Description

We are delighted to return to Spain with our two centre springtime tour to central and northern Spain which promises to deliver an exciting range of butterflies, many of which are endemic to the Iberian peninsula or are scarce outside the Spanish mainland.

Butterflies can fly early in Spain but some years are earlier than others.  Ideally you arrive during a warm sunny period after rain. The target species for this trip are Spanish Greenish Blacktip which is why we are going first to Los Monegros, a large dry area in Northern Spain that is also famous for birds.  We will look also for Sooty Orange Tip and several other spring Pierids including Provence Orange Tip and Portuguese Dappled White.  The Provence Hairstreak should be flying and we hope to see Spring Ringlet in the Montes Universales.  Iberian Sooty Copper, Panoptes Blue and Chequered Blue are expected.  Large Tortoiseshell, Spanish Festoon and Camberwell Beauty all fly early but we could also start to get later species like Western Marbled White and de Prunner’s ringlet if it is an early year.

The first part of the tour will take in the Los Monegros area, home to the extremely rare Spanish Greenish Black Tip, before moving on to the southern foothills of the Pyrenees, where Spanish Fritillary, Green Underside Blue, Spanish Festoon and Western Marbled White are resident.

The second part of the tour will be based in the historic Moorish fortified town of Albarracin, with the main target species being the rare Spring Ringlet and the beautiful Iberian Sooty Copper. Other desirable species on the menu should include Provence Orange Tip, Panoptes Blue, Western Dappled White and Sooty Orange Tip, with others such as Large Tortoiseshell and Cleopatra also likely.

Unlike summer tours to this area, daytime temperatures are broadly between 18 and 24c, and the landscape is far more lush and verdant than during July and August.