It's all about the Blues, man

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.

121 Common Blue
  95 Meadow Brown
  79 Gatekeeper
    8 Chalkhill Blue
    2 Brimstone
    2 Marbled White
    2 Ringlet
    2 Speckled Wood
    1 Large White
    1 Peacock
    1 Silver-washed Fritillary
    1 Small/Essex Skipper
    1 Small Heath
 Click on butterfly names for more info.
Total count: 316 across 13 species.
 
Compared to last year
A cross-check with the details from our 24th July 2019 transect, when the temperature was 30 degrees, shows that we saw 444 butterfiles from 14 species.

Common Blue, Fames Rough

Silver-washed Fritillary, Fames Rough

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

Common Darter, Lagoon

Grasshopper at the water's edge, Lagoon