couple of tracks moving between some houses looking like possible routes - but a very old lady gave us a smile and a directional wave that encouraged us to take the route (the backpacks must have been a giveaway of what we wanted).
I will remember for some time the first proper view of the forest: the morning sunlight fell gently into a cleft between the fir trees, and illuminated the sand and stone next to a small stream that led directly into the forest. We were only a minute or two into the walk and fluttering next to the stream was a Chequered Skipper – a new species for me that I had never managed to see in Britain or even my other trips to Europe. This was a pretty fresh individual and stopped for a few seconds on the grass stems that were still covered with the morning dew. This was a great start as the prime areas book hadn’t even stated that there were Chequered Skippers in this town.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1551edit-1.jpg)
Our first view across Velingrad Village from our hotel Velina Spa, morning of 30th May.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_4402edit-1.jpg)
The initial walk into the nearby forest on our first morning (this picture was actually taken later in the day)
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1559edit-1.jpg)
Our first butterfly of the trip turned out to be a Chequered Skipper, warming up in the early morning sunshine.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1578edit-1.jpg)
You can still see the dew on the leaves from last nights rainfall...
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1619edit-1.jpg)
The view through the Pineforest...
We left the skipper basking in the morning light, and headed into higher into the forest following the main stream. There were plenty of flowers near the sides of the stream and soon we would see our first Wood Whites of the trip, closely attended by a Duke of Burgundy and a few green lizards scampering beside the path. There were plenty of Bugle, Hawthorn and Vetch flowers either by the stream or the path to attract butterflies. We went further into the forest but decided to return to the entrance of the forest as the best spot seemed to be where the trees gave way to more light and deciduous bushes and wild flowers.
Before reaching the edge of the forest we found another big patch of wildflowers and broom bushes where there were a number of Fritillaries flying, probably a Weavers Fritillary and several Pearl-Bordered Fritillaries. Some of the PBF’s were extremely fresh and with the cloud starting to come overhead, they would stop and give me good views either on the bushes or resting on the dirt paths. There were also a number of Sooty Coppers in this patch and some Orange Tips and Skippers, unidentified by me but possibly Malvae (Grizzled).
Michael
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1587edit-1.jpg)
Our first Wood Whites of the trip, nectaring from the Bugle flowers on the pathway through the forest.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1596edit-1.jpg)
The Wood Whites were in good numbers and as usual, quite frisky given the choice...
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1606edit-1.jpg)
Green Lizards were also quite common, though difficult to get a good view of as they scampered through the undergrowth.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1625edit-1.jpg)
One of the Duke of Burgundy butterflies that seemed to enjoy the same spots further up the forest as the Chequered Skippers.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1620edit-1.jpg)
Another view of the pine forest...
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1626edit-1.jpg)
There were also a couple of browns but they were a bit skittish. This one is possibly a Large Wall taking flight.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1639edit-1.jpg)
Every day we would see caterpillars: on the first morning it was a large Moth caterpillar on the forest floor.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1609edit.jpg)
The Chequered Skippers weren't stopping in the early morning sunshine and an underside shot was tricky.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_3066edit-1.jpg)
What I presume was a black version of the grey squirrel, which seems to be growing in numbers in Europe.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1664edit-1.jpg)
A Sooty Copper, also enjoying the Bugle flowers.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1715edit-1.jpg)
Small Dog-Roses were near the stream edges and during the cloud cover later in the morning, the SPB's would often perch on the bushes.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1735edit-1.jpg)
One of the Pearl Bordered-Fritillaries on the dirt path of the Forest floor. Once they'd stopped you'd hardly know they were there.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1744edit-1.jpg)
An underwing shot of the PBF. Quite difficult to get a good view...
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1773edit-1-1.jpg)
What I am assuming at first glance is a Grizzled Skipper, near the edge of the forest...
We had our first visit to SW Bulgaria at the end of June 2011. I had enjoyed the visit but having only spent a week in Bulgaria (with a last day washed out from rainfall) I felt a certain feeling of ‘unfinished business’ about the first trip: Karen and I had decided that on our second visit we would spend 10 days in Bulgaria, and looking at the ‘Prime Butterfly areas in Bulgaria’ by Abadjiev and Beshkov, I had decided that the best place in SW Bulgaria to base ourselves this time was in the Yadenitsa Valley, slightly south of our first visit which had been based around the Pirin mountains (Bankso and Melnik). This would be the first time I had worked out where to go purely on the references from the ‘Prime butterfly areas’ book, and the Yadenitsa Valley seemed to have all the target species that I wanted to see in the smallest area. I should add at this point that nothing ever quite works out the way you plan with Butterflies...
We flew via Ryan Air on Tuesday 29th May from Stanstead to Plovdiv airport. Plovdiv is very much the lesser know airport, with Sofia being the most known airport in SW Bulgaria: however, Plovdiv airport turned out to be a great choice, being a small airport away from the town but with good car-hire and a lot nearer to our destination than Sofia would have been. The only snag being that between booking the flight and flying, Ryan Air had done their usual best to change the flight times completely, so by the time we arrived in Plovdiv on Tuesday night it was already 9pm by the time we left the airport in our hire-car. Satnav is a must in Bulgaria and again proved useful as we made our way to the village of Velingrad where we were staying (a 2 hour drive). Unfortunately the Satnav had no recognition of our hotel or the road it was on, so we spent a very fraught hour in darkness trying to find our Hotel (Velina Spa Hotel): we were really glad to finally find the Hotel that night as the hour struck midnight, and were greeted by a friendly porter who took our bags – a welcome experience..
Wednesday 30th May – Velingrad Forest Walk
It had rained our arrival to Velingrad the night before, but thankfully the rain had stopped by the time Wednesday came round, greeting with nice blue skies. We had a quick breakfast in the Hotel and headed out to the forest on the east side of the hotel – the track into the forest wasn’t entirely clear – with a couple of tracks moving between some houses looking like possible routes - but a very old lady gave us a smile and a directional wave that encouraged us to take the route (the backpacks must have been a giveaway of what we wanted).
I will remember for some time the first proper view of the forest: the morning sunlight fell gently into a cleft between the fir trees, and illuminated the sand and stone next to a small stream that led directly into the forest. We were only a minute or two into the walk and fluttering next to the stream was a Chequered Skipper – a new species for me that I had never managed to see in Britain or even my other trips to Europe. This was a pretty fresh individual and stopped for a few seconds on the grass stems that were still covered with the morning dew. This was a great start as the prime areas book hadn’t even stated that there were Chequered Skippers in this town.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1551edit-1.jpg)
Our first view across Velingrad Village from our hotel Velina Spa, morning of 30th May.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_4402edit-1.jpg)
The initial walk into the nearby forest on our first morning (this picture was actually taken later in the day)
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1559edit-1.jpg)
Our first butterfly of the trip turned out to be a Chequered Skipper, warming up in the early morning sunshine.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1578edit-1.jpg)
You can still see the dew on the leaves from last nights rainfall...
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1619edit-1.jpg)
The view through the Pineforest...
We left the skipper basking in the morning light, and headed into higher into the forest following the main stream. There were plenty of flowers near the sides of the stream and soon we would see our first Wood Whites of the trip, closely attended by a Duke of Burgundy and a few green lizards scampering beside the path. There were plenty of Bugle, Hawthorn and Vetch flowers either by the stream or the path to attract butterflies. We went further into the forest but decided to return to the entrance of the forest as the best spot seemed to be where the trees gave way to more light and deciduous bushes and wild flowers.
Before reaching the edge of the forest we found another big patch of wildflowers and broom bushes where there were a number of Fritillaries flying, probably a Weavers Fritillary and several Pearl-Bordered Fritillaries. Some of the PBF’s were extremely fresh and with the cloud starting to come overhead, they would stop and give me good views either on the bushes or resting on the dirt paths. There were also a number of Sooty Coppers in this patch and some Orange Tips and Skippers, unidentified by me but possibly Malvae (Grizzled).
Michael
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1587edit-1.jpg)
Our first Wood Whites of the trip, nectaring from the Bugle flowers on the pathway through the forest.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1596edit-1.jpg)
The Wood Whites were in good numbers and as usual, quite frisky given the choice...
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1606edit-1.jpg)
Green Lizards were also quite common, though difficult to get a good view of as they scampered through the undergrowth.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1625edit-1.jpg)
One of the Duke of Burgundy butterflies that seemed to enjoy the same spots further up the forest as the Chequered Skippers.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1620edit-1.jpg)
Another view of the pine forest...
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1626edit-1.jpg)
There were also a couple of browns but they were a bit skittish. This one is possibly a Large Wall taking flight.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1639edit-1.jpg)
Every day we would see caterpillars: on the first morning it was a large Moth caterpillar on the forest floor.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1609edit.jpg)
The Chequered Skippers weren't stopping in the early morning sunshine and an underside shot was tricky.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_3066edit-1.jpg)
What I presume was a black version of the grey squirrel, which seems to be growing in numbers in Europe.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1664edit-1.jpg)
A Sooty Copper, also enjoying the Bugle flowers.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1715edit-1.jpg)
Small Dog-Roses were near the stream edges and during the cloud cover later in the morning, the SPB's would often perch on the bushes.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1735edit-1.jpg)
One of the Pearl Bordered-Fritillaries on the dirt path of the Forest floor. Once they'd stopped you'd hardly know they were there.
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1744edit-1.jpg)
An underwing shot of the PBF. Quite difficult to get a good view...
![Image](http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/MichaeljField/Bulgaria%20Trip%20May-June%202012/IMG_1773edit-1-1.jpg)
What I am assuming at first glance is a Grizzled Skipper, near the edge of the forest...