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Butterfly Blog

And finally ...

27/9/2022

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GH, GK  and BG walked transect 26, the final one for 2022, on Sunday afternoon. It was good to have GK back in the team after a few weeks' absence. The forecast sunny weather didn't quite materialise and we had to make do with a hazy sun trying to penetrate varying amounts of high cloud – pretty much the same as we've had for several recent transect walks.
 
The autumn decline continues and our butterfly sightings were similar to those reported over the past few weeks.  We recorded 5
Meadow Brown, and 1 Brown Argus,, 1 Common Blue and 1 Speckled Wood.
 
This was the poorest year for butterfly numbers since we started recording back in 2016. The spring figures were on the poor side of average and then the severe summer drought made the situation worse as the butterflies' food plants died in the extreme heat. There's a possibility that, with the plants being drought-distressed, this year's caterpillars may not have been able to find the food plants they rely on to build themselves up for over-winter pupation, resulting in fewer butterflies in 2023. We'll find out in 6 months' time when we start the next transect season.
Survey by Graham H, Graham K and Brian Gardner
​submitted to Butterfly Conservation (
UKBMS).  ​
​Report by Brian Gardner. ​Pics by Graham K and Brian G.
​​Click pics to enlarge.
Contented Herdwick, Stagbury -BG
The last Brown Argus, Fames Rough -GK
Picture
Transect section 1, the recently mown Hither Field -GK
Picture
The transectuals (Graham H & Treacle, Graham K and Brian G) in section 7, Hill Wood Field -GK
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One more to go ...

23/9/2022

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The sky was cloudy and unpromising as GH and BG began the first four sections of Wednesday morning's penultimate transect but, as we entered Fames Rough, the sun appeared, raising the temperature nicely for the remainder of our walk.
 
As anticipated, this week's count was lower than last week's despite the ideal conditions – we recorded a total of 11 butterflies from 4 species (4
Meadow Brown, 3 Brown Argus, 3 Common Blue and brief glimpse of our only Brown Hairstreak of the season). Next week marks the end of the transect season. 
 
In section 8 and 9 (Hill Wood Field and Barn Field) we were treated to a 'Raptor Fest' that began with a good view of pair of red kites circling over HWF and then, in BF, we looked up to see a Hobby, 2 Sparrowhawks and a Buzzard, all in view at the same time. Among these was another hobby-shaped bird, but larger, that BG suggested might even have been a peregrine
– GH said he wasn't able to confirm this with such a brief sighting. GH suspected that all of these birds of prey may have been drawn in to feed on flying insects disturbed by the extensive grass mowing taking place in the Chipstead Valley fields.
Survey by Graham H and Brian Gardner
​submitted to Butterfly Conservation (
UKBMS).  ​
​Report and pics by Brian Gardner. ​
​​Click pics to enlarge.
Picture
Brown Argus, Fames Rough
Picture
Can anyone identify this mushroom found by the line of beeches between Fames Rough and Harholt Plantation?
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Bonus Brown Argus

13/9/2022

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With only two weeks to go to the end of the 26-week butterfly counting season, transect 24 was walked on Monday by GH and BG. Although cloudy to start with, the weather soon picked up nicely to give a fine warm early autumn morning.
 
Once again the count consisted of Meadow Browns, Common Blues plus a Small White and a couple of Speckled Woods, to which were added the surprise bonus of seven Brown Arguses – we've only recorded one of these in each of the months of June, July and August. 

Count details:
14 
Meadow Brown
  7 Brown Argus
  5 Common Blue
  2 Speckled Wood
  1 Small White
 
Summary:
29 butterflies from 5 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.
Brown Argus on Oak leaf, Fames Rough
Meadow Brown, Fames Rough
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Fewer flying

8/9/2022

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With two of the transect team elsewhere, BG was on his own for this week's transect , walked on Tuesday morning when the forecast was for a few hours of settled weather. It actually turned out to be a fairly reasonable day, despite a persistent breeze.
 
Starting the transect once again at Section 11 (Stagbury Field), where there were Chalkhill Blues in recent weeks, there was only one male
Common Blue, bright blue and in pristine condition. Four more CBs, all females, were recorded in Fames Rough (Sections 3 & 4).
 

Meadow Browns are also surviving mainly in Fames Rough (five) and Barn Field (four) and with three singletons seen in Hither Field (Section 1), Harholt Plantation (Section 6) and Great Parsons Field (Section 9).
 
Two Small Heaths were in Fames Fough and Hill Wood Field (Section 7) and a trio of Speckled Woods were flying on the wooded downhill path between Hill Wood and Great Parsons.
 
The total count was 22 butterflies from 4 species.
​
Click on butterfly names for more info.
Picture
Male Common Blue, Stagbury Field
Picture
Female Common Blue, Fames Rough
Picture
Meadow Brown, Great Parsons Field
​Survey by Brian Gardner
​submitted to Butterfly Conservation (
UKBMS).  ​
​Report and pics by Brian Gardner. ​
​​Click pics to enlarge.
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The decline continues

30/8/2022

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GH, GK and BG walked this week's transect on Monday afternoon. The weather was suitably warm but cloudy (except for a brief interlude when the sun put in an appearance) with a stiff breeze. 
 
The downward trend in numbers reported last week has accelerated rapidly, so although we saw butterflies from six species, the total number of individuals has plummeted to only 24, whereas last week's count was 97.  With this decline rate it's feasible that we may run out of butterflies to count before the end of the transect season in four weeks' time. That would be a first!
Count details:
 11
Meadow Brown
    5 Chalkhill Blue
    4
Common Blue
    2
Small Heath
    1 Small White
    1
Speckled Wood
​
Click on butterfly names for more info.

​
​Survey by Brian Gardner, Graham H and Graham K 
​submitted to Butterfly Conservation (
UKBMS).  ​
​Report by Brian Gardner. ​
​Pics by Graham K and Brian G.
 ​​
Click pics to enlarge.
Speckled Wood, Hill Wood Field -BG
Worn Female Chalkhill Blue, Stagbury -GK
Goats outnumber butterflies on Coneyboro Hill
GK and friends
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Fewer species and numbers

25/8/2022

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GH, GK and BG walked Monday afternoon's transect (No. 21 of 26) in warm weather with increasing amounts of sun. Despite a couple of light rain showers in recent days, the summer's drought continues and the fields are virtually devoid of flowers to feed any butterflies. These difficult conditions for our butterflies resulted in the lowest ever week 21 count with overall numbers (97) and the species seen (5): these are both 50% of what we've seen in previous years.
Count Details:
49 Meadow Brown 
21 Chalkhill Blue
17 Common Blue
  7 Small Heath
  3 Small White
Click on butterfly names for more info.
The five species that we recorded were in low but not unusual numbers: it was the missing species (that have boosted other years' week 21 counts) that have so reduced this week's figures. In previous years we've seen Brimstones, Small Coppers, Silver-washed Fritillaries, Dark Green Fritillaries, Brown Arguses, Large Whites and Gatekeepers.
​As I write this report we've had a few hours of the first heavy rain from several months but this will probably will not benefit our butterfly population.

Survey by Brian Gardner, Graham H and Graham K
​submitted to Butterfly Conservation (
UKBMS).  ​
​Report by Brian Gardner. ​Pics by Graham K and Brian G. ​​
Click to enlarge.
Common Blue, Hill Wood Field -GK
Female Chalkhill Blue, Stagbury -GK
Picture
Brown grass in Harholt Plantation -BG
Picture
Artificial grass left at Holly Lane Car Park -GK
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Weather breaking?

17/8/2022

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With this long, very hot and dry summer forecast to end shortly, this week's transect was done by GH, GK and BG on Monday in sultry conditions: a mix of sun and high cloud. The extreme dryness of the ground and desiccated vegetation didn't provide our butterflies with much in the way of flowers upon which to feed but, despite the harsh conditions, we recorded a reasonable number of butterflies from 11 species.
 
Starting once again on Stagbury Field (Section 11) in the Chalkhill Blues patch, with 8 counted and a further 6 seen on our return on the upper path (Section 10) as we finished our walk. Although this hasn't been a good year for Common Blues, they seem to be holding up well enough. We counted 23 of them, mainly in Fames Rough (Sections 3 & 4), Hill Wood Field (7) and Great Parsons Field (8). Worthy of note was our third Brown Argus of the year: our first dates back to early June and the second to early July – it has been a very poor season for them.
 
In Section 7 (Hill Wood Field) we came across a largish brown butterfly that glided rather than fluttered. We had a similar experience 2 weeks ago when we thought we'd found a rare (for our area) Grayling but without a photo it was not confirmed, so this time we went to considerable lengths to ensure we got a photograph of it but after investigation it is sadly thought to be a humble Meadow Brown.

Count Details:
85 
Meadow Brown
23 Common Blue
14 Chalkhill Blue
  4 Small Heath
  3 Speckled Wood
  2 Small White
  1 Brimstone
  1 Brown Argus
  1 
Clouded Yellow
  1 Large White
  1 Small Copper
 
Summary: 137 butterflies from 10 species.

Click on butterfly names for more info.
Survey by Brian Gardner, Graham H and Graham K submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS).  ​
​Report by Brian Gardner.
​Pics by Graham K and Brian G.
 ​​
Click to enlarge.
Small Copper, Fames Rough -GK
Brown Argus, Fames Rough -GK
Chalkhill Blue, Stagbury Field -GK
Speckled Wood, Harholt Plantation -GK
Picture
Close up on our clipboard: the Meadow Brown we hoped was a Grayling -BG
Picture
Prevailing conditions: parched grass on Stagbury Field -BG
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A cooler day?

9/8/2022

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With another heat-wave forecast for the later part of the week GH, GK and BG decided to do Transect 19 on Monday when the temperature was only 28 degrees.
 
Starting at Section 11 (the downward slope of Stagbury Field), we were straight into Chalkhill Blue territory and counted 12, and a further 18 on the top path along the field's edge (Section 10) as we finished our walk. On previous weeks we saw mainly the powder blue males but this week there was a good number of the brown females. Meadow Brown numbers are still holding up fairly well and across all transect sections except Section 5, the link between Fames Rough and Harholt Plantation where we seldom see anything to count anyway. 124 MBs were recorded. The number of Common Blues suddenly shot up to a count of 60, their highest weekly count of 2022.


​Count Details:
124
Meadow Brown
  60
Common Blue
  30
Chalkhill Blue
    8
Small Heath
    7
Gatekeeper
    3
Small Copper
    1 Large Skipper
    1
Small White
    1
Speckled Wood
 
Summary: 235 Butterflies from 9 species.

Click on butterfly names for more info.
Next Wednesday, 17th August, it's hoped that as many WoodChippers as possible will join the Surrey Wildlife Trust/Butterfly Conservation Trust work party with an aim of taking out an area of encroaching thorn scrub in Fames Rough. As reported regularly in our blog in recent years, the scrub is steadily taking over what was until recently a butterfly-rich flower meadow. See recent emails from Andy, Graham K and Richard C for more details of the work.
​Or contact Graham K direct: 
smilingnicely@me.com
Survey by Brian Gardner, Graham H and Graham K submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS).  ​
​Report by Brian Gardner. Pic by Graham K. ​​Click to enlarge.
Picture
Common Blue, Hill Wood Field
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One that got away

3/8/2022

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GH and BG walked the transect on Monday in warm but frequently cloudy weather. The day's total count was a reasonable one in what is proving to a generally poor year for butterflies. 
 
On the plus side, we recorded our second highest week 18 counts of 42 Chalkhill Blues and 154 Meadow Browns while, on the minus side, Brown Arguses remain mainly absent (with only two seen this year).
 
In Section 9 (Great Parson's Field) a medium sized dark brown butterfly with pale patches on its hind wings crossed our path then dropped down into the grass. Our initial thought was that it was a Meadow Brown but its flight was not not typical of an MB and neither were the pale patches. Although it allowed us to approach fairly close, it then flew off when I raised my camera. This was a pity because, upon reflection, GH strongly suspects it was a Grayling, a rare visitor for our area – the proverbial one that got away.

​Count details:
154
Meadow Brown
  42 Chalkhill Blue
  37 Gatekeeper
  17 Common Blue
    2 Small Heath
    2 Speckled Wood
    1 Brimstone
    1 Clouded Yellow
    1 Silver-washed Fritillary
    1 Small Copper
    1 Small White
 
Count Summary:
 259 Butterflies from 11 species.
Click on butterfly names for more info.
Survey by Brian Gardner and Graham H submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS).  ​
​Report  and pics by Brian Gardner. 
​​Click on pics to enlarge.
Chalkhill Blue on Marjoram, Stagbury Field
Silver-washed Fritillary on Marjoram, Coneyboro Hill.
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Warm but cloudy

26/7/2022

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The weather forecast for Monday morning was for reasonable conditions but as GH and BG started the transect it was mainly cloudy with a strong SW wind. Fortunately, at around 24 degrees, it was fairly warm and we saw that there were fewer butterflies in the sections exposed to the wind and more where there was shelter.

 The less than ideal weather gave an overall result of a very reduced version of last week's count, i.e. fewer butterflies from fewer species.
Count details:
52 Meadow Brown
38 Gatekeeper
14 Chalkhill Blue
  2 Purple Hairstreak
  1 Clouded Yellow
  1 Peacock
  1 Small Copper

​ 
Summary:
109 butterflies from 7 species.
Click on butterfly names for more info.
Survey by Brian Gardner and Graham H submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS).  ​
​Report  by Brian Gardner. Pics by  Brian G.
​​Click on pics to enlarge.
Purple Hairstreak, HIll Wood Field
Chalkhill Blue, Stagbury Field
Gatekeeper on Ragwort flowers, Harholt Plantation
Small Copper, Stagbury Field
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    The Transectuals

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