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Penwortham Prowl

28/8/2014

Back in the UK I took advantage of a sunny afternoon to check out a local patch. I walked through Hurst Grange Park Meadows, past the ponds to the new Woodland Cemetery at the top of Hill Road: excellent for insects and other stuff too...

Small Copper, 28/08/14, Penwortham Woodland Cemetry. (How many butterflies this summer!?)

Xysticus ulmi, 28/08/14, Penwortham Woodland Cemetery. This small predator reminded me of the crab spider I found in France.

A disturbance in the long grass brought me face to face with this chap. Clearly, it was injured in one eye.

Red Fox, 28/08/14, Penwortham Woodland Cemetery.

Bains St Thomas

19/8/2014

Lynne wanted to visit some open air thermal baths which are situated in the small mountain village of Fontpedrouse (90 minutes from Argeles). This place is a mountain gem, not because of the thermal baths (which are excellent too) but because of the sheer variety of wildlife. Arriving at 10AM, my troop took the plunge while I explored the area...

The St Thomas Spa building at Fontpedrouse. Try to arrive for 10am (when the spa opens) on a day forecast for good weather.

Just in the café / picnic area alone, I noticed several species of butterfly fluttering around the buddleia, some were familiar British ones (gatekeeper, painted lady, large white, etc) but others were definitely not. In this small area alone, I counted 12 different butterfly species, 8 familiar British ones and 4 new ones to me.

Brown Hairstreak, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse. A winner for me.

Knapweed Fritillary, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse. Another winner!

Southern Comma, 19/08,14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse.

Silver-washed Fritillary, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse. The commonest butterfly here.

Gatekeeper, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse. One of many British familiar British butterflies here.

Mountain Small White, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse. Yet another winner!

Marbled Fritillary, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse. And another winner! Keep 'em coming...

Jersey Tiger Moth, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse. Not a butterfly, but just as stunning.

Crab Spider: Misumena vatia, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse. Not a butterfly either but worth a mention: these camouflaged critters lay in wait on flower-heads, ready to pounce.

After saying "goodbye" to my family at the spa entrance, I proceeded to walk up a narrow, winding, stony path which overlooks the outdoor pool area and leads up the nearest mountain. Wow! I have never seen so many insects, especially butterflies...

A few minutes' walk from the spa entrance, the narrow path winds upwards through open meadow.

Swallowtail, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fonypedrouse. Not a new one for me, but stunning anyway.

Iberian Marbled White, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse.

High Brown Fritillary, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse.

Spotted Fritillary, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse.

False Grayling, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse.

Bath White, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse.

Black Satyr, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse. A new one for me, so was the plant: a thistle with a sunflower-sized bloom.

Chalkhill Blue, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse. The commonest blue butterfly here, and another winner!

Amanda's Blue, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse. Yet another new one for me.

Provençale Short-tailed Blue, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse. And another!

Cardinal Fritillary, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse. And another!

Piedmont Ringlet, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse. And another!

Scarce Copper, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse. And another!

Silver-spotted Skipper, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse. Encore une winner!

Western Marbled White, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse. Another winner! Albeit rather tatty.

The Hermit, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse. You guessed it: another winner for me. This was getting silly!

Already overcome by butterflies, my attention was drawn to a buzzard-like bird soaring overhead. I took a few shots just in case it turned out to be something new. I enlarged the shot and sure enough, it was a winner: Honey Buzzard!

Honey Buzzard, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse.

Rock Bunting, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse. Seen on the way down, another mountain bird.

Wall Lizard, 19/08/14, Bains St Thomas, Fontpedrouse. Common here, but so is its food source: insects.

What a day! No doubt we'll be retuning here on our next visit to southern France.

Gorges de la Fou

17/8/2014

When you've had enough of sun, sea and sand, its handy to know there's a mountain range on your doorstep. The Pyrenees are just a short drive inland from Argeles and offer great day-trips for tourists and naturalists alike. Gorges de la Fou near Arles sur Tech boasts a winding metal walkway through a spectacular river gorge with a shed load of wildlife thrown in. The river bank near the entrance to the gorge is particularly fruitful...

Beautiful Demoiselle, 17/08/14, Gorges de la Fou. Hold out your hand and these aptly named damselflies will actually come to you.

A game for all the family.

Common Goldenring Dragonfly, 17/08/14, Gorges de la Fou.

Brown Trout, 17/08/14, Gorges de la Fou. The river water here is crystal clear, a good place to watch trout snatch fallen insects.

White Admiral, 17/08/14, Gorges de la Fou. Niche butterflies like this take advantage of the prolific wild flowers.

Southern White Admiral, 17/08/14, Gorges de la Fou. Spot the difference? Not much separates some butterfly species.

Hummingbird Hawk Moth, 17/08/14, Gorges de la Fou. If you like challenging photography, try chasing this species.

Egyptian Vulture, 17/08/14, Gorges de la Fou. Piece de resistance! A totally new bird for me. This migrant from Africa reaches its northern-most limit here. I was over the moon to see this bird, the kids thought I'd won the lottery.

Mas Larrieu Nature Reserve

12/8/2014

Mas Larrieu is just walking distance from La Sirene campsite, in fact, if you opt to stay at Le Soleil campsite this nature reserve is right next door. Here you will find a strange combination of river, woodland, reed-bed, beach, scrub and semi-arid desert habitats, all within the same square mile.

Mind your step here, these vicious cacti-like things can leave fine needles in your skin that are almost impossible to remove. Beyond this is a reed-bed, then in the distance trees flank the River Tech.

Crested Lark, 12/08/14, Mas Larrieu NR, Argeles. Usually found in small flocks on open stoney ground.

Black Redstart, 12/08/14, Mas Larrieu NR. A common bird here and quite approachable.

Woodchat Shrike, 12/08/14, Mas Larrieu. conspicuous on the look-out. I've seen Red-backed Shrikes here too.

Fan-tailed Warbler, 12/08/14, Mas Larrieu. Probably the commonest warbler here, certainly the loudest.

Sardinian Warbler, 12/08/14, Mas Larrieu. Another common warbler here, but a swine to get near to.

Beyond the reed-bed lies the River Tech. Turn right and you'll quickly meet the beach which sometimes yields waders such as Kentish Plover. Turning left, the river becomes narrower and faster-flowing with excellent bank-side vegetation full of insects.

Broad Scarlet Dragonfly, 12/08/14, Mas Larrieu NR.

White-legged Damselfly, 12/08/14, Mas Larrieu NR.

Red Underwing Skipper, 12/08/14, Mas Larrieu NR. A new Butterfly for me.

Etang de Canet

8/8/2014

Lake Canet is a 10 minute drive from Argeles, an amazing place with some truly exotice birds. You'll think you've driven to Africa...

Greater Flamingos, 08/08/14, Lake Canet NR, Saint Nazaire. Yep, these are real flamingos, quite at home on this side of the Med.

Roller, 08/08/14, Etang de Canet NR. More exotic overspill from Africa, this birds are common here.

European Bee-eater, 08/08/14, Lake Canet NR. Very colourful and quite approachable, lovely song too.

Hoopoe, 08/08/14, Lake Canet NR. An outrageous bird.

Kestrel, 08/08/14, Lake Canet NR. A familiar British raptor taking advantage of fallow pasture.

Water Rail, 08/08/14, Lake Canet NR. Another British familiarity, but how often do we see them out in the open?

Wood Sandpiper, 08/08/14, Lake Canet NR. Feeding in the shallow stream leading to the lake.

Cattle Egret, 08/08/14, Alenya. Check out the fields en route, anything can turn up.

Penwortham Prowl

Bains St Thomas

Gorges de la Fou

Mas Larrieu Nature Reserve

Etang de Canet

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