I made another visit to Bulgaria with my good friend Barrie Staley. We arranged our own trip and planned it with the Bulgarian Friendship Society. The dates were 12th July to 20th July to hopefully coincide with one or two special butterflies, including Balkan Blue.
We visited a number of familiar sites that we had visited on previous occasions, but one site in particular was where I hoped to see my most wanted species, the Balkan Blue. However in order to see this butterfly, it would take another walk of around 10 miles up to Orelek and back. Something I was not looking forward too. The walk was worth it though, as I found a single specimen, in excellent condition.
Another excellent day was spent in the valleys around Chuchuligovo. Despite failing to find the rare Grass Jewel, we did discover a single Pygmy Skipper, probably the first confirmed record for this area of Bulgaria, and Oriental Marbled Skipper.
Other special butterflies were Freyer’s Grayling, Little Tiger Blue, Otterman’s Brassy Ringlet, Apollo, Balkan Fritillary, Shepherd’s Fritillary, Nicholl’s Ringlet, Water Ringlet and Dusky Large Blue.
Along with some fine orchids and a few good birds, it was another successful trip to this wonderful country.
