Neil Hulme

[Wurzel]

Cheers Neil I remember seeing the 'underhand' way of securing a mating on Autumnwatch a few years back, though I think of it more as 'survival of the smartest'

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Hulme]

Landscape Scale Conservation

Yesterday (31 October), Steve Wheatley (BC Regional Officer) and I joined a team from the Forestry Commission, to sign off on the completion of an ambitious woodland enhancement project. The Veolia funded Pearls of Charlton Forest is a partnership project conceived as an offshoot of BC Fritillaries for the Future (supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Ernest Klienwort Charitable Trust and our members/supporters) and sits within an even larger area encompassing Heyshott Escarpment, Heyshott Down and Graffham Down.

This conservation effort, conducted on a truly landscape scale, will benefit a wealth of wildlife, including butterflies such as the Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Duke of Burgundy, Grizzled Skipper and Dingy Skipper. Rare moths, including the Drab Looper, which has been assisted by another BC project in the area, will also benefit greatly.

This is the largest conservation project I've ever been involved with, and I came away full of optimism for the future of this part of Sussex; I suspect the benefits will be felt far beyond the project area in years to come. I would like to thank everyone who has been involved (too many to mention individually), including funders, partners, volunteers and contractors.

The project has involved the creation of wide rides, huge scallops along woodland edges, and vast box-junctions, which are now being maintained on a rotational basis. These images provide just a snapshot of the work, which extends over several kilometres. Just a few years ago, this was mainly dark and cool 'Speckled Wood country'.

Now comes the task of monitoring such a large area. I will be setting up a fixed route over which butterflies, day-flying moths and other wildlife will be recorded, and welcome any assistance. This will require considerable time and a quite high level of fitness, but the rewards should greatly exceed the effort. Anyone wishing to be involved should contact me over the winter.

[selbypaul]

Amazing photos Neil. If only all woodlands were managed in this way

[Vince Massimo]

Truly excellent work Neil, the area looks amazing. Congratulations to all those involved.

Vince

[Maximus]

Magnificent stuff, Neil, your photos show what CAN be done, and it's truly inspiring. My congratulations also to everyone involved.

Mike.

[Neil Hulme]

Thanks, Paul, Vince and Mike. Over the years I've been involved in many projects of this nature, but I suspect the legacy of this one will last well beyond my lifetime. I'm now too old to wish life away, but I can't wait to walk over this area next spring.
BWs, Neil

[Neil Hulme]

Rangers At Rewell

On Wednesday (31 October) I made a brief visit to Rewell Wood, to catch up with a group of South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) rangers, who were busy cutting a scallop into the edge of the Sweet Chestnut coppice beside the main W-E ride in the southern area, just north of the sawmill.

A team effort involving the Norfolk Estate, SDNPA staff, South Downs Volunteer Ranger Service, Kenny the resident woodsman, Plumpton College, contractors and BC volunteers, guided by the BC Fritillaries for the Future Project, has now created a 1km stretch of prime breeding habitat for Pearl-bordered Fritillary along this publicly accessible ride; this will be a site to watch in the spring of 2019.

Thanks to Becka, Chloe, Kate, Tom and Simon of SDNPA for their ongoing and enthusiastic support for this work.

[Neil Hulme]

Cutting Coppice For Fritillaries

Yesterday (1 November) I joined a small but enthusiastic group of six, to continue cutting Hazel coppice at Church Copse (Clapham Wood), to create suitable habitat for the Pearl-bordered Fritillary and other woodland wildlife. Some of the more mature 'regulars' have hung up their billhooks after working here for many years, so we're desperately seeking a little more help (tools and guidance provided).

We meet on Thursday mornings at 10.00 am in the car park of Clapham Saint Mary the Virgin (TQ09550664), usually on every other Thursday throughout the winter. However, the next two conservation work parties here will be on the Thursdays of 22 and 29 November. The work is led by the South Downs National Park Authority, so BC attendees such as Paul Day and I work as part of their Volunteer Ranger Service on this project (with benefits for regular participants). Any assistance with this greatly rewarding project would be much appreciated.

[David M]

Landscape Scale Conservation

Yesterday (31 October), Steve Wheatley (BC Regional Officer) and I joined a team from the Forestry Commission, to sign off on the completion of an ambitious woodland enhancement project........I suspect the benefits will be felt far beyond the project area in years to come.

I guess that's the number one aim, Neil, for the work you do to have positive knock-on effects elsewhere.

This project certainly looks as though it will keep you occupied. The site is huge....and so will the rewards be hopefully. That habitat looks positively sumptuous.

[Neil Hulme]

Jolly Farmers

On Tuesday (6 November) I joined a large flock of jolly farmers from the Arun to Adur (A2A) Farmers Group, which is doing much to benefit wildlife across the area, including butterflies, farmland birds and arable wildflowers. The event was hosted by the Somerset family at Castle Goring Farm and we toured much of the estate, looking at hazel coppice (being worked with a view to restoring a population of Pearl-bordered Fritillary), areas of arable and pasture, and the lovely sweeping slope of chalk grassland at Long Furlong. The latter area has been grazed by cattle and sheep for the last four years, following a period of c.15 years without any livestock on. I suspect there are now some interesting butterflies here, so I'll be taking a closer look next summer.

[Jack Harrison]

It is so gratifying to hear that today, many farmers are not simply interested in producing food (and thus maximising profits) but recognise wider responsibilities. This is a contrast from some 20 years ago when I was a chatting with a farmer in a village where I then lived. I commented on the splendid display of poppies in one of his fields, my goodness what a reaction: “those ****ing weeds”. When I mentioned butterflies and birds you would think that I was talking about pestilence that would lead to a national famine.

Jack

[David M]

It's most encouraging to hear of those farmers' attitudes to wildlife, Neil. With any luck, this will be a continuing and progressive trend over the next few years.

It's no longer good enough to pay lip service to wildlife. There are too many critical social media outlets.

I think people are starting to get the message.

[PhilBJohnson]

Fritillaries for The Future
Hello Neil,
Please can you upload this video for the benefit of others and put it under Pearl-bordered Fritillary, category?
I did not want to do it and be seen as "author"(on UK Butterflies and I know that you might not have wanted to do it, to be advertising yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIB_V5JVCCk

Sorry, I will go back and look at the credits at the end, later.
#AuthorandFinisherofsomething

Kind Regards.

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Jack and David. I think farmers are far more switched on these days, and many have come to realise the wide benefits to the land and crops they farm, not least the pollination services provided by butterflies, moths and other invertebrates. I also believe that this part of West Sussex is inhabited by some particularly progressive land managers.
BWs, Neil

[Neil Hulme]

Thanks so much for pointing this out, Philip. It's the first time I've ever seen it! I traveled down to the New Forest for the day in May 2017, to help make this promotional video for the sister project of my Sussex-based Fritillaries for the Future, as I'm always happy to go in front of a camera. I never heard any more, so I'm somewhat surprised that it's in the public domain ... if rather well hidden away. Sorry I didn't have time for a chat at the (excellent) AGM, but I was 'on a mission' when we passed.
BWs, Neil
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIB_V5JVCCk

[David M]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIB_V5JVCCk

Delightful footage, Neil, and I see its numbers of views have now rapidly increased!

Amazing how your trousers seem to attract such a broad range of species.

[Neil Hulme]

Thanks, David. Whenever I'm away butterflying for a day or two, I always book a separate room for my trousers.
BWs, Neil

[Neil Hulme]

Habitat Restoration

Yesterday (13 November) the BC reserves in Sussex were again visited by Mike Fearn and his fabulous Brighton Conservation Volunteers. The team of 14 was split, with one group burning up a vast quantity of brash in the recently created/extended Oaken Glade in Rowland Wood, while the other group continued the restoration of lowland heath habitat on Park Corner Heath (PCH).

One or two visitors have recently queried why we are now clearing so much vegetation, including a few (albeit inferior quality) oaks from Parris Plateau on PCH; I've felled three over the last two winters, from in front of the hut, with the last going yesterday. I think it's important to explain that this area was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) to preserve this small patch of grassy heath habitat, which formed part of a once much larger area within the Vert Wood complex, before its near total destruction by post-war and post-1987 'blow down' clearances and coniferisation. We must hold on to what remains of this rare habitat and the rich fauna and flora it supports, including the reptiles which thrive on the more open and warm ground here. In addition to the images from yesterday's conservation work party, I've appended a pair of images taken as recently as 2007, which demonstrate the type and extent of the heathland habitat we're now reclaiming. We'll soon be clearing the young birch and buckthorn (Brimstones prefer the very small regrowths) over one of the favoured areas for Adder, Grass Snake and Slow-worm, but if we were to leave the vegetation to mature much further, the ground would become too shady and cool to support them.

So where are Oaken Glade and Parris Plateau, I hear some ask? At a recent meeting, all of the main rides and open spaces on our reserves were named, and Bob Foreman will soon be publishing a map to show where Skipper Corner, Long Furlong and Boggy Ride are. This will help communicate where you've seen the butterflies, moths and other wildlife which are already reacting in a very positive manner to the recent habitat work.

My thanks go to Mike and the Brighton Conservation Volunteers, and to Jonathan Squire and our own volunteers, who worked on the reserves last Sunday.

[Neil Hulme]

Flailbot At Cissbury

This afternoon (14 November) I couldn't resist a visit to Cissbury Ring, to see the fabulous Flailbot in action. The National Trust has done a fantastic job of attacking the scrub within the south-facing coombe at the NE corner of the site, which we identified as an important target at a meeting in October 2017.

The work done last winter has already brought rapid rewards; the steep slope above the track hosted good numbers of Wall Brown, Small Copper and a few Adonis Blue and Clouded Yellow this summer. With Flailbot now clearing a much larger area of scrub, this is undoubtedly a site to keep a close eye on in the future; I suspect it will become very good, very quickly. As Darren Sercombe, the operator, guided Flailbot through a patch of scrub, I watched a male Brimstone make a timely exit from its path.

It was good to see that the ponies are still doing a great job of browsing scrub around the ramparts.

[Jack Harrison]

I looked up Flailbot and came across this:

..wirelessly operated track mower for challenging terrains that offers the ultimate remotely controlled mowing capability with zero operator risk

I hope it never turns against its masters

But what a wonderful piece of kit. I want one for my garden.

Jack