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Ideal for butterflies

28/7/2024

GH, GK LN and BG walked transect 17 (of 26) in the morning of Friday 26th. The weather was warm with occasional sunny spells to help maintain the temperature. It was ideal for butterflies, who were seen in high numbers across most of our 12 sections. As per last week we followed the revised route, entering Fames Rough from the downhill path beside Coneyboro Hill Field and crossing Coneyboro on our return.

Once again the most prominent in our count were Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers, Marbled Whites and Small/Essex Skippers. Over the last couple of transects we have craned our necks looking high into the oak trees along the top of Hill Wood Field for Purple Hairstreaks and on Friday afternoon there they were – difficult to spot at first but after a few patient minutes we saw them flittering high in the branches and then coming down, giving us close-up views for our cameras. We're still awaiting our first Chalkhill Blues on Stagbury Field's Horseshoe Vetch patch, their emergence due about now. We also had our first Silver-washed Fritillary and a Painted Lady, plus possible second-brood Brimstones and one each of a Common Blue, and a Small Copper. Our total count for this transect was 495, our second highest of this season, from 16 species.

Count Details:
225 Meadow Brown
157 Gatekeeper
35 Marbled White
34 Small/Essex Skipper (incl. 8 Essex and 3 Small confirmed)
10 Brimstone
9 Small Heath
5 Purple Hairstreak
5 Small White
4 Ringlet
4 Large White
2 Peacock
1 Comma
1 Common Blue
1 Painted Lady
1 Silver-washed Fritillary
1 Small Copper

Click on butterfly names for more info from Butterfly Conservation..

Survey by Brian G, Graham H, Graham K and Liz N submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS).
Report by Brian Gardner.
Pics by Graham Kenward, Liz North and Brian Gardner.

Common Blue -LN

Brimstone, Hill Wood Field -GK

Essex Skipper -GK

Small Skipper -BG

Painted Lady, Stagbury -GK

Purple Hairstreak, Hill Wood Field -LN

Scorpion Fly -LN

Small White, Hill Wood Field -GK

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Still active in mixed weather

22/7/2024

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Saturday the 20th was our choice for this week's butterfly count. The high temperatures of the previous few days had lessened and Saturday was cloudy, breezy, and very humid as we started out and we soon encountered a brief shower of rain in section 2 (Coneyboro Hill). This transect was our first using a revised route that bypasses the dreaded steep downhill path into Fames Rough and removes the non-productive walk through Harholt Plantation (sections 5 and 6). From Fames Rough and beyond the weather was warm enough to tempt out a reasonable number of butterflies across the remaining sections, so in all it was a fairly successful count covering all of our high-summer butterfly regulars.

Count Details:
143 Meadow Brown
108 Marbled White
79 Gatekeeper
30 Small/Essex Skipper (incl. 1 Small
and 1 Essex Skipper, both confirmed)
20 Ringlet
7 Small Heath
4 Small White
2 Comma
2 Dark Green Fritillary
1 Large White
1 Speckled Wood

Summary: 397 butterflies from 11 species.
Click on butterfly names for more info.

Survey by Brian G, Graham H, Graham K and Liz N submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS).
Report by Brian Gardner.
Pics by Graham Kenward and Liz North.

Marbled White, Fames Rough -GK

Small/Essex Skipper, Fames Rough -GK

Red Admiral, Lagoon -GK

Blushing Grasshopper -LN

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High season

14/7/2024

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The week's changeable weather made it difficult to select the best day for our transect but we made the right choice for Thursday (11th), when we had excellent conditions both for transect walkers and the butterflies.

We're now into the high season for butterfly activity and this week's count of 561 from 11 species was this year's highest to date. The figure was largely due to the mass numbers of Meadow Browns, Marbled Whites and Small/Essex Skippers seen across almost all of our transect's 12 sections. We also recorded the season's first Gatekeepers whose numbers should increase rapidly over the next two or three weeks. This week's butterflies were all from species that make up the majority of our transect records and the only 'exotics' we saw were three off-transect probable Dark Green Fritillaries. Others are expected any time now – these include the Chalkhill Blues that will emerge from the Horseshoe Vetch patch on Stagbury Field and the Purple Hairstreaks that will be flying along the line of oaks along the upper slope of Hill Wood Field.

Count Details:
248 Meadow Brown
212 Marbled White
50 Small/Essex Skipper
(incl. 1 confirmed Small)
15 Ringlet
11 Gatekeeper
11 Small Heath
7 Large Skipper
3 Brimstone
3 Large White
1 Comma
Summary: 561 butterflies from 11 species.
Click on butterfly names for more info.

Survey by Brian G, Graham H and Liz N submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS).
Report by Brian Gardner.
Pics by Brian Gardner and Liz North.

Gatekeeper, Fames Rough -LN

Meadow Brown -BG

Small Skipper -LN

Essex Skipper -BG

Roesel’s Bush Cricket -LN

6-spot Burnet Moth -LN

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Turned out nice again

6/7/2024

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GK, LN and BG walked Transect 14 on Friday afternoon - the weather was warm, with sun and an occasional cloud and cool breeze.

The total count was 401, 10 less than last week's figure, and comprised virtually the same species with the addition of a photogenic Comma on Coneyboro Hill and our first Speckled Wood of the year.

Comma on Coneyboro Hill, showing the white mark that gives this butterfly its name.

Count details:
187 Marbled White
152 Meadow Brown
31 Small Heath
15 Large Skipper
5 Ringlet
3 Common Blue
2 Brimstone
2 Dark Green Fritillary
2 Small Blue
1 Comma
1 Speckled Wood

Summary: 401 butterflies from 11 species.
Click on butterfly names for more info.

Survey by Brian G, Liz N and Graham K submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS).
Report by Brian Gardner.
Pics by Graham K.

The sun makes all the difference: two views of the same Dark Green Fritillary in Fames Rough.

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Butterfly Blog

Ideal for butterflies

Still active in mixed weather

High season

Turned out nice again

The Transect Team

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Categories

Send us an email*

Butterfly Blog

Ideal for butterflies

Still active in mixed weather

High season

Turned out nice again

The Transect Team

Archives

Categories

​​

Send us an email*