FRANCE Butterflies of Wild Dordogne

11 – 17 June 2016

TOUR REPORT Leader: David Simpson Day 1: Saturday 11 June The Ryanair flight landed rather early at Bergerac airport so there was little time to check out the local wildlife in the fields around the airport. However I did manage to find a few meadow browns and common blues to start my list off. A corn bunting on the fence driving back to the car park was a nice bonus. Before long the passengers on the Stansted flight were disembarking and soon afterwards the group were with me in ‘Arrivals’. I collected the minibus from the car park and we packed the bags in the boot and headed back to our hotel in Mauzac. After a short drive though the fields of young maize via Saint Capraise (where we saw a crag martin at the river bridge) we were parking up next to ‘Le Barrage’ hotel, our base for the week. Amanda, the hotel manager, came out to greet us and we sorted out keys, rooms and bags before re-convening in the dining room for tea and biscuits. I gave a brief introduction to the week and explained that a poor weather forecast meant that we had to make the most of any sunny weather. So with a fine late afternoon we were going to explore the hill around my house at Cabant, a couple of miles away. Before going we had a quick look along the riverbank outside the hotel. Here we found crag martin, black kite, little egret, white wagtail, black redstart plus a mass of mute swans and one short-necked and noisy ex-domestic grey lag goose. We started in the meadow beside my house where many meadow brown and marbled white were flying. Adonis blues were also present along with a couple of common blues including a wonderfully marked blue female. One of the stars of this meadow is the Reverdin’s blue and we were lucky enough to find a fresh male with its strong blue upperwing and spotted pale underwing, together with silvery-blue spots or ‘studs’ like its cousin the silver-studded blue. A fresh knapweed fritillary posed briefly on a flower head and we found a nice Lulworth skipper – rare in the UK. Other species here were small and pearly heaths, small white and brown argus plus a few ringlets in the orchard area. Day-flying moths included Mother Shipton and burnet companion. In our little pond we saw some large midwife toad tadpoles whilst field crickets sang in the meadow. There were a number of interesting orchids with a patch of lizard plus a few bee and woodcock – allowing comparison between the latter two similar species. As we left the meadow a group of four hawfinch flew overhead. On the terrace we watched several common wall lizards enjoying some late afternoon sunshine.

As we walked up the track to the hilltop we studied several plants of the beautiful red helleborine before walking through the woodland where we also found broad-leaved helleborine and then out on to the hilltop where there were a few pyramidal orchids still in flower and some fly orchids gone to seed. On the grassy areas there were plenty more Adonis blue, meadow brown and marbled white and then we found another interesting blue – baton blue, looking like a tiny Adonis. There was another unusual skipper, this time red-underwing which we saw on two occasions and first found by Margaret Several Berger’s clouded yellow were flying, as were more small and pearly heaths. In the scrubby areas we found around five ilex hairstreak and several small blue. Day-flying moths included silver Y, six-spot burnet, many straw belle and another ‘spotted’ burnet, which appeared to be loti. A large violet carpenter bee was nectaring on one flowery patch. Bird song and calls accompanied us as we walked. The best was perhaps a black woodpecker which did its wilder version of a green woodpecker’s ‘yaffle’ song. Other birds included blackbird, mistle thrush, robin, chiffchaff, Bonelli’s warbler, blackcap, jay and golden oriole giving a pleasant background chorus to our walk. We briefly saw a woodlark on its song flight above the forest as we returned to the minibus. Whilst driving back to Mauzac, Malcolm saw a roe deer in a field. By now it was time for the list, aperitif and the first of many delicious dinners at the hotel. Day 2: Sunday 12 June The morning started cloudy and cool with a poor forecast. Today was a local day around the valley at Mauzac and Trémolat. We started out high above the River Dordogne at the Cingle (meander) de Trémolat, a noted local wildlife area. As usual meadow brown and marbled white were in evidence as we walked along the track from the wooden cross. Other species of butterfly included Adonis and common blues, Berger’s clouded yellow, ilex hairstreak, small blue plus small and pearly heaths. Small skipper was however new for the week. A hummingbird hawk-moth was a new moth species for the trip. A clubtail dragonfly was most likely the yellow clubtail whilst a young grasshopper on the track appeared to be the red-winged grasshopper Calliptamus italicus. We found droppings on the track left by a marten, either pine or beech. Cuckoo, turtle dove, golden oriole, green woodpecker, woodlark, cirl bunting and yellowhammer sang from the scrub and woodland as we walked. There were more orchids beside the track including red helleborine, greater butterfly, pyramidal, lizard and bee. When we reached the truffle orchard beyond the pinewood the rain started so we decided to retrace our steps to the minibus. We headed back to Mauzac where we first had a walk along the river to the dam and marshy area before lunch. Over the river were swallow, house and crag martins and swift. A couple of mistle thrushes flew off over the fields. On the marsh we saw a melodious warbler well through the scope. In the trees by the gardens we heard firecrest, short-toed treecreeper, serin, goldfinch and linnet but they were not viewable. There were a few beautiful Demoiselle damselflies in this area as well. After a nice lunch at our hotel we drove beyond Trémolat to an area of limestone grassland and scrub as the weather improved a little. Here we found our best butterfly of the day a female turquoise blue which I managed to catch so that we could see it features for identification: the lack of a cell spot on the forewing underside, broad pale margin to the underside of the wings and the orange spots near the underside hind wing margin in the shape of hearts. At the same site we saw another knapweed fritillary and then a new species – a couple of spotted fritillaries: the male with very orangey upperside forewing whilst the female had rather a grey dusting to the upperside forewing. Otherwise it was a similar mix of butterflies to the morning. An interesting sharp-leaved trefoil with a spike of reddish flowers in this area was Trifolium angustifolium. We drove further east to Paunat where there is an area of rough grassland noted for orchids. Here we added flowering fly and fragrant orchid together with violet limodore (or violet bird’s-nest) recently gone to seed. The roadside here was festooned with the pretty white lace flower Orlaya grandiflora. With brighter and warmer weather there seemed to be more butterflies flying and we found this to be quite a rich area. Apart from species seen earlier we found clouded yellow, red admiral, meadow fritillary and Malcolm added large white. Of the day-flying moths clouded buff and feathered footman were new ones noted. As we returned to Mauzac, Malcolm saw a kestrel – also new for the week.

Day 3: Monday 13 June With reasonable weather forecast I chose the Causse de Daglan for today’s trip. It is always a good site for butterflies both in total number and variety of species. The morning started cloudy but there were to be some sunny intervals. On route around Siorac we saw a sad sight by the roadside: a dead immature wild boar with stripes, obviously a road victim. Further on we noted kestrel, black kite and buzzard plus a greyish immature green woodpecker as we neared our destination. On the wires just before our first stop was a pair of stonechats. We began the day near Veyrines de Domme on a grassy hilltop with scrub and woodland. We parked in the car park by the wood and walked along the road through the top of the site. As on previous days we found meadow brown, marbled white and Adonis blue common on the limestone grassland, but there were also a few brown argus. The pretty little burnet moth Zygaena fausta was common amongst the roadside flowers. Walking up a side track we were pleased to see our first black-veined whites together with another first: a brief view of a scarce swallowtail. Further along we found a large dark grayling – in this case a woodland grayling with a single pale wavy line down the dark underside hind wing and a little fawn colour showing around the eye spot on the forewing underside. A little later on around the hilltop we studied a common grayling settled with wings closed on some stone, cryptically marked and difficult to see – our fourth new species of the trip during the morning. Another was soon to follow – a beautifully marked and fresh Queen of Spain fritillary with pointed wings and large silver spots on the underside hind wing. There was a second one further up the track. Other fritillaries seen here were spotted, meadow and knapweed. Our final new species for the holiday was the blue-spot hairstreak nectaring on thyme flowers alongside the commoner ilex hairstreak. We also did well for skippers here with Lulworth, small and a probable red-under wing. Unfortunately the black sooty satyr, for which the site is noted, had clearly not emerged, doubtless due to the poor spring weather. As the sun came out a few yellow and black ascalaphids flew above the grasses picking off insects and looking like a cross between a dragonfly and butterfly. A number of birds were singing strongly as we searched for butterflies: song thrush, turtle dove, cuckoo, great spotted woodpecker, woodlark, short-toed treecreeper and cirl bunting. As we walked back to the minibus we noted red helleborine on the woodland edge. On route for lunch at Daglan we saw a red-legged partridge running away along the roadside and into a field. Lunch was at the ‘Thé Vert’ in Daglan, a great spot for eating by the bridge over the River Céou. Redstart and black redstart sang in the village as we prepared to head back out to a site near Saint Pompon. Here crested tit and melodious warbler were notable with both heard singing - the former in the pines, the latter in the scrub. We were still hoping for improved weather to encourage the butterflies as we past a few faded bee, pyramidal and lizard orchids along the trackside. A beautiful demoiselle fluttered amongst the scrub giving us some hope. Just in front of us another large dark grayling flew up. This was different to the morning’s butterfly: it was a great banded grayling with a very clear white lines contrasting with the dark brown on the upperside as it flew. When it settled the one and a half vertical white lines through the hind wing underside together with the white dash through the eye spot helped to separate it from the woodland grayling. A few Berger’s clouded yellow and a small white flew past and we found several ilex hairstreaks. There were similar small fritillaries as the morning but we added another species the marbled fritillary, seen briefly around the brambles. We found three species of skipper: small, Lulworth and a new one for the week, large skipper. The weather worsened once more as we made our way back to the minibus and we were pleased to be under cover as the heavens opened up. We hoped that by the time we reached the last site of the day near Montalieu the weather would have improved again. The rain eased off and we had a brief walk up the track towards the quarry and saw a few more of the commoner species but with the weather still unsettled we decided to return to the minibus and drive back to Mauzac. On the way back near Mauzac we had a brief view of a hoopoe flying nearby before disappearing behind buildings. When I returned home for a break before the list and dinner, I found a southern white admiral flitting around the terrace – and this unfortunately for the group was the only one to be seen during the week.

Day 4: Tuesday 14 June Today we visited the Bessède Forest to the south of the River Dordogne. We drove up through Cadouin with its impressive abbey and started our day near Urval but with grey skies and rain threatening it didn’t look good for butterflies. A few day-flying moths were on the wing – mostly Common Heath - and we watched a hummingbird hawk-moth dropping down to hover near the track surface taking moisture and/or salts. Malcolm found a green forester moth nectaring on a knapweed flower head and a silver Y fluttered amongst the grass. There was a little more activity from the birds with cuckoo and turtle dove singing and a pair of linnets alighted nearby on a bush which allowed us all a view through the scope. As we made our way back to the minibus, a hoopoe flew across the track and kindly settled on a dead branch of a tree affording good views through the scope. A woodlark rose nearby singing giving us a chance to see and listen to its song flight again. Unfortunately apart from the odd meadow brown, butterflies were not active here. We moved on to another site back towards Cadouin but although we set off on a walk we were soon forced back by heavy rain. The best plan now seemed to be to drive to our lunch stop at Molières (where a serin briefly sang in the square) and wait for the weather to change. With improving weather after lunch and a little sunshine we returned to the southern half of the forest. We stopped at a junction in the forest and walked along the road. Here there was a hatch of heath fritillaries and we had great views of these. Unfortunately the hatch of marsh fritillaries the week before seemed to have all gone - perhaps with the bad weather. A new species for the week was a brimstone (female), which visited us briefly before continuing on her way, and we also found our second large skipper. A lesser purple emperor shot into the clearing by the junction briefly but soon disappeared – not exactly a great viewing. One or two beautiful demoiselles were sunning themselves on the bushes. I walked further up the road looking for other species of butterfly and I found one of our target species – the woodland brown. I managed to net it and showed it to the group a little later. When I released it, it didn’t seem keen on being photographed as it immediately flew high into a tree. However I got the scope on it so that we could have a better view and even managed a few photos with my compact camera against the telescope eyepiece – ‘sort-of’ digiscoping! In the same area we saw one of two fresh white admirals – a scarcer species here in Dordogne than the southern white admiral. There were several interesting plants along the road here: common cow-wheat (a food plant of heath fritillary caterpillars), betony, St Bernard’s lily, Nottingham catch-fly and a tall daisy Tanacetum corymbosum. After returning to the minibus we drove further east to another spot in the forest good for butterflies. After a brief walk along the track we were forced back by the rain and I decided a tour of the south side of the forest by minibus would be more pleasant. On route we stopped to look at three turtle doves in a tree through the scope. The weather brightened and we made our way to Vielvic church where the sun came out. A few jackdaws greeted us there and then a hoopoe did a spectacular fly past. Scanning the fields and hedges adjacent I found a pair of red-backed shrikes which showed nicely through the scope, however butterflies were again mainly meadow browns and marbled whites. Nearby we saw a couple of stonechats on roadside wires. Finally we returned towards Cadouin and stopped by a damp acid grassland where we usually find the rare false ringlet. Today perhaps with the weather, but especially the cool damp spring we found none and had to content ourselves with the orchids. This spot was really quite rich with red helleborine, twayblade, greater and lesser butterfly, fragrant, heath-spotted, pyramidal, lizard and bee still flowering. Day 5: Wednesday 15 June Today we travelled to two areas – the Landais Forest north of Bergerac in the morning and Faux Plateau south-west of Bergerac in the afternoon. With cool temperatures and grey skies it didn’t auger too well for the butterflies. However when we arrived near Saint Georges de Blancaneix there was plenty of bird song and calls including turtle dove, chiffchaff, blackcap, wren, nuthatch, short-toed treecreeper and long-tailed tit. With a little sunshine we hoped for a few butterflies. As usual with cooler temperatures day-flying moths were the first to be active and we noted common and latticed heaths and a speckled yellow as we walked up the track towards the pine woods. Malcolm found us a tiny amphibian on the wet track – a common toadlet doubtless recently emerged from the local pond. With little sign of butterflies we made our way back down the hill to the pond where several damselflies were active: beautiful demoiselle plus

blue-tailed and small and large red damselflies. A little sunshine broke through the clouds and a few small and pearly heath were seen amongst the odd meadow brown and marbled white. By the bramble patch a larger fritillary buzzed about briefly near Malcolm: probably marbled, whilst a European hornet was also seen. We decided to move on to a second pond nearby where a little delta of sand and mud has provided us with some interesting butterflies in the past. However this time after all the rain there was no delta – just lots of water! The flora and fauna was similar to the first pond though we also saw black-veined white whilst a golden oriole sang a little. Better weather was forecast for the afternoon so he headed for lunch in Issigeac at a very pleasant little auberge near the church. Soon afterwards we drove to the reservoir hoping to find more butterflies as the weather became sunnier and warmer. On route we saw several corn buntings and stonechats on the wires. A red admiral greeted us at the service entrance gate. Further on at the lake several great-crested grebes were out on the water, together with a couple of coots with their little red-headed black young. Along the woodland edge tree pipit and woodlark sang. Green frogs cackled from the bank and a green lizard rushed for cover by the hedge. Plenty of butterflies greeted us in the meadow and so we got down to work. There were lots of blues (Adonis, common and brown argus) and fritillaries (Weaver’s, Glanville, knapweed and spotted) allowing us to compare the species and improve our identification skills. Also noted were wood white (our only ones of the week), peacock, Berger’s clouded yellow, small and pearly heaths plus small and large skippers amongst the many meadow browns and marbled whites. There were also a few dragonflies along the causeway: ruddy darter, black-tailed skimmer, blue featherlegs and common blue damselfly. Another dragonfly photographed by Malcolm seemed initially to be a yellow clubtail but after consultation with resident expert Dick Askew it was more likely a pronged clubtail, endemic to SW Europe. In the grass were some impressive bush-crickets including great green and Roësel’s and above, ascalaphids enjoying the sunshine. There were several orchids still flowering: greater butterfly, pyramidal, lizard and bee. We drove around to the main pubic access point where we saw similar species but also including a painted lady in a fallow field together with an unusual damselfly found by Margaret – a southern emerald with bi-coloured pterostgma (a coloured cell near the tip of the wing). After all this activity at the reservoir we decided to stop off on the way home near the silo at Faux to look for black-winged kites amongst other things. There were several buzzards, black kites and kestrels near the silo and before long we had spotted a black-winged Kite high up in an oak tree giving reasonable views through the scope. A nightingale sang nearby and one or two rock sparrows made a brief appearance around the electric posts where they nest. Along the roadside we found small and large white for the day’s list plus a nice selection of commoner limestone grassland butterflies and day-flying moths in a meadow, which we had seen previously at the reservoir. Day 6: Thursday 16 June For the final day we explored the Vézère Valley between Montignac and Le Bugue. This is a beautiful wooded valley, smaller and wilder than the Dordogne locally and full of interesting wildlife. We started just beyond Montignac after an hour’s drive from Mauzac. As we disembarked from the minibus the sun shone and we could already see butterflies along the track. We spent some time around the bramble patch near the car park where there were plenty of hairstreaks – Ilex and Blue-spot plus some beautiful metallic green rose chafers. Malcolm also found a comma or two plus a brown argus. red admiral, scarce swallowtail plus small and large skipper were also about amongst the commoner butterflies. Along the track we saw our first wall brown of the holiday, males holding territory at various points. I searched for rarer butterflies amongst the blues and browns but alas no sign of Escher’s blue or great sooty satyr – again perhaps emerging later this year following all the poor weather. However Margaret saved the morning by finding an unusual skipper – I netted it to check the ID and to show the group. It was a very worn safflower skipper – a specialist of this dry, stony ‘causse’ habitat. Woodlark, robin, short-toed treecreeper and cirl bunting sang from the scrubby woodland and a Raven flew overhead. A clubtail dragonfly briefly seen appeared to be the yellow clubtail. We returned to the minibus and dropped down into Montignac by the river for our lunch. In the town we saw a crag martin over the river and I heard a serin singing. Walking back to the

minibus we noticed a very bored-looking collared dove sitting on a gate, maybe it had had enough of the recent bad weather like us! After lunch we returned northwards to a very exposed scrubby hilltop known for its rare butterflies. Three corn buntings were on the wires as we approached the site and a skylark sang above us as we parked. Unfortunately the cloud and breeze were against us and we saw few butterflies though we did add green-veined white to our list. The birds however were more interesting here. After a couple of buzzards circled above us, a pair of short-toed eagles rose from the forest nearby giving great views. A little later a Honey Buzzard drifted overhead also showing nicely. Finally the rain came in the form of a heavy shower so we beat a retreat back to the minibus and decided to try another site once the weather improved. We chased a bit of blue sky and were rewarded with a brief bit of sun near Condat. At the base of another scrubby hillside we found a nice little mix of butterflies including meadow and spotted fritillaries. The sun soon went however so we headed south looking for a final stop once the weather improved. Soon after Les Eyzies the sun started to reappear so I headed for a hill near Le Bugue which is often productive for butterflies. In fact it provided a pleasant stop to finish the day after all that mixed weather. Where I parked up by the aerials there was both a red admiral and two painted ladies sunning themselves and occasionally duelling in aerial combat. Around the hilltop we found wall brown, red-underwing skipper, grayling, Lulworth skipper, spotted fritillary and ilex hairstreak amongst the usual meadow browns, marbled whites, Adonis blues and both commoner heaths. Day 7: Friday 17 June After an early breakfast everyone had to check-out of the hotel and say their goodbyes to Amanda as the group had a morning flight to catch from Bergerac airport. We loaded us the minibus and drove west through the fields and villages for some final views of Dordogne. As we unloaded the bus I said goodbye to everyone after a very poor week weather-wise during which we had still managed to see a good variety of butterflies.

SPECIES RECORDED

BIRDS

1. Great crested grebe Podiceps cristatus

2. Little egret Egretta garzetta

3. Heron Ardea cinerea

4. Mute swan Cygnus olor

5. Greylag goose Anser anser

6. Mallard Anas platyrhynchos

7. Short-toed eagle Circaetus gallicus

8. Black kite Milvus migrans

9. Black-winged kite Elanius caeruleus

10. European honey buzzard Pernis apivorus

11. Hen (northern) harrier Circus cyaneus

12. Common (Eurasian) buzzard Buteo buteo

13. Common (Eurasian) kestrel Falco tinnunculus

14. Red-legged partridge Alectoris rufa

15. Pheasant Phasianius colchicus

16. Eurasian coot Fulica atra

17. Feral pigeon Columba livia

18. (Common) wood pigeon Columba palumbus

19. European turtle dove Streptopelia turtur

20. Eurasian collared dove Streptopelia decaocto

21. Common (Eurasian) cuckoo Cuculus canorus

22. Common swift Apus apus

23. (Eurasian) hoopoe Upupa epops

24. Black woodpecker Dryocopus martius

25. Middle spotted woodpecker Dendrocopos medius

26. Great spotted woodpecker Dendrocopus major

27. (European) green woodpecker Picus viridis

28. Wood lark Lullula arborea

29. (Eurasian) skylark Alauda arvensis

30. Eurasian crag martin Hirundo rupestris

31. Barn swallow Hirundo rustica

32. Common house martin Delichon urbicum

33. White wagtail Motacilla alba alba

34. Tree pipit Anthus pratensis

35. Common (Eurasian) blackbird Turdus merula

36. Song thrush Turdus philomelos

37. Mistle thrush Turdus viscivorus

38. European robin Erithacus rubecula

39. Common nightingale Luscinia megarynchus

40. Black redstart Phoenicurus ochuros

41. Common redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus

42. European stonechat Saxicola torquata

43. Melodious warbler Hippolais polyglotta

44. Common chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita

45. Western Bonelli’s warbler Phylloscopus bonelli

46. Eurasian blackcap Sylvia atricapilla

47. Firecrest Regulus ignicapillus

48. (Eurasian) wren Troglodytes troglodytes

49. Long-tailed tit Aegithalos caudatus

50. (European) crested tit Lophophanes cristatus

51. Great tit Parus major

52. Blue tit Parus caeruleus

53. Eurasian nuthatch Sitta europaea

54. Short-toed treecreeper Certhia brachydactyla

55. Red-backed shrike Lanius collurio

56. Eurasian jay Garrulus glandarius

57. Eurasian (common) magpie Pica pica

58. Western jackdaw Corvus monedula

59. Carrion crow Corvus corone

60. Common (European) starling Sturnus vulgaris

61. Eurasian golden oriole Oriolus oriolus

62. Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella

63. Cirl bunting Emberiza cirlus

64. Corn bunting Emberiza calandra

65. Common chaffinch Fringilla coelebs

66. European serin Serinus serinus

67. European greenfinch Carduelis chloris

68. European goldfinch Carduelis carduelis

69. Common linnet Carduelis cannabina

70. Hawfinch Coccothraustes coccothraustes

71. House sparrow Passer domesticus

72. Rock sparrow Petronia petronia

BUTTERFLIES

1. Scarce swallowtail Iphiclides podalirius

2. Black-veined white Aporia crataegi

3. Large White Pieris brassicae

4. Small white Atrogeia rapae

5. Green-veined white Atrogeia napi

6. Clouded yellow Colias croceus

7. Berger's clouded yellow Colias australis

8. Brimstone Gonepteryx rhamni

9. Wood white Leptidea sinapis

10. Ilex hairstreak Satyrium ilicis

11. Blue-spot hairstreak Satyrium spini

12. Small blue Cupido minimus

13. Baton blue Pseudophilotes baton

14. Reverdin’s blue Plebejus argyronomon

15. Brown argus Aricia agestis

16. Turquoise blue Polyommatus dorylas

17. Common blue Polyommatus icarus

18. Adonis blue Lysandra bellargus

19. Lesser purple emperor Apatura ilia

20. Southern white admiral Limenitis reducta

21. White admiral Limenitis camilla

22. Peacock Inachis io

23. Red admiral Vanessa atalanta

24. Painted lady Vanessa cardui

25. Comma Polygonia c-album

26. Queen of Spain fritillary Issoria lathiona

27. Marbled fritillary Brenthis daphne

28. Weaver’s fritillary Boloria dia

29. Glanville fritillary Melitaea cinxa

30. Knapweed fritillary Melitaea phoebe

31. Spotted fritillary Melitaea didyma

32. Heath fritillary Melitaea athalia

33. Meadow fritillary Melitaea parthenoides

34. Marbled white Melanargia galathea

35. Woodland grayling Hipparchia fagi

36. Grayling Hipparchia semele

37. Great banded grayling Brintesia circe

38. Meadow brown Maniola jurtina

39. Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus

40. Small heath Coenonympha pamphilius

41. Pearly heath Coenonympha arcania

42. Speckled wood Pararge aegeria

43. Wall brown Lasiommata megera

44. Woodland brown Lopinga achine

45. Safflower skipper Pyrgus carthami

46. Red-under wing skipper Spialia sertorius

47. Lulworth skipper Thymelicus acteon

48. Small skipper Thymelicus sylvestris

49. Large skipper Ochlodes sylvanus

ORCHIDS

1. Broad-leaved helleborine Epipactis helleborine

2. Red helleborine Cephalanthera rubra

3. Violet limodore Limodorum abortivum

4. Twayblade Listera ovata

5. Greater butterfly Platanthera chlorantha

6. Lesser butterfly Platanthera bifolia

7. Fragrant Gymnadenia conopsea

8. Heath spotted Orchis maculata

9. Pyramidal Anacamptis pyramidalis

10. Lizard Himantoglossum hircinum

11. Tongue Serapias lingua

12. Bee Ophrys apifera

13. Fly Ophrys insectifera

14. Woodcock Ophrys scolopax

Thanks to group member Malcolm T (MT) who provided all the photos below (except those marked with an asterisk *)

Adonis Blue (MT) Pearly Heath (MT)

Berger’s Clouded Yellow (MT) Red-underwing Skipper (MT)

Queen of Spain Fritillary (MT) Black-veined Whites (MT)

Heath Fritillary (MT) Heath Fritillaries (MT)

Woodland Brown * Great Banded Grayling (MT)

Lulworth Skipper (MT) Meadow Brown (MT)

Reverdin’s Blue (MT) Migrant Spreadwing (MT)