GH and BG walked transect 21 on the morning of Sunday 23rd August. The weather was fine for the first few sections but thereafter banks of cloud rolled in and reduced the sunshine.
​The Meadow Browns’ total count was 108 (very similar to last week’s number) but they were largely concentrated on Hither Field, where we recorded 79. Hither Field was also where we saw 11 of the 13 Common Blues recorded and 23 of 51 Small Heaths. 
The Clouded Yellows were still flying around in good numbers. In Hill Wood Field we had a close sighting of a single Brown Hairstreak, which sadly escaped being photographed.

Count details:
​108 Meadow Brown
51 Small Heath
13 Common Blue
9 Clouded Yellow
5 Small White
1 Brown Hairstreak
1 Chalkhill Blue
1 Large White
1 Small Copper

​Count summary:
190 butterflies from 9 species.

Transect 20 was carried out on Tuesday 18th August when not only the temperatures plummeted, but so did the butterfly numbers. 
It was only about 20°C and the whole transect took place under solid cloud with quite a breeze in places. 
We’re coming towards the end of the season for the Chalkhill Blues and Silver-spotted Skippers, but we had walked as far as Section 5 before we saw a Common Blue. This was disappointing, given the recent high numbers recorded for this species. 
As previously reported, the second section has been mown and has very little by way of nectar sources, so it wasn’t entirely surprising that here we saw just one butterfly: a Meadow Brown. Meadow Browns were seen in all but one section, albeit in lower numbers than in recent weeks. 
There were comparable numbers of Small Heaths to last week – they seem to fly in more windy conditions while the Meadow Browns prefer to hunker down in the grass. 
We spotted five Clouded Yellows across four sections, including two in Fames Rough where we’ve not seen them before.

Count details:
​119 Meadow Brown
53 Small Heath
9 Chalkhill Blue 
7 Common Blue
5 Clouded Yellow
2 Small White
2 Speckled Wood
1 Silver-spotted Skipper
1 Small Copper

Count total:
199 butterflies
from 9 species.

​If you would like to know more about any of the butterfly species mentioned, visit ​butterfly-conservation.org

Friday 7th August was chosen for Transect 19. It was another very warm one, under a virtually cloudless sky. After many weeks of heat and drought, all of the fields on our transect route are parched brown. Yet despite there being fewer flowers, the number of butterflies is at an all-time high for this time of the year.
This is due entirely to the super abundance of Meadow Browns, who have more than doubled their average count. The Common Blues, Chalkhill Blues and Small Heaths are also having a good year. 
Clouded Yellows are infrequent visitors but this is the third transect in succession when we’ve seen them in higher numbers than previously (Liz even spotted a rare ‘helice’ form, a paler variant of female CYs, see below).
A remarkable find and another reminder that even in our drought-stricken landscape, the butterfly season can still produce some unusual surprises.

Count details:
​ 481 Meadow Brown
104 Common Blue
65 Small Heath
35 Chalkhill Blue
18 Small White
15 Clouded Yellow
9 Small Copper
5 Large White
3 Silver-spotted Skipper
3 Speckled Wood
2 Gatekeeper
2 Painted Lady
1 Brown Argus
1 Brown Hairstreak
Count Summary:
744 butterflies from 14 species.
If you would like to know more about any of the butterfly species mentioned, visit ​butterfly-conservation.org

After a couple of last-minute postponements, GH, LN and BG completed Transect 18 on the morning of Tuesday 4th August. The weather was pleasantly mild whenever the sun disappeared behind cloud, but temperatures climbed rapidly when the sunshine returned – ideal conditions for the butterflies.We started and finished our walk in Stagbury Field, an important site for two of our chalk grassland specialists. Here we recorded 45 Chalkhill Blues, thanks to a large patch of its larval food plant, horseshoe vetch. Stagbury Field is also the only place on our transect route where we see rare Silver-spotted Skippers, which lay their eggs on the sheep’s fescue grass – we recorded 6 SSKs on this transect. The total count was a few hundred down on last week’s but, at 674, the number is still high in comparison with previous week 18s. Once again, it was the Meadow Browns, Common Blues and Small Heaths (as well as the Chalkhill Blues) that boosted the total score. For the second week in succession we saw a few colourful and speedy Clouded Yellow butterflies.
​Although moths are not included in our survey, it's worth mentioning that over recent weeks we have regularly seen the spectacularly agile Humming-bird Hawk Moths flying around Hill Wood Field.

Count details:
407 Meadow Brown
104 Common Blue
55 Small Heath
45 Chalkhill Blue
14 Small White
12 Gatekeeper
7 Clouded Yellow
​7 Small Copper
6 Silver-spotted Skipper
5 Dingy Skipper
4 Brown Argus
3 Painted Lady
2 Speckled Wood
1 Holly Blue
1 Large White
1 Silver-washed Fritillary

​Count Summary:
674 butterflies from 16 species.

If you would like to know more about any of the butterfly species mentioned, visit ​butterfly-conservation.org