GH, GK and BG's last butterfly transect of 2023 was walked in Monday's fine warm weather, which brought out butterflies in good numbers for so late in the year. Our total count of 34 butterflies from 7 species boosted our grand total for the season to 4,481, a marked improvement over the scores for the past two years – our best results were those of 2018 and 2019 which both topped 5,700. This year's 26-week season got off to a rather poor start when unfavourable weather caused us to miss 4 weeks of counting in April and May. This poor early season weather also held back our butterflies, so that our sightings were down on the usual for the time of year, but in June the count numbers rose satisfyingly when the right combination of rain, sun and warmth brought ideal conditions for the butterflies and continued until the end of August. It should be noted that this year's high count total was partly due to the higher than normal numbers of Meadow Browns and Brown Argus but, on the other hand, it was a poor year for Ringlets and Chalkhill Blues. In summary, after last year's record heat and drought we were concerned that there may have been a detrimental effect on the butterflies' success in breeding and the availabilty of their feeding plants in 2023 but it appears that we need not have worried.
Survey by Graham H, Brian Gardner and Graham K submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS).
Report by Brian Gardner. Pics by Graham K. Click pics to enlarge.
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Survey by Graham H and Brian Gardner submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS).
Report and pic by Brian Gardner. Click pic to enlarge.
Survey by Graham H, Brian Gardner and Graham K submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS). Report by Brian Gardner. Pics by Graham K and Brian Gardner. Click pics to enlarge.
Survey by Graham H, Brian Gardner and Graham K submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS). Report by Brian Gardner. Pics by Graham K and Brian Gardner. Click pics to enlarge.
Survey by Graham H, Brian Gardner and Graham K submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS). Report by Brian Gardner. Pics by Graham K and Brian Gardner. Click pics to enlarge.
Survey by Brian Gardner, Graham H and Graham K submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS). Report by Brian Gardner. Pics by Graham K and Brian G Click pics to enlarge.
GK, BG and Liz North walked this week's transect on Thursday. Liz has worked on a few of our main WoodChip tasks earlier this year and proved very knowledgeable and useful on this week's transect. We missed the best day this week, Monday, and Thursday was the only reasonable choice remaining before the end of the week, The weather was warm, rather than hot, and was mainly cloudy: it rained for a short time when we were in Fames Rough but towards the end of our walk we had a glimpse of the sun. These slightly iffy conditions didn't totally deter the butterflies and we ended up with a fairly good count of 339 (approx half of last week's score) from 16 species. Meadow Browns, Marbled Whites, Small/Essex Skippers, Gatekeepers and Ringlets provided our highest numbers of the day, and we also saw the season's first Silver-washed Fritillaries. Here you'll find a spreadsheet showing the weekly counts for this season and those of previous years. Survey by Brian Gardner, Graham K and Liz North
submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS). Report by Brian Gardner. Pics by Graham K Click pics to enlarge. |
The TransectualsHere you'll find details and pictures from the team carrying out our regular butterfly surveys (known as transects) over 26 weeks during Spring and Summer. Archives
September 2023
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