Blog Archives

Warmer week, bigger numbers

25/8/2021

The weather had perked up for Tuesday's transect and although not hot was pleasantly warm with some sunshine. We (the two Grahams and Brian) did the transect in reverse sequence. Section 12 on Great Parsons Field is virtually butterfly-free since it was mowed recently but in Sections 11,10, 9 and 8 we counted 71 Meadow Browns and 7 Chalk Hill Blues. The mowing of Great Parsons Field has concentrated the late summer butterflies onto the remaining edging strip of wild flowers, right on our Section 9 and 8 transect route.

The second butterfly hot-spot was the ever-reliable Fames Rough (Sections 4 and 3) where we saw Meadow Browns, Brown Argus, Common Blues, Brimstones and Small Coppers in good numbers, along with a few other species in lesser numbers.

Count details:
147 Meadow Brown
21 Common Blue
15 Brown Argus
9 Brimstone
8 Small Copper
7 Chalk Hill Blue
4 Small White
3 Gatekeeper
3 Speckled Wood
2 Small Heath
2 Silver-washed Fritillary
Click on butterfly names for more info.
Summary: 221 butterflies from 11 species.

Silver-washed Fritillary -GK

Small Copper -GK

Small White -GK

Meadow Brown rescued from a spider's web.

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

0 Comments

Cool and cloudy

17/8/2021

0 Comments

Tuesday's transect, by Graham H and Brian, was done in minimal weather conditions. We got off to a poor start with only three Meadow Browns recorded in Section 1 (Hither Field) and nothing at all in the usually reliable Section 2 (Coneyboro Hill) but from Fames Rough onwards we saw a reasonable spread of species, albeit with reduced butterfly numbers because of the cool and cloudy conditions. Some of the butterflies were looking decidedly ragged: the photos below are obviously of a newly emerged, pristine second-brood Blue while the Small Copper looks like it's been around for a few weeks.

Count details:

61 Meadow Brown
14 Gatekeeper
4 Brown Argus
3 Common Blue
3 Chalk Hill Blue
3 Silver-washed Fritillary
3 Small Copper
1 Peacock
1 Small White
Click on butterfly names for more info.
Summary: 93 butterflies from 9 species.

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

Common Blue, wings closed

Not so pristine Small Copper

Common Blue, wings open

0 Comments

Another warm transect

12/8/2021

0 Comments

We had fine butterfly-spotting weather for Wednesday morning's transect. With the end of the season drawing near (only six weeks of transects remaining), this week's count may indicate the start of the final decline of butterfly numbers. However, Meadow Browns are still holding up quite well and the Chalk Hill and Common Blues, Brown Argus and Brimstones were out in good numbers too, but the Ringlets, Small Heaths and Marbled Whites seem to have finished. We were able to get good (if distant views) of the Purple Hairstreaks in the Hill Wood Field oaks.

Count details:
151 Meadow Brown
29 Gatekeeper
21 Common Blue
20 Chalk Hill Blue
18 Brimstone
10 Brown Argus
7 Small White
5 Peacock
5 Purple Hairstreak
4 Small Copper
3 Silver-washed Fritillary
2 Speckled Wood
2 Small/Essex Skipper (1 confirmed Essex)
1 Large Skipper
1 Holly Blue
1 Red Admiral
Click on butterfly names for more info.
Total: 280 butterflies from 16 species.

Small Copper on Marjoram

Horizontally Feeding Common Blue

Purple Hairstreak

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

Silver-washed Fritillary on Wild Parsnip

0 Comments

Better butterfly weather

3/8/2021

0 Comments

Just for a change the weather for Wednesday's transect was better than forecast, giving us a warm and mainly sunny morning for our walk around.

The Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers provided this week's big numbers, helped along by higher than usual counts of Peacocks and Brimstones. The Purple Hairstreaks were seen flying in the yew trees along the top edge of Fames Rough (Section 3) rather than the oaks bordering Hill Wood Field, where we saw them last week and over previous years.

Count details:
176 Meadow Brown
79 Gatekeeper
22 Chalk Hill Blue
20 Brimstone
14 Peacock
9 Common Blue
8 Marbled White
8 Silver-washed Fritillary
6 Ringlet
5 Small Copper
5 Small White
2 Large White
2 Purple Hairstreak
1 Small/Essex Skipper
1 Green-veined White
1 Red Admiral
Click on butterfly names for more info.
Total: 359 butterflies from 16 species.

Female Common Blue

Meadow Brown on Ragwort

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

Silver-washed Fritillary

0 Comments

Butterfly Blog

Warmer week, bigger numbers

Cool and cloudy

Another warm transect

Better butterfly weather

The Transect Team

Archives

Categories

Send us an email*

Butterfly Blog

Warmer week, bigger numbers

Cool and cloudy

Another warm transect

Better butterfly weather

The Transect Team

Archives

Categories

​​

Send us an email*