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.
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Black-veined White, Hoz de Llanaves |
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Heath Fritillaries, Hoz de Llanaves |
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Heath Fritillary underside, Hoz de Llanaves |
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Essex Skipper, Hoz de Llanaves |
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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) |
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Dark Green Fritillary, Hoz de Llanaves |
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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.
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Large Skipper, Hoz de Llanaves |
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Large Skipper, Hoz de Llanaves |
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Ilex Hairstreak, Hoz de Llanaves |
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Ilex Hairstreak, Hoz de Llanaves |
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High Brown Fritillary, Besande |
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High Brown Fritillary underside, Besande |
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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.
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One of my favourites - Pearly Heath, Hoz de Llanaves |
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Long-tailed Blue, Besande |
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Long-tailed Blue, Besande |
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Lesser Marbled Fritillary, Besande |
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Lesser Marbled Fritillary, Besande |
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Large Wall Brown |
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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.
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Queen of Spain Fritillary |
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Queen of Spain Fritillary, Hoz de Llanaves |
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The exquisite underwing of the Queen of Spain Fritillary, Hoz de Llanaves |
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Queen of Spain Fritillary, Hoz de Llanaves |
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Marbled Fritillary, Hoz de Llanaves |
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Marbled Fritillary, Hoz de Llanaves |
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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.
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Small Skipper, Besande |
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Small Heath, Besande |
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Not entirely sure about this one - it was with the Ilex Hairstreaks (see above) at Hoz de Llanaves but I think possibly Sloe Hairstreak? |
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Dusky Large Blue, Besande |
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Dusky Large Blue, Besande |
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Dusky Large Blue, Besande |
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Dusky Large Blue, Besande |
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Can't decide if this is Heath Fritillary or False Heath Fritillary? |