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TRIP REPORT TO THE FRENCH PYRENEES

Saturday 31st May - Friday 20th June 2014

It was time for a change of scenery,my wife Kim, and I drove to Portsmouth,ferried it to St Malo,drove past Rennes,Nantes,Bordeaux and Toulouse.South on the A66 and N20 past Pamiers and Foix,turn right at Tarascon sur Ariege,through a small village called Surba on the Rabat road.A small gite was home for three weeks.Three weeks in the Pyrenees Ariegeoises to photograph all of natures wonders and have the time to enjoy it.
I had done a small amount of research as to what flaura and fauna may be encountered but really i left it to the "no agenda,no target" brigade!I actually envisioned myself driving up to the high passes,the springtime pistes and generally using lots of diesel.What actually happened was that i found more than enough stuff to occupy myself within two river valleys,one of which was where our base was,and the other a short drive round the corner.
I'd always fancied coming to this part of the world due to the lack of literature I could find.The Pyrenees,with the Atlantic Ocean one end,the Mediterranean the other,Northern Spain to the South and Southern France to the North,how could I possibly go wrong.I had no idea where to start and I'd like to thank David M for his trip report from the Eastern Pyrenees for giving the initial guidance of where I might start.His report was from around Ax les Thermes that is on the same road to Andorra just South of here,thanks again David M! That town,Ax les Thermes is also on the banks of the Ariege river into which,both my rivers,that form the area I'm writing about,flow into.
The whole region is named after the Ariege river and is one of eight departments that form the larger region of Midi Pyrenees.With Languedoc covering the Mediterranean side of the mountain range and Aquitaine having the Atlantic side of the mountains.The Spanish/French border roughly goes straight down the middle.
The rivers that formed the valleys I write this account from,the Courbiere and the Sauret, both rise on the Pic Des Trois Seigneurs massif whish rises to 2188 meters(7100ft),and at this time of year still has snow on top,in fact snow was still around above 1800 meters(6000ft)I reckon.
Primarily most of my Entomology interest,up until fairly recently, was around Grasshoppers and Crickets,but now I have moved into Butterflies,I mention this because my identification skills are rubbish with Butterflies!I use the "take bucketloads of photos technique",and work it out later!
So bear with me,this will take time to compile,and please help with identification across Meadow/Heath/Provencal fritillary sort on conundrums!Niobe/High Browns?And those Grizzled skippers! Jeez

Overview map of general area Now some pictures of the two valleys from where the majority of this report comes from.
First the Courbiere valley looking West with the Pic de Pioulou and the Pic Des Trois Seigneurs at the top of the valley. Looking East,the big lump centre left is the Roc de Sedour,this shot was taken from just above Rabat below,with the middle village in the distance being Surba,where we stayed.Round the corner in the middle is Tarascon.The photo above was taken from the lower slopes of Roc de sedour. The second valley,the Saurat,runs parallel North with the Courbiere valley and begins the other side of the Roc de Sedour
Looking West towards Col de Port Then looking East from roughly the same point as above doing a 180.If you look carefully centre left where the car is coming up the pass,Roc de Sedour and Calames Roc can just about be made out,maybe to small but the general idea of the terrain is shown. Both the valleys,at river/stream level start at about 500 metres above sea level and end up around 1200 metres before hitting the proper high terrain,with big peaks rising all around.

Please check back every so often,this will take a while,next instalment to follow very soon........

Thanks

Mouth-watering landscapes. I hope you didn't neglect the orthoptera! I'd love to see some of them in your report. I'm all agog.

M.

Already a very good introduction Dave with a clear map and overall context photos to situate us so we know where we are (we must all strive to follow your good example). It is definitely greener than over my way!
Chris

Sunday 1st June 2014

Part one.

So here we go,after the drive down to the Pyrenees,through yesterday and feeling somewhat "fried",I spent the evening generally in the company of a few beers, courtesy of the Intermarche at Foix(how many varieties of cheese are there here!),still in awe at my surroundings and listening to the local Field Crickets(Orthoptera I can still hear without the aid of a bat detector ).I noted quite quickly as you do,that it was rather chilly,a quick check of 14 degrees C confirmed this.Not summer yet then,but of course later,as my luck is this year,it was the coolest we were going to see on this trip!Sleep........................
After breakfast and a look out across the valley with the mist still hanging,decided to chuck my camera around my shoulder,grab a bottle of water and go for a walk,to see whats about. A quick check of base elevation once the GPS located the satellites.
1799ft-548 metres above sea level I walked into the local village and up a small road North towards the North-Western tip of Roc de Sedour,using the wonderful IGN 1:25000 blue maps,much like our own ordnance survey.These are marked with footpaths and stuff,which is very helpful in a new country,where no idea of access rights or common land from a daft Englishman may come in very handy.My goal for today was to see how I actually got onto Roc de Sedour,having had glimpses of it already and knowing that a main road is at the bottom of it,I thought I'd head for a marked car park on the map(I presumed a car park for trail walking on the Roc itself.....I was wrong!).I basically didn't want to walk on the main road,to gain access when it looked a bit scary on google maps....wrong again.Its good to learn through ignorance and trial and error,my calming mantra for the trip was already becoming self-evident.(I actually did do some French language evening classes before my odyssey in the republic).
First wonderful joy of note were the wild orchids,especially Pyramidals,everwhere on all bits of rough ground where no mowing had taken place yet.
The sun was now beginning to warm the place up a bit,and with it being June,it was strong very quickly. A little further up the road out of the village,on the verge,masses of Man Orchids,I struggle to locate these sometimes at home,no problem here. These were absolutely everywhere and it took me a while to adjust at the shear numbers......"ah Man Orchid,yeh whatever"
I arrived at the small village called Bedeilhac where I headed up the road to the "Grotte de Bedeilhac",where the car park was marked on the map.The verges,once again were awash with orchids. I'm still not sure about this being an Early Purple,big and robust it was.A few of them clumped together,probably are but just seemed too big! Greater Butterfly Orchid Which reminds me,I hadn't seen a butterfly yet,even though the sun was now getting pretty strong,it was a cool night.
Then noted a big orchid not quite in flower,had no idea what it was,later of course I,after checking some reference material,realised it was a Lizard Orchid. I photographed this in full flower a couple of weeks later,stunning plants,Sandwich,Kent anyone?
The mad colours on this Shield Bug suggests "not very nice and leave me alone!"Pretty common and pretty stunning. So I got the top of the road only to realise that the car park was infact the car park to the huge cave system here that was fenced off,and open only at certain times.Some of the earliest human settlers found a home in the cave systems around these parts and painted their daily activities on the walls of their "natural homes".This cave is absolutely huge but I didn't get a shot in my disappointment at it not being a starting point to get onto the Roc.Impressive cave though!
So I wandered back down the road and back into the village,Bedeilac,where I picked up the footpath that followed the base of Calames Roc and headed back to Rabat.Still not seen a butterfly,damn,wrong place........wrong again,naturally pessimistic? Moi,blimey that's French...... In case you're wondering where my wife is............mobile phone reception was surprisingly good...........Scotland anyone?
Just gonna take a break,part two is coming.

So walked the dog....................

Sunday 1st June 2014

Part two

I walked down the path at the base of Calames Roc and immediately knew this was good,lush deciduous woodland,with heavy undergrowth,the first hints of humidity starting to show.
Fell into my first meadow,at this point I knew it rained the night before,I got drenched very quickly,it was now 11am and the cloud was thinning,and the sun was beginning to show its power,a butterfly yippee.My first Blue,the sun went behind a cloud the Blue settled
And were off
I reckoned Mazarine except for not enough post discal spots under the forewing. Noted a Speckled Wood,wonderfully Orange this far South The first Pearly Heath I have ever photographed,theres lots of moments like this! Then my first Fritillaries,I've got these as False Heaths purely because of the brown infusion that's going on,and they seem "duller" than standard Heaths,but then again orange palps are leading towards Provencals,I think not! You can already see how this identification lark is going
Nice Brown Argus Then a mad skipper flies into my view,I'd seen these but waited for one to settle before making my move
This made my day,not even midday yet and I was already over the moon...........ok calm down.
The colours are beautiful when viewed up close and the big white mark makes it distinctive....I think!
Tufted Marble Skipper I left the meadow as it was now starting to get warm and to be honest,i was already chuffed.
A Green-viened White possed. The meadows I would revisit several times in the upcoming weeks. In this shot,which is unmowed pasture for cattle,you can see the Roc de Sedour in the background,its calling me! As I wandered out of the path and onto a rough track that was the start of the village of Rabat I noted a large Blue taking up salts on the ground,it was now mid twenties degrees and I had to patient to get the photos.
I think its an Amandas Blue Male,wide dark upperside borders,and matching Lewingtons artwork underside. The sun now was at peak and getting hot,well for a Southern Englander!
Chasing anything was pointless,so I headed back to the cottage for some food and my first look at the garden in my immediate vicinity,i did note a couple of big Orange Frittilaries,Wall lizards and amazing Carpenter Bees plus some Hornets and some huge flying iridescent green chafers,what a place,alive.

Another break,half way through the first day,told you to be patient!
I always wanted to write a massively concise account of a trip..........and now I am......brilliant.

Back soon.
Not sure how that attachment arrived where it did,ho well....heres that Tufted Marbled Skipper again.....bizarre I was most chuffed with the photo and its appeared twice!

Aah, happy memories, BB.

I'm looking forward to following your report. 3 weeks is more than enough time to do justice to this wonderful area. You've made a good start and I look forward to reading your future instalments.

I think you chose the right month, June. Less tourists, not too hot, less expensive than during the school hols and at the peak of the butterfly season.
Chris

Yep,June is good all round,just the Orthoptera is a bit touch and go,so i left the Orthoptera right till the very end to give it all maximum growing time!All through the time out with the Butterflies I was taking notes on the Grasshoppers and Crickets,then the last two days went and got the photos,so no big shots of the Orthoptera until close to the end of this report,theres a couple of stunners as well,worth waiting for!

I'm going to go back into July next time,just for the Orthoptera,I did ponder how the French treated this area through thier holiday season.....

Thanks

In the area you've chosen Dave, there will certainly be more people on the roads and on the campsites, and more walkers, in July compared to June, although clearly this cannot be compared with the hordes that frequent the coastal regions. Looking forward to more .....
Chris

i enjoyed your reports from the Ariège Buchan Boy.

i have only been there for an afternoon trip to see some of the spectacular Cathar castles.

very nice Pearly Heath pic.

charles

Thanks Charles,I'd originally planned to go to Montsegur castle to do some photography but didn't quite manage it.

I've now purchased a couple of books on the the Cathar stuff,its rather fascinating and those castles of the region are spectacular.

Thanks

Sunday 1st June 2014

Part three

Spent the afternoon,after lunch and a midday nap,exploring the garden and a small meadow adjacent to the property.

Wall lizards had already started to appear all over the place,and the majority were the dark brown form,same as the ones that were introduced at Cheyne Weare on Portland.

I think its the standard form for the region,this one was a good example. Small Tortoiseshell Hummingbird Hawkmoths were noted earlier,just how common they were here I had just started to realise,they also tended to stick around the same flowers for a while,giving me the opportunities to get the photos. An aergeria aergeria Speckled Wood Underside Then I got into the meadow adjacent to us,only a couple of acres,but it was my first stop in the mornings and last stop in evenings,it was impossible to tell what might turn up here so checking became very regular and it never failed to amaze me!
This shot was taken a couple of weeks later when the grass was as tall as me,when we arrived it was reasonably short. And also for context the place we stayed in showing the vegetable/small fruit plot that we overlooked from our balcony,many an insect/bird/dragonfly would visit during the day. Into the meadow for the first time and immediately got a white in focus,its going down as a Large white. Then a Small Heath,these were never around big numbers,but were present in most of the places I visited around here. I followed my first French Wood White until it settled.Once again in small numbers but pretty much everywhere I went with trees etc,although later on I did note another White species with a similar "rather weedy"flying style.So I had to check everything,in fact it was becoming obvious that almost every butterfly needed checking if possible,to be sure. Then the first fritillaries were beginning to slow for the evening allowing me to see what they were.
I think this one a Meadow Fritillary And the next three I think Provencal Fritillaries. Both the Meadow and Provencals were firsts for me and giving me 14 species on the first day and 7 firsts.Marvelous.
Also noted in the meadow were bee chafers and some black spotted chafers which I identified and photographed later on.
Spent the evening feeding the local Redstarts with bread from the balcony and listening to the cacophony of Field Crickets.
A cracking place and a cracking start,Tufted Marbled Skipper..........................just lovely.
Day one done!,should be finished by Christmas at this rate
See you soon.
Oh a note on where we stayed,thanks to Sam and Helen Smith,the owners,just type La Hasta gite into google and it will be the first one that comes up,available to rent.

Buchan Boy wrote:Thanks Charles,I'd originally planned to go to Montsegur castle to do some photography but didn't quite manage it.

I've now purchased a couple of books on the the Cathar stuff,its rather fascinating and those castles of the region are spectacular.

Thanks

I spent a very happy but exhausting afternoon at Montsegur:

http://www.catharcastles.info/montsegur ... =montsegur

the path up is long and steep....

halfway up was this blue:

"Quote Buchan Boy
Both the Meadow and Provencals were firsts for me and giving me 14 species on the first day and 7 firsts."

Thats the great thing about visiting somewhere new, Dave, you never know what you're going to see next.
Cheers, Chris

Monday 2nd June 2014

A strange day today,rather chilly in fact,decided to walk up the road to Rabat and find the the path to the North of the village that skirted the sides of Sommet du Mont then drifted down towards the higher path around the Southern flank of Calames Roc.It didn't get above 14 degrees C,and although the sun did poke through it sort of reminded me of sea mist on Exmoor.I figured more of a hill-walking day rather than a butterfly day.I did however grab a small slot of sunshine at a small meadow just as the path turned towards Calames Roc,the temperature lifted slightly.
The maddest looking things these,Ascalaphids,close relatives of ant-lions.They fly rather well and are rather inquisitive and at first it can be quite unsettling when they come upto see what you are,but move on when they realise what you are.............a daft Englishman abroad! Did some kicking around in the grass to see what Orthoptera we had and joy,some immature Wart Biters,got the photos in case I didn't see anymore....wrong! The small spell of sun was rapidly disappearing so I quickly moved on a bit further on down the path noted some more Tufted Marbled Skippers,False Heath Fritillaries and my first Provencal Short Tailed Blues.
They were rather huddled up and not doing much,praying for a bit of warmth and sunshine I suspect,much like me,if I wanted hill-walking I would of hit Brecon.......not really. A Common Blue fluttering around on its lonesome And a lovely view across towards Tarascon with the Roc de Sedour to the left,now shouting at me to get over there,but not today. Got back to the cottage mid afternoon after a lovely hill walk.......with a Wart Biter and some Butterflies and Ascalaphids,still weird looking things!

We drove up the Saurat Valley to Col de Port for my first look at the pass,towards the evening,and at 1250meters a barmy 12 degrees C,er chilly.But noted some fine looking terrain for bugs and most importantly,noted the access point to Roc de Sedour.Did some road verge orchid hunting from the car on the way up,and they were full with Early Purples,went back for photos the next day.

Provencal Short Tailed Blues,my very first...ever,a good if chilly day,oh and did I mention,fab for hill walking around here!

Back soon.

Thanks

Tuesday 3rd June 2014

Part one

Awoke to find the sun was shining,it takes a while for it rise above the Eastern ridge behind Tarascon,but once up the temperature rises quite rapidly.Wandered over to the meadow by the cottage to see if anything was sunning itself prior to a day in the sun.
First butterfly in the lovely early sun was a female Common Blue,it was 09.16 on the watch. Then joy,a Western Whip Snake hiding low down in the grass getting its first rays of the day,these hunt by site and can be particularly aggressive but not poisonous,I figured I could probably go for capture,with it being fairly lethargic this early in the day,but leave it be for another time.This one was about 4-5 feet long and I caught one a few days later. Some of the Grasshoppers were reaching adulthood. First Meadow Brown of the trip Then the first Fritillaries started to appear and when the light is lovely and low like this photographing open winged beauties can bring on some lovely shots. A couple more of a Provencal Female,all these are so variable in marking patterns,it does do ones head in,when scouring books later on! It was now 10.30 and 21 degrees,so decided to hop in the motor and head up the Saurat valley to have a look at the area where all those Early Purple Orchids were noted the evening before.
The place is a about a couple of kilometres short of the peak of the pass at Col de Port,where the road winds up a gradient,a lovely sunny 17 degrees around 11.30
And we're higher than Snowdon It was starting to get going,a few Fritillaries around,Small Tortoiseshells and plethoras of Geotrupes Dor beetles all flying around looking for dung!
But it was a Frog Orchid that first garnered my attention How the view looked as I took my first steps into...................getting lucky(I had no idea what I was likely to find!)
Although I could tell quite quickly that this area at the top of the valley looked worthy of a bit of time,and so it was. My first Pearl Bordered,a tad tatty,but hey..... Then the first of many,really difficult to tell apart,Grizzled Skippers of varying stages of life!
I was still above the stream at the bottom of the valley at this point and wanted to just see what was up this side.I gradually worked along until I met the stream. And then to make me feel at home a Dingy.........hello mate! Tea Break

Back soon

Hi Dave. More lovely pictures!

I'm going to be cowardly on the Melitaea frits (for the moment) but I'm confident your rosy grizzly is actually a southern grizzly (malvoides). The upperside hindwing is the giveaway. In rosy the central white mark is poorly demarcated and much less prominent, usually only well defined basally. The other hindwing markings are also generally subdued. That deeply cleft, prominent and bright white central mark is typical of grizzly and southern grizzly.

I don't suppose you photographed an underside?

Guy

Tuesday 3rd June 2014

Part two

A lovely Provencal Fritillary posing nicely on the newly sprouting ferns,this one nice and fresh with superb markings,i could still be wrong with ID. I'm gonna go with a Cinquefoil Skipper with this one,I think that rectangular-ish cell spot may be diagnostic-ish I'd just reached a small stream coming down the valley to meet the river at the bottom,when one of those dark things flies by.......a ringlet,I gave chase,was tough to get near and even tougher for photos,and after about 5-6 attempts got the shots to have a go at ID,Piedmont I reckon. Dead chuffed with my first Ringlet,it was fairly breezy now and the Butterflies were picking up and moving very far and very fast,so I wandered down to the edges of flowing water and followed a cattle trail along the base.This was a lovely spot,for about a Kilometre.
Sooty Coppers,especially males,lanch into anything that comes along and return to a favoured roost,almost always the same one,regardless of how close I was.So it was sit and wait,but of course you need to check what its launched itself at!
As the days went on these became increasingly more numerous across the whole area and I reckon i'd got it just right with the emergence time.Dont know what all the females are up to though,only saw a couple. And then a big boy came to see what I was up to,caught it in periphery vision whilst checking my newly found Sooties.Watched it settle over the other side of the stream,a booty later and my first Camberwell Beauty in the camera. Now theres also Green Lizards around here,they absolutely fly across anything to get away,it was going to take time to work out a close encounter with these little dino's.
I can see you! Finally some underside shots of those Provincals,it had started to get cooler again with cloud coming over,so with a bit of encouragement......
That dark banding still seems wrong...I was even thinking female Heath Then the trouble with uppersides,this one is finely marked and I could be finely wrong! Same one as above. The butterflies were now beginning to wrap things up for the day,although only early afternoon,the cloud bank moving in looked like it might wipe out the temperature for the day.
So quickly grabbed what was still around. Pearly Heath,these needed checking incase of Chestnuts! Another Rosy Grizzled Popped back up to the road verges to get some shots of the really stout Early Purples and also an Albino Fragrant Just as I was about to jump in the car another Ringlet,here we go.....
This one was fluttering around on a pretty boggy area of the hillside..........second booty and crud shots.
Mountain Ringlet Typical habitat at the bottom of the valley by the (fast flowing...deep)stream. A couple more Sooty's just seeing time out before shut down and one of only a couple of females That was that,now a small note on fuel economy,bit dodgy and I'm not sure I recommend it,but rolling is the new approach,8 miles down the valley rolling,did this a lot until one day the brakes started smelling a bit weird!
Good fun though!
Popped into the meadow back at the cottage to catch a Large Skipper and another Rosy Grizzled,the Skipper emergence was about to kick in,but for this evening there was only one. Word on the street was of a heatwave coming,over 30 degrees by the weekend,so the Mrs was saying,eyeing up the swimming pool...............
Steaked out some Field Cricket burrows during the evening,for photos tomorrow...hope they don't smash up the owners lawn mower!
Bring on the heat.

Thanks

Hi again Dave.

I'm really enjoying this thread, especially as I have spent a lot of time in the Pyrenees and can't get there this year.

In your last post I suspect the first fritillary is heath, not Provençal (still taking the cowardly route on the previous post!). The next one, with the heavy branding on the hindwing (I'm assuming the ups and uns are the same insect) looks like meadow fritillary. The relatively unmarked discal area on the hindwing is characteristic of this species and although you would expect the forewing pd line to be weak or broken in meadow frit this individual is clearly a little aberrant, with the same band on the hindwing very heavy. That was my instant reaction, anyway - it's difficult to see as Provençal.

I think all your skippers except the last are malvoides - the last being armoricanus (Oberthür's).

Guy

Hi Dave,
I like your Sooty, Camberwell and Ringlets, although frankly I'd be happy to see anything at all through the rain here at the moment in the Massif Central
Chris