A Rocha Portugal Observatory Report 2009-2010

44 A Rocha Portugal Observatory Report 2009-2010
Introduction
BUTTERFLY RECORDING ON FOIA, MONCHIQUE, IN 2009
Bert Van der Auwermeulen
This short study of butterfly species on Foia, in the Monchique hills of the Algarve region, was
undertaken as an addition and comparison to the 2009 butterfly survey conducted around the Alvor
estuary.
Methods
The transect on Foia was walked on an irregular basis due to difficulties of reaching the site, 20 km
north of the A Rocha study centre. Observations were made on three days during September and on
two days in October. Unfortunately, on two of these days the weather conditions were not optimal
for butterfly flight. On 15 th September 2009 the weather was windy and largely cloudy with a
temperature around 20°C. On 30 th October the observations were made late in the afternoon when
the temperature was under 20°C.
The Foia transect (Starting point coordinates: 37°19’23.73’’N 8°35’37.70’’W) was situated on the
north side of the peak of Foia at an altitude of 790m above sea level. The transect headed eastwards
from the starting point, following a rough track through extensive pasture, grazed by cattle and
sheep. The vegetation comprised of grassland with many shrubs and trees, commonly including
Cistus and Ulex species and Eucalyptus globulus. Towards the end of the transect, the vegetation
became denser on the north side of the road, with more Eucalypts, Pteridium aquilinum (bracken)
and Rubus fruticosus (bramble).
Figure 1 Transect location - Foia, Monchique.