IMG_20240626_164406
Day 1 Arrival Bilbao, Pitillas Lagoon, Berdún Wednesday 26th June On a hot sunny June day the group arrived at Bilbao airport where Helena Parga and Peter Rich, (both local guides from Spain), were waiting with the vans for the start of the 2024 Butterflies and Moths of the Spanish Pyrenees, or “Butts and Moths”, as we end up calling it. Just 40 minutes outside Bilbao we stopped for lunch at an excellent motorway service station before continuing to the Pitillas Lagoon, some 40kms south of the city of Pamplona. Sitting surrounded by both irrigated and non-watered farmland, the Pitillas Lagoon is an endorrheic body of water that is regulated only by rainfall and evaporation. This spring of 2024 had been fairly cool and wet, so the water level was very high when we arrived, despite the fierce sun and temperatures in the mid 30s. Dozens of Red-veined Darters flitted around, sometimes posing beautifully as the golden fermales contrasted with the red males, while in the reed beds we came across six other species of bluets, damsels and demoiselles. A Zitting Cistícola zitted away until coming to rest on some reeds, giving everyone some fine views, while out on the water, Black-winged stilts, Little Grebe and Black-headed gulls gave the birdwatchers plenty to scope out, while Swifts, Barn swallows and Red-rumped swallows coursed over the nearby fields. And there were plenty of butterflies too, to get the holiday off to a good start. A pair of mating Adonis Blues were on clear view, while other butterflies that were to become regulars for the rest of the week made their first apperances, including Cleopatra, Chapman’s Blue, Southern Gatekeeper and Spotted Fritillary. A novelty for this holiday was discovering some Mediterranean Skippers lurking near the stone wall of the visitors’ centre. The Pitillas Lagoon is unusual habitat for this holiday, and something of a boon addition as we now fly to Bilbao and not to Zaragoza. It gives a chance to enjoy some more Mediterranean terrain with the added advantage of providing a big reed red and lots of aquatic birds. There is some good flora too, especially spikes of Echium italicum and clumps of the spectacular meditteranean Albardine grass Lygeum spartum. It makes for a very interesting first stop on our way to Berdún. © Naturetrek February 25 1 Butterflies & Moths of the Spanish Pyrenees Tour Report Satisfied, but hot, we piled back into the vans before heading on to Berdún, our base for the week. At Casa Sarasa, Marta Gonzalez with Javi and Elena, gave us a warm welcome and the first of many delicious dinners. Total butterfly species seen today: 20
IMG_20240626_164406
Day 1 Arrival Bilbao, Pitillas Lagoon, Berdún Wednesday 26th June On a hot sunny June day the group arrived at Bilbao airport where Helena Parga and Peter Rich, (both local guides from Spain), were waiting with the vans for the start of the 2024 Butterflies and Moths of the Spanish Pyrenees, or “Butts and Moths”, as we end up calling it. Just 40 minutes outside Bilbao we stopped for lunch at an excellent motorway service station before continuing to the Pitillas Lagoon, some 40kms south of the city of Pamplona. Sitting surrounded by both irrigated and non-watered farmland, the Pitillas Lagoon is an endorrheic body of water that is regulated only by rainfall and evaporation. This spring of 2024 had been fairly cool and wet, so the water level was very high when we arrived, despite the fierce sun and temperatures in the mid 30s. Dozens of Red-veined Darters flitted around, sometimes posing beautifully as the golden fermales contrasted with the red males, while in the reed beds we came across six other species of bluets, damsels and demoiselles. A Zitting Cistícola zitted away until coming to rest on some reeds, giving everyone some fine views, while out on the water, Black-winged stilts, Little Grebe and Black-headed gulls gave the birdwatchers plenty to scope out, while Swifts, Barn swallows and Red-rumped swallows coursed over the nearby fields. And there were plenty of butterflies too, to get the holiday off to a good start. A pair of mating Adonis Blues were on clear view, while other butterflies that were to become regulars for the rest of the week made their first apperances, including Cleopatra, Chapman’s Blue, Southern Gatekeeper and Spotted Fritillary. A novelty for this holiday was discovering some Mediterranean Skippers lurking near the stone wall of the visitors’ centre. The Pitillas Lagoon is unusual habitat for this holiday, and something of a boon addition as we now fly to Bilbao and not to Zaragoza. It gives a chance to enjoy some more Mediterranean terrain with the added advantage of providing a big reed red and lots of aquatic birds. There is some good flora too, especially spikes of Echium italicum and clumps of the spectacular meditteranean Albardine grass Lygeum spartum. It makes for a very interesting first stop on our way to Berdún. © Naturetrek February 25 1 Butterflies & Moths of the Spanish Pyrenees Tour Report Satisfied, but hot, we piled back into the vans before heading on to Berdún, our base for the week. At Casa Sarasa, Marta Gonzalez with Javi and Elena, gave us a warm welcome and the first of many delicious dinners. Total butterfly species seen today: 20