Pete Eeles wrote:Gibster wrote:Yet for every three I saw, there was a squished one.
Indeed - I've seen this on several Marsh Frit sites this year. The difference I see is whether this was the result of "didn't know they were there" versus "I knew they were there, but I don't care".
Is this attributable to butterfly enthusiasts though?
For instance, Marsh Fritillaries are rare in Wales, but there is a site not far from me where there is a thriving population. This site is located in a 'green' area of countryside at the edge of a small to medium sized town.
There are allotments nearby (ensuring a steady stream of visitors to the top end of the site) and the area includes a former slag heap which is now often used by off-road bikers.
The grasslands themselves are an attractive distraction from the austere surroundings of former mining villages, and I daresay even without Marsh Fritillaries, this area would provide a pleasant escape for those who simply wished to spend an hour or two away from the usual suburban machinations of everyday life.
On any given day, I'd venture to wager that those frequenting this site largely have no knowledge of the significance of a highly localised and declining Fritillary butterfly. I've visited the site five times now, and the only person I've met who had any interest in the flora/fauna of the site was a birdwatcher who'd come to observe raptors. The rest were either dog walkers or people just out for a walk with no particular objective in mind.
So, if 95 out of 100 visitors to this site don't even know about Marsh Fritillaries, then it's fair to say roughly 95% of the damage to the terrain will be caused by the same people.
Those who DO come to see the butterflies will (I trust) be far more aware of the need to respect the environment, and would probably be the LEAST likely to go riding bikes through the scabious fields or throwing sticks for their dogs into the undergrowth.
Of course, if butterflies attracted the same level of interest as birds, then the numbers visiting the site would explode. But that is my point. Butterflies DON'T elicit the same level of interest as birds (one only has to look at the respective membership of the RSPB as opposed to BC to understand this).
If there are sites that are SO delicate and tenuous for certain species of butterflies, then they ought to be restricted to the general public (like the Large Blue site in Somerset and the Heath Fritillary site in Lydford).