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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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With a total of 517 butterflies counted acoss 12 species, Tuesday's Transect No. 11 was our busiest count this year, but we've certainly got a long way to go before we match our record of 1,207 butterflies for week 14 of 2019. Tuesday's perfect conditions yielded a much higher number than last week's of Marbled Whites (216) and Meadow Browns (169). The Dark Green Fritillaries are most commonly seen in Fames Rough but for this transect they were also spotted on Coneyboro Hill, Hill Wood Field and Great Parson's Field. Similarly, the Small/Essex Skippers were also more widely spread than on previous weeks. No Blues were found. Report from Brian G.
Survey by Graham H, Graham K, Brian Gardner and Roger Vye submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS). Pics by Graham K. Click on pics to enlarge.
 Transectuals finding the path near Harholt.  This week's transectuals in Fames Rough, l-r: Graham Kenward, Roger Vye, Brian Gardner, Graham Harris.
 Once was a flower meadow. Hawthorn is an increasing problem in Fames Rough.
Survey by Graham H and Graham K, submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS). Pics (this year's) by Graham K.  Socially distant Treacle in Hither Field, Section 1 of the transect.  Greater Yellow Rattle, Hill Wood Field
The last week of September 2019 marked the end of our fourth butterfly transect season. Each 26-week season is counted from the 1st April. Despite the cold blast of the ‘Beast from the East’ in the early spring, followed by the summer’s record high temperatures, we were out spotting and recording our butterflies and then reporting our findings on to the Butterfly Conservation Trust on 24 of those weeks. The total count for 2019 is 5,763 butterflies from 30 species. Last year’s figures were 5,758 (a mere 5 less than this year) from 33 species – in 2019 we saw no Silver Spotted Skippers, Clouded Yellows or Brown Hairstreaks. Compared with last year, our Skippers had a very good season; we saw more Brimstones and Orange Tips but fewer Large/Small Whites; there was a huge fall-off of Common Blue numbers and there were fewer Chalkhill and Holly Blues but a slight increase in Brown Arguses; it was a poor season for all of our Hairstreak species and for Speckled Woods, Silver-washed Fritillaries and Ringlets; while the Brown species (apart from the Ringlets) plus the Peacocks and Dark Green Fritillaries were seen in greater numbers. Once again, the Meadow Browns topped the table. Throughout the season, we have been interested in observing the benefits or otherwise of our efforts to improve the habitats for Small and Chalkhill Blues. Our Kidney Vetch (the Small Blues’ food plant) seems to be doing quite well in various sites across our ‘manor’ and yielding a modest increase of one more Small Blue than the two we counted last year. We have increased planting and seeding Kidney Vetch this year, including the surrounds of the Lagoon. In spring we cut back an area of the coarse brachypodium grass in Stagbury Field that was threatening to smother the Horseshoe Vetch, food plant for our Chalkhill Blues and, as these butterflies are not seen anywhere else on our patch, reducing the coarse grass was essential. Perhaps the Vetch hadn’t quite recovered from the ‘rescue’, because over the season we saw fewer CBs than last year (138 as opposed to 180). Cutting the grass earlier may help numbers next year. Full figures can be found here. Info by Brian G. Posted by Graham K.  Section 1 of our transect: Hither Field, after mowing.
Fruits of the season Still blooming: Viper's Bugloss in Fames Rough.
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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
June 2020
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