I am no expert photographer, preferring to capture the moment than get a perfectly composed shot. The pictures on my blog are either taken with a compact Canon, a Panasonic Lumix FZ150 or on my phone.




Friday, 18 July 2014

One Hundred

We are just back from a lovely two-week holiday to Spain. In between relaxing I managed to fit in a few walks to look for butterflies, with pretty good results and I saw quite a few species I had't seen before. I have still to sort out all of my pictures, but this little butterfly is significant for me. It is the 100th species I have seen since I have been interested in butterflies!


It is a Nevada Blue, Polyommatus golgus, which I saw on a trip to the Sierra Nevada mountains. It only occurs there and on one other mountain range in Spain, so I am pleased to have quite a rare butterfly for my 100th!

Before we went away I had seen 96 species of butterflies and I think that I added about 15 species to that during this holiday.

It isn't a very good picture, I am afraid, but it captures a moment in time. I did manage to get some better pictures later in the day.
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8 comments:

  1. Anonymous19 July 2014 at 01:45

    Congratulations! That is so exciting. I'm so impressed that you knew your count and could mark this special moment! I never have a bit of a clue until I'm completely done sorting. What an awesome little Blue. And I love it's name. Did you know about him before hand and know where to look for it? Looking forward to seeing all the rest as well.

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    1. Nick Morgan19 July 2014 at 10:37

      Thanks Sylvia, I keep a note of all the species I see in each country and more recently started working out the total number I had seen. (Actually, this may have been inspired by seeing your blog which made me wonder how many species I had seen!! There are also a few European enthusiasts who produce yearly lists on their web sites.) I knew before I went away that I was on 96, so I hoped at some point during my trip to crack 100. I didn't know at the time which species was number 100, it was only once I had had a good look at my pictures.
      I noticed that the Sierra Nevada had a lot of butterflies from my books. The lady at this web site http://waste.ideal.es/sierranevada.htm told me that July is a great time to visit, and yes, the Nevada Blue was a target species. It wasn't until I saw a male later in the day that I reallised that I had seen one!

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  2. Dawn19 July 2014 at 03:31

    Congrats! What a great achievement and a nice rarity! Also looking forward to seeing more photos!

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    1. Nick Morgan19 July 2014 at 10:39

      Thanks Dawn. The Sierra Nevada was an amazing area to visit. The best place I have ever been for butterflies.

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  3. Breathtaking19 July 2014 at 15:30

    How exciting, I'm thrilled for you, and impressed at the number of species you managed to see whilst on holiday. Looking forward to your next post!

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    1. Nick Morgan19 July 2014 at 20:46

      Thanks Sonjia. It was a great trip for me and I think I saw more butterflies than on any other holiday I have been on.

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  4. Maria20 July 2014 at 23:33

    Congrats Nick, I suppose I'm going to start counting how many tropical flowers I've spotted up until now. And I've realized I better stick to Puerto Rico, because when I go to the U.S., the variety is just overwhelming.

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    1. Nick Morgan21 July 2014 at 00:10

      Thanks Maria. Yes, sometimes it is best not to keep a count! At least with butterflies it is a little easier!

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