www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

I am shortly going on holiday to Corsica. I was wondering if anyone could give me any information on where to look for the island's specialities. It would be great to see Corsican Swallowtail, Corsican Fritillary and Corsican Heath. I'd also be grateful on any information on where to see the endemic birds.

Many Thanks
Mike

Roger and I were only discussing this a week ago.

Corsica is huge, so I think you'll need some local knowledge in order to have a truly successful trip.

Not sure if that's available on here, but in any case I wish you the best of luck, as there are a fair number of endemic species to be found on this island.

You're nothing if not game, and I admire you for that. Please let us know how you get on, as there are a few of us who fancy a trip to Corsica to see the range of species that are found there.

Hi Mike,

Here are links showing a list of birds and wildlife reports from Corsica.
http://p1.storage.canalblog.com/12/53/5 ... 771331.pdf
http://www.surfbirds.com/mb/trips/corsica-0303.html
http://www.stephenburch.com/trips/corsica/corsica.htm
These reports make a great read and they also help you find the suitable habitats. I find also google map to be useful for my research, through google you can find a lot of interesting habitats and you can check the access also if you travel by car.

Have fun and I hope you enjoy your holidays. Corsica is wonderful and beautifully preserved and the local beer is nice ! Just one thing to bear in mind, the roads can be quite slow (narrow roads and potholes) so allow plenty of time to drive from one place to the other. It took me more than 3 hours to drive from Galeria to Piana on the west coast and for a relatively short distance.
Looking forward to reading your report.
Sylvie

Hi Mike,

What part of Corsica are you visiting? I was in the south last September. Probably not helped by the time of year, but it wasn't great for butterflies as there weren't too many open areas. Two tailed pasha heaven though in september! Anywhere within a few miles of the coast we saw them regularly while driving and in good numbers near prickly pear or fig trees. Several dozen a day most days

I can look up details of some sites that were good (heaths and grayling species) if I know they are within your range

I did see corsican heath and corsical wall plus a few grayling species. There was one particularly good spot in the mountains which was about the only open area I found on the island. Earlier in the year might be beter in other places.

There were plenty of Hummingbird Hawk Moths. At the two places we stayed we had several in the garden each day so the camera was in machine gun mode when we were there! Also loads of other moths around the lights which I purposefully left on every night, though the hornets were a bit of a problem!

My first ever wild tortoise was another highlight, as were all the lizards!

Thank you everyone for your help and comments. A big thank you to Sylvie for digging out the reports which will be very useful. Hopefully I can report back with some good butterfly sightings and photos.

Many Thanks Again
Mike

Mike,
There are circa 65 species in Corsica. See this site for an idea

http://www.lepinet.fr/especes/depart/index.php?dep=20

Specialities for me would include Corsican swallowtail and, of course, the Two tailed Pasha from mid August for the non initiated

Oh, and if its not too late, Marseilles dockers are lazy b*gg*rs and are often on strike. I would prefer Corsica ferries over the SNCM if you are traveling by ferry. The SNCM may be undergoing financial restructuring at the end of the summer and I would not like to see you stranded in Corsica however pleasant that may be.

Cheers, Chris