Big Butterfly Count

Comma

Small Tortoiseshell

I have taken part in the event over the years.  It is an excellent way of involving people in nature and giving everyone who takes part some ownership in the decline of butterflies.


Bur, for the last couple of years I have undertaken a weekly butterfly transect - waling a set route on a day when conditions are good for seeing butterflies.

This occupies me for an hour and a half for 30 weeks of the year - spring to autumn - and as well as being good exercise, it has really honed my butterfly identification skills.

Red Admiral

Silver-washed Fritillary

Today (17th July) was challenging.  The temperature in the shade, that is, under my car, was 22͒C.  Half the walk is through the woods, in the welcome but humid, shade.  The rest is in the open with hardly a breeze today.  Near the start, section two takes me down 50 step to the the river valley.  At the end of next three sections, near to the sea, I have to climb about 100 meters to  the top of the cliffs on the South West Coast Path.

Peacock

Gatekeeper

But, this was not the most challenging part of the walk.  It was the sheer number of butterflies I counted; 127 butterflies of 12 species in all.  It's times like this that it takes at least two to survey, one to spot and identify, the other to log them all.  And, if you want pictures too, an additional cameraman would be useful.

I'm not complaining though, it was the best transect of the year - so far.

Oh, I didn't really miss the Big Butterfly Count.  I walked to a different cliff, at Stanbury for lunch on Friday and in the first 15 minutes recorded 27 butterflies of 7 species, plus a couple of day flying moths all of which have been submitted to BBC.