The relatively short visit and deteriorating weather on day 5 of our trip had left me feeling that there was more to see of Besande, plus the area between there and Boca de Huernago is reportedly one of the best places to see Wildcat, so I made another early start, leaving the family in bed to head back in that direction on day 7. The first 2 hours of daylight give the best chance of seeing Wildcat, and I set off early enough to give myself a decent chance.
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| Sunrise near Puerto de San Glorio |
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| Panorama with the iPhone |
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| Amazing cloud seas as I climbed towards the mountain pass |
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| Taken from a layby just below the pass |
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| A few more taken with the long lens |
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| Below Puerto de San Glorio |
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| Below Puerto de San Glorio |
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| Below Puerto de San Glorio |
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| It was a bit early for butterflies when I arrived at Besande but a walk in the woods soon produced a Crested Tit |
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| Crested Tit, Besande |
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| This Iberian Chiffchaff was keeping a low profile but singing nicely at Besande |
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| Iberian Chiffchaff, Besande |
As I climbed towards Puerto de San Glorio it seemed destined to be shrouded in cloud again, but as I got higher a few blue patches appeared and suddenly I was in glorious early morning light looking down on an amazing cloud sea in the valley towards Potes. A stop for photos was a must and I experimented with the big lens as well as the camera on the iPhone. The cloud clearing made it worth another look for Citril Finch but I dipped again and pressed on to Boca de Huernago, where a White Stork on what looked like a school football pitch was begging to be photographed.
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| White Stork, Boca de Huernago |
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| Looking back up Hoz de Llanaves |
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| Heath Fritillary, Hoz de Llanaves |
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| Dark Green Fritillary, Besande |
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| Dark Green Fritillary, Besande |
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| Helice form of Clouded Yellow, Besande |
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| Female Clouded Yellow in flight, Besande |
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| Chestnut Heath, Besande |
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| The smartest Hairstreak of the four I saw in the Picos and a nice easy one to identify - Blue-spot Hairstreak |
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| I think probably Common Blue |
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| Again, probably Common Blue |
The various stops had probably blown my chances of seeing a Wildcat by now but there was still plenty to look forward to and although it was a bit too cool for butterflies when I arrived at Besande, I was quite happy as this provided the opportunity to see roosting species. It also gave me the chance to check out the local birdlife which included a trip tick in the form of Iberian Chiffchaff which was singing near the site where I had seen Dusky Blue two days before.
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| Well it's a Woodland or a Rock Grayling - let's go with Woodland as it's on a tree! |
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| The AI on my phone says this is Iberian Marbled White but I think it's Esper's Marbled White - the cell nearest the head should be clear white for Iberian |
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| Large Wall Brown, Besande |
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| Large Wall Brown, Besande |
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| Large Tortoiseshell, Besande |
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| Large Tortoiseshell, Besande |
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| Knapweed Fritillary |
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| This looks more like Iberian Marbled White - note the clear white cell in the cell on the front of the forewing nearest the body |
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| High Brown Fritillary, Besande |
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| High Brown Fritillary, Besande |
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| Knapweed Fritillary, Besande |
Unfortunately there were no more Dusky Blues to enjoy, nor an Apollo, but I had a great day anyway with Dark Green, High Brown, Queen of Spain, Heath, Knapweed, Lesser Marbled and Marbled Fritillary; Blue-Spot and Spanish Purple Hairstreak; Purple-shot and Scarce Copper; Chestnut and Pearly Heath; Small and Large Tortoiseshell; Woodland or Rock Grayling; plus countless Skippers and Blues.
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| (Southern?) Brown Argus |
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| Queen of Spain Fritillary, Besande |
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| Queen of Spain Fritillary, Besande |
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| Purple-shot Copper (female), Besande |
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| Purple-shot Copper (female), Besande |
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| I think this is probably Idas Blue with a narrow black border - several males were sitting around passively not showing their underwings, whereas Silver-studded Blue always seems 'busier' somehow and almost always reveals an underwing |
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| Again, possible Idas Blue but I can't rule out Silver-studded |
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| Lesser Marbled Fritillary, Besande |
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| Lesser Marbled Fritillary, Besande |
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| Lesser Marbled Fritillary, Besande |
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| Lesser Marbled Fritillaries, Besande |
A large dog turd near the car proved to be one of the better butterfly sites, attracting at least 10 species by my calculations! Butterfly of the day, however, turned out not to be at Besande but on the mountain pass where we had a heavy hailstorm two days previously: as I rolled down the other side I literally drove over a large butterfly on the road which fortunately went between my wheels - I suspected Purple Emperor and on pulling over and retracing my steps indeed it was.
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| Turquoise Blue, Besande |
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| Spanish Purple Hairstreak, Besande |
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| Spanish Purple Hairstreak, Besande |
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| Scarce Copper, Puerto de Monteviejo |
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| Scarce Copper, Puerto de Monteviejo |
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| Scarce Copper, Puerto de Monteviejo |
