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Picos de Europa:
a naturalist's paradise
- part 3
by Teresa Farino
Glorious haymeadows in the southern reaches of the Picos de Europa
Haymeadows in Liébana
Picos de Europa
© Teresa Farino
Between the foot of the cable car and the village of Espinama lies a wonderful tract of
haymeadows, interspersed with beech forest, which harbours a quite different
assemblage of plants and animals.This is one of the best places in the Picos de Europa to look for orchids, with
early June bringing out a plethora of man, pyramidal, early marsh, Barton's,
fragrant, lizard, bird's-nest, early purple, burnt, tongue and fly orchids, as
well as dull, woodcock, early spider and sawfly ophrys.
The meadows themselves are colourful assemblages of kidney vetch (here with pink flowers), bloody
crane's-bill, pale flax, musk-mallow, greater yellow-rattle (subspecies asturicus) and white asphodel, with
other species of note including maiden pink, rock cinquefoil, round-headed
Pyrenean Squill
Scilla lilio-hyacinthus
© Teresa Farino
rampion, the stemless, lilac-flowered 'thistle' Carduncellus mitissimus and round-headed leek, as well as sheets of
English irises from July onwards. Wetter
areas teem with globeflower, marsh marigold, whorled lousewort, marsh ragwort
and marsh hawk's-beard, while the woodland margins harbour astrantia, Pimpinella siifolia, bastard balm,
Middle Spotted Woodpecker
Dendrocopos medius
© John Muddeman
spreading and rampion bellflowers, spiked rampion, spiked star-of-Bethlehem,
martagon and Kerry lilies, Solomon's-seal, herb-Paris and Pyrenean squill.
The butterfly fauna of this corner of the Picos de Europa is stupendous in early
summer, including grizzled and mallow skippers, both Iberian swallowtails,
black-veined white, Camberwell beauty, Glanville and knapweed fritillaries,
Adonis, chalk-hill, turquoise, long-tailed, short-tailed, silver-studded and
black-eyed blues, sooty and purple-edged coppers, blue-spot hairstreak and Duke
of Burgundy fritillary. Roe deer and
red-backed shrikes inhabit the edges of the meadows, wryneck, spotted
flycatcher, black redstart, serin and cirl bunting abound in the villages of
Pido and Espinama, and middle spotted woodpecker, tree pipit, Bonelli's
warbler, marsh tit and short-toed treecreeper occupy the forest, although the
beechwoods along the track leading north from Espinama towards the Puertos de
Áliva are a better bet for black woodpecker, crested tit, red squirrel and pine
marten.
Cork oak forest of Tolibes.
Spanish Swallowtail
Iphiclides feisthamelii
© Teresa Farino
Close to Potes, in the southeastern corner of the Picos de
Europa, lies an expanse of Mediterranean forest on acid shales, dominated by
cork and western holm oaks sheltering an understorey of prickly juniper,
osyris, turpentine tree, Mediterranean buckthorn, Cistus
psilosepalus, strawberry-tree, Phillyrea latifolia, wild jasmine and Etruscan honeysuckle.
Dry meadows here have pink butterfly, green-winged and Sicilian orchids plus Deptford pink, spotted rock-rose, field
eryngo, wild clary and cone knapweed, while rocky outcrops host rock soapwort, Ruta angustifolia,
French lavender, daisy-leaved toadflax, Helichrysum stoechas and - in spring - angel's-tears.
The whole area is excellent for butterflies,
including Spanish Swallowtail, Cleopatra, Provence Orange Tip, spotted
fritillary and brown, purple, Spanish purple, blue-spot, ilex, false ilex and
sloe hairstreaks, as well as sooty copper, black-eyed, Lang's short-tailed and
Baton blues.
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