For our second outing of the season we enjoyed another day of brilliant sunshine, with the light wind swinging from north to south west as we started our transect.
Brimstones continue to make a strong showing, along with more Green Hairstreaks and the first Skippers putting in an appearance, both Dingy and the increasingly rare Grizzled. We spotted an even more unusual species posing obligingly in Fames Rough: a fossilised Moth? See the picture below.

​Here are the details of the final count for the transect:
18 Brimstone
  7 Dingy Skipper
  6 Peacock
  8 Orange Tip
  7 Green Hairstreak
  1 Comma
  1 Grizzled Skipper
  1 Small White
 Click on butterfly names for more info.
​Totals: 49 butterflies from 8 species.

Yesterday afternoon was fine and warm for our first transect of 2021 (the weather was unsuitable for weeks 1/26 and 2/26).
 
We started at 1.00pm, when the sun shone strongly on the south-facing first half of our set route, but by the time we reached Section 8 (Barn Field and Great Parson's Field) we were pretty much in the shade. The butterfly numbers that we recorded, all in the first eight sections, made up for their lack in the final four sections. In Fames Rough alone we counted 25 butterflies.

Here are the details of the final count for the transect:
 
22 Brimstone
20 Peacock
  3 Orange Tip
  1 Green Hairstreak
  1 Comma
 Click on butterfly names for more info.
​
Totals: 47 butterflies from 5 species.