BirdingInSpain

100 butterflies

The Birding In Spain butterfly list of 2014

 Common name

1. Swallowtail
2. Scarce Swallowtail
3. Spanish Festoon
4. Apollo*
5. Black-veined White
6. Large White
7. Small White
8. Green-veined White
9. Bath White
10. Orange-tip
11. Moroccan Orange Tip
12. Clouded Yellow
13. Berger’s Clouded Yellow
14. Brimstone
15. Cleopatra
16. Wood White
17. Provence Hairstreak
18. Green Hairstreak
19. Sloe Hairstreak
20. False Ilex Hairstreak
21. Ilex Hairstreak
22. Blue Spot Hairstreak
23. Small Copper
24. Scarce Copper*
25. Long-tailed Blue
26. Lang’s Short-tailed Blue
27. Holly Blue
28. Little Blue
29. Osiris Blue
30. Green-underside Blue
31. Black-eyed Blue
32. Panoptes Blue
33. Silver-studded Blue
34. Brown Argus
35. Mother-of-Pearl Blue
36. Chalk-hill Blue
37. Adonis Blue
38. Common Blue
39. Duke of Burgundy Fritillary
40. Nettle-tree Butterfly
41. Monarch
42. Plain Tiger*
43. Southern White Admiral
44. Camberwell Beauty
45. Peacock Butterfly
46. Small Tortoiseshell
47. Large Tortoiseshell
48. Red Admiral
49. Painted Lady
50. Queen of Spain Fritillary
51. Comma Butterfly
52. Cardinal Fritillary
53. Silver-washed Fritillary
54. High Brown Fritillary
55. Dark Green Fritillary
56. Twin-spot Fritillary
57. Marbled Fritillary
58. Glanville Fritillary
59. Knapweed Fritillary
60. Spotted Fritillary
61. Meadow Fritillary
62. Provençal Fritillary*
63. Heath Fritillary
64. Marsh Fritillary
65. Spanish Fritillary
66. Marbled White
67. Iberian Marbled White
68. Esper’s Marbled White
69. Western Marbled White
70. Spanish Marbled White
71. Grayling
72. Tree Grayling*
73. Striped Grayling*
74. Black Satyr
75. Great Banded Grayling
76. False Grayling*
77. Piedmont Ringlet
78. Autumn Ringlet*
79. Meadow Brown
80. Dusky Meadow Brown*
81. Gatekeeper
82. Southern Gatekeeper
83. Spanish Gatekeeper
84. Small Heath
85. Dusky Heath
86. Pearly Heath
87. Chestnut Heath
88. Speckled Wood
89. Wall Brown
90. Large Wall Brown
91. Grizzled Skipper
92. Oberthür’s Grizzled Skipper
93. Safflower Skipper
94. Red Underwing Skipper
95. Marbled Skipper
96. Mallow Skipper
97. Dingy Skipper
98. Large Skipper
99. Small Skipper
100. Silver-spotted Skipper*

* Denotes a butterfly seen in 2014 but not with clients present.

Bearing in mind that it’s not always a given thing to get birders to look at butterflies we consider that there are some interesting insects on this list.

The targets for 2015 are to fill in a few of the gaps, especially as far as the later species are concerned. It would also be great to gain some more confidence with some of those challenging “blues”.

Birding In Spain’s Traveller’s Code of Conduct

General guidelines

1. As a nature lover and traveller we believe you should stand up and be noticed. But just make sure it’s for the right reasons…

2.Be sensible with water use, spare it when possible.

3. Accept advice and guidelines on how to minimize your carbon footprint when travelling.

4. Accept that some things are done differently in other places, and try to enjoy the difference.

5. Remember that a smile can go a long way, with very little energy expenditure!

6. Think about how your acts could disturb wildlife, and if and how that disturbance can be avoided.

7. Although not an Encyclopaedia your local guide should be a good source of information about local nature, geography, traditions, etc.

8. Sharing information about sites and species on forums etc. is a free choice, but one which could have negative consequences – the guide’s livelihood, the wildlife and habitat and, in the end, the value of the experience for other people could all suffer.

9. Small rural or family run hotels will notice your passing and usually be grateful for it. City hotels and hotel chains will probably not. If you go where you make a difference and the local people know you go there for nature that in itself will help to create positive attitudes towards the protection of nature.

10. Be aware that not everybody speaks English! Sometimes a few words or phrases in the local language can go a very long way, and the will to communicate even further.

11.Trust in your guide’s judgement about how close to get to wildlife, and what techniques should or shouldn’t be used to enhance your observation experience. One major difference between a guide and a one-time visitor is that the guide expects to return to a site.

12. If possible, look into the possibilities of public transport (bus, train, underground) before jumping into a taxi or going for a rental car.

13. Do not obstruct the daily activities or circulation of local people, or access to fields, homes, etc.

14. What’s the better souvenir, artisan foods or produce bought in a village or town shop where they are produced, or something whipped up at the airport Duty Free?

15.Try to make a difference to conservation. Contribute to a local cause, patronize information centre shops and cafés, stay close to the places you have come to visit.

Notes

What we mean in point 1 here is that we believe nature conservation will reap more benefits if the right people and reasons come under the spotlight of local people’s and regional stakeholders’ gazes. Responsible tourism can sow and reap part of its own harvest, by contributing to the continued existence of what travellers are there to see or to experience.

Responsible tourists and nature travellers can influence their public profile by their own behaviour and choices, which in turn influences the general public’s perception of them and their influence. In most developed countries it is almost impossible for responsible tourism and nature travel to compete on economic impact terms with mass tourism (beach holidays, skiing, etc) but it has many good possibilities to outdo mass tourism on the grounds of perceived costs and benefits to the local inhabitants and small-scale tourist infrastructures.

So for example a respectful foreigner carrying binoculars or a camera who enters a bar to drink a coffee, or a shop to buy some groceries, or who passes through reception at a small rural hotel is someone who stands out from the crowd. And that can be turned to the benefit of nature conservation. They are there to see the birds, to enjoy the natural landscapes, etc. and their presence makes a difference, no matter how small a difference. Perhaps their stay coincides with the tourist low season (as the period immediately after Easter usually is), perhaps local café owners can boast of the people of different nationalities who stop for a drink or a snack in their café; perhaps a farmer can be made to feel proud that his land holds populations of birds which are considered internationally important or attractive. That’s what we mean by being noticed for the right reasons. 

Introduction to Birdwatching

The optics company Optics-Pro.com based in Germany have released a pdf aimed at helping beginner birdwatchers to take their first steps into this engrossing hobby of ours.

Essentially the pdf is a FAQs answer sheet focusing on the choice and use of birding optics (binoculars and spotting scopes), and how and where you can start watching birds and get the most out of it right from the beginning.

Reading through the file we found some sound advice for beginner birders, and on some aspects which are often neglected:

You should also learn bird calls, which can sound totally different to the singing.

About the importance of learning bird song and calls, couldn’t agree more. On the other hand, we’re not sure how much “fun” there really is in this proposal:

Scanning extensive rock walls for golden eagles or wallcreepers is a lot more fun with a powerful spotting scope and is also far more successful than with some simple binoculars.

Scanning extensive rock walls for Golden Eagles with a scope is one thing, but for Wallcreepers…well. Then there are also some “googled translations”, such as:

Drawing ruff often rest on dry fields

Possibly because of the effort of wielding a pencil for hours on end?

Joking aside, the authors have made an honest and open attempt to address the birdwatching fraternity on its own terms. And if you are curious to find out how travelling salesmen are related to the price of a good spotting scope you really should have a look at the document for yourself!

Interested? Just follow this link below to the page and then press the download button

An introduction to Birdwatching