Dipper - cinclus cinclus
Elena and I had agreed to meet Mick Richardson near Granada for a day in the Sierra Nevada Mountains looking primarily for butterflies. Mick is a professional wildlife guide with an encyclopoedic knowledge of birds, butterflies, dragonflies, orchids and just about every form of fauna and flora out there, so it promised to be a good day.
Our route took us along the road through Pinos Genil, stopping along the way to spot birds including Peregrine Falcon and Blue Rock Thrush. After Guejar Sierra we scanned the river from a bridge and found a young Dipper, plus Spotted Flycatcher and Blackcap.
Our route took us along the road through Pinos Genil, stopping along the way to spot birds including Peregrine Falcon and Blue Rock Thrush. After Guejar Sierra we scanned the river from a bridge and found a young Dipper, plus Spotted Flycatcher and Blackcap.
 Spotted Flycatcher - muscicapa striata |  Blackcap - sylvia atricapilla |
Marsh Fritillary - euphydryas aurinia beckeri
We then started to pick up the first butterflies of the day, I just took pictures and relied on Mick to tell me what they all were. Marsh Fritillary and Queen of Spain Fritillary I do remember, also Spanish and Southern Gatekeepers, which I can just about distinguish now. Another species that really caught my eye was the Iberian Marbled White, how to distinguish it from Spanish Marbled or just plain ordinary Marbled Whites? I study the photos and compare descriptions in Collins, or Mat Rowlings website or iPhone app. "Butterflies of Europe", but I freely admit that I find butterflies much more difficult to distinguish than birds, or even dragonflies. They give me spots before the eyes!
 Spanish Gatekeeper - pyronia bethseba |  Iberian Marbled White - melanargia lachesis |
Here are a couple more we picked up early. The Small Skipper was abundant up here but the Scarce Swallowtail much less so. Although it is called scarce it is not really true as they are very common in Andalucia. Perhaps it is a comparitive term as they are less abundant than the ordinary Swallowtail.
 Small Skipper - thymelicus sylvestris |  Scarce Swallowtail - iphaclides podalirius |
As we moved higher up the mountain more varieties of butterfly became evident. So many so that I refer the reader to Mick´s excellent blog which gives full details of the incredible 47 species seen here,-
http://www.lojawildlife.com/search?updated-max=2012-09-20T09:32:00%2B02:00&max-results=30&reverse-paginate=true
I will content myself with some of the photos and mention of some of the less common species that we picked up. This Grayling was actually a first for me, as was the Marbled Skipper as I am quite new to butterfly spotting.
http://www.lojawildlife.com/search?updated-max=2012-09-20T09:32:00%2B02:00&max-results=30&reverse-paginate=true
I will content myself with some of the photos and mention of some of the less common species that we picked up. This Grayling was actually a first for me, as was the Marbled Skipper as I am quite new to butterfly spotting.
 Grayling - hipparchia semele |  Marbled Skipper - carcharodus lavatherae |
 Brown Argus - aricia agestis cramera | Two more "Lifers" were the Brown Argus and it´s upland cousin the Mountain Argus. Again these two are difficult to distinguish without careful scrutiny and I discovered that I do not have a very good eye for detail, whereas Mick seems able to ID them quite easily. he assures me it will come with time and practice, but I´m not so sure. |  Mountain Argus - aricia artaxerxer montensis |
Common Blues mating - polyommatus icarus
Although the day belonged to the amazing variety and abundance of butterflies there was no shortage of interesting birds in the area. A hawfinch flew across the clearing and we could hear a calling Cirl Bunting and an Orphean Warbler, but I had extension tubes fitted on my lens for closer focussing on butterflies, so birds would have to wait.
This mating pair of Common Blues provided a good opportunity to get in close & capture the detail that I was looking for. Although a small and very common species it is a beautiful insect: Macro shots like this enlarge to reveal the superb powder blue, brown and orange colouring, the intricate wing patterns all framed by a delicate lacy fringe. Note the striped antennae, and in the shot below right the very long flexible tongue for probing and drinking nectar.
This mating pair of Common Blues provided a good opportunity to get in close & capture the detail that I was looking for. Although a small and very common species it is a beautiful insect: Macro shots like this enlarge to reveal the superb powder blue, brown and orange colouring, the intricate wing patterns all framed by a delicate lacy fringe. Note the striped antennae, and in the shot below right the very long flexible tongue for probing and drinking nectar.
 Common Blue female - polyommatus icarus |  Common Blue male - polyommatus icarus |
Knapweed Fritillary - Melitaea phoebe
The Siera Nevada is an exceptional area for butterflies, perhaps because of the variety of habitats and plant species, the lack of agricultural interference and the ready sources of water. Whatever the reasons it is an incredible location and between us we recorded at least 47 species on the day. Compared with the thirty or so species listed for the whole of Great Britain it is an astounding number. Here is a photograph of Mick´s camera photographing a Knapweed Fritillary, which makes a nice picture on the Thistle flower.
Comma - polygonia c.album
The Comma looks like an Autumn leaf with its frilly wings and mottled red-brown colouring. It is one of the most widespread species, found anywhere up to 2000 metres although it prefers damp woodland. It is named after the telltale white "Comma" mark on the underside hindwing.
Common Goldenring - cordulegaster boltonii
As well as butterflies there were a variety of dragonfly species around the mountain streams and pools. One of the most colourful was the Common Goldenring, a large and distinctive species with a striped black and gold abdomen. Its inquisitive nature can startle people as it may resemble a very large wasp. The emerald green eyes are really stunning.
Spanish Purple Hairstreak - laeosopis roboris
A little further up the mountain we stopped to find a rare orchid that is one of Mick´s passions, and here we saw yet more butterflies including this delightful male Spanish Purple Haistreak which allowed us to get some good close shots.
Cardinal Fritillary - argynnis pandora
It´s a pity this male Hairstreak rested with closed wings as the upperwing colour is a dazzling dark purple belied by the subtle beige colour of the underwing.
Here we also picked up a passing Cardinal Fritillary, a very exotic and insect with lovely shades of olive-green and yellow on elaborately patterned wings.
Here we also picked up a passing Cardinal Fritillary, a very exotic and insect with lovely shades of olive-green and yellow on elaborately patterned wings.
Another butterfly here that is sadly now extinct in the British Isles is the fabulous Black-veined White.
A study in grace and form with large, translucent, pearly-white wings framed in black and gold. This is one of my favourite species. No artist could design or paint anything more beautiful: The sheer size and subtlety of their delicately patterned wings makes a fabulous display on the spring and summer flowers, on which several insects may feed at once.
Great Banded Grayling - kanetisa circe
Shortly after leaving this stopping place Mick called us to a sudden halt as he noticed a pair of Great Banded Graylings flying around a chestnut tree on top of a steep bank by the roadside. This is a large butterfly which is apparently quite common in the Southern half of Europe. I had never recorded it before so it was quite exciting for me, another lifer. I therefore clambered up the bank and managed to get a couple of record shots of the insect with closed wings, better than nothing.
 Blue-spot Hairstreak - satyrium spini | Our next stop was at a lovely open grassy area full of wild flowers and the aroma of fresh herbs. Here we found two more Hairstreak species, the Blue-spot Hairstreak and the False Ilex Hairstreak. British lepidopterists will never see these two as they are Southern European species. The False Ilex is confined to Iberia and the South of France only, but extending Southward into North Africa. |  False Ilex Hairstreak - satyrium esculi This False Ilex Hairstreak conveniently perched on the side of my boot and presented its best side for a photoshoot. It´s a pity they are not all as obliging. Other species here included Meadow Brown and Clouded Yellow. |
 Meadow Brown - maniola jurtina |  Clouded Yellow - colias crocea |
Dark- Green Fritillary (right)- argynnis aglaja and Niobe Fritillary (left) - argynnis niobe
At this point we decided to stop for a menu-del-dia and I thought at the time it would be impossible to match the morning sightings after lunch. I was wrong!
We proceeded up the mountain to the ski resort & parked in one of the open car parks and wandered into the meadows, which I have no doubt skied down in the snow season. We immediately started to see more, and new butterflies, including Dark Green Fritillary which was a Spanish first for both of us, there were a few of them in company with Meadow Fritillaries, and yet another new one for both of us, the Niobe Fritillary, a very similar species to the Dark Green and often seen in company with them.
We proceeded up the mountain to the ski resort & parked in one of the open car parks and wandered into the meadows, which I have no doubt skied down in the snow season. We immediately started to see more, and new butterflies, including Dark Green Fritillary which was a Spanish first for both of us, there were a few of them in company with Meadow Fritillaries, and yet another new one for both of us, the Niobe Fritillary, a very similar species to the Dark Green and often seen in company with them.
 Silver-studded Blue - plebejus argus hypochionus |  Silver-studded Blue - plebejus argus hypochionus | Silver-studded Blues were present in numbers. This gloriously coloured little species looked radiant on the wild flowers in the meadow. Mick also picked up a single Nevada Blue somewhere but I was not fortunate enough to spot that one. Something to look for next time. |
A little further along the track we saw a very large, mainly white butterfly, one I had never seen before. Mick informed me it was an Apollo. In fact we were to see many of these large and striking species which were difficult to photograph as they blended in so well with the thyme flowers they were feeding on.
The very pale Apollos were in direct contrast to the next new species that came along. This one was virtually black, certainly very dark in colour, a Black Satyr. Again this was completely new to me and I was in fact quite lucky to get a reasonable shot of it as it was not prolific here and the few we did see were on the move constantly.
Spanish Brassy Ringlet - erebia hispania
The final part of our butterfly oddysey took us to the very highest point of the mountain location accessible by car, which we then left and traveled on foot along a high, barren rocky trail, in search Mick informed me, of a rare species called the Spanish Brassy Ringlet. For a while there was no sign of out target insect, in fact butterflies were virtually absent from this remote and rocky place, but Mick knew what he was doing. However before we did finally catch up with the Ringlet we were circled and tracked by a pair of interesting birds, so I removed the extension tubes to photograph them. They were in fact Tawny Pipits, a species I had seen before but never close enough for any decent photographs, so I was well pleased with this opportunity. The two birds were very annoyed by our presence in this remote wilderness that they had chosen to nest in. They stayed with us, all the while calling and looking quite agitated.
 Tawny Pipit - anthus campestris |  Tawny Pipit - anthus campestris |
Eventually we decided to turn back as time was getting on. Elena had remained in the car and would not be best pleased at being abandoned for too long. Then as luck would have it a solitary butterfly crossed our path, and landed close by. It was indeed the elusive Spanish Brassy Ringlet, which sat just long enough for a couple of quick shots before it was gone. We were however delighted with this sighting and it was naturally another first for me.
Purple-shot Copper - lycaena alciphron
What a day it had been. After analysing all the photographs and finding several new species that were not recognised at the time, Mick eventually counted a total of 47 species recorded. A couple I did not see were the Sierra Nevada Blue, which is peculiar to this location, and the Cleopatra which he saw on the lower slopes. Nevertheless, 45 species of butterfly in one day is an amazing total, thanks to Mick´s knowledge and instinct for finding the best locations. Here is one last picture of another first sighting for me, a lovely Purple-shot Copper. I look forward to returning next Summer to this incredible region, Europe´s second highest mountain range after the Alps. I have often skied up here but this was a better experience and one I will not forget in a hurry.
