RAm Report – Red Cambera – Monitoring Amphibians in Saja-Besaya – 16.04.16

April 23, 2016 bartvanhoofAlytes obstetricans, amphibians, Cantabria, Lissotriton helveticus, Rana temporaria, Red Cambera, Saja-Besaya, SpainLeave a comment

Introduction
Volunteer work is fun and especially when you can go out an learn new things from experts! I’d seen various notices from an organisation during 2015 that looked interesting to me. The idea was to go out and monitor amphibians and their habitat. The organisation is called Red Cambera and, convieniently, is based in a village near where I live. Many of their activities are centered around the Saja-Besaya Natural Park. Now, I’m not actually sure if it is a provincial park, it isn’t one on national level, but I do not know how Spain orgainises the various levels (e.g. national, provincial, regional etc.). Anyway, it is the largest park here in Cantabria.

Saja-Besaya (named after two rivers, the Saja River runs through the village I live) is a park but not an untouchable piece of wilderness. One of the main things that is done in the park is maintaining livestock (mostly horses and cattle). These are led into the hills in spring and brought back down in autumn. Basically the livestock can roam freely. When driving around you often come across cows in the middle of the road for example. This means that in a sense the landscape is man-managed, but it has been so for hundreds of years.
There is ample space for fauna with wolves and bears being the those at the top of the food chain. However, there are all sorts of small mammals, from river otters to stoats etc. The bird life is also quite diverse, key species being various woodpeckers, vultures, ravens etc.

Saja-Besaya Natural Park – 16.04.16
So, Red Cambera has various activities, one of which is monitoring amphibians in the park. The organisation has installed ramps (in & out) into various drinking troughs throughout the park (for the free roaming livestock). Over the past 3-4 years they have been monitoring amphibian activity in these troughs in spring and autumn. They visit the troughs numerous times during each season to see how the situation is developing.
The day that I went was the second time out this spring, 2 weeks earlier I’d been kept at home due to ill kids. There will be two more dates, one late May and one early June, hopefully I can make one of the two.

We met up in the morning in the main village in the region (Cabezón de la Sal) and split in to two groups. Each would go by car and take a different route towards a ermita (little church on top of one of the hills) where we would have lunch.

The group I was split into was to take the high route. There were three volunteers (me included) and two people from the organisation piled into a little 4WD. This type of car was needed, as we’d mostly be driving on rugged dirt tracks (permit required to drive them). We headed off in the rain …
Up we went into the hills, we had to go all the way up to the Puerto de Palombera (1200m – the highest point in the park is around 2000m) … we turned onto the first dirt track just after the pass with full expectations. We’d passed plenty of drinking troughs already, but none had been adjusted by the organisation. After 3-4 turns up we ran into a big bank of snow, completely blocking the track. There was no way around it and no possibility of removing the snow (would cause the snow from higher up to tumble down). We had to turn around and go a different route, but it meant we’d have to skip 3 (of the 6 for our route) troughs! The other route had 9 in total. Two weeks prior there had been even more snow, but there was hope that it would all be gone.

So back down the hills we went, this time turning in to Barcena Mayor. Just past the village on a dirt track was our first trough … there were plenty of tadpoles swimming about and it soon became clear that they were two distinct species: Rana temporaria (Common Frog) and Alytes obstetricans (Midwife Toad). After a little searching we saw 3 Lissotriton helveticus (Palmate Newt), 2 males and one female. Not bad for our first trough (still in the rain).

Our second and third trough were less exciting, well, there were only Rana temporaria tadpoles in the second and we couldn’t spot anything in the third. However, the third was near the ermita and there were little streams coming out of the ground there and they were filled to the brim with more Common Frog tadpoles.
The other group had come up through Ucieda and they’d also spotted an Ichthyosaura alpestris (Alpine Newt). This is the route we’d take back, but we didn’t stop to have a look at those newts, it is close by my house so maybe I’ll go by myself in the near future.
Overall the result had been good for the time of year (and water temperatures). The organisation was pleased with what we had seen.

The sun came out as we started munching away at some sandwiches provided by the oraganisation. It had been a great morning, I had learnt a lot and seen a new species (Rana temporaria).

I’d love to go again and see how the locations develop. Joining some of their other projects may be a tad difficult at the moment (due to the kids), but we’ll see …
As this is a fairly new project for the organisation they’re also seeing how they can do more things with amphibians in the future. One option would be for volunteers to go by set points on a regular basis and monitor developments there … hmm, similar to Projecto Lepides and I’d sure be up for it (there’s a drinking trough here in Casar filled with amphibians in the spring).
Furthermore, they are working on a book on amphibians for Cantabria … cannot wait till that is complete and to buy it!

Summary
– Lissotriton helveticus.
– Rana temporaria (larva only).
– Alytes obstetricans (larva only).

Species year total — 4 (2015 – 5).

Further Reading
– Red Cambera web site (in Spanish).
– A couple of links to information about the park, here and here (both in Spanish).
– My sightings for the trip Observation.org.

Proyecto Ledipdes – Recorrido A, 30TVN09, Casar de Periedo – 19.04.16

April 22, 2016April 22, 2016 bartvanhoof30TVN09, Boloria dia, butterflies, Cantabria, Casar de Periedo, Celastrina argiolus, Colias croceus, Erynnis tages, Leptidea sinapis, Macroglossum stellatarum, Maniola jurtina, Pararge aegeria, Pieris napi, Polygonia c-album, Proyecto Lepides, Pyrgus spec., Recorrido A, Spain, Valeria jaspidea, Zygaena spec.3 Comments

Introduction
The end of March gave hope for a good April and also April 2015 had been quite excellent with 17 species seen (although 2 of those were not in the area here) even though I was just starting out in the world of butterflies. A year on I’m a bit wiser, but with still so much ahead of me to learn …

Anyway, back to the start of this month. Work was a bit on the slow side, so in that sense I had time off … but illness hit the kids hard so they were home and needed close attention. The month started of with reasonable weather but a little gusty in the wind department … as the month went on the rains came when I had little to do and the sun was out when work was staring at me in the face … very frustrating! The 2016 butterfly-bug was starting to hit hard.

I was able to do a few truncated rounds of Recorrido A in the first days of April … pushing the least ill kid around in the pram so he could get some rest outside of the stuffy house where his brother was busy vomiting every time a spoon came close to his mouth … anyway, the usual suspects were out: Pieris napi, Pararge aegeria, Aglias io, Colias croceus to name but a few.
It was on the 1st of April when totally unexpectedly two new species popped infront of my camera lens … Boloria dia (Violet/Weavers Fritillary) and Erynnis tages (Dingy Skipper) … both within a couple of meters from each other. I spotted the one when I’d spotted the other. I was drawn to the fritillary due to colouring and patterns on the wings and only got a couple of poor shots off of the skipper, luckily one was good enough for a positive ID. I got quite a few decent photos of the fritillary and knew I needed some underside pictures for a proper ID, with with some patience I managed to get (though poor lighting! still just enough for an ID). This fritillary is not very common and a great find. Where these the butterflies I’d seen a few days earlier in the same spot but without being able to find out what they were? It sure seemed that way and I was well pleased even though some initial complaints had started coming from the pram telling me it was time to head home.
Both were a first for me and thus also a first for the area/transect, even though I was not officially walking the transect.

Violet (Weavers) Fritillary in Cantabria, Spain. 01.04.16

On the 3rd of April I again went for a walk (with same kid) but this time around grandma’s house (very nearby here and also in 30TVN09). The wind was blowing so hard I almost decided not to go out, but the sun was out in full force, so who knew …
I went to a favourite spot, a sheltered field on the side of a sunny hill. A little dirt trail runs along the bottom of the hill accompanied by a shrub-lined brook. The wind was whipping high around the trees with the occasional gust through my hair … but I slowly walked the track with the sun as my guide … and there it was, amongst many other larger whites a relatively smaller white flying just that little bit different. The first Leptidea sinapis (Wood White) of the year. Only male genital analysis will tell us if it is this species or in fact Real’s Wood White that flies here, so until that day I’ll keep it to the more common of the two species.

As the track started to climb I decided to turn around and while walking back my next new species … Polygonia c-album (Comma Butterfly). For me this has always been an elusive species so I was again elated to see it. It sat on a sand bank and flew around a bit, happy for me to take pictures. Again a first for the year.

After this came two frustrating weeks of bad weather or no time. In the weekend I marked a day that looked to be good for the following week …

Recorrido A – 19.04.16 – 30TVN09, Casar de Periedo
… but it ended up being poor … continually overcast (after a sunny morning – no time, argh!) and with strong gusts of wind. The temperature was the only thing going for the day, just above 20C, when I headed out.

Even with the poor weather I saw the first butterflies instantly, flying up and down along the scrub. Dutifully checking the first few I came across it was clear they were probably all Pieris napi (Green-veined White). This white butterfly will be so plentiful in the coming months that it will drive me crazy.
It was a while before I saw something else fly by, this time it was a disturbed Pararge aegeria (Speckled Wood), again common stuff, though again this time around not as plentiful as in earlier months of this year.
A little later I spotted the first Leptidea sinapis (Wood White) for the transect this year, bouncing around in a field before it got swept away by a strong gust of wind.

I was feeling a bit hopeless, the poor weather was getting me down. Even a decent number of Colias croceus (15-20) (Clouded Yellow) zipping around just above the various Plantago spec. flowers at great speeds (wind no deterring factor for those excellent fliers) could not cheer me up. With a sigh I looked down and scratched my beard, what to do? It was staring right back at me … A colourful caterpillar, a blazing warning signal amidst the green grasses. This caterpillar (Zygaena spec.) looked about ready to start building a case. In a month+ the field I was standing at would be filled with the day flying moths that this caterpillar would turn in to. I’d have to wait until then to find out the exact species of vivid black and red moth that it will become. If I saw one I might see other caterpillars out …
Within 30cm was the next, this time a rich green with some light striping. I’d need to search internet for this difficult ID (turned out to be probably be the common Maniola jurtina – Meadow Brown – that will also be ever-present in a month or two).

Valeria jaspidea in Cantabria, Spain. 19.04.16

Humming-bird Hawk Moth in Cantabria, Spain. 19.04.16

I walked on, keeping my eyes peeled to the ground. This helped me spot a beautiful moth, Valeria jaspidea, on a small concrete post in the field. Incredibly subtly coloured, what a beauty. A bit further I spotted more Zygaena spec. caterpillars (3) and the weird but wonderful Macroglossum stellatarum (Humming-bird Hawk Moth) hovering and taking nectar from a knapweed.

Not at all bad after all … and then came the highlight of the day … I’d stopped at a favourite spot of mine to look at 4-5 different species of bumblebee when I spotted an incredibly small whitish fluffy thing zip by, at a crazy speed. By pure luck I had been able to track it with sight, I quickly whipped up my binoculars to get a closer look … what was that!? I took some quick pictures, as it was clear I’d never seen something of the sort before. Slowly I circled around inching forward and getting a better look from the other side. I almost lost sight of it as I made sure I had proper footing.
A Pyrgus spec., a tiny butterfly that at times resembles a moth. I was able to get quite close, but it refused to open its wings (or move for that matter). Without further scientific examination it is impossible to say whether it was a Pyrgus onopordi (Rosy Grizzled Skipper) or a Pyrgus armoricanus (Oberthür’s Grizzled Skipper). The second is slightly more probable, but either way, both are rare in Spain and especially here.
Due to the stubbornness to not open its wings I decided to call it a day and left. I do not see many butterflies of this family here so I was keen to get home and see what I’d seen (at that time I didn’t know an exact determination was impossible).

Summary
– Pieris napi.
– Pararge aegeria.
– Leptidea sinapis.
– Maniola jurtina (caterpillar).
– Zygaena spec. (a moth – caterpillar).
– Colias croceus.
– Valeria jaspidea (a moth) – a first for me.
– Celastrina argiolus.
– Macroglossum stellatarum (a moth) – first of the year.
– Pyrgus spec. – first on all accounts; me, year and transect!

Species year total — 17 (2015 – 45). 11 species over March 2016.
Notes:
– Not counting caterpillar species, as there is uncertainty around the ID and did not add those to the 2015 results. There will be plenty of Maniola jurtina imagos in a short while.
– Pyrgus spec. has been counted as one species.
– Only species of butterflies are counted, I really have no knowledge of moths, but they are part of Proyecto Lepides goals and results so … I will mention them in write-ups.

Further Reading
– My sightings (butterflies only) for the month of April so far on Observation.org.

Proyecto Lepides – Recorrido A, 30TVN09, Casar de Periedo – 27&29 03.16 – unofficial

April 1, 2016April 1, 2016 bartvanhoof30TVN09, butterflies, Cantabria, Casar de Periedo, Celastrina argiolus, Coenonympha pamphilus, Gonepteryx cleopatra, Gonepteryx rhamni, Lacerta bilineata, Lissotriton helveticus, Mustela erminea, Pararge aegeria, Pieris napi, Proyecto Lepides, SpainLeave a comment

Introduction
The 26th had been spectacular weather, all be it a bit windy, with temperatures in the mid 20s. Unfortunately, there were visitors over and other plans had been made. The next day however, I was able to walk the outer track of the route when all of us went on an afternoon stroll. The visitors were interested in the volunteer work I do for Proyecto Lepides and wanted to get a feel of the transect. This meant that I would point out butterflies etc. as we walked the route and we did not do this too intensively by walking into fields etc. We saw quite a lot of butterflies out and we even saw another first-for-the-year species.

A couple of days later I did another “lite” walk of the transect, not walking the two interior dirt tracks. Again I saw a new species for the year.

I will give a very brief account below and the summary will only mention the species seen, most were seen over both days. No mention of numbers as such, as I was not really counting. Both walks were interesting, as they came so soon after a warm period and I was hoping to see the first real signs of a change in the air …

Recorrido A – 27 & 29 03.16 – 30TVN09, Casar de Periedo
The 27th was interesting, as it came after the first really warm day of the year. We went on an afternoon walk and it was around 21C but there was quite a breeze out and it was fresh in the shade.

The first butterfly we saw was instantly a new species for the year, Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus). Not the most common of butterflies here but I did see it on numerous occasions last year. It was sitting on a fallen leaf and did a quick flutter, flashing its crisp blue wings. Normally, I spot these zipping along at great speeds a metre or two above the ground.
During the rest of the walk there was an abundance of the usual suspects. It was quite an impressive walk for the guests due to the numbers of butterflies seen.

Holly Blue in Cantabria, Spain. 27.03.16

The 29th was similar weather, sunny, with some clouds and the temperature was around 17C with not much wind this time around. The time between the walks was filled with rain. I was able to go a bit more at my own pace this time around and headed out into a field or two, where I spotted the first Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) of the year. Last year I never saw them in great numbers, but it was a butterfly that was constantly present during most of the year.
The other butterflies seen were again the standard ones and in decent numbers.

Small Heath in Cantabria, Spain. 29.03.16

Highlight of the walk was watching a Stoat (Mustela erminea) criss-cross the road a couple of minutes carrying a bird in its mouth. Difficult to get good pictures, but was able to get a couple from very close by, as it was curious to see what I was doing and came quite close to have a look (safely sheltered in the bramble).

During the walk I’d not been able to identify a couple of butterflies, where this normally irritates me a bit it gave me hope for the coming period. I suspected I saw a skipper and another blue … and maybe an early fritillary, but I couldn’t be sure. A couple of days later it would become clear that my hunch was in the right direction …

Other interesting animals seen:
– Lissotriton helveticus.
– Lacerta bilineata.
– Mustela erminea (Stoat)!

Summary
– Celastrina argiolus – first for the year.
– Pararge aegeria.
– Pieris napi.
– Aglais io.
– Gonepteryx cleopatra.
– Colias croceus.
– Gonepteryx rhamni.
– Coenonympha pamphilus – first for the year.

Species year total — 12 (2015 – 45).

Further Reading
– My sightings for the days on Observation.org.

Bee-news – Early Bumblebee – Bombus pratorum (Linnaeus, 1761)

March 30, 2016 bartvanhoofBee, Bombus, Bombus pratorum, bumblebee, Cantabria, Casar de Periedo, Early Bumblebee, Insects, SpainLeave a comment

Introduction
I was going to write about one of my favourite bumblebees next, but due to the season (early spring) I thought I’d write about a species that starts showing up at this time of year and is actually not all that common in this area (Cabezón de la Sal, Cantabria, Spain).

Early Bumblebee
Bombus pratorum belongs to the subgenus Pyrobombus. The queens are relatively small and one of the earliest to appear each year (as the name might suggest). Queens pop out with regards to colours as the orangey tail makes them look a bit darker and more drab when compared to the whitish tailed bumblebees that are also out. The yellow bands are a crisper colour yellow.

Early Bumblebee (queen) on an unknown plant in Cantabria, Spain.

Males are fuzzy balls of yellow, with yellow hairs on their heads and with an orangey tail.
I have yet to see a worker.

Early Bumblebee (male) on a dead nettle (Lamium sp.) in Cantabria, Spain.

The subspecies B. p. santonae can be found on the Iberian peninsula, but I have no idea what the differences are, but it is the only subspecies found here. If I compare my pictures with those found in the Falk link (see below) then here the bees have more extensive yellow bands.
There is conflicting information on this subspecies and I do not really know which is correct. Some sources state that this is a higher altitude species (500m+ above sea level), but I’m at around 100m. However, I do not know which other species it could be (see Complicating Factors below). Furthermore, there are very few pictures on the internet.

The one thing that could help me out it a book called Fauna iberíca. Vol. 23. Hymenpotera: Apoidea 1 by Ortíz-Sánchez and Ornosa, but it is costly and in Spanish.

Sigh, bees are not that well detailed in Spain as butterflies are and information is difficult to obtain. Once I find out more I’ll post a follow-up article, as this one’s pretty poor with regards to actual information! haha

Complicating Factors
So, not only is it difficult to find out what B. p. santonae actually looks like, but apparently the subspecies of the Red-tailed Bumblebee (B. lapidarius), which is called B. l. decipiens, has the same colouration in queens! However, they are also normally found at higher altitudes (apparently) here and queens emerge much later (May). Furthermore, they are bigger, but this is something you can only really pick up once you have gained quite some experience out in the field. After only one summer season, I am still far from that required level.

So, I guess the bumblebees I’m seeing are Bombus pratorum santonae, but at the moment I cannot be 100% certain. All I know is that the UK situation is a lot simpler.

Further Reading
– Here is a link to Steven Falk’s Flickr page, lots of good pictures and basic info. He has a good book out on Bees in GB & Ireland!
– A link to P. Rasmont’s page with a distribution map and some other basic info.
– A link to the Natural History Museum page that gives an overview of the colouration of the Early Bumblebee.
– A link to the IUCN page. Great site.
– The Bumblebee Conservation Trust is a great organisation, especially if you live in the UK, they’ve got a helpful site for the beginner and also a place to upload photos and ID other people’s photos. I’m a member even though I live abroad.
– There’s a cool app for the iPad/iPhone by NatureGuides with great drawings. I’ve got the Pro version which has been a good resource for info.
– Dave Goulson’s A Sting in the Tail is a fun read about the world of bumblebees.
– My sightings to date on Observation.org of this species in Cantabria.

Proyecto Lepides – Recorrido A, 30TVN09, Casar de Periedo – 15.03.16

March 16, 2016 bartvanhoof30TVN09, Aglais io, butterflies, Cantabria, Casar de Periedo, Colias croceus, Gonepteryx rhamni, Lasiommata megera, Pararge aegeria, Pieris napi, Pieris rapae, Recorrido A, Vanessa atalantaLeave a comment

Introduction
It had been raining on a fairly continual, daily basis since the 21st of February. I spotted two good days in the weather report, the Monday and Tuesday and so decided to go the second day to give the butterflies a chance to warm up. I’d been out walking during some overcast, and quite fresh, days previously and had spotted around 5 species of bumbelbee. I was quietly hoping for an eventful early afternoon …

Recorrido A – 15.03.16 – 30TVN09, Casar de Periedo
When I headed out at around 13:00, the thermometer read 14C and the sun was out without a cloud in the sky, though it was slightly hazy and there was a little breeze (from east to west) that made it fairly chilly in the shade. By the time I got home 2 and a half hours later it was at 15C with the rest still the same. I got home with a very light sunburn actually, hadn’t expected it to be so sunny throughout.

The fields were quite wet, there was a lot of squelching every time I stepped off the track. My first butterfly was again a Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) in the same area where I saw one the month before, this time it was flying around actively and chased another butterfly (uncertain the species). A little later, as I was looking intently into some shrubs as I through I saw a snake or large lizard a Small White (Pieris rapae) bobbed by (took care to ID it by looking at the hindwing underside – more on this later).

I still had a lot of ground to cover so off I went. However, as I went on it started to dawn on me that my hopes for an eventful (in the positive sense) afternoon would not come to fruition. The first was that I hardly saw any Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria). This does not happen often, as they are usually everywhere. The road along the edge of the woods had the usual butterflies on offer, but I couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed. I’d been hoping for a first blue or something special, but alas.

What I did see a lot of was Pieris napi (Green-veined White) … last year they had been so plentiful throughout that I grew a bit tired of seeing so many. And here they were, out in great numbers already! But every butterfly counts and this is my 10th species of the year. Although, from now on IDing will be a task between Pieris rapae and P. napi, as they are fairly similar and you have to spot the underside to make sure. P. napi have an extensive range of uppersides here, with regards to black markings so IDing them in flight is difficult. The two species also have a different style of flying, but I’m not yet there to distinguish them in that manner, will probably get the by the end of this year though as both are really common here!

The frustration came in not being able to positively ID a Cleopatra and also in seeing one butterfly that flew very distinctly to those I see here and which I could not follow (maybe a Small Tortoiseshell?) well enough with my binoculars and I tried to spot it landing in the distance.
Oh and not one photo ended up being usable.

The day ended me one neat ID, a Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera) that I just spotted as I came out of some scrub and climbed up a bank onto the gravel road. Not the most common of butterflies around here.

The denouement came at home, when I took of my sweater in the kitchen and off fell two ticks! That’s what you get for trouncing around the scrub. Luckily none had found a way into a nice spot to bore into my skin, but I’ll have to be more careful the next time around.
Hopefully, with a few free days ahead I’ll be able to catch up on some species entries. Up next a bumblebee of the spring season …

Summary
– Vanessa atalanta — between 3 to 5.
– Pieris rapae — 2.
– Gonepteryx rhamni — around 15 in total.
– Pieris napi — stopped counting after 20 (first of the year on this transect).
– Colias croceus — 2.
– Pararge aegeria — 5, a lot less than normal.
– Aglais io — 1.
– Lasiommata megera — 1.

Species year total — 10 (2015 – 45).

Further Reading
– My sightings for the day on Observation.org.

RAm Report – Iberian Grass Snake – Natrix astreptophora (Seoane, 1884)

February 14, 2016October 24, 2017 bartvanhoofLeave a comment

Introduction
RAm Report will be about reptiles and amphibians. A category just a touch different from the ones up to now on the bog … flowers, pretty insects etc. … reptiles and amphibians are not most people’s cup of tea, with a fear of snakes and finding those slimy toads gross. I don’t have a fear, but I have a respect of snakes and you won’t see me try to handle one even if I know it to be harmless. In the venomous department, there are two snakes out there I can come across here, one is quite common. For the rest it is mainly amphibians and lizards.

Here’s a story that shows some of the poor knowledge about these animals.
I recently was at someone’s house and we were in the garden, I was talking about wildlife etc. and they told me they had a snake in their garden. I was excited and asked where it lived … the husband said that he killed it and had thrown the body on the compost heap. I wasn’t too keen on it being dead, but I wanted to see it none-the-less, so I went to have a look. I was expecting some massive beast from the story I’d just heard … what I saw was a dead Slow Worm (Angius fragilis) … sigh … and yes, it really was a big one, but still …

~~European~~ Iberian Grass Snake
EDIT (24.x.17): This post was written prior to the taxonomic split. I’ve edited the text below a touch to reflect that.
Natirx natrix is found across Europe and all the way across to eastern Asia. There are multiple subspecies. In Spain a seperate species of grass snake exists, Natirxastreptophora, and it is found throughout the Iberian peninsula. In the north, where conditions are more humid and thus more favourable, it is apparently fairly common.
The habitat is almost anywhere really, as long as it is a bit humid/damp. These snakes also like water and are good swimmers. Therefore, can be found in damp fields, along rivers, near small lakes etc. They can also be found up to 2400m in the south.

I have to state this clearly … the Grass Snake is NOT poisonous and NOT dangerous to human beings. The chances that it will strike are low and then it most probably will not strike with an open mouth. Furthermore, they often play dead if bothered too much. It can secrete some smells and blood etc. but this is also NOT dangerous.
That said, I’m sure that if one comes across an adult at full size, it might freak you out. They can grow to quite a decent length, normally around 120cm and even up to 200cm! That may be good enough to get the adrenaline flowing in most people.
Grass Snakes are reasonably variable in appearance, but they usually have a ring of white just behind the head.

Grass Snakes feed on amphibians (frogs, toads), slugs, very small mammals and baby birds.

Well, all that makes the area where I live perfect for these snakes! The fields are damp, there

Grass Snake in Cantabria, Spain. 21.04.15 - hatchling. — Grass Snake in Cantabria, Spain. 21.04.15 – hatchling.

are plenty of amphibians around and there are little streams, creeks etc. everywhere, even a medium speed flowing river.
The little one I saw was just a baby, maybe 15-20cm in length. Hatchlings are independent the minute they hatch, so this one was maybe a day old or so (hatchings are between 14-22cm). It was attempting to climb up into a water trough along the road (where cows stop to drink) … in the water trough was food, an plenty of it … I saw maybe 50+ tadpoles and around 20+ newts (Palmate Newt – Lissotriton helveticus). Anyway, these fall smack in the diet of hatchling Grass Snakes!

As far as I can remember, this is the first time I’ve ever seen a snake in the wild so I was a bit taken back when I saw it wiggling and moving around. I was able to watch it for a good 30 seconds before it slipped into the undergrowth. Due to my excitement the resulting photos were not stellar.
The result has also been that now I’m always slightly cautious when “diving” (you’ll have noticed I use that word a lot when pursuing butterflies) into fields with tall grasses and lots of bushes … heh, don’t want to step on its mother!

Further Reading
– A PDF by the Spanish government on the species. Covers distribution, red list status etc.. In Spanish and can be difficult to understand for non-Spanish speakers.
– A list of my sightings of this snake on Observation.org.
– I use the Collins Fieldguide to help me ID, by Nicholas Arnold and Denys Ovenden.

Proyecto Lepides – Recorrido A, 30TVN09, Casar de Periedo – 13.02.16

February 13, 2016 bartvanhoof30TVN09, Aglais io, butterflies, Cantabria, Casar de Periedo, Colias croceus, Gonepteryx cleopatra, Gonepteryx rhamni, Lasiommata megera, Pararge aegeria, Pieris rapae, Proyecto Lepides, Recorrido A, Spain, Vanessa atalantaLeave a comment

Introduction
When I woke up, at around 7am, it was still fairly dark out but I could see if would be a nice morning. By 10am I was ready to go and knew that I’d still have a window of sunshine before the rain would come back. Since the start of the month it has been raining almost non-stop.

Recorrido A – 13.02.16 – 30TVN09, Casar de Periedo
The weather was quite good to start with, I didn’t need to wear a sweater. It was sunny with no clouds in sight and no wind at all, at 10am it was 14C. About halfway it was probably up to 17C or so, but towards the end of the route, the wind picked up a bit (not too much) and there was a lot of cloud cover all of a sudden, was back down to 16C when I got home around 12 noon. A little while later the rain was out (in good amounts too!).

I wasn’t expecting much … the rain had been almost constant over the previous days and the ground was really soggy everywhere in the fields. I stopped to look at some birds, when I spotted something dark flittering through this strange soggy/grassy area … I quickly aimed my binoculars in the distance and as I was focusing in saw flashes of white on the wing-tips

Red Admiral in Cantabria, Spain. 13.02.16

… I instantly recognised this from the previous year … Vanessa atalanta (Red Admiral) … the butterfly dipped behind a large tussock of grass and so I dived into the soggy field to get confirmation (mostly for myself, as I really like to be sure about an ID, especially so early in the year). With some difficulty I was able to get a couple of bad photographs in (that thankfully do show the required characteristics) for a positive ID.

After a short while there were three in fairly quick succession along the route (I took a 15 min. detour to see if I could buy something for my son at the gas-station) and those were the regular patrons along the transect; Gonepteryx rhamni (Brimstone), Pieris rapae (Small White) and Pararge aegeria (Speckled Wood). At one point I’d seen so many Speckled Wood that I stopped counting, I also didn’t take pictures anymore, they were just everywhere. Although, I did take one funny snapshot of a copula and a male sitting on the two, waiting.

Speckled Wood in Cantabria, Spain. 13.02.16 - copula + male — Speckled Wood in Cantabria, Spain. 13.02.16 – copula + male

It was at my favourite spot along the transect that I spotted something odd … I thought it was a Speckled Wood by the general colouring, but I found it strange that the butterfly was so small (max. 2/3 of what I’d normally expect) and it was behaving in a strange manner. It hugged along a vertical embankment along the road, stopping here and there, usually under grass, twigs etc. What was this? I took many pictures, hoping to get an underside picture, but that proved very difficult (though in the end I managed it). I had an idea what it might be, but I’d only seen this butterfly once before and it had been exceptionally difficult to photograph too. Later when I got home I conformed my suspicion … Lasiommata megera (Wall Brown) … and I also saw that she was placing eggs (or so it seems!). I cursed that I hadn’t picked up that detail in the field.

Wall Brown in Cantabria, Spain. 13.02.16

Wall Brown in Cantabria, Spain. 13.02.16 - underside. — Wall Brown in Cantabria, Spain. 13.02.16 – underside.

I continued on, within a minute both a Colias croceus (Clouded Yellow) and Aglais io (Peacock) flew by at great speeds. Luckily those are fairly easy to ID in flight, especially as the Clouded Yellow was a male. A week earlier, on a walk nearby I’d been surprised to see a Clouded Yellow … I’d been pushing the stroller, looking at the ground and spotted a strange yellow leaf, strange as everything else was brown in mud, fallen leaves etc. I was able to get really close to it (was practically next to me anyway when I walked past it) and got some good pictures.

On I went, looking at butterflies through my binoculars, checking out the Buteo buteo (Common Buzzards) circling overhead … and then, as I was looking at a Brimstone (or so I thought) zip by I noticed flashes of orange … wait a minute … Brimstone don’t have orange, but Cleopatra do! I jogged along after it till it settled down (luckily not far off) and took some pictures. I also made sure to take one just as it set of for its next short journey, the flash of orange was clear on the picture, Gonepteryx cleopatra (Cleopatra), my first confirmed ID of this species by photo.

Picking up the pace a bit I headed home, the wind was picking up and it was starting to feel a bit chilly (had left my jacket at home), but was happy that I’d spotted a new species (the Cleopatra) for the UTM square I am monitoring.

Summary
– Vanessa atalanta — 1 (first of the year).
– Gonepteryx rhamni — around 10 in total.
– Pieris rapae — 3.
– Pararge aegeria — I stopped counting after 20 … maybe 30 in total?
– Lasiommata megera — 1 (first of the year).
– Colias croceus — 1 (I’d seen one a week earlier but not along this transect).
– Aglais io — between 10 and 15 in total.
– Gonepteryx cleopatra — 1 certain, probably 2 (first of the year).

Species year total — 9 (2015 – 45).

Further Reading
– My sightings for the day on Observation.org.

Butterfly Bulletin – Dryad – Minois dryas (Scopoli, 1763)

February 11, 2016February 14, 2016 bartvanhoofbutterflies, Cantabria, minois dryas, Proyecto Lepides, SpainLeave a comment

Introduction
As I stated in a previous post, butterflies are one of the drivers behind this blog. So, I thought I’d start my Butterfly Bulletin posts off with one of the most spectacular species I managed to see in 2015 … and that I hope to see many more times.

Mid-August I was out with my oldest son, we had gone for a walk (him in the stroller) around his siesta time so that he could have a bit of a rest, the new addition to the family (at that time around 1 month old) was tiring us all out a bit (i.e. lack of sleep) … so I decided to walk Recorrido A of my volunteer walks for Proyecto Lepides.

With my son snoring away we’d reached the back part of the route, with a south facing hill covered with trees on one side of the road and fields on the other. I was just rounding onto that stretch of paved road when out of the corner of my eye I noticed something dark and big flopping around in the field to my right. I pushed the stroller to the bank-side (son facing the field in case he woke up), put on the brakes and dived into the field, camera at the ready …

Dryad
A few quick shots of the camera and I knew I was onto something interesting … while going through my Tolman/Lewington guide (Collins, 2009) during the previous winter months, Minois dryas had been one of the species that I’d marked as hoping to see. I had no idea that this was a fairly rare species (not that clear in the field guide) in this part of its range. In general, the Dryad can be found across a band stretching across the central area of Europe and further on to Japan even. There is a slight sliver of its range that hugs the northern coast of Spain from País Vasco to Asturias (the Cantabrian Mountains). The Dryad can be found between 100-1600m in grassy and bushy margins of mixed deciduous woodland, often in damp places … the field I found her in (turned out to be a female) was thus the perfect habitat, all be it slightly below the altitude range (by about 10m).

When I spotted the butterfly, it was flying just above the grass, not in any determined fashion, but more floppily. As I entered the field it settled down in the grass (my first photos were from a side angle, see below), I slowly circled around a bit so that I could get a picture of the fully open wings. She just sat there, relaxed. I was able to creep a bit closer, but I almost always remain at a distance so no to disturb the butterfly, I did so here too. When I was satisfied I’d taken enough photos I headed back to the stroller. As I walked off I glanced back several times and she remained where she was.

Minois dryas has big oceli on the fore and hind wings that have a beautiful tings of blue to them. The one I saw was a bit “beaten up” with arts of her wings missing etc. and so the blue was not as vibrant anymore, still a great sighting and one that will stay with me for quite a while. The female is larger than the male and also has colours that are not as vibrant in general.
It was only when I was uploading the photos and data at home that I realised how special the sighting had been in a general sense.

A few months later, I went to a small exhibition, in a nearby village, on butterfly photography. The museum in which it was held also has some cabinets filled with pinned butterflies. These have been donated by a local lepidopterist. There are many tropical species but also regional species. There were around 4-5 examples of Dryad pinned, each with a tag noting year and region … they were all from the early 2000s (maybe a couple from the 1990s or earlier, cannot remember exactly). The location for all was Novales, a village/area on the other side of the large hill (extended hilly area) to the north …
Will I see this species again in the future? There’s a reasonable chance … maybe she laid eggs somewhere nearby … but, I probably won’t be as lucky as this anymore and will have to put in a lot more effort …

Oh, this butterfly is not on any red list in Spain, but it should be, as it seems to be fast disappearing due to changes in agricultural techniques.

Further Reading
– A PDF with specific distributions of various Satyrinae in Spain, Minois dryas is in that family. In Spanish but easy to understand for non-Spanish speakers.
– A list of my sightings of this butterfly on Observation.org.
– All butterfly sightings in Spain as recorded through Proyecto Lepides.

Book Club – A Buzz in the Meadow by Dave Goulson

February 1, 2016May 5, 2023 bartvanhoofbooks, butterflies, Dave Goulson, Insects, land management, PlantsLeave a comment

Introduction
This is actually the second book I’ve read by Dave Goulson, however, it is the one I’ve finished most recently and hence will cover the other book (A Sting in the Tail) at a future date.

As for other books to come through the review, over the past couple of months I purchased some field guides and natural history books, and am currently reading John Fowles’ The Collector, which is maybe not directly a “nature” book but is pretty good and about a butterfly collector, sort of …

Comments
As I stated above, this is the second book I’ve read by Mr Goulson. It is also his second book and follows up nicely from the first with many links between the two.

In 2003, Mr Goulson purchased a farm in France that came with 13 hectares (130,000 m2) of land. Since then he’s been working on the buildings and slowly letting the land get back to a more natural state of flowery meadows … although he has created a little brook and pond to attract wildlife that needs water (e.g. dragonflies). The main thing is that he’s letting the land recuperate after being fertilised and treated with pesticides etc. throughout the time that it was “productive” land for the farmstead.

The book is divided into 3 sections. The first (and longest) consists of 9 chapters covering the animal (mainly insect) life to be found around the farm. This includes bees, butterflies, dragonflies, beetles, newts etc. Birds aren’t really covered. The second section (3 chapters) is about plant life and the last section (also three chapters) is how the natural world is interlinked and what man’s effect has been on that natural world.

Each chapter starts on one topic, but often it meanders from there on, going from one related subject to the other. It is like listening to someone extremely knowledgeable on a multitude of topics and that person is excited to tell you something and then he or she just continues talking and you have the feeling they can go on for ever.
Mr Goulson has a pleasant manner of writing, which explains everything quite clearly and thus it becomes quite fun to read the book. So much so that at times I had to stop myself from reading, as there is an overload of information and it becomes impossible to remember all that is told. In other words, I’ll probably re-read chapters on specific topics in the future to remember what was said.

I enjoyed this book and it inspired me, but hey, I was probably going to enjoy the book anyway considering my interests … It was a fluid read, even though some subjects can be quite scientific, but it is never boring. The only thing is that I sometimes longed for more, but I think this is inherent with nature, in that it will take many more years before the farm gets to full potential and Mr Goulson discovers all the interesting things happening in the fields, as everything needs time to adapt, change and grow. For example, he’s doing an experiment over various plots (to do with growth of plants), but it a will take many seasons before the results are finally known and a bit more conclusive. I can easily see a “part two” in 10 years time to give us an update on how the farm’s changed.

The Edition
Title: A Buzz in the Meadow: The Natural History of a French Farm
Author: Dave Goulson
Publisher: Picador
Year: 2014
Edition: Hard cover, first US edition (2015), 1st printing, 265 pages
Additional Info: Includes index.

Further Reading
– Dave Goulson’s Twitter page.
– Mr Goulson’s page at the university where he works.

Proyecto Lepides – Recorrido A, 30TVN09, Casar de Periedo – 23.01.16

January 29, 2016February 11, 2016 bartvanhoof30TVN09, Aglais io, Apis mellifera, Bombus terrestris/lucorum, butterflies, Cacyreus marschalli, Casar de Periedo, Gonepteryx rhamni, Pararge aegeria, Pieris rapae, Proyecto Lepides, Recorrido A1 Comment

Introduction
One of the reasons for stating this blog was because in June 2015 I became a butterfly “counting” volunteer with Proyecto Lepides, a Spanish organisation similar to Butterfly Conservation in the UK, but then on a small scale (at this moment in time anyway). The goal is to be able to create a map of Spain for all the butterfly species that fly here. Will write more on the organisation in a later post.

As volunteer, I walk a number of transects (recorridos in Spanish) within the 10km x 10km UTM square 30TVN09, which lies in the northern Spanish province of Cantabria (handily I live in the UTM square I monitor).
A few days ago was the first time in 2016 that I walked the transect hoping to spot some butterflies … below is an account of what I saw.

Recorrido A – 23.01.16 – 30TVN09, Casar de Periedo
The weather was quite nice for this time of year. I’d usually expect temperatures around the 5-10C with clouds and rain. It was around 19C when I headed out (2PM) and it was sunny with no clouds in sight. To top it off, there was zero sign of wind … basically the perfect weather for a spring day of butterflying, only it was still winter …

As I walked down the first stretch of dirt road I suddenly spotted my first butterfly of the year, a white one zipped by, heading south. I whipped up my binoculars, but could not get a clear ID. I could only make an educated guess of Pieris rapae (Small White), which are very, very common in this area. It did provide hope and … A short period later my second butterfly, again I could not be 100% sure and my best guess for the streak of yellow flying south was Gonepteryx rhamni (Brimstone).
I had hope I’d see more, but kept my fingers crossed they’d not all be in a rush to get somewhere I wasn’t going.

I was on a small tarmac road and I turned onto the road that runs along the bottom of a hill … full in the sun at the bottom of the south facing slope, perfect. This is my favourite stretch of the transect and I knew that the next 500m would be crucial if I was to head home with a positive ID.

Peackock in Cantabria, Spain. 23.01.16 — Peacock in Cantabria, Spain. 23.01.16

Within a couple of steps I got it … zipping around my head a really dark butterfly. I watched it bob up and down and twist around before settling down along the side of the road … in flight you always notice the deeply dark undersides and when they land, out pop the eyes … even without my binoculars I could see it was an Aglais io (Peacock) … my first certain ID butterfly of 2016 was the exact same as that of the previous year! It sat there, full in the sun and I took a few quick photos before heading further down the road.
The road was now flanked by trees on both sides (not only the hill to the north) and within some of the splotches of sun shining through the trees I saw the second species sitting sunning itself … within seconds it was joined by 2 others and the three battled a bit for the rights to the sunny patches … the ever present Pararge aegeria (Speckled Wood).
When I got to my absolute favourite spot on the route I stopped to take a closer look at the surrounds … nothing … when I headed further, 5 minutes later, I hadn’t started walking before I saw a tiny dab of grey shakily fluttering about … Cacyreus marschalli (Geranium Bronze), an invasive species from South Africa. What was it doing so far away from the village where I usually saw this species?

Speckled Wood in Cantabria, Spain. 23.01.16

And then I came to butterfly heaven on that day … every 20m or so I’d spot another Speckled Wood sunning along the sides of the road. However, just before I turned back onto the dirt track … there they were … everywhere I looked more and more Peacock butterflies, mostly drinking nectar from dandelions (Taraxacum spec.) or sunning on the warm road. Zipping around me, it was kinda crazy. I’d only seen this many at one time when I saw them as caterpillar.
As I was enjoying the spectacle I saw a big fat yellow butterfly drinking from a dandelion … yup, this time I knew it for sure, a Brimstone.Then when I turned onto the dirt track a white butterfly came zipping by and landed on a dandelion nearby … I just had time to take a couple of pictures for a positive ID at home … Small White.

Walking down the dirt track, slowly on my way home I marveled, 5 species in January, nuts. I looked back and could see tiny specks of white zipping between the trees where I’d just been standing … but I had to head home, my oldest son was waking up (I’d been pushing him in the stroller during the walk … siesta time for him).

Other insects seen … Bombus terrestris/lucorum and Apis mellifera.

Geranium Bronze in Cantabria, Spain. 23.01.16

Summary

Small White in Cantabria, Spain. 23.01.16

– Pieris rapae — 1 certain, 1 probable.
– Gonepteryx rhamni — 1 certain, 1 probable.
– Aglais io — between 10 and 15 in total.
– Cacyreus marschalli — 1.
– Pararge aegeria — between 10 and 15 in total.

Further Reading
– My sightings for the day on Observation.org.
– Proyecto Lepides blog entry for January 2016. Summary of butterflies seen in Spain during January.

Searching for Cullum's Bee

Biodiversity of Cantabria

Author: bartvanhoof