Butterfly
photography and research in Turkey's Kackar Mts.
Summary
and recommendation: "...Turkey's Kackar Mts. offers
an exceptional butterfly diversity among the most breathtaking
scenery. This tour is a must for every western palearctic
focused butterfly enthusiast! All the daily tours are targeting
different habitats, giving a very high number of species,
which is expected to be around 140-160, with one single accomodation..."
Destination country: Turkey. Arrive and depart to Erzurum.
Next schedule:
- Starting by end of June, 2012,
exact date coming soon
Duration: 10 days.
Guides:
Szabolcs Safian.
Price: Ask!
We are sorry, but exchange rates are so hectic, that we can't
give fix prices here. Price includes:
accommodations and meals, drinking water, vehicle hire with
fuel and driver guide, park entrance fees and ranger guides.
The
price exclude: bank transfer loss, international flight,
visa, tips, drinks, personal travel insurance and any other
activities of personal request e.g. laundry, toalet fees,
phone calls, etc.
Note: Instead of making the itinerary long,
please click and download two related articles (PDF), one
written by Hillary Welch about the Butterflies
of Kackar Mts., the other is Safi's
report about the last year's tour.
Please note, this is a fundraising tour, 100 % of the profit
is donated to Hungarian Heritage Trust, to buying lands for
the benefit of butterflies, under the auspices of Butterfly
Conservation, UK, European Interest Group.
Recommended literature: Hesselbarth at all.:
"Die Tagfelter der Turkei" (three volumes
monumental work, one of the best butterfly book ever born.
Very expensive indeed). A. Baytas: "A Field Guide
to the Butterflies of Turkey".
Accommodation: Three star hotels and good
lodges all the way with private facility.
Numbers: 6 minimum, 14 maximum, with two
guides.
Transport: Comfortable minivans with air-conditioning.
Description: ...The Kackar Mountains
in north-easten Turkey is a home of over 200 butterfly species,
including a few endemics and species with eastern distribution.
Several species usually very rare in Europe occur here in
numbers. The main reason for this is the diversity of climatic
conditions and landscape. The low lying river valleys and
dry plateaus provide habitats for butterfly communities with
Mediterranean affinity, while the mountain tops near Yaylalar
and Altiparmak are covered by sub-alpine grasslands, where
many of the alpine rarities occur. In the Kackar Mts., the
traditional Turkish land-use is still present; extensive grazing
and hand-scything maintain the montane grasslands. We offer
a unique 10 days package of butterfly watching in an exceedingly
beautiful mountainous landscape, supplemented by the warm
Turkish hospitality..."
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival
day. Meeting
in Erzurum airport, lunch at nearest restaurant. Depart for
Yusufeli. Dinner
and accommodation in Barcelona Hotel.
Day 2: Kilickaya.
We will visit the hay meadows around this lovely mountain
village to find Dusky Large Blue (Maculinea nausithous) and
Lesser Lettuce Brown (Esperarge clymene). We might also encounter
our first Eastern Marbled White (Melanargia larissa) and other
interesting species here.
Day 3: Exploring
butterflies in Bahceli.
The dry valley of the river provides excellent habitats for
many sun-loving butterflies, such as Little Tiger Blue (Tarucus
balcanica), Chazara bishoffi, Polyommatus (Agrodiaetus) hopfferi
and Fiery Copper (Lycaena thetis) is also expected here.
Day
4: Ödgem.
We plan a full day visit in the dryer parts of Ödgem
which is excellent for a number of skippers such as Pyrgus
cinerae and Oriental Marbled Skipper (Charcarodus orientalis).
Odd-spot Blue also occurs in the dry grasslands, while the
oak bushes are often frequented by Blue-spot Hairstreaks (Satyrium
spini).
Day 5: Travelling
to Yaylalar,
with a detour to the sub-alpine meadows of Yüksekoba
to see Caucasian Cloded Yellow (Colias caucasica). Balcan
Copper (Lycaena candens) and Large Grizzled Skipper (Pyrgus
alveus) also occur here along with Damon Blue (Polyommatus
damon).
Day 6: Spending
the entire day around Yaylalar and Körahmet
with butterfly recording. The highlight here is the Caucasian
subspecies of Apollo (Parnassius apollo tirabzonus) amongst
Marsh Fritillaries (Euphydryas aurinia). They do not usually
occur together in Europe.
Day 7: Climbing
from Olgünlar
to higher elevations might reveal interesting records
Day 8:
Driving back to Yusufeli,
stopping along the way to find Yellow-legged Tortoiseshell
(Nymphalis xanthomelas) and Camberwell Beauty (Nymphalis antiopa).
Day
9: Morning visit of a dry and warm habitat
back in Kilickaya,
after the visit, we head towards Erzurum, where the tour ends.
Day 10: Departure
day.
Note: Other interesting butterflies that
are most likely to be encountered during the trip: Southern
Small White (Pieris manni) Caucasian Spotted Fritillary (Melitaea
caucasica), Southern White Admiral (Limenitis reducta),
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