Birdwatching and wildlife tours in Spain
Butterflies in Sierra Nevada
Butterflies in Sierra Nevada, a European hot spot for wildlife.
Sierra Nevada in SE Spain is the highest mountain of the Iberian Peninsula, with picks exceeding 3400 meters above sea level. This is a wonderful place for enjoying wildlife, especially for butterflies and plants with a high proportion of endemics.
In this impressive altitudinal range has been recorded no less than 127 species of butterflies.
During early July I got an enquire asking me for a couple of days looking for butterflies in Sierra Nevada. After making all the arrangement, I meet the small party on June 5th and we set off to Sierra Nevada ski resort.
Day 1. Butterflies in the ski resort
The wind is strong in the summit so we decide to walk along small gorge where we should be more sheltered from the wind. Our first sights are a group of Spanish Ibex, a solitary Griffon Vulture and a gorgeous male Rufous tailed rock thrush.
After searching for half an hour, we find the first of many stunning Nevada Blues. The morning is a bit cold, so they are half asleep. Lindsay, Peter and I take advantage of this and take some nice pictures of this endemic butterfly. Later, we carry out our search and find good number of Small tortoiseshell, Adonis, Escher’s and Common Blue butterflies. Furthermore, we get views of Spanish brass ringlet which fly off as soon as we approach. Sadly, the strong wind makes impossible to find the local race of Apollo butterfly.
After coffee and facilities in a near Kiosk, we drive down and park near a hotel. Pau wants to have a look in a wet meadow where he has seen in the pass Purple-shot cooper. The first thing we spot is a beautiful Robust marsh orchid and a common Swallowtail butterfly. Flying around there are dozens of Pallid Swifts, Black redstarts and Northern wheatear. John spots a Purple-shot cooper drinking in the ground and Pau finds a Rock Grayling and a Small skipper.
Our last stop is on the way to the Hotel, in a pond near Villanueva. Here we get 10 species of dragonflies and damselflies, including Blue-eye, Small redeye, White featherleg, Broad scarlet and Violet dropwing among others.
We arrive to the Hotel around 2:30. As it is already hot (31ºC), the rest of the day is spent by the Hotel’s swimming pool.
Day 2. Butterflies in Sierra Nevada
The following day, we set off again to look for more butterflies in Sierra Nevada. Pau suggests trying another location for Apollo butterfly. After driving for 1 hour, we get over 2200 meter high and park the vehicle. We start following a track finding Water Pipit and Dunnocks. Soon we find our first Apollo butterflies, followed for 30+ more. Other butterflies sightings include Queen of Spain Fritillary, Painted lady, Long-tailed Blue, Amanda’s blue, Wall Brown and Ida’s Blue.
On the way down, we have a quick visit to the Botanic garden. Here we find an adult and a caterpillar of Moroccan Orange Tip. In addition, we see a beautiful Iberian Marbled White and a Silver studded blue “drinking” nectar on a thistle. Regarding birds, a Golden Eagle is seen by Lindsay and John, and in the nearby pine forest a family of Rock buntings feeds on seeds. Pau finds a Crested tit picking insects from the bark.
We continue the trip looking for butterflies in Sierra Nevada and drive down to a much lower altitude towards Güejar-Sierra. In a meadow, we get Wall brown, Blue-spot hairstreak, Gatekeeper and Southern Gatekeeper. There are also Yellow Clouded, Southern Speckled Wood and Lulworth skipper among others. All flying around plants of the Eryngium genus.
Our final stop is in a path along the Genil river. Marbled White, Cleopatra and Meadow brown are everywhere. The river is patrol by Common Goldenring dragonflies and we also bump into a Large psammodromus which was enjoying a sunbath.
Finally, Pau drives to Granada where the group will remain the following days sightseeing this terrific city. All in all, an enjoyable couple of days in these wonderful mountains full of interesting butterflies. In total, we recorded 65 species of butterflies. Please, do not hesitate to contact us for any schedule or tailor made tour around Granada and Sierra Nevada.
We publish regularly our butterflies photos in Instagram. Are you interested in dragonflies?