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March arrived and the butterfly transect team of Grahams Harris and Kenward and I (Brian Gardner) started the count-down to April’s start of the 2020 butterfly counting season only to have our plans cancelled by the Covid 19 lockdown. A few weeks later the lockdown restrictions eased, allowing us to walk our first socially distanced transect in brilliant sunshine on the 19th May (week 7 of the 26 week Transect calendar). We were rewarded with seeing 42 Dingy Skippers and 21 Brimstones – a nice start for us. After that flying start the following counts were steadier until mid-June’s sudden explosion in the numbers of Meadow Browns, Marbled Whites and Small/Essex Skippers, and we were grateful for having our new team member, Roger Vye, to help with the spotting and counting. That busy day proved to be the high-water mark in the season’s count – 517 butterflies from 12 species. In week 16 (mid-July) we recorded our highest ever number count of 22 species, including our only 2020 sighting of a Small Blue. Like the one below, this was on our Hither Field Kidney Vetch patch but others were seen elsewhere on our ‘manor.’  Female Small Blue, Hither Field: Graham Kenward With August came the summer’s heatwave and transects 18, 19 and 20 were walked in temperatures above 30 degrees. In similar heat last year we saw exceptionally high numbers of Meadow Browns, Marbled Whites and Small Heaths but that didn’t happen this year: numbers were down – perhaps the butterflies’ food plants were adversely affected by 2020’s long dry spring. From mid-August onwards the weekly counts declined steadily towards the season’s end but at a similar rate to our observations over previous transect seasons. However, in the final few weeks, among the species hanging on into the less predictable September weather, we enjoyed seeing a pair of Brown Hairstreaks and a Clouded Yellow. This year’s total count was 3,547 across 31 species. As for previous years, I have completed a spreadsheet for 2020’s transects, available here. The grand total of sightings for each year is affected by the number of transects walked, by unfavourable weather and the availability of transect walkers. For a better representation of the annual figures, I’ve divided each year’s grand total by the number of transects walked, to show the average number of butterflies counted on each transect, as shown in the table below.  Report by Brian Gardner
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Survey by Graham H, Brian Gardner and Graham K submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS). Report by Brian G. Pics by Graham K Click on pics to enlarge.  Safely distant transectuals on Hill Wood Field
Survey by Graham H, Brian Gardner and Roger Vye submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS). Report and pics by Brian G. Click on pics to enlarge.
Monday's transect was walked in an unusually high September temperature that averaged 24 degees during our walk around. Conditions were ideal but with only 38 butterflies recorded, our count was a few down on last week's. As usual, we saw more Meadow Browns than any other species with Common Blues second in the number rankings. As we frequently witness, numbers vary from week to week and one year to the next. Here are previous Week 24 counts for comparison: for 2016, 69; 2018,14; 2019, 46; 2020, 38 (we didn't do a transect on week 24 of 2017).
Survey by Graham H, Brian Gardner, Graham K and Roger Vye submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS). Report by Brian G. Pics by Graham K and Brian G. Click on pics to enlarge. Bonus creature Young Lizard enjoying the sunshine on Coneyboro Hill
Survey by Graham H, Brian Gardner, Graham K and Roger Vye submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS). Report by Brian G. Pics by Graham K and Brian G. Click on pics to enlarge.  Mint Moth on Eyebright, Coneyboro Hill - Brian G The strong wind and rain of the early part of the week had eased down and conditions for Wednesday afternoon's transect were warm and bright. Perhaps our butterflies were still recovering from the bad weather or maybe they'd even succumbed to the wind and wetting, but this week's count of 97 was a low one. Conditions do vary from year to year: for previous Week 22 Transects the totals were: 165 (2016), 139 (2017), 60 (2018) and 247 (2019). On Wednesday, Meadow Browns were still predominant but are slowly declining, while other species, i.e. Small Coppers, Small Heaths, Common Blues, Speckled Woods, Brown Argus, are into their second brood and could, if conditions are right, be seen in higher numbers in the next few weeks.
Survey by Graham H and Brian Gardner submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS).
Report by Brian G. The forecast fine warm day got off to rather a slow start and we headed out for today's proceedings into a stiff breeze with some threatening-looking clouds but, as we progressed, conditions improved steadily so that we completed today's walk-around in warm sunshine. The seasonal decline in butterfly numbers seems to be under way and whereas we counted 317 butterflies last week, today's total was a mere 135, 101 of which were Meadow Browns. The previously moderate numbers of Common and Chalkhill Blues, Small Heaths and Gatekeepers were also much lower. We were, however, surprised to find a Marbled White in Section 12 – it's been 4 weeks since we counted our last pair.
Survey by Graham H and Brian Gardner submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS). Report and pics by Brian G. Click on pics to enlarge.
Survey by Graham H, Brian Gardner, Graham K and Roger Vye submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS). Report by Brian G. Pics by Graham K. Click on pics to enlarge. CAUTION: ADULTS ONLY Some of these images depict activity of a sexual nature between consenting adults in public. If you have been affected by any of them, please don't bother to get in touch.  Mating Common Blues (male on top), Fames Rough
Survey by Graham H, Brian Gardner and Graham K submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS). Report by Brian G. Pics by Graham K. Click on pics to enlarge.  Common Blues on Marjoram, Hill Wood Field
Bonus creatures
The weather for Friday was probably the hottest we've had for our transects: it was already 30 degrees at 10:30am when we started and 35 when we finished at 1:20pm. We were glad of the strong breeze that sprung up during the morning, so strong that it may have prevented the butterflies from flying. Apart from the Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers, the numbers seen were quite different from the previous two transects. We recorded 121 Common Blues, up from 35 last week, and Chalkhill Blues down by just 1. All other species seen last week were either very much fewer or absent.
Survey by Graham H, Brian Gardner, Graham K and Roger Vye submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS). Report by Brian G. Pics by Graham K. Click on pics to enlarge. 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
October 2020
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