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France - Butterflies of the Pyrenees

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France - Butterflies of the Pyrenees France - Butterflies of the Pyrenees Naturetrek Tour Report 6 - 13 July 2015 Apollo on Eryngium bougatii Gavarnie Blue Alpine Marmot Marbled Skippers mating Report compiled by Mark Galliott Cover Images courtesy of Ali Woodward Naturetrek Mingledown Barn Wolf's Lane Chawton Alton Hampshire GU34 3HJ UK T: +44 (0)1962 733051 F: +44 (0)1962 736426 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk Tour Report France - Butterflies of the Pyrenees Tour Participants: Mark Galliott & Jason Mitchell (leaders) and 11 Naturetrek clients Day 1 Monday 6th July Weather: Sunny & very hot. The flight was on time into Lourdes where the group and Jason were welcomed by Mark, who had travelled down by train from his home in France. We quickly loaded the minibuses, but were rather perturbed to discover that the air-conditioning in Jason’s minibus wasn’t working; a necessity with the weather set to be hot in the coming week! Thankfully a solution was agreed with the hire company, and with only 11 clients we exchanged the faulty vehicle for a large roomy car. We then set off towards the nearby mountains, skirting Lourdes and continuing into the rapidly narrowing gorge of the fast flowing Gave de Gavarnie stream, which tumbles all the way down from the Spanish border. Soon after passing the famous Pont Napoleon Bridge, just upstream of the spa town of Luz St Saveur, we reached our destination where our amiable hosts Odile and Philippe promptly allocated us our rooms. En route we saw many Black Kites overhead and a few Crag Martins in the gorge. We re-convened for an aperitif and discussion before enjoying the first of the delicious dinners that we were to enjoy during the forthcoming week. Day 2 Tuesday 7th July Weather: Sunny & hot. It was a lovely sunny morning and we went on a circular walk in the vicinity of Gédre, climbing high up behind the hotel before returning down through the hay meadows. The recent hot weather had enabled the local farmers to have already cut the grass here which impacted on the number of plants and insects to be seen. We did though, see Short-toed Eagle, Honey Buzzard and a pair of Golden Eagles, while White Admiral, Woodland Grayling, Speckled Wood, Brown Argus and Silver-washed Fritillary were amongst our first butterflies of the week. Next we headed up the Héas Valley, stopping firstly in the hamlet of Héas itself, just below the little chapel, where we ate our picnic lunch. The flowery meadows (still uncut) were full of colourful plants and many butterflies. Included in the former were Fringed and Maiden Pink (Dianthus monspessulanus and D. deltoides), Sweet Cecily (Myrrhis odorata), Round-headed Rampion (Phyteuma orbiculare), and Fragrant Orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea). Black-veined White, Clouded Yellow, Long-tailed, Little and Silver-studded Blues, Wall Brown, Red-underwing Skipper, Comma, Marbled White, Dark Green and Lesser Marbled Fritillaries and our first specialist Ringlet, the unmarked Pyrenean subspecies of Yellow-Spotted Ringlet, were eagerly identified. Continuing upwards past the Hôtellerie de Maillet, we eventually reached the parking area just below the dramatic Cirque de Troumouse. We set off across the springy turf for a short circular walk to a swift flowing stream, where we saw the endemic and elusive Pyrenean Brook Salamander (Euproctus asper), a normally nocturnal newt-like creature restricted to this mountain range. There were also many small pools full of tadpoles and frog- lets of the Common Frog: at this altitude probably a very short breeding season. A patch of limestone held a few good alpine plants including Alpine Catchfly (Lychnis alpina), Garland Flower (Daphne cneorum), Bird’s-eye Primrose (Primula farinosa) and Globe-headed Rampion (Phyteuma hemisphericum), while more acid soils nearby had Alpine Clover (Trifolium alpinum), Common Butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris) and a few © Naturetrek August 15 1 France - Butterflies of the Pyrenees Tour Report Trumpet Gentians (Gentiana acualis). Butterflies were scarce so we spent the rest of the afternoon stopping at likely spots and exploring as we descended back down to the hotel. Apollo and Clouded Apollo were both seen in good numbers, and other species noted being Piedmont Ringlet, Sooty Copper, Mazarine and Turquoise Blues, Marbled Skipper, and Heath and Meadow Fritillaries. Water Pipit, Wheatear, both Alpine and Red-billed Choughs and our first majestic soaring Griffin Vultures added some avian interest. Day 3 Wednesday 8th July Weather: Cloudy am, sunny spells pm, cooler. We awoke to thick cloud, but with the promise of it clearing as the day progressed, we again headed up the Heas Valley, before turning right on to the road which leads up to the Lac des Gloriettes. This is a man-made lake formed by an impressive barrage (dam), which holds back the Gave d’Estaube to form a substantial stretch of water, with lovely views up the valley towards the Cirque itself high up on the Spanish border to the south. We started by inspecting the rocky area either side of the road which, at this time of the year, was a riot of colour from the numerous plants that grow here. Scottish Asphodel (Tofieldia calyculata), Alpine Toadflax (Linaria alpine), Arnica (Arnica montana), the alpine Roses (R. pendulina, and R. Rubiginosa), Aconite-leaved Buttercup (Ranunculus aconitifolius), and Pyrenean Angelica (Angelica razulii), were just some of them. Orchid lovers enjoyed Greater Buttefly (Platanthera chlorantha), Fragrant, Heath and Common Spotted (Dactylorhiza maculate and D. Fuchsia), the rare Small White (Psuedorchis albida) and the diminutive, finely scented, Vanilla Orchid (Gymnadenia austriaca). Overhead the raptors were now starting to search for food, with numerous Griffon Vultures soaring over our heads, while Ring Ouzel, Garden Warbler, Yellow Wagtail, Raven, and Yellowhammer were either heard or seen. After eating our picnic lunch in the vicinity of the parking area, we then set off across the barrier and skirted a short distance around the reservoir. The clouds were moving away now and the sun and higher temperature heralded the appearance of many species of butterfly. Berger’s Clouded Yellow, Purple-edged Copper, Scarce Swallowtail, Spotted, Pearl-bordered and Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries, Large, Chalk-hill and Adonis Blues, Pearly Heath, Large and Olive Skippers, and Mountain Ringlet were all added to the already expanding list. It was a good year for the Apollos as they were once again flying in good numbers. Among good plants found were Alchemilla-leaved Cinquefoil (Potentilla alchemelloides), St Bruno’s Lily (Paradisea liliastrum), White False Helleborine (Veratrum album), Field Gentian (Gentianella campestris), Wild Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster integerrimus), Mountain Houseleek (Sempervivum montanum), and both Livelong and Wood Saxifrage (Saxifraga paniculata and S. umbrosa), and sheets of the lovely deep blue of the English Iris (Iris latifolia). All too soon, it was time to head back down the valley (just as the cloud started to roll in again) to the hotel and dinner after another superb day in the field. 2 © Naturetrek August 15 France - Butterflies of the Pyrenees Tour Report Day 4 Thursday 9th July Weather: Foggy am, sunny pm, warm. The ground was damp from the overnight fog, so with the weather set to improve by the afternoon, we headed down the valley today, where the lower altitude and different habitats would enable us to hopefully find some species that we would not see during the rest of our stay. Our first stop was at the impressive Pont de Napoleon, constructed in 1857 by the 3rd Emperor, when he lived here with the Empress Eugenie. Whilst admiring the graceful span of the bridge, we were very fortunate to firstly hear and then get good views of three Black Woodpeckers as they flew over our heads, with many Crag Martins also inhabiting the cliffs. We then went down the gorge, witnessing the scars left by the devastating floods of June 2013, before turning right and climbing the isolated mountain of Hautacam, a frequent destination for the Tour de France. On the way up a pair of Egyptian Vultures were briefly sighted, before we unexpectedly emerged from the fog into bright sunshine at the summit café, where some people admired the views whilst others partook of liquid sustenance. A brief stop on the way down yielded Dark Red Helleborine (Epipactis atrorubens) and Cornish Heath (Erica vagans) on a limestone outcrop, with Tree Pipit, Stonechat and Whinchat seen from the vehicles. We ate our lunch at the bottom next to the Gave river in the promised sunshine. Afterwards a pleasant walk upstream past the site of the destroyed lake (the aforementioned floods again), and through flowery grassland, brought us our first butterflies of the day with Common, Short-tailed and Provence Short-tailed Blues, Map, and Green-veined and Wood Whites all new; while both Swallowtails, Little and Long-tailed Blues, Large and Small Whites, Small Heath and Wall Brown were also seen. The boulder strewn river bank was home to Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper and a single Cattle Egret. It was then on to a delightful roadside site near the little village of Saligos. Butterfly species seen for the first time here were Southern White Admiral, Holly Blue, Gatekeeper, Ringlet, and a glimpse of a Purple Emperor as it flew quickly overhead. Interesting plants here were Spreading Bellflower (Campanula patula), Hare’s-tail Clover (Trifolium arvense), Buckler Cress (Biscutella laevigata) and Thick-leaved Stonecrop (Sedum dasyphyllum). An hour was then spent visiting the charming little town of Luz St Saveur, buying postcards or ice creams, before returning up the valley to our hotel. Day 5 Friday 10th July Weather: Sunny and hot. The overnight mist was already clearing, with the promise of a fine sunny day, when we left the hotel and headed up the main valley to Gavarnie and its famous Cirque.
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