Tuesday, 22 July 2025

Picos de Europa day 5: butterflying in Besande

Due to booking late, I had done precious little research on good sites for wildlife in the Picos, but a few pointers were provided by my good friends David Bradnum and James Lowen, the latter suggesting some promising locations in his book '52 European Wildlife weekends' - available at all good bookshops and, as I've said before, a must-read unless you have something against Europe, wildlife or weekends. One of James's recommendations was Besande, where meadows alongside a reservoir 2.5km south of the village hold a wide diversity of butterflies.

Black-veined White, Hoz de Llanaves

Heath Fritillaries, Hoz de Llanaves

Heath Fritillary underside, Hoz de Llanaves

Essex Skipper, Hoz de Llanaves

Thought this was not your regular Marbled White and so it wasn't: this is an Esper's Marbled White, a species of SW/SE Europe (Hoz de Llanaves)

Dark Green Fritillary, Hoz de Llanaves

Chestnut Heath of the sub-species iphioides, restricted to Cantabria and the Pyrenees - note the strong orange marginal line on the hindwing
Once again, rousing my family the right side of lunch proved impossible and it was mid-afternoon before we set off. Although only 38 miles from our base near Potes, it would be a 1 hr 20 min drive due to the need to negotiate winding mountain roads. The route took us once more over Puerto de San Glorio where I (again) dipped Citril Finch, partly because it was in thick cloud so my search was not exhaustive. After that we were soon dropping down into sunshine below the pass and into a stunning gorge, La Hoz de Llanaves, carved by the Naranco river between Portilla and Llanaves de la Reina. Here the geology was notably different from the pale, spiky limestone of the Picos with dark, rounded rocks covered in all shades of green lichen.
Large Skipper, Hoz de Llanaves

Large Skipper, Hoz de Llanaves

Ilex Hairstreak, Hoz de Llanaves

Ilex Hairstreak, Hoz de Llanaves

High Brown Fritillary, Besande

High Brown Fritillary underside, Besande

Brimstone, Besande
On the way down through the gorge we stopped at the last of three laybys on the left soon after a tunnel (the first two have interpretation boards, the third, which is immediately after the second over a small bridge, doesn't). Already I was like a kid in a sweet shop picking through fritillaries, hairstreaks, and a selection of Skippers. Black-veined White and Clouded Yellow were also present.
One of my favourites - Pearly Heath, Hoz de Llanaves

Long-tailed Blue, Besande

Long-tailed Blue, Besande

Lesser Marbled Fritillary, Besande

Lesser Marbled Fritillary, Besande

Large Wall Brown

Large Grizzled Skipper (I think!)
The day was slipping away from us though so we didn't linger at the layby and pressed on to Besande in the hope of adding to the butterfly species tally. On arrival the potential was immediately apparent with roadside meadows full of insects. James's book recommended exploring meadows to the east of the reservoir so that's what we did, enjoying a stunning array of fritillaries, blues, skippers, and other species in the process. 
Queen of Spain Fritillary

Queen of Spain Fritillary, Hoz de Llanaves

The exquisite underwing of the Queen of Spain Fritillary, Hoz de Llanaves

Queen of Spain Fritillary, Hoz de Llanaves

Marbled Fritillary, Hoz de Llanaves

Marbled Fritillary, Hoz de Llanaves

Male Silver-washed Fritillary, Besande
Unfortunately the weather turned just as I reached the spot recommended for a key target, the scarce and localised Dusky Large Blue. But as the first raindrops appeared I flushed what looked like a dark blue butterfly with a dusky underwing which turned out to be the only individual I would see of this species. I followed it until it landed on a burnet head and watched it in light rain for the next 40 minutes as it manouvered to get comfortable and avoid the heaviest raindrops. The sun eventually reappeared but, rather than open its wings to bask as I had hoped, it flew off strongly, never to be seen again! The only other slight disappointment was the absence of Apollo, which we had also failed to see above Fuente De. Still, it had been a good day with a range of species seen. 
Small Skipper, Besande

Small Heath, Besande

Not entirely sure about this one - it was with the Ilex Hairstreaks (see above) at Hoz de Llanaves but I think possibly Sloe Hairstreak?

Dusky Large Blue, Besande

Dusky Large Blue, Besande

Dusky Large Blue, Besande

Dusky Large Blue, Besande

Can't decide if this is Heath Fritillary or False Heath Fritillary?
We took a short detour on the way back, up a minor road from Besande to Puerto de Monteviejo (elevation 1433m) and, shortly after traversing the mountain pass, experienced the heaviest hailstorm any of had ever seen. Ballbearing-sized hailstones rattled the car such that I was concerned the windscreen might not cope! Fortunately it did and we were glad to return to calmer conditions in the lowlands of Boca de Huernago where Rowan picked out a couple of White Stork in recently cut meadows to keep the bird trip list ticking along.
Presumed Wood White (range appears to rule out Real's Wood White)

Pretty sure this is a female Silver-studded Blue 

Wouldn't normally hesitate to call this as Silver-studded Blue - but mindful the very similar Idas Blue is also a possibility at Besande. My book says Idas Blue is distinguished by a 'hookless foreleg tibia' - but I'm damned if I can see that even in this photo!

As above - would normally say Silver-studded Blue, but the relatively thin black outline could make it Idas Blue?

White Stork, Boca de Huernago

White Stork, Boca de Huernago

Dusky Large Blue - Besande: one of the rarer species of the trip

Sunday, 20 July 2025

Picos de Europa trip report day 4: back to Fuente De

The heatwave was forecast to ease slightly by day 4 (1st July) but it was still destined to be warm and sunny, and with the family happy to chill by the pool for the day, and me completely incapable of chilling, I made a plan with their approval for another early start to head back to Fuente De. Overnight between 30th June and 1st July the price of a ticket increased from 20 Euro to 30, but the operating times were extended slightly with the last car down at 1900, offering more time in the high mountains. I believe the operating times change again from 1 August so be sure to check this online before travelling.

Alpine Accentor

Alpine Accentor

Alpine Accentor

Alpine Accentor

Alpine Accentor (juvenile)

Alpine Accentor (juvenile)
This time I was on the first car up just after 0900 and was also the first to hike up the track towards Pena Olividada, hoping that by being so I would get more good views of alpine species before things got busier. This paid off with close views of a juvenile Alpine Accentor on the track before others started to catch up with me. A movement on the high cliffs of Pena Olividada caught my eye - but it turned out to be a couple of rock climbers scaling the intimidating rock face. Not long after though a Wallcreeper appeared on the lower slopes and although a good distance away I watched it at leisure flitting around the smooth slabs. 
Black Redstart

Alpine Chough

Alpine Chough

Alpine Chough

Alpine Chough

Alpine Chough
By now others had caught up with me including a couple of Spanish birders who I spent most of the rest of the day with. One grew up in the area and told me that it was the best place in Spain to see Wallcreeper. He also advised that come noon we needed to be further along the track, taking a left fork for a couple of hundred yards at a crossroads in the track to scan the overhangs above, as the Wallcreeper often flew from Pena Olividada to this point and would be a bit closer as a result. Before doing so we had time to appreciate a large post-breeding flock of Snowfinch, with adults feedings youngsters on craneflies and other insects close to the track.
Juvenile Chamois

Adult Chamois

Chamois

Chamois as it ran across the main track

Adult and juvenile Chamois

Chamois in the vast scree slope below Pena Olividada

A very sure-footed animal
I followed their advice about the Wallcreeper site and tagged along but made the mistake of letting them get about 200 yards ahead of me when I paused at the crossroads in the last sliver of shade under a large boulder to break for lunch - at this point they almost stepped on a Wallcreeper as it fed on boulders in front of them! Unfortunately it didn't hang around. They showed me a small pool in the entrance to a disused mine which was apparently used by Wallcreeper for bathing, and it turned out to be a good spot to get out of the sun - the temperature in the mine must have been about 10 degrees and the cool air from within felt like aircon coming from the mountain.
White-winged Snowfinch song-flight

White-winged Snowfinch (juvenile)

White-winged Snowfinch (adult)

White-winged Snowfinch (adults)

White-winged Snowfinch (adult)

White-winged Snowfinch (adult)

White-winged Snowfinch (adult and juvenile)
My new friends headed back down to the cafe while I stuck it out hoping for more views of Wallcreeper. I gave up after 3 hours and started to head down but bumped into the Spanish birders on the way who were just heading back up. Again they advised that it was worth returning to the spot we had been in for about 1700 as Wallcreeper would come again once the cliffs in question went into shade. They had been right the first time so I had learnt to trust their judgement and tagged along again, staying closer this time just in case! 
Lefebvre's Ringlet

Lefebvre's Ringlet

Kestrel

Griffon Vulture

Griffon Vulture

Egyptian Vulture
As we headed back up an adult Chamois with a youngster ran across our path giving great views. They had been disturbed by a couple of climbers who were sliding down a scree slope above having completed the climb I saw them attempting earlier. We arrived back at the Wallcreeper cliff and, sure enough, not long after 1700 the first Wallcreeper appeared. Unfortunately it seemed to come straight over the top of the cliff and keep going, heading back to the precipitous slopes of Pena Olividada. I watched it bounding away from me until it became little more than a dot. 
Small Tortoiseshell - these have become rare at home but quite a few were in the high mountains

Red-billed Chough

Red-billed Chough

Red-billed Chough

Painted Lady

Wall Lizard
Things then went a bit quiet and my new friends taught me a neat trick of pretending to throw food out to attract Alpine Choughs, enabling more close photos in the shade which reduced the challenge of finding the right exposure. Then at about 1745 I picked up another Wallcreeper, a male, not far above us and we watched it as it fed vigorously around the cliff face.  Suddenly there was a bit of a kerfuffle and a second bird, another male, arrived and chased off the first. We enjoyed extended views of this bird for the next 5 minutes until it too bounded off towards Pena Olividada, enabling a few ropey flight shots of the butterfly-like wings to be taken. 
Pena Olividada

Climbers on Pena Olividada
We had an hour to get back to the cable car which was plenty of time but I strode out ahead of my Spanish friends in the hope of spending a bit more time with other alpine species around the cafe before heading down. Again I was not disappointed, with point blank views of Alpine Accentor providing excellent photo opportunities. I had a feeling I was unlikely to improve on my views of Wallcreeper from two days previous, and so it was, but I still enjoyed good views of at least 2 different males. Their brief contretemps over a stretch of cliff particularly amused me as there is plenty to go around up there!  

Wallcreeper

Wallcreeper

Wallcreeper

Wallcreeper

Wallcreeper

Wallcreeper