]]>Certain butterflies for some reason I can't explain have captured my imagination, the Violet copper is one, when I first became aware of this little beauty I hadn't a clue where to look other than France,a rather large country, the Internet was the first port of call, information was sparse, the Pyrenees was suggested, that reduced the odds considerably !!! , fine , so a trip was arranged to the Pyrenees orientales , it must have been one of my Mr Micawber moments , something will turn up, and indeed it did.
We had arrived at a location previously visited in the hopes of again seeing the beautiful Spanish fritillary, regrettably none were seen but I had the good fortune of making the acquaintance of Mr J Aymar a fellow enthusiast, when asked if he could help with a location for my target L Helle his response was immediate and very helpful, you will need to be lucky he said, I was already lucky having met him.
We continued our journey and made base camp at Llo,
The following day we set out to the location my new friend had described, hours were spent searching damp meadows that offered the right conditions for Helle , by mid afternoon, disappointed I abandoned my efforts, my wife then declared "I am going for my walk",she had been gone little more than ten minutes when I saw her return carrying her hiking stick in a horizontal position, strange behaviour I thought, " is this what your looking for " she asked, I looked at a small butterfly perched on her stick, for a moment I stared in disbelief, it was Helle, a Violet copper no less, I quickly grabbed my camera to record this phenomenon , where did you find it I asked excitedly, oh down the lane there are lots was her smug reply, Helle was carried back to join her friends.
Is this not stranger than fiction ? I ask.
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A Spring trip to Loire -Atlantique ,France.
This was to be a visit to look for two species, the spring version of the Map (butterfly) and the Camberwell Beauty.
The Map is unusual in that it has two annual broods that look very different. The summer Map has black with white markings, looking like a miniature version of the White admiral, the spring version appears more like a Fritillary, I decided to try my luck and look for this delightful little butterfly in the department of the Loire -Atlantique.
A French lepidopterist friend who lives in the region had given me locations for the Camberwell Beauty ( Nymphalis antiopa),this gave me the chance, with a little luck, to find an over wintering Camberwell ,with high hopes my Wife and I arrived at St Lymphard a small town at the edge of the Marais de brière, we made St Lympard our base camp.
The following morning a 25 k drive to visit a small reserve that proved to be a very interesting, a mixed environment, ponds, prairies, woodland, and flowery lanes,immediately my first Map was found sunning itself in the early morning sun, several others were quickly spotted, but the sudden arrival of a Large tortoiseshell was the big attraction , my first encounter with this species,it was an exciting start, we returned to St Lymphard for a modest celebration,a glass of the delicious Muscadet-Sèvre et Maine the wine of the district.
The Weather put a dampener on operations giving time for a little tourism, Breca is situated at the edge of the marais, despite the rain we found it an attractive village of thatched cottages,and waterways,it has a small port for tours on barques,clearly a popular tourist spot, I made a mental note to return in the Autumn, the rain having set in we returned to St Lymphard.
The following day the rain having cleared we set out in search of Camberwells, at the first location the track was flooded, this was a disappointment so we then moved to our second location, no Camberwell ,calling it a day we started back along the track, the first was spotted sunning itself sat in the middle of the track, no sooner than I was out of the van it was gone
Nevertheless encouraged by our first sighting we returned the following morning,no Camberwells were to be seen,shopping it had to be, after lunch we returned and after a long wait, success, this time our newly found friend sat and posed patiently for its portrait,we made several more visits and found a second one,even though the mornings were sunny we only saw them mid afternoon ,slightly worn yes, but who cares when you see your first Camberwell Beauty (Nymphalis antiopa).
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The Cep (Boletus edulis) gatherers were out in force as we passed over the quiet pass of the Coll d'Ares 1513m and into Catalonia,happily, the road was made for pleasant and relaxed driving, by evening we had arrived at our campsite, at this time of the year it was all but deserted, after this long drive a relaxing glass of the local vintage and a toast to success.
The following morning a drive into the rugged mountains looking for Strawberry trees (Arbutus unedo) the host plant, they were easily found, bearing fruit but no Pasha, the rough stony ground quickly caused knee pain, Pasha passion I was soon to discover came at a price, no Pashas but several other species provided interest for my camera, still no Pasha, time for a coffee break, determined to try again back up the rocky hill, and there he was sat in his bush waiting patiently for my arrival, the camera shutter was clicking away merrily when an intruder came along, my new friend was immediately airborne, I wonder if anyone has studied their rate of acceleration, having had my first encounter the chase was on, it didn't take long to find a second Pasha,in a short space of time we became good friends the Pasha adopted me perching on my hand or the camera lens allowing for close examination of this magnificent insect, from time to time it took to the air to protect its airspace always returning to it's favorite bush.
My wife and I enjoyed his company for an hour then said adeu amic and I retreated to the campsite with aching knees and a slight angle sprain, was it worth it, you bet, wouldn't have missed the experience for all the tea in China.
My this years target species was Papilio alexanor , most comment read on the internet suggested that I was facing a challenging task but as sometimes happens lady luck offers a helping hand, passing what seemed a likely spot my wife suggests ,"lets try in there", no sooner had I parked and stepped out with the camera three Alexanors were spotted, great, but the species is a restless creature it rarely stops, eggs are laid on the wing the butterfly fluttering all the time, getting focus was a challenge ,but over the course of several days despite high temperatures and a steep scree slope I managed some video and stills, these can be seen on the link below,not only alex the site also provided a fresh Cardinal (Argynnis pandora),and a Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia) form valezina my first for this locality plus many other species including Papilio machaon ,Iphiclides podalirius and Parnassius apollo.
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Also present were a Male Shoveler,Teal,Widgeon, Mallard and a “family” of Pintail,one adult Male one adult Female and one juvenile bird,Cormorants,two Grey Herons,one Little Egret,one G-w-Egret.
To see the Goosanders.go to recent added.
Despite the appalling weather at the start of our visit to the Doubs in search for the rare Scarce Heath perseverance brought success, several newly emerged males were found ,as well as a mating pair ,newly emerged Grizzled Skippers ,Woodland Ringlets and Marsh Frittillarys were also seen.,a good start,considering the bog land habitat was heavily flooded making access difficult, the same conditions applied at a nearby Violet copper site,however Violet Coppers were numerous and as a added bonus two Chequered Skipper, very pleasing.
The rain continued as we moved to the Nievre but once again luck was supportive and the Bog Fritillary was added to my growing list of rarities.
Now with three of France's rarest species recorded a visit to the Cote d'Or for a fourth,the Scarce Fritillary,would Lady Luck be with me ? the weather conditions had not improved greatly but still worth a try but this species despite the help given by a Forest Ranger eluded me,he later confirmed few had been seen,however the visit was far from disappointing Reverdins blue was added to my new species sightings,Woodland Browns were also numerous in the woodland but as always difficult to capture on film.
The plan was now to return to the Doubs to search for the Large Heath the site was now under water and all but impossible to access,a challenge for another day.
Leaving the Doubs a scenically beautiful Department with some regret ,I left wondering how many Montbeliards there were grazing the green prairies? time to move on to the next leg of the journey ,the Alps beckoned.
With a change of location and the weather much improved,optimism and expectations high base camp was established at St Bonnet en Champsaur,the intention was to look for mid Altitude species. The first Fritillary of the day was a freshly emerged Niobe ,
Niobe was in no mood to be cooperative, thankfully this was not the case for the following days ,the Champsaur proved to be a treasure trove for Butterflies providing sightings of Scarce copper,Purple-edged-copper,Soo
Now for some high altitude species,Queyras national park was chosen, base camp at Chateaux de Queyras,a steady climb up the Col d'Agnell for a recommended location,what an amazing sight to see so many species at the side of the torrent puddling for salts, my target species the Glandon Blue was easily spotted along with several more new species that I had not previously seen, a Female Small Apollo laying eggs was spotted,a merry chase ensued finally with a few shots taken she flew out of reach to continue her duty to the species.
I now decided to return to the Champsaur by way of the Col d`Izoard and overnight at Briançon it was a tortuous nerve racking journey driving a Camping car,it was rewarded at the Summit by another two ticks, Cynthia's Fritillary and a False Heath Fritillary,this helped to calm the nerves ready for the descent to Briançon.
Now back at St Bonnet en Chamsaur again to test Lady Luck , she did not disappoint presenting an unexpected meeting with the magnificent Poplar Admiral couldn't believe my luck as I watched this superb butterfly enjoying a "meal" of a dead snail !!!!
It was time make our return to the UK ,one last stop on the homeward journey,St -Bonnet-Troncais, Allier,stopping at a favorite campsite and Butterfly location ,would the Large -checkered -Skippers be waiting ? ,
yep a group of these delightful little Butterflies were unexpectedly gathered around a damp patch puddling,once again an unexpected photo opportunity.
Now it was time to finish the homeward journey and start the laborious task of processing some 3,000 odd photos,Oh and of course commence planning the next Butterfly Safari.
Ham Wall RSPB.13 October. 6-30am.My Wife and I left the Shapwick corner car park and cycled along the track to Tor Hide in the dark ,settled down on the benches in hope of seeing the Starlings take to the air, a Great white Egret appeared from the shadows and flew across the water to settle in the reed bed ,as the light gradually increased a murmur arose from the reeds increasing with the dawn light ,a sudden roar and the air was full of swirling birds ,back and forth they flew then they were gone leaving a shadowy bird floating over the reeds, the Marsh Harrier no doubt soon found its morning prey.A short video.
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23-12-2015 At last sunshine!!, this break in the weather allowed an opportunity to visit Greylake and enjoy the sight and sounds of the thousands of birds that can now to be seen from the hides, in the far distance a flock of what must have been a thousand Golden Plover, sadly they never came close to the hide ,similar numbers of Lapwing floating like confetti in the sunlight made for an astonishing sight, a flock of forty one Black-tailed-Godwits made for an equally impressive fly past,full supporting cast of Ducks, Pintail numbers down on last year, numerous Snipe close in front of the hide. Marsh Harriers were less active than usual, Peregrine seen on a distant tree.Greylake at the moment surely must rank as one of Europe’s greatest wildlife displays.
]]>Mid morning to the surprise and delight of all present in the hide we were privileged by the arrival of a family of Bewick`s Swans two adults and a juvenile, the birds appeared rather nervous and left a quarter of an hour later, Ten Black-tailed-Godwits also made a brief appearance, Kingfisher made several dives from a hovering position.The rest of the morning it was business as usual.
]]>Dawn was breaking as I arrived at the reserve,making my way towards the hide sizeable flocks of Starlings passed low over head all heading west. At the hide all appeared quiet until the sound of a distant shotgun caused panic ,Ducks took to the sky accompanied by Lapwings and Starlings in such numbers that the sky was black with birds, after the panicking ducks settled two Peregrines where seen taking perch positions on the power pylons where they then made hunting forays, they seemed to be chasing starlings rather than the Ducks. A Female Marsh Harrier drifted towards the hide this inevitably caused another panic. A Kingfisher made several dives from a hovering position Grey Heron flew in and landed in the water and waded to the bank,strange bird!!
But the Mornings entertainment was provided by two squabbling Stoats that appeared in front of the hide one leaped into the water follow by the second there was a brief fight before they reached the opposite bank, they then raced of out of sight,I was taken by surprise and fascinated by how fast they were able to swim. Regrettably no photo record. One more amazing insight into the secret world of nature.
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