Ina wrote:
Conversation eh! 'Nice one'.
I wish I could say I had made that mistake. I was just hopping from forum to forum and lost track of where I was I'm afraid. Think i'm developing Terry Pratchett's disorder. May be why I had Conservation on my mind... Conserving what is left of mine.
Best place for butterflies in this neck of the woods is the Arnside/Silverdale area. I have been around there today.... No 'booming Bitterns' at Leighton Moss yet, for the birders among you.
Hi Ina ~ and welcome.
There are some nice localities in the North West. The area has some strong colonies of species we never see 'dahn sarf'. I've not been to Arnside and the nearby mosses for close on forty years although I did work and travel in the Manchester, Preston, Liverpool and Morecambe areas in the 1970s. The demands of my job then left little time and energy to explore the many 'potentially' suitable habitats that caught my eye on my travels. Even with better travel available today, so vast is the area I strongly suspect that many suitable areas with good colonies of local species remain to be 'discovered'. What an opportunity even today.
Rather than visit the same old well known localities, my advice to you is to look at and study closely the aerial maps on the internet of nearby relatively 'unspoilt' habitats and make a list. You will soon 'get your eye in' and identity 'new' potentially suitable habitats. Then explore them in the seasons and make notes ~ you may discover some really good places which support nice species just as I have done.
Over the years, I have done this ( although back then I had only the OS maps for research ) and found some good localities which as far as I can ascertain, have never seen an experienced naturalist. This for me is the real pleasure. My records and observations in the 1960s and 1970s I used to send to Monkswood but, now never do so. I can confirm that there are still strong colonies of a number of 'declining' species for which there are no dots on any maps. You too may find new strong localities as I have done. That is always a thrill for me.
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I have only just looked at the forums though. You seem to be quite well spread around. Is there anyone in the N.W. of England? 
