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The weather for Thursday's transect was warm with varying amounts of sun and cloud, and with a noticeable SW breeze. Overall, the count was quite similar to that of last week but with a few changes to the species recorded: Meadow Browns continue to head the list, we saw a higher number of Gatekeepers and Common Blues but fewer Marbled Whites and Small/Essex Skippers. Missing from this week's list were Dark Green Fritillaries, Purple Hairstreaks, Small Blues, Clouded Yellows, Small Tortoiseshells and Commas but we gained a second-brood Dingy Skipper and a Green-veined White.
Survey by Graham H, Graham K and Brian Gardner submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS). Report by Brian G. Pics by Graham K. Click on pics to enlarge.  Worn Meadow Brown, Fames Rough
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We thought that our Week 15 species count was a special one, but yesterday's topped it by three with a massive total of 22 species. The species count was boosted by finding a single Small Blue (our first one of the year) on the scattered Kidney Vetch in Hither Field, two Clouded Yellows (our first sightings for two years), three newly emerged Chalkhill Blues and two second-brood Holly Blues. We saw a higher number of Gatekeepers but the Ringlet numbers have plummeted in only four days since our last transect. Here you can find the butterfly count spreadsheet detailing the season so far, along with the details of previous years' figures.
Survey by Graham H, Graham K, Brian Gardner and Roger Vye submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS). Report by Brian G. Pics by Graham K. Click on pics to enlarge.
 Silver-washed Fritillary on Blackberry, Fames Rough Monday's midday walk around was in warm and partly sunny weather. We got off to an immediate good start on Section 1, Hither Field (where sightings are usually scarce). We counted butterflies from ten species including three Small Coppers, two Dark Green Fritillaries, and one Red Admiral. Although this week's total count of 232 was much reduced from last week's, it was the Meadow Browns and Marbled Whites that were the most common sightings across all sections but Ringlet numbers have crashed to only 14. We recorded our first-of-the-season sightings of a Silver-washed Fritillary, Gatekeepers, Brown Argus(es) and Purple Hairstreaks plus second brood Common Blues. So, despite total numbers being reduced, we gained by counting butterflies from an impressive 19 species.
Survey by Graham H, Graham K, Brian Gardner and Roger Vye submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS). Report by Brian G. Pics by Brian G & Graham K. Click on pics to enlarge. Because of the changeable and largely unfavourable week's weather we held out for Friday being the best day for our transect, and in doing so we inadvertently skipped week 13 as we passed the Wednesday to Wednesday transect-calendar week. Our walk-around started in the face of strong gusty wind, cloudy sky and barely suitable temperatures but it obviously didn't deter our butterflies because in Section 1 (where sightings are usually sparse) we counted five Marbled Whites and ten Meadow Browns. We went on to have a very successful transect seeing butterflies from 15 different species, including five Red Admirals and our first Silver-washed Fritillaries of this season. As in previous weeks, we saw no Blues (Small, Common or otherwise) on our walk but maybe we'll see a second brood from the Common Blues and, of course, we're only two or three weeks from the start of the Chalkhill Blues' flight season.
Bonus creatures
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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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