The French Pyrenees - A Butterfly Tour Naturetrek Tour Report 7 - 14 July 2011 Lesser Marbled Fritillary Streamside assemblage of butterflies incl Esher's, Little & Chalkhill Blues French Pyrenees butterfly group 2011 Report and images compiled by Mark Galliott Naturetrek Cheriton Mill Cheriton Alresford Hampshire SO24 0NG England T: +44 (0)1962 733051 F: +44 (0)1962 736426 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk Tour Report The French Pyrenees - A Butterfly Tour Tour Leader: Mark Galliott (Naturetrek Leader & Naturalist) Participants: Brian Hancock Kiff Hancock Dennis Waite Penny Waite Ben Wilson Alison Bosworth Clare Robinson Day 1 Thursday 7th July Cloudy, warm, drizzle later The flight was on time into Toulouse where the group was welcomed by Mark, our locally based guide. We loaded up and set off on the 2½ hour drive down the autoroute towards the mountains and our hotel at Gèdre. Black Kites were everywhere in huge numbers along this road, the only other sightings to enliven the journey being some Yellow-legged Gulls and both Little and Cattle Egrets. Exiting the motorway, we skirted the pilgrimage town of Lourdes and entered the 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 to our rooms. We then sampled the first of many delicious dinners that we were to enjoy during the forthcoming week. Day 2 Friday 8th July Sunny and warm, windy Our first full day in the field dawned fine, so we eagerly ate our breakfast for an early start up the Heas Valley to the Barrage des Gloriettes. This 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 beneath the dam structure which at this time of the year is a riot of colour from the numerous plants that grow here, many of them endemic to the Pyrenean range. Scottish Asphodel-Tofieldia calyculata, Pyrenean Eryngium-Eryngium bougatii, Alpine Toadflax-Linaria alpina, Gypsohila-Gypsophila repens and the endemic yellow Treacle Mustard-Erysimum decumbens ssp pyrenaicum were just some of them, while Greater Butterfly, Fragrant, Heath Spotted, and the diminutive Vanilla Orchid were also admired. The birds were also not to be outdone with superb Lammergeiers, both Alpine and Red-billed Choughs, and our first views of the magnificent Griffon Vultures which now thankfully range far and wide in these mountains. After eating our picnic lunch in the vicinity of the parking area, we then set off across the barrier and skirted the reservoir. 2 © Naturetrek August 11 The French Pyrenees - A Butterfly Tour Tour Report The temperature was now rising quickly, the sunny conditions heralding the appearance of many species of butterfly with Black-veined White, Heath, Pearl & Small Pearl Bordered and Meadow Fritillary, Clouded & Berger’s Clouded Yellow, Brown Argus, Common & Mazarine Blue and the ubiquitous Piedmont Ringlets all being particularly numerous. Other rarer species included Cinquefoil & Marbled Skipper, Turquoise, Escher’s & Chapman’s Blue, Purple-edged Copper, Mountain Argus and Bright-eyed Ringlet. Other good plants were Yellow Milk-vetch-Oxytropis campestris, Spring Gentian-Gentiana verna, Pyrenean Germander-Teucrium pyrenaicum and Ashy Crane’s-bill-Geranium cinereum. Reluctantly, we then made our way back down the winding valley road to the hotel to freshen ourselves up before dinner, after a tiring but very successful first day. Day 3 Saturday 9th July Sunny and hot Today we decided to walk from the hotel taking a delightful circular trail high up onto the hillside behind and into the flowery meadows of the lower Héas Valley by way of an old mill, which is in the process of being restored by the local commune. Near to the hotel Black Kite and Griffon vultures could be seen circling high overhead, with lower down Crag and House Martins hawking for insects, while Serins were very noticeable in the village itself. Moving up into the meadows some nice plants were Pyrenean Oak- Quercus pyrenaica, Mountain Leek-Sempervivum montanum, Field Gentian-Gentianella campestris, Dusky Crane’s- bill-Geranium phaeum, Nottingham Catchfly-Silene nutans and on shady rocks the delightful violet flowers of Ramonda myconi, the only European representative of the African Violet family. Butterflies were also numerous with the magnificent Apollo particularly striking along with Black-veined White, Little, Large, Escher’s, and Silver-studded Blue, Pearly & Small Heath, Ringlet, Large & Small Skipper, Woodland Grayling, and Dark Green, Spotted, Weaver’s and Lesser Marbled Fritillary. Day 4 Sunday 10th July Sunny and Hot We awoke to another glorious sunny morning, so decided to make for the Port de Boucharo, high up right on the Spanish border. At 2270m this is the highest point that we could reach by road during our stay, and would give us access to species of plant, bird, and perhaps butterfly that we would probably not have again later in the week. We firstly drove up the valley to Gavarnie, before taking the steep winding road up to the ski resort area at the Vallée des Espécières, stopping en route at the ski lodge to scan the surrounding area with our binoculars, having good views of Northern Wheatear, Water Pipit, Linnets, and our first views of the very obliging and cute Alpine Marmots. Continuing upwards, we parked the mini-bus at the Col de Tentes to walk the final 1½ km to the port, as the road is closed due to rock falls. Reaching the Port de Boucharo itself, we enjoyed the views back down towards Gavarnie on one side, and on the other side, the more extensive views over the border into Spain and the adjacent Odessa National Park. © Naturetrek August 11 3 Tour Report The French Pyrenees - A Butterfly Tour On the rocks and scree here, many colourful plants were starting to flower after the snow melt with Pygmy Hawksbeard-Crepis pygmaea, Ashy Crane’s-bill-Geranium cinereum, Globe-headed Rampion-Phyteuma hemisphericum, Snow Gentian-Gentiana nivalis, Fairy Foxglove-Erinus alpinus and Purple Sandwort-Arenaria purpurascens all contributing to the spectacle, while the handsome pink endemic Pyrenean Thistle-Carduus carlinoides was particularly noticeable. Snow Finch and Alpine Accentor were welcome additions to the bird list. Returning to the car park, we descended a little way to eat our picnic in the lee of the wind, noting the endemic Pyrenees Brassy Ringlet, before continuing down again to spend the rest of the afternoon in the lower Ossoue Valley. Reaching the bottom, we had good views of a pair of Red-backed Shrikes, before stopping in an area of flowery grassland and scrub next to a stream beneath the towering cliffs. This site is always full of butterflies, with probably the largest concentration of species we were to see all week. Before walking down into the meadows though, we were somewhat distracted by three magnificent Lammergeiers quartering the cliffs, closely followed by some Griffon Vultures. Starting to identify the many butterflies on the wing we saw amongst others Marbled, Lesser Marbled, Heath and False Heath Fritillary, Apollo, Escher’s, Silver-studded, Mazarine, Little & Chalk-hill Blue, Wood White, Comma, Oberthur’s and Large Grizzled Skipper, and both Lefèbvre’s and Yellow-spotted Ringlet, the latter the local Pyrenean subspecies constans which has no black or yellow spots. Day 5 Monday 11th July Sunny and hot The overnight mist was already clearing when we left the hotel and headed up the main valley to Gavarnie and its famous Cirque, parking next to the river full of the cold melt water from the still quite sizeable snow fields high up on the mountain ridges. As we crossed the small bridge and left the village into the native Mountain Pine woodland we noted our first plants with Horned Pansy-Viola cornuta, Wolf’s-bane- Aconitum vulparia, Alpine Marsh Orchid-Dactylorhiza majalis ssp alpestris and Creeping Globularia-Globularia repens all being observed. Coal Tit, Pied Flycatcher, Black Redstart and Firecrest were also either seen or heard. As we climbed ever higher, the full grandeur of this special place was gradually unfolding before us until just as we neared the “hostellerie” the whole panorama of the cirque was visible, a truly magnificent sight! Reaching the hotel, we enjoyed a coffee break whilst admiring the view, before continued along the path across the stream and into the huge bowl itself. Lunch was now calling, so we spread our picnic out on a large boulder with a backdrop of the “grand cascade” (reputedly the highest waterfall in Europe), and the vast bulk of the rest of the cirque stretching away either side of it. Here amongst the rocks there was a good assemblage of interesting plants with Livelong Saxifrage-Saxifraga paniculata, Edelweiss-Leontopodium alpinum, Alpine Fleabane-Erigeron alpinus, Frog Orchid-Coeloglossum viride and more blooms of Ashy crane’s-bill. As the sun was only just reaching over the cliff-tops butterflies here were rather scarce, but Peak & Wood White, Mountain Ringlet and Sooty Copper were all identified. Some of the more adventurous then walked to see (and feel the spray) of the water fall at closer quarters, while at the same time a flock of Alpine Choughs amused the rest of the group as they came very close in search of our picnic scraps. 4 © Naturetrek August 11 The French Pyrenees - A Butterfly Tour Tour Report After an ice cream stop at the hotel, we then took a different route back down to Gavarnie via a track which traverses the cliffs, before descending via a dramatic (but safe) zigzag path, all the time giving fabulous views over the Gave Valley.