Best places for Butterflies in April

March 2, 2024March 3, 2024 Annie H

In April, it seems that everything is happening all across southern and central Europe. Birds are nesting everywhere, flowers are in bloom, while butterflies, bees, dragonflies and other insects are taking advantage of the bounty of nectar, pollen, and whatever else they can find. Northern Europe will catch up soon. But is it worth looking for butterflies in April, and where are the best places?

Well, this post is mainly about where tour groups go for butterflies in April.

This page is likely to be updated at any time as more information becomes available.

Disclaimer – I have no connections with these tour companies, and have not used their services. However, as their websites have provided me with useful information, the least I can do is mention them.

The most important species for each region are linked to their page on the EuroButterflies site. More information can be found about most species, by copying their scientific name and pasting it into the search box on that site.

Cyprus

The endemic Paphos Blue butterfly Glaucopsyche paphos flies in April and May, and is widespread across the country.

France

A trip to the southern part of Provence with Mariposa nature holidays should reveal the extremely localised Spring Ringlet Erebia epistygne, on the slopes of Mont Ventoux; elsewhere for Chapman’s Green Hairstreak, Southern Festoon Zerynthia. polyxena, and Spanish Festoon Z rumina. Other spring butterflies include Swallowtails, Cleopatra and Baton Blue in particular on the wing at this time of year.

Photograph of a butterfly — The Spanish Festoon flies in April and May across the Iberian Peninsula and south-west France

Greece

Northeast Greece has an exceptional flora and fauna because of its transitional geographic position with influences of the Mediterranean, Anatolian and Euro-Siberian regions. Butterflies of very special importance in the East Rodopi Mountains include strong populations of the geographically restricted and regionally endemic species the False Apollo Archon apollinus. It flies for a relatively short period in March-April, whether in its main home of Turkey and the Middle East, or this small European population in mainland Greece and also sometimes seen on the Aegean islands.

Visiting a variety of habitats should reveal other local and interesting species: Eastern Festoon Zerynthia cerisy, Grecian Copper Lycaena ottomana and Southern Festoon Zerynthia polyxena, Eastern Baton Blue Scolitantides vicrama, Powdered Brimstone Gonopteryx farinosa, Eastern Greenish Black-tip Euchloe penia, Small Bath White Pontia chlorodice, Krueper’s Small White Pieris krueperi, Nettle-tree Butterfly. Southern Comma Polygonia egea and Camberwell Beauty Nymphalis antiopa. You may also see other early spring species such as Large Tortoiseshell Nymphalis polychloros, Eastern Dappled White Euchloe ausonia, Green-underside Blue Glaucopsyche alexis and Green Hairstreak Callophrys rubi.

On Rhodes the flowers are blooming, and the spring butterflies are out in force – such as Green Underside Blue, Long-tailed Blue, Large Wall Brown, Eastern Festoon & both Scarce and European Swallowtail.

Italy

The Gargano in southern Italy is considered to be one of Europe’s finest natural rock gardens. Not only flowers, but also spring butterflies such as the Southern Festoon, Cleopatra and Provence orange tip.

Photo of butterfly — The Spanish Marbled White is widespread in Iberia, flying from April to June, depending on location.

Portugal

April in the Algarve can be gloriously fine and sunny, but early mornings can be grey, and cool, and sometimes downright cold. Nevertheless, flowers are usually abundant, especially along the coastal cliffs, and with them, a variety of butterflies and other insects. Spanish festoons and southern scarce swallowtail have passed their peak, but western dappled white, black-eyed blue, false baton blue, Adonis blue, Spanish brown argus, queen of Spain fritillary, Provencal Fritillary, Spanish marbled white and red underwing skipper should all be around. Further inland, there are also colonies of Panoptes blue.

Towards the end of the month, you could find two-tailed pasha, southern gatekeeper, the Iberian form of the meadow brown, and several species of skipper. Even the marsh fritillary is in flight, a good month earlier than in Britain.

Further north in the Alentejo region, we encountered brimstones, green-striped white, swallowtail, painted lady, Provençal Fritillary, mallow skipper, Spanish marbled white, small heath, small copper, western dapped white, and small white early in the month.

Madeira – the endemic Madeiran Cleopatra Gonopteryx maderensis, as well as clouded yellow, speckled wood, and the Indian red admiral were all active in April.

Photo of a Madeiran cleopatra butterfly — The endemic Madeiran Cleopatra

Spain

Mainland

Butterflies can fly early in Spain, but it does depend on the weather. In Los Monegros, a large dry region of north-east of Zaragoza, daytime temperatures in April are cool – broadly between 18 and 25c, and the landscape is far lusher and more verdant than during the summer. Here, you should find the endemic Spanish Greenish Black-tip Euchloe bazae ssp iberae – known only from this region where it inhabits the dry, stony hillsides. Other species to look for include the Sooty Orange Tip Zegris eupheme, Provence Orange Tip Anthocharis euphenoides and Portuguese Dappled White. The Stunning Provence Hairstreak Tomares ballus should also be flying.

Further north, the pretty hilltop village of Berdún, nestling at the foot of the Pyrenees makes a good base from which to search for the flaming, bright Spanish Fritillary Euphydryas desfontainii and, at lower elevations, ruderal fields and their hilly margins for the Spanish Greenish Black-tip Euchloe bazae ssp iberae (restricted to a few discrete areas of Spain), and Sooty Orange Tip Zegris eupheme. Other species include Weaver’s Fritillary Boloria dia, Knapweed Fritillary Melitaea phoebe, Baton Blue Pseudophilotes baton and Green-underside Blue Glaucopsyche alexis.

To the south of Zaragoza, in the Montes Universales you’ll find another selection of species, including the Spring Ringlet Erebia epistygne, which is known only from here in Spain and a few small areas in Southern France. Another endemic flying at this season is the Iberian Sooty Copper Lycaena bleusei, which is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula. Other species to look for include Panoptes Blue Pseudophilotes panoptes, Black-eyed Blue Glaucopsyche melanops, and Chequered Blue Scolitantides orion. Large Tortoiseshell Nymphalis polychloros, Iberian Scarce Swallowtail Iphiclides feisthamelii, Spanish Festoon Zerynthia rumina and Camberwell Beauty Nymphalis antiopa. And if it is a really early season, there is a chance of later species like Western Marbled White Melanargia occitanica and de Prunner’s ringlet Erebia triaria, Queen of Spain Fritillary Issoria lathonia, Provençal Fritillary Melitaea deione, Knapweed Fritillary Melitaea phoebe, and a few others.

Canary Islands

Mariposa Nature Holidays say there is no ‘off-season’ for butterflies on Tenerife. Its southerly latitude and maritime location ensure that daytime temperatures are almost constantly above 16c. So an excellent place for butterfly-hunting at any time.

The laurel forests of the north are home to the Canary Large White Pieris cheilanthi, and Canary Brimstone Gonepteryx cleobule, Canary Red Admiral Vanessa vulcania, and Canary Skipper Thymelicus christi, whilst the endemic Tenerife Green-striped White Euchloe eversi is found at higher altitudes.

Parks and botanic gardens can be good for butterflies; for example Monarch Danaus plexippus, African Grass Blue Zizeeria knysna, American Painted Lady Vanessa virginiensis, and the exotic African Migrant Catopsilia florella, and Canary Speckled Wood Pararge xiphioides, whilst Long-tailed Blue Lampides boeticus, Geranium Bronze Cacyreus marshalli, and Bath White Pontia daplidice should also make an appearance.

And then there is the endemic Canary Blue Cyclyrius webbianus that flies in grassy flowery places amongst trees and scrub across the western Canary Islands.

Bookshop

Click on the covers for more information:

I can’t find any other butterfly books that cover southern Europe (several are out of print). However, there is Guia de les Papallones Diürnes de Catalunya [Guide to the Diurnal Butterflies of Catalonia] which includes distribution maps for north-east Spain, but the text is in Catalan.

More about butterfly-watching in Europe

Best places for Wildlife in April

Where to go for the best wildlife and nature experiences in Europe in April

Butterfly-watching in January-February

You can see a few butterflies in southern Europe in winter, but it’s just a taster for things to come later in the year.

Seven reasons to visit Caldey Island

Caldey, near the seaside town of Tenby in Wales, is easier to get to than the other Welsh Islands, and has much to offer.

Best places for Wildlife in April

January 27, 2024March 3, 2024 Annie H5 Comments

Disclaimer – I have no connections with these tour companies. However, as their websites have provided me with useful information, the least I can do is mention them.

This page may be updated and added to at any time.

Bulgaria

The winter birds are now all long gone north, and in April the summer visitors are arriving – along with a few migrants passing through, especially along the Black Sea Coast. The main Bulgarian companies all offer birding trips either in a small area or a longer trip encompassing the whole country.

Branta-tours will show you south-eastern specialities including Dalmatian and White Pelicans, Pygmy Cormorant, Ruddy Shelduck, waders, seabirds, (including the desmaresti sub-species of Shag), 20 species of Raptors and too many others to list, so check the tour webpage.

The Pelican Birding Lodge has a variety of birds on their doorstep and, later in the season, other creatures, whether you stay at the lodge and take occasional guided day trips, or do an organised tour with Pandion Tours.

Wild Echo add a week of early spring birding in search of Hazel Grouse and Rock Partridge – two of the most elusive bird species in Europe, plus woodpeckers and many migrants

Neophron provides bird tours, but also have an April tour designed to introduce you to a wealth of beautiful coastal and low mountain wildflowers, many of which endemic to the Balkan region. The tour starts from the northeastern corner of Bulgaria – with the last remnants of the Great Steppe at Coastal Dobroudzha and the sea cliffs around Cape Kaliakra. The kaleidoscopic hues of wild peonies, irises and adonises in spring create the special appeal of this area. The tour continues south to the Pobiti Kamani – a unique site covered by surface tertiary sands with standing stone columns. Next is Sinite Kamani (The Blue Rocks) Nature Park, on into the ‘Eastern Rhodopi mountains and finally the Strandzha Mountain on the Turkish border. There are too many plants to list here, so best look at the tour webpage

Cyprus

Cyprus has long been recognized as an outstanding place to see migrants as they move through the Eastern Mediterranean basin. Pipits, wagtails, buntings and shrikes pass through in big numbers and it is also an excellent place to find Black Francolin.

The best places include the beautiful Dhiarizos Valley which provides a hunting ground for migrant Pallid Harrier and various other northbound migrants, and the foothills of the Troodos Mountains where several distinctive island subspecies can be found. Wetlands provide refuge for waders, herons and other reedbed species, and headlands are great spots to find migrants massing along the coast prior to their departure towards Turkey. Ruppell’s, Eastern Orphean, Eastern Subalpine and Spectacled Warblers, Marsh Sandpiper, Siberian Stonechat, Armenian Gull, Greater Sand-plover, Masked Shrike, Red-throated Pipit, Bimaculated Lark, Little Crake, Little Bittern, Squacco Heron and Cretzchmar’s Bunting are just some of the migrant birds that may be present. You could expect to see approximately 130 species in a week here. There are also two endemic species – Cyprus Warbler and Cyprus Pied Wheatear, that you won’t see anywhere else.

Cyprus Birding Tours

England

On the east side of the country, Norfolk is worth exploring, as thousands of birds hurry northward to their breeding grounds as far away as the Arctic Tundra. Going only a short way inland you should find Nightingale, Eurasian Spoonbill, Ring Ouzel and Grasshopper Warbler, and the possibility of rare or uncommon species such as Hoopoe, Wryneck, Woodchat Shrike, Alpine Swift, Red-rumped Swallow, Black Kite, Citrine Wagtail, Purple Heron, Temminck’s Stint and many more! A bit further inland, a visit to the Brecks where we can find Stone Curlew, singing Firecrest, Woodlark and sometimes Hawfinch and Northern Goshawk too, while the woodlands resound to spring birdsong.

In Devon and West Cornwall you can enjoy a mix of migration-based birding, among the secluded valleys and headlands of the Penwith district, with some top breeding birds on the fringes of Dartmoor. The varied habitats include woodland for birds such as Pied Flycatcher and Redstart, newly arrived at their breeding grounds. There is also a chance of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and Cirl Bunting, as these species are doing very well in this part of Devon. Given the right weather conditions, migrants could overshoot their Mediterranean breeding grounds, adding the possibility of Hoopoe, Red-rumped Swallow, Glossy Ibis, Ortolan Bunting, Eastern and Western Subalpine Warblers and you could perhaps notch around 120 species. All of this against a backdrop of stunning scenery in a county where Spring arrives early.

The Isles of Scilly off the south-western tip of Cornwall are often considered the ultimate place to look for rare birds on migration. It seems almost anything can turn up in April-May and August-October.

Naturetrek

Greenwings

Estonia

In April the migration is getting stronger every day and then there’s the chance to see new arctic species such as the Greater Scaup, Common– and Velvet Scoter, different Loons, Geese, and Swans. In the meantime, new and new nesting birds are arriving. April is also the best time for spotting woodpeckers, owls, and Galliformes.

April is a good time to see forest birds such as nutcracker, woodpeckers, capercaillie, hazel grouse and various owls. There are still lots of waterfowl around – Bewick and Whooper swans, geese, ducks – perhaps including the last few Steller’s Eider before the last stragglers fly north. Resident songbirds are claiming their breeding territories. It can also be a good time to see elk (moose), as the previous year’s male calves are evicted from the herd and have to find their own way in life. The elusive European lynx is most likely to be seen at this time of year.

April is also the best time for spotting woodpeckers: White-backed Woodpecker, Three-toed Woodpecker, Black Woodpecker, Lesser-spotted Woodpecker, and Grey-headed Woodpecker. In the evening, there’s a chance to see or hear the Pygmy Owl, Ural Owl, or Tengmalm’s Owl. Black Grouse are already on their lekking grounds and Western Capercaillies and Hazel Grouses are just starting to. April is also a good month for Elk spotting.

The botanical season also starts in late March, often before the snow has melted you can find Mezereon Daphne mezereum, Dwarf Milkwort Polygala amarella, Spring Vetchling Lathyrus vernus, Marsh Marigold and Toothwort Lathraea squamaria in flower. In dry calcareous meadows you can see Cat’s foot Antennaria dioica, Pygmyflower Rockjasmine Androsace septentrionalis, Small Pasque Flower Pulsatilla vulgaris, Bird’s Eye Primrose Primula farinosa and Globe Flower Trollius europaeus.

NaTourEst

Estonian Wildlife Tours

Photo of a great grey owl — Great grey owl, Strix nebulosus, in northern conifer forest, where it is well camouflaged. One of the three largest owls in the world, it is found across the boreal forest zone of the northern hemisphere.

Finland

It is now spring in southern Finland, and in late March the snow starts to melt. However, in the north it is still winter and the snow cover gets deeper and deeper. If it is sunny and clear, the days can be relatively warm but nights are still freezing. Temperatures vary between -15 to +5 °C in March and April.

In the south, thousands of lapwings and skylarks, and other early migrants are slowly making their way north. Geese and Whooper Swans arrive perhaps getting as far north as the Oulu region.

March to early April is the best time to listen for owls. If there are a lot of voles in the area, it is possible to hear several owls during the night. So, try driving along the dark roads and stop every now and then to listen.

Finnature

Wildlife Safaris Finland

France

Southern France can be good for butterflies – more information here

Gibraltar

The migration of many bird species continues in good numbers and the first specimens of other later species, such as the Hobby and the Honey Buzzard appear, this last one especially by the end of April.

Inglorious Bustards

Greece

On Rhodes, at least half of the island’s 70+ Orchid species are in flower in April – including endemic and regional species such as Ophrys colossaea, Ophrys oreas, Ophrys lucis, Ophrys regis-fernandii, Ophrys candica, Ophrys cretica ssp. beloniae, Ophrys attaviria & Ophrys reinholdii. Many of the other 1500 plant species on this small island are blooming, including rare & endemics such as the Rhodes Peony & Rhodes Fritillary.

Along with the flowers, the spring butterflies are out in force – such as Green Underside Blue, Long-tailed Blue, Large Wall Brown, Eastern Festoon & both Scarce and European Swallowtail (top photo). And then there are the birds – such as Long-legged Buzzard, Woodchat Shrike, Crested Lark, Lesser Kestrel, Alpine Swift and Crag Martin

Crete boasts one of the most diverse floras in Europe, with over 1,600 species of flowering plants, 139 of which are endemic. But there is plenty of other wildlife there too.

Crete in Spring

My first experience of being part of an organised trip was back in 2002, when I went as a driver on a natural history holiday to the Greek island of Crete.

The village of Kalloni, on the southern coast of Lesvos provides a base for exploring the whole island, which lies just ten kilometres from Turkey in the Eastern Aegean Sea. Its geographical location and rich variety of habitats make it an important stopping place for migrants from both east and west. Birds, butterflies and botany are right there on the doorstep. Kruper’s Nuthatch, Ruppell’s Warbler, Western Rock Nuthatch, Rufous Bush Chat, Cinereous Bunting and Sombre Tit are already breeding, while each day brings waves of Spring migrants on their way north into Turkey – Icterine Warbler, White-winged Black Tern, Masked Shrike, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler and Levant Sparrowhawk among some of the expected species. Birdwatchers can expect to see 150 or more species.

The Greek mainland is also good at this time of year. In the Nestos Valley, a bit of searching should reveal the False Apollo – one of the most beautiful and rare butterflies in Europe! Read more about this and other April butterflies here

On the gorgeous Pelion Peninsula, an abundance of wildflowers grows within a short stroll along a “kalderimi”, or mule track. In spring there is a profusion here of Mediterranean favourites, including Cistus, asphodels and spurges. There is also a remarkable variety of orchids – 52 species have been recorded on the Peninsula.

Lake Kerkini also lies in the north of Greece, only one hour’s drive from the city of Thessaloniki. In spring, this rich wetland area is on a major migration flyway for vast numbers of birds heading north to breed in Eastern and Northern Europe, and as such offers some fabulous birding opportunities without the crowds of some of the better-known island destinations. Amongst the breeding species, there breeding colonies of all the European herons and egrets, Glossy Ibis and Dalmatian Pelicans, which you can get close to from a boat trip on the lake. Pygmy Cormorants can be found in large numbers and muddy margins can host a range of passage species such as Marsh, Terek & Broad-billed Sandpipers, Temminck’s Stint, White-winged Black and Whiskered Terns and Collared Pratincole. Passerine migration will still be underway and can include Black-headed Bunting, Icterine, Great Reed, Eastern Subalpine, Wood and Eastern Orphean Warblers. In the mountains, you also have an outside chance of catching up with one or two scarce species such as Spotted Nutcracker, Semi-collared Flycatcher and Rock Partridge.

Iceland

The best time for birdwatching is generally between mid-April and the end of June. This is the time of the year that sees the most bird species in Iceland, and the long daylight hours give visitors ample time to admire them. The ones to look out for are:

Puffin (photo above)
Harlequin Duck
Barrow’s Goldeneye
Gyrfalcon
Brünnich’s guillemot (also known as thick-billed murre)

Most tours in April, however, focus on the Northern Lights. After the end of April, the nights are becoming too light to see them easily.

Nature-watching day tours in April

Italy

The Gargano in southern Italy is considered to be one of Europe’s finest natural rock gardens. Not only flowers, but also spring butterflies such as the Southern Festoon, Cleopatra and Provence orange tip

Norway

Trondheimsfjord – You are almost guaranteed sightings of species such as Red-throated Diver, Black-throated Diver, White-billed Diver, Slavonian Grebe, Pink-footed Goose, Whooper Goose, King Eider, Capercaillie, Black Grouse, Hazel Grouse, Willow Ptarmigan, White-tailed Eagle, Crane, Three-toed Woodpecker, Black Woodpecker, Pygmy Owl, Crested Tit, Siberian Jay as well as a hundred other common species.

Poland

The Bieszczady National Park provides prime habitat for Bison, Wolf and the elusive Eurasian Lynx. There are some special birds here too, such as Hazel Grouse, Nutcracker and an array of owls (Tengmalm’s, Ural & Pygmy Owls are all possible) and woodpeckers (White-backed, Black & Grey-headed). Note that special permits are required for access to the best areas and a guide is recommended.

Wild Poland

Portugal

From the cliffs, dunes, saltpans and heaths of the Algarve to the Cork Oak forests of the Monchique Hills and the wide open grass plains of the Alentejo, there is much to be seen in southern Portugal in April.

Explore the region’s Cork Oak forests, steppe grasslands & abundant coastal habitats
Great and Little Bustards, Iberian Magpies (photo above) & Black-winged Kite
Bee-eaters, Rollers, shrikes, larks & more
Peonies, cistuses & numerous orchid species
A wealth of reptiles, butterflies & other insects

Scotland

Breeding Osprey will have returned and the lochs will host displaying Common Goldeneye and maybe Goosander. Crested Tits are busy in the pines and Red Squirrel can also be seen.
Lochs and Glens such as the grand Findhorn Valley, secluded Strath Conon and sparkling Loch Ruthven offer wonderful birding opportunities and the mighty Golden Eagle is a key target, Hen Harrier, Merlin, Peregrine, Raven and Common Buzzard also ride the mountain updraughts and along gushing rivers Dipper and Grey Wagtail can be seen.
Red Grouse frequent the moorland areas and lochs support breeding Red and Black-throated Divers in breeding plumage. Perhaps a White-tailed Eagle or breeding plumaged Slavonian Grebe might be seen, and Mountain Hare are often observed by the roadside.
Along the Moray coast, bays and harbours are good places for passage ducks and grebes. Common and Velvet Scoter, Great Northern Diver, Black Guillemot, Long-tailed Duck, Scaup and Red-breasted Merganser can be found while Purple Sandpipers frequent rocky outcrops and both Glaucous and Iceland Gulls are sometimes noted around the fish quays.
Lekking Black Grouse (photo below) uttering their bubbling calls at dawn, Rock Ptarmigan displaying over the mountain slopes of Cairngorm, dainty Snow Bunting and elusive Ring Ouzel on the crags and Red Deer in the glens are just some of the other wildlife experiences we can expect on this Speyside Spring birding tour.

Spain

Andalucia – April wildlife in the Sierra de Grazalema starts with some bird species returning from their wintering grounds and many passing northwards to their breeding grounds. The first newborn Spanish Ibex take tentative steps across the rocky terrain whilst streams and permanent ponds are full of spawn and larvae of amphibians. Many snakes and lizards are out of hibernation and hungry for a snack! Learn more about the plants, birds, mammals, etc to be seen this month at the Grazelema guide website.

A trip to the Spanish Pyrenees should reveal an exciting range of localised and rare butterflies, including Spring Ringlet, Spanish Greenish Black Tip, Iberian Sooty Copper, Provence Orange Tip, Panoptes Blue & Spanish Fritillary – more information here

The wonderfully bird-rich region of Extremadura is not yet too hot for comfort. A good range of birds will be settling in to breed in a variety of habitats from the undulating, sun-drenched steppes and shimmering plains to the oak-forested hills of Monfragüe National Park. Great bustards, sandgrouse, black-shouldered kites, harriers, black vultures and black storks are amongst the treasures here.

The Mediterranean island of Mallorca provides a pleasant and easily accessible to enjoy spring migration:

Enjoy Hoopoe, Bee-eater & Nightingale plus migrating waders, swallows & martins
Look for Black-winged Stilt, Sardinian & Cetti’s Warblers, S’Albufereta Marsh
Balearic Woodchat Shrike, Balearic Warbler & Wryneck are possible in the Bocquer Valley
Griffon & Cinereous (Black) Vultures are seen regularly at the Cuber Reservoir
Visit the Formentor Peninsula in search of Scopoli’s & Balearic Shearwaters
Western Swamphen, Marbled Duck & Pied Avocet among highlights at Albufera Marsh

More Nature-watching Calendars

Best places for wildlife in March

A round-up of some of the best places for nature-watching in Europe in March.

Best places for wildlife in February

Updated 30/12/2023. Europe can be as fascinating for wildlife in winter as it is in the warmer months. Here are some ideas on the best places to go in February

Best places for wildlife in January

Europe can be as fascinating for wildlife in winter as it is in the warmer months. Here are some ideas on the best places to go in January

Butterfly-watching in January-February

January 20, 2024March 11, 2024 Annie HLeave a comment

Those of us who live in central and northern Europe do not generally expect to see butterflies in winter – probably not much between November and March, though with global warming, that is changing.

Butterflies are not that common in southern Europe in winter either, though there is a good chance of seeing some. Certainly not enough to make a specific butterfly-watching trip worthwhile. Except perhaps in the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores, which may be warm enough for a few species to be flying, and those species to be different from the rest of Europe. But if you happen to be anywhere in the south, perhaps watching birds, hiking, or just enjoying the countryside, here are a few that you might come across.

Of these, all except the first two are fairly common and widespread, and can also be seen much later in the year. I’ve seen all of them in the Algarve and Andalucia at this time of year.

Species

Green-striped White

Euchloe belemia

Found in the southern parts of Spain and Portugal from January to June. Those on the Canary Islands now thought to be separate species.

Distinctive underwing pattern.

More information

African Grass Blue

Zizeeria knysna

Canary Islands, North Africa, Spanish Mediterranean coastal areas, but this one photographed in the Algarve, Portugal.

Can be seen almost year-round in a series of overlapping broods.

Purple-blue upperside, greyish underside. Small and inconspicuous.

More information

Clouded Yellow

Colias croceus

The only clouded yellow species likely to be seen at this time of year. Mostly Mediterranean at this time, migrates into central Europe later. All year round on Canary Islands. Female is much paler.

More information

Small Copper

Lycaena phlaeas

The only copper species likely to be seen at this time of year – all year round in Canary Islands, less so elsewhere. It’s worth getting to know the underside pattern for comparison with later species.

More information

Large White

Pieris brassicae

Similar species on Canary Isles Pieris cheiranthi year round, as do some smaller white species.

This species has large black tips on the forewings

More information

Painted Lady

Vanessa cardui

Long-distant migrant that starts in north Africa in winter, and moves north through Europe. American painted ladies are seen on the Canaries and Madeira.

More information

Small Tortoiseshell

Aglais urticae

Found throughout Europe. Hibernates in cooler areas but up to three generations in southern Europe where it can be seen almost year round.

More information

Speckled Wood

Pararge aegeria

Seen in warmer months in most of Europe, but also in winter in the Mediterranean area. This is a south-western specimen, in the north and east they are brown and cream.

More information

Canary Islands

Probably the most likely place to find butterflies in mid-winter are the Canary Islands, due to their southerly position. Their proximity to the coast of Africa also means there is a good chance of finding species not seen anywhere else in Europe.

For example, Canary Blues Cyclyrius webbianus were seen in unusually good numbers on Gran Canaria on flower-rich banks and sheltered mountain tracks in the central highlands during late Jan / early Feb 2024. The endemic Canary Red Admiral Vanessa vulcania and the regular Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta were seen across Gran Canaria during Jan/Feb – a good opportunity to see them side by side in woodland habitat. In February, on the island of Fuerteventura Plain Tiger Danaus chrysippus butterflies were recorded swarming around several King’s Crown Calotropis procera trees. Greenish Black-tip Euchloe charlonia was also recorded. (Information gleaned from the Butterflies EUROPE Facebook group)

Bookshop

Many butterfly books seem now to be out of print. Often I have found local field guides in the visitor centres of national parks and wildlife reserves, but not obviously available via the Internet. Click on the book covers below for more information.

If you use a phone app for ID, always double-check the result – google the species to make sure it is found in that area at that time of year.

Covering more than 400 species across the continent, Collins butterfly guide is hardly a pocketable field guide. It does, however, include a wealth of background information and is worth a place on any butterfly-lovers bookshelf.

If you can’t find a species list local to where you are visiting, it is possible to compile a list from here.

But it’s better to find something more local to make ID quicker and easier.

My preferred book for Britain is the second edition of Britain’s Butterflies. The fourth edition covers in detail the identification of all 59 butterfly species that breed regularly, as well as four former breeders, 10 rare migrants and one species of unknown status. It also features new introductory sections on the identification of more difficult groups; revised maps that show the latest distributions recorded by the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme; expanded sections on food plants and on recording and monitoring; a new section on climate change; and a revised species order reflecting the latest taxonomy.

These two books were both published in several languages – English, French, German and Italian. They may not be available in all of them now.

Click on covers for more information.

European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme

Become a volunteer counting butterflies!!

Help us count butterflies, it will increase our knowledge of butterflies and we could protect them better. There are already thousands of volunteers throughout Europe helping in butterfly conservation.

If you would like to join eBMS and collaborate in the Butterfly Monitoring Scheme you just need to register. Follow this link to the My Data section and you will find a Quick Guide for setting up butterfly monitoring.

– Join one of the biggest citizen science networks

– Monitoring butterflies in your area, you will contribute to science

Includes access to some very useful field guides, eg Spain – Common species

Useful Websites

Butterflies of France – species list, photos and information including ID tips

Butterfly Conservation Europe is a partnership organisation focused on halting and reversing the decline of butterflies, moths and their habitats throughout Europe.

Butterflies EUROPE Facebook group – if you’re on Facebook, this is an excellent resource. There will probably be groups for each country in Europe, so a search for whichever country you want to visit is worthwhile – although they may be just in the language of that country, there will be someone who can answer a question in English.

More butterfly-watching ideas

Best places for Butterflies in April

Where can you find butterflies in Europe in April? Here are some of the hotspots.

Butterflies of la Brenne

The Parc Naturel de la Brenne is an excellent place to get familiar with many of Europe’s butterfly species.

Nature of the Queyras Natural Park

Queyras Natural Park in the French Pyrenees boasts 300 days of sunshine a year. We managed to be there on one of the other 65! But there was still lots to see.

Brazo del Este Natural Area

If you’re staying somewhere between Malaga and Gibraltar, and you can’t get to the Doñana National Park on the other side of the river, then the Brazo del Este is the place to head for. A true oasis of wildlife surrounded by an agricultural desert – a desert in terms of wildlife.

Nature-watching in the Swiss National Park

How to get the most out of a visit to the Swiss National Park

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Seven reasons to visit Caldey Island

April 27, 2023April 27, 2023 Annie H8 Comments

. . . where the Monks make perfume . . . and chocolate . . . and the wildlife is thriving.

Religious retreats are, by their nature, remote and often inaccessible. Caldey Island, however, is an easily accessible retreat close to the holiday town of Tenby on the south Pembrokeshire Coast in Wales.

Caldey Island isn’t the first place you’d think about when looking for nature-watching sites in Pembrokeshire. It doesn’t have the huge numbers of seabirds that you can see on Skomer, for example, but it does have some advantages over the other islands.

Caldey Island

It is easy access

Boats every half hour or so from Tenby Harbour, starting around 10am, every day except Sunday – weather permitting – and the trip takes only about twenty minutes.

The boat lands at the only jetty, which is in Priory Bay, on the sheltered north side of the island. To the east is a large sandy beach, backed by sand dunes. Sun-lovers need go no further than the beach, which is never crowded, but then they would be missing the other delights of the island.

if you are not good with climbing steps or walking on uneven footpaths, you don’t have to do that here.

The only road runs from the jetty to the village and farm in the centre of the island, and then to the lighthouse. The trees and shrubbery alongside the road hide views of the farmland beyond. Caldey was an active farm, with mainly cattle grazing. This used to provide milk for the small village community, and for the produce of the island dairy – ice cream, clotted cream, yoghurt, shortbread and chocolate – which is sold in the shop. Now, the milk comes from the mainland. There are still a few cows, and sheep and ponies, but farming is a lesser part of the island now.

The village is small, the school having closed a decade ago through lack of pupils. There is still a gift shop, a post office, cafe, and a small museum, all under the shadow of the Abbey and other religious buildings. More about this later.

The Lighthouse

Beyond the village, the road continues through the farmland to the lighthouse. This south side of the island is much more exposed and windswept, and is probably where the island got its name – Caldey being derived from the Viking Keld-eye or cold island. The walk is worth it for the spectacular views: the Pembrokeshire coast and the Preseli Hills to the north, the Gower Peninsula to the east, and Lundy Island to the south.

The lighthouse was built in 1829, and together with Lundy North Lighthouse provides for safe navigation in the north Bristol Channel. It was originally powered by oil, was converted to an automatic acetylene system in 1927, and since 1997 has been modernised and converted to mains electricity. Like most lighthouses, it is a large white imposing structure.

The flowers

The wild-flowers along the coast are spectacular. Thrift Ameria maritima and Kidney vetch Anthyllis vulneraria were in full bloom (above). Then there were patches of sea campion Silene maritima and spring squill Scilla verna. The best time is mid-April to mid-July. Bluebells Endymion non-scripta and three-cornered leek Allium triquetrum provide a spectacular early season display alongside the road through the village.

And with the flower come the insects. In June there may be small blue butterflies on the kidney vetch, 24-spot ladybirds on the sea campion, gorse bugs on the gorse and green nettle weevil on the patches of nettles. I’ve found several species of bumble and solitary bees here too, over the years.

The birds

From the lighthouse, there is a mown path a short way to the east, and a long way to the west. The path used to end at Windberry Bay, where you can admire the spectacular red sandstone cliffs. These cliffs are good for seabirds, but you really do need binoculars to appreciate them properly. You can see herring and lesser black-backed gulls, fulmars, razorbills, shags, cormorants, and choughs and peregrines. But remember that these seabirds are only here for the nesting season. By the end of July, most will have gone back out to sea.

A mown path takes you back across a field to the village, for tea and cake in the cafe.

Or you can follow the path further west to Sandtop Bay. We usually eat our sandwiches overlooking this bay, watching for the choughs that nest in the cliffs on the far side. Sometimes a peregrine passes over. Again, an easy track takes you back to the village, where you visit the cafe and shops, and join the hard track back to the boat.

In the far left of the photo above, you can see St Margaret’s Island, which is a nature reserve, a Site of Special Scientific Interest and the main seabird colony. Again mostly razorbills and guillemots, but also the largest cormorant colony in Wales. At low tide (when this photo was taken), St Margaret’s appears to connect with Caldey, though the rocks are not quite continuous all the way across. At high tide, it is clearly a separate island.

The best way to see St Margaret’s is on a ’round the islands’ boat trip.

The red squirrels

Caldey Island is the only place in Pembrokeshire where you can see red squirrels. This species vanished from the county half a century ago as the introduced grey squirrels became more numerous here. After considerable consultation and an extensive program of rat eradication, three red squirrels were brought to the island in 2016, and then a further 12 were added in 2017.

The island doesn’t have the right habitats to support a totally self-sustaining population of squirrels, so they are closely monitored and given supplementary food. The aim is for the reds to live as natural a life as possible, so although some openly hang around the cafe area, please don’t give them human food. It isn’t good for them. The squirrels’ welfare is continually assessed, and so far they are enjoying their surroundings, building dreys, finding food, exploring the island, and raising young.

Hedgehogs have long been on Caldey, but now are being seen there more frequently – certainly, I’ve come across their droppings more often in the last few years (hedgehogs are nocturnal, so you are only likely to see one if you stay overnight on the island). They have probably benefitted from the rat eradication program.

Caldey as a religious retreat

The Abbey was built in 1910 by the Anglican Benedictine monks who came to the Island in 1906. It was designed by Penarth architect John Coates-Carter in traditional Italianate style, and is now a grade II* listed building. Tours of the abbey are available – but are for men only!

Older religious buildings include the Old Priory and the medieval churches of St David and St Illtud, where anyone can explore. The Priory is thought to occupy the site of the original 6th-century Celtic monastery, and was home to the Benedictine monks who lived on Caldey in medieval times, but has not been occupied since the Dissolution of the Monasteries in about 1540. Conversely, St Illtud’s, with its strange leaning spire and pebble floors, is, still a consecrated Roman Catholic church.

The original Anglican Community converted to Roman Catholicism in 1913 and then sold the Abbey to monks of the Reformed Cistercian Order in 1926. They still occupy Caldey Abbey today. They follow the strict lifestyle of their order, with vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, observing a rule of silence between the hours of 7pm to 7am and following a demanding timetable of prayer, study and work.

The work includes the production of Caldey Island Perfumes, an industry that started in the 1950s with the sale of bunches of herbs to visitors. It then became more sophisticated and popular until the island ran out of raw materials and had to start importing. The perfumes are no longer developed on the island, but by a Belgian company. However, they are still made on Caldey, using a mixture of local plants, such as gorse, and imported essential oils. Lavender is again being grown in the Abbey gardens and sold in sachets in the shop.

Ancient history

Half of the island is red sandstone, the other half is limestone. The limestone was quarried in centuries past. As with most limestone areas, there are many caves – inaccessible to the casual visitor – and some of these have yielded archaeological artifacts showing that the island was inhabited perhaps some 12,000 years ago. It wasn’t an island then, the sea level was much lower during the ice age, and Caldey would have been a hill on the Bristol Channel Plain.

More information on the Caldey Island website

Bookshop

There are various Pembrokeshire books available in local outlets, but only these two easily available on-line.

Click on the covers for more information.

Buying books through these links provides a small commission (at no extra cost to you) that helps with the upkeep of this website.

More ideas for nature-watching in Wales

Choughs on Ramsey Island

Ramsey Island is a peaceful idyll off the coast of Pembrokeshire in Wales. It is also home to the chough – a red-legged crow.

Skomer Seabird Spectacular cruise

A seabird spectacular cruise offers an alternative (or an addition) to landing on Skomer Island – and a great chance to see the Manx Shearwaters that are hidden in burrows, or are out at sea during the day.

Botanising on the Great Orme

The Great Orme is a huge limestone outcrop along the North Wales coast. It’s a great place for hunting plants and butterflies, or just for enjoying a long walk.

Environmental volunteering

Environmental volunteering is a great way of getting to know more about a place or a species. It can be done quietly on a local level, or by joining a working group or a vacation.

Red Kites at Gigrin Farm

Even if you are not a bird-watcher, a visit to a red kite feeding station is a spectacular event. There are several such feeding stations in the UK.

Visiting Skomer Island in Pembrokeshire

Skomer Island off the coast of Pembrokeshire is a fantastic place for puffins and other seabirds, seals, plants, and a generally good day out. This article is about how to get there.

photo of a southern white admiral butterfly

Butterflies of la Brenne

February 4, 2023March 4, 2024 Annie H18 Comments

The Brenne Natural Park lies just west of the centre of France with the large town of Chateauroux just outside the north-eastern corner.

It is an internationally important wetland, with birds, dragonflies, aquatic life, plants, invertebrates, etc etc.

It is truly a naturalist’s paradise, and one worth visiting time and time again.

Map

About la Brenne

The Brenne Natural Regional Park was declared in 1989, covering 166,000 hectares. A large part of the site is a Ramsar site (ie internationally important wetland), and about 48,000ha are defined as an Important Bird Area. However, none of these designations provide any degree of protection of the area.

Only 145ha of the area is designated as a Special Protection Area under the EU Birds Directive.

The area is a cultural landscape, with a multitude of fishponds created in Medieval times and still managed by traditional methods. The lakes are all privately owned, making protection more difficult.

Probably the best way to appreciate the Brenne is by bicycle – it’s fairly flat and easy-going. In spring and summer this allows you to appreciate the birdsong (I vividly remember blackcaps in the scrub on one side of the road, and nightingales on the other, blasting their songs into my ears), while keeping an eye out for butterflies, dragonflies, flowers, and everything else.

The butterflies

Nearly 100 species of butterfly have been recorded in the Brenne area, so there is plenty of scope for the enthusiast. Unlike the Alps, where the number of species is enhanced by altitudinal differences, this is a flat site, and the butterflies are fairly typical of central Europe. The number of species isn’t overwhelming, and a few days there in May gave me thirty species over two trips, June should produce around 45-50 of them. June is the peak season, however butterfly-watching here is good until August at least – although the summer heat and lots of human visitors in August mean I would avoid it then. However, a few species, such as the great banded grayling and the dryad, only fly in late August-September.

Most organised tours are based around birds, orchids, or general natural history – and it is hard to be single-minded about what you are looking for!

So, an introduction to European Butterflies!

Some of the large colourful ones are reasonably easy to identify:

Swallowtail Papilio machaon is widespread across mainland Europe and found mostly in wetland areas, though also on drier ground in the Mediterranean.

The Scarce Swallowtail Iphiclides podalirius is more associated with trees – particularly Prunus species – on which the caterpillars feed.

All four common species of ‘white’ butterfly are present, the Large White Pieris brassicae being easy to ID because of the extensive amount of black on the wing tips. The less common species include the Wood White Leptidea sinapis which is small with often indistinct markings.

The Brimstone Gonopteris rhamni (which is actually classified as a ‘white’ is distinguished from the other yellow butterflies by having a brown circle on the underwing instead of the prominent white-centred one of the clouded yellow, and by the lack of black margins and spots on the upperwings.

There are a number of small jewel-like butterflies that you really need to see both upper and undersides of to ID. Although they all belong to the ‘blue’ family, they come in a range of colours.

Green Hairstreak Callophrys rubi
This small green butterfly almost always settles with its wings closed, showing off the iridescent green underside. The upperside is plain brown.

Brown Argus Aricia agestis
Both male and female brown argus can look like female common blues, but they do not have any trace of blue on either the under- or upper-sides. There is also a slight difference in the underwing pattern.

Sooty Copper Lycaena tityrus
In most copper species, the male is more colourful than the female. However, in the sooty copper it is the male that is duller (in our eyes at least), almost black in fresh individuals, but fading to brown later. The male also has very little orange on the underside of the forewing, in comparison with the female.

Sooty Copper Lycaena tityrus female is distinguished from the male by her brighter colours, and from the more common small copper by being not so bright on the upperside and having larger spots on the underside.

Short-tailed Blue Everes argiades
There are few blue butterfly species with tails, and those tails are often inconspicuous. Again it helps to see both the upper and undersides. The underside is distinctive, having two orange and black spots by the tail. This is a male, the females having more black on the upperwings, and often an orange spot by the tails.

Small Blue Cupido minimus
The smallest of blue butterflies in Europe is hardly blue at all on the upperside, though there is a dusting of blue on the underside near the body. Females easily mistaken for other small species particularly in southern Europe. They fly close to the ground, and are seldom far from kidney vetch Anthyllis vulneraria, the caterpillar food plant.

Southern White Admiral Limenitis reducta
The purple emperor and white admiral groups look very similar at first glance. The southern white admiral is one of the smallest of the group, is blue-black on the upperside, and that clear white spot on the inner part of the forewing is distinctive.

The name fritillary refers to the chequered pattern of the butterfly’s wings. There are also plants called fritillaries, again because of the chequered pattern on their petals. For the butterflies, you need to look closely at both the upper and underwing patterns, and to use a good book (or a local expert) that shows the points you need to look at. These were cautiously identified in the field, and again later from the photos. They certainly present a challenge. Even looking at the photos now, I’m trying to resist the temptation to check them against the field guide yet again. Having a species list for the region means you can narrow the options – in this case from about 45 species across Europe down to twelve in la Brenne.

This ‘wings half open’ stance is typical of the Duke of Burgundy Hamearis lucina as it stands ready to defend its territory. It isn’t closely related to the fritillaries, which is superficially resembles, but is the only European member of the Metalmark (Rhiodinidae) family which occurs mostly in central America.

Glanville Fritillary Melitaea cinxia
This species is often found nectaring on Birds-foot trefoil and other Lotus species, but the caterpillar food plant is plantain, hence an older English name for it was the Plantain Fritillary

Knapweed Fritillary Melitaea phoebe
It is often more difficult to photograph the underside of a butterfly, but worth it for help with identification. This general patterning puts it in the Meliteae genus, and careful comparison with a good field guide showed it to be the knapweed fritillary.

Spotted Fritillary Melitaea didyma
This isn’t the only fritillary with spots rather than the chequer pattern, so again a view of the underside and a species list for the site is helpful.

There is a variety of ‘brown butterflies’ – and not all of them are obviously brown. They range in size from the tiny small heath, to the almost giant Great Banded Grayling and Dryad – which fly later in the season, so I couldn’t photograph them. Most are medium-sized, such as the Wall Brown

The Small Heath Coenonympha pamphilus rarely shows its upper-wings – a characteristic shared with other members of the family. However, its only cousin in the Brenne is the Pearly Heath Coenonympha arcania which has a white patch on clear eye-spots on the underside of the hind wing.

Wall Brown Lasiomata megera
Could be confused with a fritillary at first glance, but the pattern of lines and eye-spots is quite different, as is the underside.

The skippers are an odd family, not quite falling into either the butterfly or the moth category. Some are mostly orange, some are mostly brown with white or cream spots, and these are the most confusing and difficult to ID.

Grizzled Skipper Pyrgus malvae is the smallest and most distinctly chequered member of a confusing group of species. Photographing the upperside for later ID is relatively easy, getting the underside is not. Fortunately, in this case, the distinct markings on the hindwing indicate the species pictured.

Chequered Skipper Carterocephalus palaemon
A fairly distinctive skipper butterfly and the only brown and yellow skipper one in the area. On the wing in May and June.

I could bore you with more photos of butterflies, and day-flying moths, and other insects from la Brenne, but they are far more enjoyable if you go to see them yourself.

Resources

Further information about la Brenne is available from:

Website for the Parc Naturel de la Brenne (in English and French)

Useful booklet about where to find nature in the park (recommended sites and routes) – download pdf

Tourist information for the Loire Valley as a whole

A checklist of butterflies for a specific area is more helpful than the maps in a field-guide. Butterflies are colonising new areas, particularly as the climate changes.

Bookshop

Click on the covers for more information about each title.

Note that buying through these links provides a small commission (at no extra cost to yourself) that helps with the maintenance of this website.

Several books, such as the Crossbill guide, about la Brenne are now out of print.

However, there were several books such as these two – (and perhaps only in French) available at the Maison du Parc and/or the Maison du Nature which I haven’t seen on sale elsewhere – so clicking on these covers doesn’t get you anywhere.

Note that the flower book does not cover all species in the area.

A good old-fashioned folding paper map may not be the easiest thing to use in the field, but it does make it easier to work out where the various ponds are in relation to each other for route-planning.

More ideas for nature-watching in France

Brière in winter

The parc naturel régional de Brière is a watery wonderland, great for birds and other wildlife.

Watching Wolves in Europe

A selection of organised trips (eco-volunteering, guided vacations and single day/night opportunities) for watching wolves in Europe.

Winter birds on the Gulf of Morbihan

The Golfe du Morbihan provides a huge feast for wintering waders and wildfowl. Here are a few suggestions for places to watch them.

Adventures in French

Whatever the reason for your trip, it is worth learning at least a little of the language – especially if you are travelling independently.

Botany and Butterflies in the French Alps

The French Alps provide a wonderful backdrop for a botanical and/or butterfly trip. Here are some of my recommendations after a week at La Grave, near the Col du Galibier which is equally well-known for the tour du France cycle race.

Pin for later

Nature of the Queyras Natural Park

January 15, 2023January 21, 2023 Annie H2 Comments

Why visit . . . .

spectacular scenery with great hiking routes
over 1400 species of plants
Mammals such as marmot, chamois, ibex, mouflon, deer, roe deer and wild boar.
Mountain birds, the rock ptarmigan and black grouse are among the most emblematic. Raptors such as the short-toed (snake) eagle, peregrine falcons, golden eagles and griffon vultures. Nutcrackers and wallcreepers number amongst the smaller birds.
150 species of butterfly

About the Parc naturel regional du Queyras

Air France pilots call the Queyras ‘le trou bleu’ – the blue hole. While the rest of the Alps are frequently blanketed by cloud, Queyras boasts up to 300 days of sunshine a year – all thanks to the shelter it gets from the Écrins to the west.

But on June 18th, it was just grey, wet and miserable. So bad, that it seems I took only one photo! (the other photos here were taken in the French Alps, just not in Queyras)

Still, it was filled with sounds of yellowhammer, willow tit, coal tit, bullfinch, garden warbler and rock bunting. Grey rocks with white patches of snow towered above, green grass filled the valley bottom below, and conifers clothed the slopes in between.

Queyras is located in the Hautes-Alpes department of south-east France. It lies south-east of Grenoble, to the north of the Mercantour National Park, and to the south of the Vanoise National Park. Its eastern border coincides with the Italian border and it is possible to walk between the two countries in several places.

Covering some 65,000 hectares, Queyras consists of an ancient glacial valley with steep sides and a mountain stream. It is ringed by seven 3000m peaks. There are dense pine forests and higher up, hay-meadows on the beds of former lakes. Higher still there are extensive peatbogs and the park has some impressive cliff-faces. Not surprisingly, it is home to a great variety of flora and fauna – including chamois, marmots, hares and partridges. Many of the typical upland and forest birds of Central Europe can be found within the park

A Parc Naturel Regional is the equivalent of a British National Park. Basically, it is a region protected for its landscape value and its traditions and culture, with development and commercial exploitation – apart from tourism – being restricted. Any natural history interest is secondary, and hunting is usually permitted.

The main part of the Parc is a mountainous block with one road going right through it and a few other dead-end roads leading towards other corners. One of our books described it as a countryside of larch and spruce forest, where water from lakes pour out over waterfalls into mountain streams. From the road all we could see were steep slopes clothed in conifers under a ceiling of grey cloud, making the valley seem rather claustrophobic.

Saxifraga aizoides – one of many low-growing Alpine plants

It was a Sunday and the shops were closed, so we were unable to obtain a map showing the footpaths, or other information. We hadn’t actually heard of the place until we noticed it on the road map and even now, with the internet, there doesn’t seem to be much information available, not in English anyway.

We walked along the road, and turned a short way down each of several obvious paths – wary of wandering too far in an unknown direction. Nevertheless, we found a handful of usual woodland species jay, Bonelli’s warbler, crested and coal tits, a green woodpecker etc. A few butterflies flitted in sunny glades – a small fritillary, red admiral, scarce swallowtail and common blue. Flowers under the pines included box-leaved and common milkworts, pansy, and some legumes.

The most northerly point of the road through the Parc was the Col d’Izoard. Above the treeline the rocks were worn into weird shapes with scree slopes between. We could hear marmots calling across the valley. A souvenir kiosk marked the highest point. It began to rain a few minutes after we arrived there, but Jim had already gone looking for eagles. No luck with the raptors, but snow finch, fieldfare, black redstart, northern wheatear, whinchat, white wagtail and, at last, Alpine accentor, feeding in a patch of grass at the base of a cliff.

Beyond the pass the road descended quickly through open conifer forest with grass and alpine anemones on the floor. The rain continued and we didn’t hang around to look at the other flowers. Below the trees were alpine pastures grazed by Simmental and Swiss brown type cows.

Three grey-green finches fed by the side of the road and showed off pale rumps as they flew. They didn’t go far, and then came back to the roadside green crown, grey nape and neck, green on wings etc, all pointed to citril finch. They fed amongst the wildflowers, favouring the dandelion seedheads.

Best places for seeing plants and butterflies

Wandering around anywhere in the park seems to produce a good number of butterflies and alpine plants, but there do seem to be a few particular places worth a special mention.

The Ristolas Mont Viso National Nature Reserve is located at the South-East corner of the park. It extends over 2,295 hectares, from 1,800 m to 3,214 m above sea level so provides a huge elevation range and is wonderful for butterflies and alpine plants from mid-June to mid-August. You’ll find it at the end of the D947 road which connects Guillestre to Ristolas.

Belvédère du Viso, where a broad track goes through extensive meadows. On the track itself mud-puddling can be excellent with many Blues and Skippers easy to observe and to photograph. Mud-puddling? That means soft damp often clay soil where butterflies can congregate as they drink in the minerals they need for survival and reproduction, like the green-veined whites in the photo below..

Also near Ristolas, the Lac Egorgéou is a group of lakes at 2,400-2,500m famous for scarce plants and uncommon alpine butterflies as well as the high mountain scenery

Col d’Agniel: on the border with Italy, one of the highest road in the Alps (2,744 m) and with good access to high mountain butterflies and flowers. At 2,744 m, it is the third highest paved road pass of the Alps, after Stelvio Pass and Col de l’Iseran, and popular with cyclist (sometimes part of the Tour de France route).

Abriès is a village and ski resort (so good for accommodation) in the north-east corner of the park, good for plants and butterflies in meadows in the valley and a dry south-facing slope just above.

There is an especially fascinating creature here – the Lanza Salamander which lives only in this part of the Alps. It holds the record for longevity among amphibians: more than 20 years. They need this long life as the females carry their embryos for up to 4 years of gestation – not a true pregnancy, as there is no placenta, but the eggs 2-4 of them, develop inside the female. I haven’t seen any, but the best time to look for them is said to be at night during the spring mating season.

So there you have it

I enjoyed my time in the park, despite the grey weather. There were plenty of wildflowers and birds to keep me occupied, as well as a good few marmots. Maybe it was just as well I didn’t see many butterflies as trying to identify them all would be just too time-consuming.

What I’d look for next time – better weather, so the butterflies will be flying! But, remember that those 300 hot clear summer days also mean clear cold summer nights, even at elevations lower than other areas of the Alps.

Resources

The official website is in French, but can be automatically translated. Website: Parc Naturel Regionel de Queyras

For an idea of the scenery: Video of a journey through the park

For information about places to eat, stay, and visit: Queyras tourism website

The absence of glaciers makes the Queyras ideal hill-walking country as it has several high mountain summits accessible to the ordinary walker and scrambler. Another Queyras tourism website

For a challenging organised hike: For a challenging hike

For those are unfamiliar with travel in France: France travel information

How to get there

Public transport – nearest airport is at Nice on the south coast, and a train will get you half the way to the park. Coming from any other direction isn’t much better, so really, you need a car.

Bookshop

Click on covers for more information. The comments are from the publisher’s ‘blurb’

The stunning natural beauty of the Alps makes this range of mountains one of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations. This book helps visitors to gain a deeper appreciation of that beauty, by providing a guide to the geology and flowers of the Alps.

Written in straightforward language for those with little or no prior knowledge and illustrated by stunning photographs, maps and diagrams, this book reveals how different rocks were created and shaped into the present-day mountains by glaciers and other agents. The detailed guide to 344 stunning Alpine flowers and plants can be used for on-the-spot identification and is complemented by chapters describing just how these flowers survive in their harsh mountain environment. Finally, what better way to make use of your new-found understanding than to explore the Alps with the 23 suggested walks, which are located in some of the best geological and botanical spots of the Alps.

The vegetation of the French Alps has been studied for several decades and is often presented in technical publications or floras that feature only a small number of images. Walkers and botanist are often helpless in the correct identification of plants in situ. This is the one of the most comprehensive field guides with 1175 colour photos, covering most of the species in the Alps. The author has endeavored to describe each plant succinctly, using only botanical characteristics visible on the ground for a rapid effective and scientifically serious determination.

It is written in French, but that isn’t a problem for the keen botanist

Graceful flight, delicate colours, a fascinating development cycle: butterflies captivate because of their great diversity and can be easily observed in the mountains. Aimed at both expert and beginner enthusiasts, this guide helps Alpine mountain walkers to easily identify these fragile insects which are so threatened today. Each species entry groups together the main characteristics, the distribution area and the periods of the different stages of development (laying, caterpillars, chrysalis, butterfly). Photographs illustrate morphological details or different phases of the life cycle.

Language: French, with vernacular names in English, French, German, and Italian – but don’t let that put you off.

– Descriptions, illustrations and distribution maps to identify butterflies and know where and when to observe them

– For each species, the scientific name and the vernacular name in 4 languages (French, English, German, Italian)

– A guide covering all the Alps: Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Slovenia, Switzerland.

Buying through these links earns me a small commission which goes towards the cost of maintaining this website.

A slow hike on the Alta Via 2

Join me on a three-day slow hike along a section of the Alta Via in the Italian Alps.

Nature of Grindelwald

The area around Grindelwald, in the shadow of the Eiger and the Jungfrau, is great for plants, birds, and butterflies as well as just great scenery for hiking through.

Wildlife under the Matterhorn

How to enjoy the natural world in the shadow of the Matterhorn – where to go, and what you might see. Updated 13/4/24

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Brazo del Este Natural Area

June 9, 2022 Annie H3 Comments

The Brazo del Este is located 20 km south of Seville in the Guadalquivir river estuary.

This former branch (brazo) of the Guadalquivir lies to the east of the main river and is surrounded by rice plains and intensive farmland.

It is quite possible to see over 100 species during a one-day visit here.

I first came across the Brazo del Este by happy accident, trying to drive from Seville to San Lucar de Barrameda on the back roads, keeping close to the Guadalquivir and hoping the often unpaved roads wouldn’t come to a dead end. The intensively cultivated landscape changed suddenly to something more wild – reedbeds alongside a river that didn’t go in a straight line. And then a volume of birdsong that had been missing since we left the Doñana Natural Park early that morning. Not forgetting the occasional wide verge full of flowers and insects.

About the Brazo del Este

The Brazo del Este Natural Park starts 17km south of Seville, where there is a fork in the main channel of the Guadalquivir. The brazo twists and turns along 39km of meanders, rejoining the main channel some 16km further down. Somehow, this channel has survived the 100 years or so of human intervention, and become an exceptionally important wetland for birds.

It is at least as important as the Doñana National Park Natural Park on the other side of the Guadalquivir – indeed, it has the advantage that it does not dry out in summer, and so provides a refuge for birds trying to escape the summer drought. The abundance of ducks (pintail, mallard, shoveler, teal), birds of prey, various herons, egrets, a colony of white storks, as well as a variety of other birds has meant that it has been declared a Special Protection Area (SPA or ZEPA in Spanish).

The wetland vegetation is mainly made up of marsh-loving plants, with reedmace and giant reed Arundo donax lining the channels. Tamarisk is abundant in drier areas. There are few trees, with some isolated specimens of ash and white poplar in the last stretch of the channel. However, it is not all natural. Red eucalyptus was introduced from Australia as an ornamental garden species, it escaped and here it now grows in abundance along paths and several sections of the river – an invasive species that may be creating problems.

Best places for seeing . . . . .

It’s hard to mention best places – we drove around and there seemed to be something new around every corner. This was the end of March:

After some kilometres (from Seville) we came to an area of olive scrub on slightly elevated ground. The rain stopped (more or less) and we stopped too, exchanging the sound of the engine for that of birdsong. It took us a while to work out what was singing. So many birds were singing that distinguishing a single song from all the others was difficult, but we eventually realised that they were mostly blackcaps. Scores of them. A few birds showed themselves, some looking decidedly wet and bedraggled while others were smart and dry. Serins, house sparrows and blackbirds tried to make themselves heard above the blackcaps’ din.

Jim saw a cape hare on his side of the van, and a few minutes later there was one on my side too. It looked us up and down, then disappeared into the scrub again.

Egrets flew over the road, along with white storks, black kites, and hoopoes. There was a strong passage of hirundines and swifts. Along the road were gold- and greenfinches, great tits, chiffchaffs and Sardinian warblers. After lunch we heard our first cuckoo of the year, and a little owl crooned from somewhere close by.

In places, the roadside verge was a ten-metre wide carpet of wild-flowers: asphodel, French lavender, broom, yellow crucifers, masses of pink Mediterranean catchfly, poppy, ramping fumitory, purple viper’s bugloss, bugle, weasel’s snout, Barbary nut and chives, to name but a few. Here and there I found small patches of ‘insect’ orchids; they did not correspond exactly with anything in the book, though the nearest seemed to be the early spider orchid.

A blue butterfly rested on a lavender stem, sheltering from the weather. It walked onto my finger ‑ presumably attracted by the warmth. We compared it closely with the diagrams in the butterfly book. The blue-grey underwings, with black spots rimmed with white. Then it opened the wings to show brilliant blue colouring with prominent white veins on the forewing and a black margin. The body was also blue and hairy. Having warmed itself sufficiently the butterfly flew off along the road. It was a black‑eyed blue, which should not have been on the wing until April.

There were more stunning invertebrates to come, firstly a huge brown slug clambering along thistle leaves – slugs might not appeal to everyone, but this one’s size was impressive. I have no idea what kind it is, though.

Then an oil (blister) beetle with a massive body about 50mm long ‑ all black but with red between the abdominal segments ‑ and small wing‑buds (they are flightless). The insect book did not show enough examples to identify the species so ID had to wait – in fact it had to wait several years, but this has now been identified as the red-striped oil beetle, Berberomeloe majalis. The female oil beetle needs this large abdomen to produce vast numbers – up to 10,000 – eggs, and it is a wonder that any larvae ever get to adulthood as most of them fail to reach maturity either for lack of food or through predation. The larvae are only about 3mm long, and their development proceeds through hypermetamorphosis – a process in which the larval stages are of different forms. Unlike the larvae of oil beetles of the genus Meloe that we have in Britain, the first stage larva has to actively seek out a suitable solitary bee host. Once the larva has consumed the egg and then the stored nectar and pollen from a bee’s nest, they leave it. They then moult again, and emerge with their back legs formed. From this stage they pupate, and emerge from the chrysalis as adults. If a larva accidentally selects the wrong type of bee as host, it will die.

But it was the water birds that dominated.

The road continued through the Isla Menor agricultural desert. The marshes shown on the map had been turned into arable fields with only a handful of small wet areas remaining. Nevertheless they did contain coot, moorhen, little grebes, grey, purple and squacco herons, marsh harriers, black kites, mallard, cattle and little egrets, snipe, Savi’s and fan‑tailed warblers, and red-crested pochard. Purple gallinules honked from the reeds.

photo of bird on water — Little Grebe in breeding plumage

In May, the migrants have arrived mostly settled down, and you can expect to add collared pratincole, black, whiskered, gull-billed and Capsian terns, as well as a variety of ducks, waders, little bitterns, spoonbills, booted eagles, hoopoes, and more warblers.

Summer and autumn brings a greater variety as birds breeding in the Arctic begin to migrate south again – those that failed at nesting will be the first to arrive. In winter add greylag goose and marbled duck, little crake, bluethroats and a whole lot more.

So there you have it

If you’re staying anywhere between Malaga and Gibraltar, and don’t have time to visit the Doñana National Park, then this is the next best thing. Take a GPS/SatNav – they didn’t exist when I first visited, so we had to hope that we were actually using the roads that we thought we were.

The heronries – I missed the heron roosts because I didn’t know they were there, never mind exactly where they were. Where to Watch Birds in Southern and Western Spain has the details.

Other species to look out for include purple and squacco herons, black stork, glossy ibis, marbled teal, purple swamphen, penduline tit, bluethroat, Spanish sparrow

The butterflies and flowers change too, with the seasons, so there is always something of interest.

Resources

Websites

Andalucia tourism website

Andalucia.com – tourism site, links to accommodation

Discovering Donana website – for information, local guides, etc.

Videos

Views of the area and its birds

Good views of the habitats. People talking in Spanish about the area.

The birds speak for themselves – with music.

Getting there

Public transport – not easy. There is a bus service between Seville and Cadiz, with the nearest towns en route being Los Palacios y Villafranca and Las Cabezas de San Juan from where it is a long hike, or a taxi ride.

According to the Discovering Donana website – The main dirt road that cuts the Brazo and the old Carretera del Práctico (Coast Pilot Road), which runs along the Guadalquivir River, are the main access points, but to these must be added an intricate network of secondary roads and channels that make navigation difficult in the area, hence the usefulness of a local guide – and, obviously, they would prefer you to use one of theirs.

Bookshop

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Buying through these links earns me a small commission, at no extra cost to you, which goes towards the cost of maintaining this website.

More nature-watching in Andalucia

Doñana National Park

How to get the most out of a visit to the Doñana National Park. My recommendations after several visits.

Keep reading

Las Marismas del Odiel

The Odiel Marshes Natures Reserve is the second largest wetland in Huelva province after Doñana, and the most important tidal wetland in Spain. Here’s how to make the best of a visit.

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Nature-watching in the Swiss National Park

May 29, 2022May 29, 2022 Annie H6 Comments

Why visit the Swiss National Park . . . .

Glorious scenery
100km of hiking trails
Wilderness that has not been touched (away from the paths) for over 100 years
Wonderful Wildflowers
Brilliant butterflies and other invertebrates
A good variety of birds and mammals

About . . . .

The Swiss National Park is located in the canton of Graubünden, spread across the four communes of Zernez, S-chanf, Scuol and Val Müstair and covering an area of 170 km2 at an altitude of 1,400 to 3,174 metres.

Established in 1914, it is the oldest national park in the Alps and indeed the oldest in central Europe. As of April 2021, the site is listed on the IUCN’s Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas and is formally recognised as one of the 59 best managed sites in the world.

Protected areas in Switzerland

Despite its small size, Switzerland manages to squeeze in a number of major sites of ecological importance. Perhaps that is not so surprising in a country where 25% of the land is categorized as “non-productive”, ie high mountains and lakes. However, until 2007, there was only a single national park. Now there are a total of 18 areas designated, or proposed for designation as, national or regional nature parks, each of them at least 100 square kilometres in area.

There are also a handful of nature discovery parks – relatively small areas of only a few square kilometres within densely populated regions, offering intact spaces for local flora and fauna and improving the life quality of the urban population. Their primary purpose is to allow the public to experience nature and receive environmental education.

Map from the Swiss National Park website which provides information in German, English, French and Italian.

Best things to do:

Go to the visitor centre

I’m an advocate for visitor centres. Having arrived in Zernez when it was raining, this visitor centre was most welcome, and I visited on several other occasions when the weather was poor during my ten-day stay in the area. There were exhibitions about various aspects of the park – geology, animals, plants, history, hiking, etc. The staff were helpful, even the park director was happy to talk to visitors who had questions that the centre staff couldn’t answer themselves.

It has all changed since then. Opened in 2008, the new national park centre at Zernez attracts some 40,000 visitors a year. It’s well worth visiting for up-to-date information, and for maps and route guides from the shop. There is a comprehensive, interactive exhibition on permanent show, with various digital information systems, temporary exhibitions and a theatre, all of which provide a set of interesting alternatives for when the weather is too wet for hiking to be pleasant.

Download the app

A fairly recent innovation, the Swiss National Park app is a digital hiking guide that leads you through the National Park region with stories, information and detailed maps. Not all areas of the Park have mobile phone/online coverage; so the app was created in offline mode – so download it when you have a wi-fi signal because it is a rather large file. The app is available in German, English, and French, so is also useful if you are on a guided walk and need help with understanding what the guide is saying in German.

Take a hike

There is a single road through the park, going on down to the Italian border. Along it, you’ll find car parks, hotels, and bus stops. These are all very handy when hiking through the park. The rules are strict. You must stay on the path, camping and fires are not allowed. But the 80km or so of footpaths are all well-worth exploring. I’ve been on about half of them. The campsite in Zernez provided a useful base for some short hikes, and the starting point for some of the longer ones. The need to get back to base meant a good deal of planning for buses or trains, and making sure there was enough time to catch the last one back to base. Nature-watching really tends to slow us down, but if you are just out for the hike, the distances are easy to do in plenty of time.

Go on a guided walk

A guide can give so much extra information and interpretation about the landscape. Guided hikes happen on Tuesdays and Thursdays, are usually conducted in German, and usually have a specialist theme. Alongside the human guides, you can use the app to provide extra information. Both kinds of tour provide an opportunity to uncover some of the secrets of the astounding abundance of flora and fauna – all to be found in the Swiss National Park.

Look for birds

Despite there being only half a dozen pairs of golden eagles in the park, we saw one or two every day. During the summer they feed mainly on marmots, while in the winter they scavenge deer carcasses and whatever else they can find. Carcasses are also important for the Lammergeier – also known as the bone vulture and the bearded vulture. This species has been the subject of an extensive reintroduction program throughout the Alps, including 26 young captive-bred released in the park between 1991 and 2007. They seem to be breeding by themselves now, so no further releases are needed.

Nutcrackers are members of the crow family, restricted in range to areas of pine forests and so most often found in the mountains and the far north where conifers form the main forests. Like jays, it stores its winter food supply in the ground, and the seeds that it doesn’t find again germinate and extend the forest. The nutcracker is the logo for the Swiss National Park.

Looking at the list of 56 species that I saw here, the ptarmigan, Alpine chough, Alpine accentor, and citril finch stand out as being special to the mountains, at least. Most of the other species are more generalist, and found in the lower areas – the forests and along the river corridors.

Look for butterflies

The best place for butterflies proved to be the track alongside the river from Zernez – and on a couple of occasions, we barely managed a mile of hiking because of trying to photograph and identify all the butterflies. But to find the specialities of the region, you have to go to higher altitudes.

En route to Alp Trubchun, we found a shepherd’s fritillary basking on a stone (above left), and while we were trying to photograph that, the local form of the silky ringlet put in an appearance (above right). Depending on the light angle, this butterfly can look much like any other brown ringlet, or it can shimmer an iridescent green.

It’s really the blues and the fritillaries that dominate the butterfly lists here. And to have any hope of identifying unfamiliar species, you really have to photograph both the under-side and the upper-side. And nowadays, having the luxury of looking at the photos on a computer screen, much enlarged, makes it so much easier. I ended up with a list of 34 species, plus a few that I couldn’t identify, and of course, there were a few that didn’t hang around long enough for a photo.

*Leontopodium alpinum.* Edelweiss – close up of the small white flowers.

Enjoy the wildflowers

Where to start with the wildflowers! As in most mountain regions, there is a huge variety due to the variation in altitude and aspect. However, there are perhaps not so many here as elsewhere in the Alps, due to the dry climate (low in rainfall and in humidity), the extremes of temperature, and the lack of limestone rocks. Nevertheless, up to 600 species can be found here.

I didn’t really look hard at them – I was more interested in the butterflies – but was happy to at last find an Edelweiss. This iconic flower of the Alps prefers rocky limestone places at about 1,800–3,000 metres (5,900–9,800 ft) altitude. Its leaves and flowers are covered with dense hairs, which are believed to protect the plant from cold, aridity, and ultraviolet radiation. It is a scarce, short-lived flower found in remote mountain areas, although it will grow in gardens with a bit of help. It is a national symbol Switzerland and some other Alpine countries. It is non-toxic and has been used in traditional medicine as a remedy against abdominal and respiratory diseases.

Look for mammals

We saw mammals, or signs of mammals, on each day. However, the best place is generally considered to be Alp Trubchun at the south-west end of the Park. We took the train from Zernez to S-chanf, and started the hike from there – although now there is a bus service that stops closer to the footpath. It’s a relatively easy hike, gently climbing 400m in 10km, but you do have to allow time to walk back too. The scenery is, as always, wonderful, but with the added views of plenty of wildlife. We had to try to ignore the birds, butterflies and plants on the outward journey through Val Trubchun, just to make sure we got to Alp Trubchun itself.

Herds of red deer grazed on the Alp, watching us from a distance. Amongst them were a few ibex. This species was surreptitiously reintroduced to the area in the early 1900s after being exterminated by 1650 – thanks mainly to the medicinal properties attributed to its flesh and horns – plus the fact that they often seem to have no fear of humans, and are therefore easy to hunt. Chamois were not quite so easy to see, as they spend the summer at even higher elevations, so you need time to continue to path up to Fuorcla Trupchun – a steady but much steeper and more difficult climb – from where you can even continue downhill to Livigno in Italy (and return to Zernez by bus, according to the Swiss National Park website).

Marmots are also common on the Alp, and we stopped to watch their antics on the way back. This was early August, and youngsters were out, playing around a rock next to their burrow. An adult posed obligingly outside its burrow nearby. It then wandered through the flowery meadow, stopping to bite off some vegetation here and there, or tug at a juicy root just underground. Then two more young marmots appeared. They hung around a burrow entrance under a rock for a while – mum climbed on the rock to keep an eye on us – then scampered up the hill. When she returned, the family did a lot of licking and grooming as a greeting ceremony, and then the youngsters disappeared into the burrow while the adult still lounged outside, soaking up the late afternoon sun.

Another hike that gave us good sightings of mammals was the route from Zernez via Cluozza to Ova Spin. First, there were signs of otter and fox alongside the river. Then through woodland with red squirrels, and a garden dormouse which, unfortunately, was dead. The woodland gave way to alpine pasture, with red deer, chamois (probably the closest views we ever had), a few ibex, and the inevitable marmots. This route was much more demanding than the Val Trubchun one, including two 700m climbs and requiring sure-footedness in places on the downhills. Fortunately, there was a bus service from Ova Spin back to Zernez, although a passing motorist offered us a ride before the bus arrived.

So there you have it

Those are my recommendations, but I feel I sampled only a little of the park.

What I’d do next time

Some of the hikes I didn’t do last time – perhaps including the one where you can do an overnight stay in a refuge – remember to book first.

Watch and photograph Lammergeiers – I’ve had only brief and distant views so far

Take more photos – especially now that I’ve got better equipment!

Best time to go

Winter: From mid-November onwards there is generally so much snow that footpaths are no longer visible, and there is a risk of avalanches. From now until the end of May the Park remains closed to visitors. The main Pass dal Fuorn (Ofenpass) road remains open in winter, ensuring access to the Val Müstair. However, the parking areas within the Park and the Hotel Parc Naziunal Il Fuorn are closed in winter.

Spring: During May there can still be heavy falls of snow, and large avalanches are not unusual. But by the end of the month, the trails in the lower and sunnier parts of the Park become accessible, and wildflowers begin to bloom. Trails in the higher areas remain under snow, and are generally only passable towards the end of June. The birds in particular are especially active at this time of year.

Summer: July and August are the ideal months to visit the National Park. All the trails are accessible; days are long and the temperatures pleasant. At 2000 and 3000m, most flowering plants bloom during the second half of July. In high mountainous regions flowering can be delayed until well into August, according to snow conditions. Depending on the weather, the main flowering season may be delayed by 2 to 3 weeks. With the flowers come the butterflies, providing a visual feast of colour.

Autumn: As the days shorten and the temperature drops, nights can be frosty and the first snows fall in the upper regions. Footpaths may be frozen in places, and walkers heading out to higher regions should enquire about walking conditions at the National Park Centre. The highlight of the season is the red deer rut – when hundreds of stags can be heard roaring and strutting their stuff in traditional rutting areas, such as the Val Trupchun.

Resources

Swiss National Park website

Videos

This short video from the ‘Idle Brain’ YouTube channel will give you more idea of the scenery of the National Park.

How to get there

The Swiss National Park lies in the south-east of the country, and is accessible by rail, bus and road. The nearest railway station is at Zernez, and the line also passes through S-chanf for access to Val Trubchun.

Overnight accommodation within the National Park is available only in the Chamanna Cluozza (mountain hut) or at the Hotel Parc Naziunal Il Fuorn. Other accommodation in the region can be found via the local tourist offices or via the internet. There is also a campsite at Zernez.

Bookshop

Buying books through these links earns a small commission which helps towards the costs of this website at no extra cost to you.

Sadly the English version of this book is now out of print. It was a standard volume available in several languages. On walks, the guide would identify a flower, and whoever found it first in their book would call out the page number so everyone could mark it in their own book, regardless of language.

It’s a subject that seems to be more easily available locally rather than trying to buy something in advance.

If you are trying to buy something in advance, make sure it is about the Alpine flora in Europe, rather than Alpine regions of North or South America, or Australia or New Zealand, for example.

Finding books specific to the Alpine Region seems to be best done when you are there. The National Park Visitor Centre usually has a good variety. There will be books in French, German and Italian, and it seems if you are lucky, in English too. Otherwise, the main guides to birds, mammals, etc covering the whole of Europe, will do the job. I am slowly replacing my older versions with those mentioned below.

The books below are my ‘go to’ books for European wildlife, when I can’t find anything more specific to a region. Click on the covers for more information.

RSPB Pulborough Brooks

January 22, 2022January 23, 2022 Annie H7 Comments

“Ooh, it’s a wonderful place. I used to live there, we took the (school) kids there for days out, even before it was a reserve. There’s a wonderful cafe – people often go there just for the cafe . . . ” Trixie was gushing, she had been a teacher in the village school, and now that I’d mentioned I had been there, she was really selling it to me all over again.

The reserve covers 256 ha of wet grassland, woodland, hedgerows, meadow and heath and is located within the South Downs National Park. The wet grassland has SSSI and Ramsar status and is part of the Arun Valley SPA and SAC in recognition of the important populations of overwintering wildfowl, and the specialist plants and invertebrates in the ditches.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) bought the land in 1989, thanks to a generous bequest from a member who had lived in the area. Winifred Smith Wright wanted the brooks to be restored to the wildlife-rich landscape she remembered from her childhood, and the RSPB has been working towards that end ever since.

The meadowland had been drained for farming, but the RSPB has now blocked the drains, realigned the watercourses from straight narrow drains to shallow meandering ‘grips’ (streams) and pools, and now controls the overall water levels to suit the waders and wildfowl that are there from autumn to spring – with a few remaining to breed in the summer.

But the RSPB isn’t just about birds. Under the slogan Give Nature a Home, they make provision for other wildlife too. The water vole above was photographed in this grip in front of Nettley’s Hide. And meadows, scrub and woodland provide habitat for a host of plants and invertebrates.

About the Water Vole Arvicola amphibious

The water vole is widely accepted as the fastest declining mammal in Britain. Population estimates were around 8 million in the 1960s, 2.3 million in 1990, and probably less than a quarter of a million now.

Reasons for the decline include unsympathetic management of waterways, water pollution, changes in farming practices, and the depredations of the American mink. Populations of the latter have grown since their escape/release from fur farms in the 1960s and 1970s, and their habits make them difficult to eradicate.

But there is hope. Water vole populations are increasing in some areas – canals around cities seem unattractive to mink. Increasing otter populations also seem to help – otters will prey on mink. They will also take water voles, but unlike the mink, are too big to follow the voles into their bank-side tunnels. And there are re-introduction projects in areas where the habitat is now considered suitable for them – particularly on nature reserves.

The water vole is found across Europe, though Russia to Lake Baikal, and from north of the Arctic Circle to parts of the eastern Mediterranean. It is an adaptable species, found in rivers, streams and marshes in both lowlands and mountains. In some areas, they live away from watercourses during the winter months. They are mainly vegetarian, feeding of lush vegetation in summer, and roots and bulbs in the winter, but they also take some insects, molluscs and small fish.

On the continent, the water vole has a different set of problems. It co-evolved with the European Mink, and does not suffer the same depredation as where there American mink has been introduced. However, it does face competition for food and space from the introduced American musk rat. In some areas it has even been considered an agricultural pest, for example in the rice fields of Macedonia in the 1980s.

While it seems unlikely it will become common again in Britain in the near future, efforts to conserve and expand the existing populations should help it survive here in the long term.

Watch a video of water voles here

Human visitors are well-catered for. As well as the cafe (which was as good as Trixie said), there is a circular trail of about 3.5km (2 miles) which takes in views across the pools, stops at four hides, and several seats where you can just sit and soak in the atmosphere, as well as the other habitats. Children’s playgrounds and educational trails, a visitor centre, a program of activities and events, all make this a popular spot.

And anywhere along the trails, you are likely to come across these small signs with information about a plant, insect, bird etc that is likely to be seen nearby.

There is relatively little bird activity at Pulborough (or anywhere else) in July – midsummer is when youngsters are finding their feet/wings and the adults are keeping their heads down while they are in moult (they can’t fly so efficiently when they are missing a few feathers). But that doesn’t mean there is nothing to see.

The beetle above is a hornet longhorn beetle Leptura aurulenta. The first impression you get of it buzzing around is that it is a hornet. Once it settled, however, it is clearly a beetle with long antennea. This species is widespread in central and southern Europe, but in Britain is confined to the south, and is considered Nationally Notable A, which basically means it is pretty scarce. It can easily be confused with the much more common and widespread four-spotted longhorn Leptura quadrifasciata which has black legs and antennae. The larva develops in the cambial layer (the layer just under the bark) of large sections of freshly dead broad-leaved trees. The adult is usually found on oaks, and rarely occurs on flowers – though the individual in the photo obviously hadn’t read the book because it was flying around a wildflower meadow, and photographed while it explored a ragwort plant.

The marbled white butterfly Melanargia galathea is a much more common and widespread species, occurring as far north as Yorkshire. But for some reason it is rarely seen in my home area of west Wales. So it was a delight to see and photograph at Pulborough. In Britain there is a single species of marbled white, which also occurs across central Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. In northern Spain there are four species, plus this one which is found only in the western Pyrenees there. The adults, which fly in June-July in Britain, show a liking for the nectar of blue and purple flowers, such as this creeping thistle Cirsium arvense.

The bright orange upper-side of the Comma butterfly Polygonia c-album makes it easy to mistake for a fritillary species when in flight. In fact, it is related to the tortoiseshells, red admirals and painted ladies. You can just about see the comma-shaped white mark on the underwing here. Although in recent years it has been abundant and widespread, fifty years ago it underwent a massive decline. It overwinters as an adult, and probably the relatively mild winters of the past twenty years have helped its recovery.

Oh, yes, this IS a bird reserve. And on this particular visit we did see 40 species – nothing special or spectacular, but a steady selection of the birds we’d expect to see in July at a wetland site.

What’s nearby?

As Pulborough Brooks is only a 45 minute drive from Gatwick Airport, it can be a handy stop en route to elsewhere.

It’s also only a 20-minute drive from the Wildfowl and Wetlands reserve at Arundel, just a few miles downstream.

Bookshop

Click on the covers for more information

Buying books through these links provides a small commission, at no extra cost to yourself, that helps with the cost of maintaining this site.

The hottest weekend

In July 2022 we made a road trip across Britain, visiting three RSPB nature reserves. It just happened to coincide with the hottest days ever recorded in the UK

Nature along the Dorset Coast

There is plenty to see along the Dorset coast – scenery, geology, birds, flowers, butterflies, rare reptiles.

Nature along the Dorset Coast

October 31, 2021October 23, 2022 Annie H3 Comments

Why the Dorset coast

Spectacular Jurassic limestone scenery

Lots of large nature reserves

Plenty to see at any time of year

Best place for Lulworth Skipper, great raft spiders, smooth snakes and others

The section of coast between Poole Harbour and Exeter is popularly known as the Jurassic Coast, for its abundance and variety of fossils laid down in the Jurassic period – 200-145 million years ago. However, the geological time period of the rocks also covers the Triassic (250 – 200 million years) and the Cretaceous (145 – 60 million years ago). The Jurassic Coast website gives plenty of information for visitors interested in the prehistory of the area.

There is, however, much more to this section of coast than just the geological spectacle. The South-West Coast path provides a walking route from end to end – and beyond. It offers the hiker stunning views of many coastal features, from the sheer cliffs and limestone formations such as Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door (top photo) to a great range of birds, flowers and butterflies including the rare Lulworth Skipper Thymelicus acteon (well, rare in Britain as it is only found in this area, although widespread and even common in parts of central and southern Europe).

The Lulworth Skipper is like a large skipper (with the orange patches on the wings) but is much smaller.

The Essex skipper is like a small skipper but has black-tipped antennae

Poole Harbour

Just inland from the sea is a series of nature reserves. Many of these are associated with Poole Harbour, providing refuge for a variety of birds during winter. The harbour itself is a huge shallow bowl with a relatively small outlet to the sea. It has double tides, which means lots of shallow water over mudflats, and lots of food for waders and wildfowl. On the west side, there are several heathland nature reserves which include the shoreline eg Studland Heath and Arne.

*Dark -bellied Brent Geese at Poole Park in January*

On the east side is the town of Poole – an extensively built-up area with considerable boating and recreational activity on the water. Nevertheless, Poole Park, an area of municipal parkland between the harbour wall and the town is excellent for birdwatching – with a large flock of dark-bellied Brent geese Branta bernicla among the other wintering wildfowl and gulls.

Brownsea Island, within the harbour is important for its red squirrel Sciurus vulgaris population. The island is owned by the National Trust, with managed forestry and heathland areas, as well as parkland.

*Avocets in the lagoon at Brownsea Island in January*

The northern part, however, is leased to the Dorset Naturalists Trust. Here there is a large lagoon surrounded on the outside by a high sea wall, areas of alder carr and other wet woodland, and generally much more natural habitats. The lagoon is frequented by waterbirds, especially herons, egrets and spoonbills Platalea leucorodia, and holds Britain’s largest single wintering flocks of avocets Recurvirostra avosetta and black-tailed godwits Limosa limosa – over 1000 birds of each species at times. Within the harbour are a number of small gravel islands, used by terns and gulls for nesting.

The RSPB reserve at Arne has been in existence since 1965. Like the nearby Studland Heath National Nature Reserve, it is important as one of the main sites to see all six species of British reptiles – adder Viperus berus, grass snake Natrix natrix, smooth snake Coronella austriaca, slow-worm Anguilis fragilis, common lizard Zootoca vivipara, and sand lizard Lacerta agilis.

Rare plants on the site include Dorset Heath Erica ciliaris (left), while the freshwater pond is one of only three sites for the great raft spider Dolometes plantarius in Britain. The wasp spider Argiope bruennichi is also found here (below – photographed in July).

The heathland provides a breeding stronghold for the secretive Dartford warbler Sylvia undata, as well as European nightjar Caprimulgus europeaus, woodlark Lullula arborea, and stonechat Saxicola rubicola. Waterbirds commute between the shore here, and Brownsea Island lagoon.

Weymouth area

Some 35km (22 miles) to the west of Poole Harbour is the town of Weymouth, and another set of nature reserves. Within the town itself is the RSPB reserve of Radipole Lake – a long finger of open water and reedbeds. The southern end, with a small RSPB information centre, is next to the railway station, is very popular with families wanting to feed the ducks and swans, so the birds here tend to be quite tame and tolerant. Following the footpath to the north hide takes you to more secluded areas, often quiet in winter except for the explosive calls of Cetti’s warblers Cettia cetti. It is also a good place for bearded reedlings Panurus biarmicus again a species more often heard – pinging calls as they move through the reedbed – than seen.

It is also a good place for a variety of plants, dragonflies and butterflies in the appropriate seasons.

On the eastern side of Weymouth, is the RSPB reserve of Lodmor. This is an area of open water, saltmarsh, wet grassland and scrub, separated from the sea by a shingle embankment and road, and with the ever-increasing housing development of Preston on the north side (view from south side below).

Birds move between here and Radipole, so the species seen are similar. However, it does have one of the largest common tern Sterna hirundo colonies in south-west Britain, and autumn migration can be spectacular. On a rather blustery late August day, we saw more than 50 species easily from the footpath (wheel-chair and push-chair friendly). The last few common tern chicks were being fed by their parents, while large numbers of swifts Apus apus gathered with the swallows and martins preparing for migration south.

Portland Bird Observatory

A programme of bird ringing (bird banding) has been carried out since the earliest days of ornithological exploration at Portland in the 1950s. Bird Observatory staff and suitably qualified helpers use ringing as a tool to assist research into the migration patterns, population changes, biometrics and longevity of birds. The majority of ringing is carried out within the grounds of the Bird Observatory, where over 225,000 birds of 200 species have been trapped and ringed to date. There have been subsequent recoveries of birds marked at Portland from as far north as Finland, as far south as Ghana and as far east as the Republic of Georgia in the former USSR. (from the PBO website)

Portland Bill is a narrow promontory at the southern tip of the Isle of Portland which is connected to the mainland by a shingle spit, the eastern end of Chesil Beach. Jutting out some 8km (5 miles) into the sea, it makes a convenient departure and arrival point for birds on migration, and also catches birds moving along the coast.

The Portland Bird Observatory occupies the Old Lower Lighthouse just before the Bill (tip) itself. The observatory is open all year round.

Back in around 1982, I visited Portland Bill in migration season, just because it was said to be good for birds. The first afternoon was pleasant enough, and somebody mentioned that a hoopoe had been seen. OK, so we kept a look out for it, but weren’t too bothered if we saw it or not – our philosophy was to enjoy the place, and the birds would be the icing on the cake. In the evening we pitched our small tent in a seemingly out-of-the-way place. The next morning we opened the tent only to find a dozen birdwatchers about 50m away, all looking through binoculars and telescopes at the hoopoe feeding right in front of the tent!

Chesil Beach

There are other places to watch birds, or just to enjoy the coastal scenery and plants, on Portland Island. Then just to the west is Chesil Beach – 30km (19 miles) of pebble beach, separated from the mainland by the Fleet Lagoon for most of its length. At the western end is the Abbotsbury Swannery which is the only managed colony of nesting mute swans Cygnus colour (above) in the world.

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This is the updated version of the book we used. Each of the sites mentioned in this article is given several pages of text and maps, It gives the history of sites, the location and access provision, what you will see in each season, and much more. We found it very useful and will be using it to find more sites on our next visit to the area.

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