Blog Archives

Mid-season boost

27/6/2023

Transect 13 is the half-way mark of the 26-week season. GH and BG walked it at midday Monday in warm weather with occasional sunny/bright periods. Right from the start Meadow Browns and Marbled Whites were seen in high numbers, which continued around most of the sections to give us a much higher than average count of 294 MBs and 164 MWs. Our week 14 transect of 2019 holds the record of 1,207 MBs and 257 MW, but that was an exceptional summer for all of our butterflies.

We also saw the first Small/Essex Skippers and a single Dark Green Fritillary of the season.

Count details:
294 Meadow Brown
164 Marbled White
39 Small/Essex Skipper
19 Small Heath
6 Ringlet
4 Common Blue
3 Speckled Wood
2 Large Skipper
1 Brimstone
1 Dark Green Fritillary
Summary:
533 Butterflies from 9 species.
Click on butterfly names for more info.

Survey by Graham H and Brian Gardner
submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS).
Report and pics by Brian Gardner.
Click pics to enlarge.

Small Skipper, Fames Rough -BG

Marbled White, Fames Rough -BG

Dark Green Fritillary, Great Parson's Field -BG

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Numbers shooting up

21/6/2023

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GH, GK and BG walked their weekly transect on Monday afternoon. The hot weather, with sun and cloud and a noticeable southerly wind, obviously suited the butterflies because our count shot up from last week's count of 140 to a second highest ever Week 12 score of 267. This figure was largely due to the 184 Meadow Browns (seen in eleven of the twelve sections) and 45 newly emerged Marbled Whites (with all but 5 recorded in Fames Rough). The Small Heaths were also out in force, recording an eight-year high count for week 12. The only (butter)fly in the ointment was that we saw only eight species, whereas we would usually hope to see a dozen or more.

Bill Downey of the Butterfly Conservation Trust had advised that he had recently seen 12 Small Blues on the mass of Kidney Vetch around the Stagbury Lagoon, but this is not on our prescribed transect route. Bill also reported a couple of Small Blues on the KV now in full flower on our transect section 2 (Hither Field), but we were disappointed on this day.

Count details:
184 Meadow Brown
45 Marbled White
26 Small Heath
6 Common Blue
2 Large Skipper
2 Speckled Wood
1 Brown Argus
1 Ringlet

Summary:
267 Butterflies from 8 species.
Click on butterfly names for more info.

Survey by Graham H, Graham K
and Brian Gardner
submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS).

Report by Brian Gardner. Pics by Graham K.
Click pics to enlarge.

Marbled White upperside, Fames Rough

Marbled White underside, Fames Rough

Ringlet, Fames Rough

Speckled Wood, Harholt

Treacle enjoying shade on the transect.

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Best count so far

18/6/2023

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GH and BG walked Transect 11 on last Wednesday afternoon. We're now only two weeks away from the season's halfway point and to date we've completed seven and missed four of the possible transects. Wednesday's sunny and hot weather provided the best possible conditions for seeing butterflies, and we recorded our best count so far this year with 140 butterflies.

This 'high' number was mainly due to the arrival of Meadow Browns: there were none on previous weeks and suddenly we had 86 across all but one of our twelve transect sections. The Common Blues and Small Heaths were also seen in reasonable numbers. We also saw our first Large Skippers but the highlight of the day's counting has to be the single Small Blue found on the flowering Kidney Vetch on Hither Field.

Count details:
86 Meadow Brown
19 Common Blue
17 Small Heath
7 Speckled Wood
5 Brimstone
2 Large Skipper
1 Brown Argus
1 Grizzled Skipper
1 Small Blue
1 Small Tortoiseshell

Summary:
140 butterflies from 10 species.
Click on butterfly names for more info.

Survey by Graham H
and Brian Gardner
submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS).
Report and pics by Brian Gardner.
Click pics to enlarge.

Sorry there are no photos of butterflies this week – they were skittish in the hot sun and didn't pose for snaps.

Close-up of a Plantain flower, Fames Rough

Pyramidal (or possibly a Fragrant) Orchid, Hither Field

Spectacular display of Viper's Bugloss in Fames Rough

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A slower start

5/6/2023

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Saturday afternoon's weather was warm and encouraging but our butterfly sightings got off to a slow start for our first four sections, before picking up up to give a reasonable total of 62 from 11 species.

Once again, it was Fames Rough (sections 3 & 4) that provided the most butterflies, 32, followed by Hill Wood Field, with 14.

We were pleased to see that Hither Field's Kidney Vetch, which could not be found during our last transect, is now flowering and we hope to see the newly emerged Small Blues visiting it any time now. Fames Rough is also in flower, with a good show of Rock Rose, Buttercups and Viper's Bugloss.

Count details:
21 Common Blue
13 Small Heath
11 Brimstone
7 Dingy Skipper
2 Small White
2 Speckled Wood
1 Brown Argus
1 Green Hairstreak
1 Grizzled Skipper
1 Holly Blue
1 Peacock
Click on butterfly names for more info.
Survey by Graham H, Graham K
and Brian Gardner
submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS).
Report by Brian Gardner.
Pics by Graham K and Brian Gardner..
Click pics to enlarge.

Female Common Blue, Fames Rough -GK

Common Blue underside, Fames Rough -GK

Dingy Skipper, Fames Rough -GK

Grizzled Skipper, Fames Rough -BG

Harholt Plantation (section 6) -BG

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Best day so far

2/6/2023

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At last, we had a good day (Tuesday) for our transect, giving us our best count this year. The weather was sunny and warm for more than half of our walk around but still with a cooling NE breeze away from shelter.

South-facing Coneyboro Hill (section 2) and Fames Rough (sections 3 & 4) were the most exposed to the strengthening sun and it was in these three sections once again that we saw the greatest number of butterflies. We saw our first Brown Argus, Green Hairstreaks, Grizzled Skipper and Small Heaths of this season,

There is no sign, as yet, of our established Kidney Vetch coming through on the northern side of Hither Field's path, and the small scrape south of the path where the more recently sown vetch was previously doing quite well was rolled on and shredded by the cattle that were in the field recently, leaving only a few surviving plants. It's hoped that the better weather will encourage the Vetch to perk up in order to feed the Small Blue butterfly caterpillars. Small Blues are reported as being sighted around Stagbury Lagoon where the Vetch is doing extremely well and even flowering.

Count details:
20 Brimstone
15 Common Blue
14 Dingy Skipper
10 Small Heath
4 Green Hairstreak
3 Holly Blue
3 Small White
1 Brown Argus
1 Grizzled Skipper
1 Orange Tip
1 Red Admiral
1 Small Copper
1 Speckled Wood

Summary:
75 Butterflies from 13 species.
Click on butterfly names for more info.

Survey by Graham H, Graham K
and Brian Gardner
submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS).
Report by Brian Gardner.
Pics by Graham K.
Click pics to enlarge.