www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Neil Hulme wrote:Thanks for your comments, Nick.

Rather than things returning to what they once were, this link https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File ... arison.png shows where we currently are in relation to pre-Little Ice Age times. I always find these graphs terrifying!

BWs, Neil

Even more scary is that shows a difference of about one degree between 1800 and now, yet that was enough to freeze over the Thames back then.

Impressive sequence of images of the deer, Neil. That site must be incredibly fulfilling all year round? I wish there were a few more like it in the UK.

Last From The Rut

On Sunday (27 October) I made my last visit of the year to the Fallow rut at Petworth Park, where I watched four prolonged clashes between large bucks, many of which are now limping and exhausted. The rut will continue for a little while yet, but we've undoubtedly seen the best of it.

A friend managed to see five freshly emerged Long-tailed Blues over the weekend, all in the Newhaven area, but sadly out-of-bounds.

Park Corner Heath Work Party

Many thanks to Mike Fearn and the Brighton Conservation Volunteers, and BC's Richard Farran and Richard Bickers, for their magnificent efforts on our Park Corner Heath reserve yesterday (29 October). We continued coppicing small trees and clearing Bracken and scrub along the northern edge of Parris Plateau. Gorse was cut back to the south of the old hut site and several more invasive Turkey Oaks were felled. These pose a threat to both the open nature of the rare lowland heath habitat here, and our own native oaks.

I was pleased to see that heather is now clearly spreading away from the main patch and some new growth was spotted in the NW corner of the reserve. There is no doubt that the ground flora is now improving in response to the more intensive management over recent years. Among the numerous species of fungi seen were Fly Agaric, Shaggy Parasol and Hedgehog Fungus.

Happy Halloween!

Wow! Winter work party time came round quickly. Nice to see them all getting stuck in again, Neil. I wish you all the best with it over these dreary next few months.

Thanks, David. As always, there is much to do!
BWs, Neil

Eartham Autumn

Three Red Admiral seen in beautiful sunshine at Eartham Wood today (7 November). Butterflies may have been in short supply, but autumnal colours were not.

Neil Hulme wrote:Three Red Admiral seen in beautiful sunshine at Eartham Wood today (7 November). Butterflies may have been in short supply, but autumnal colours were not.

Very evocative, Neil. The very essence of autumn. Nice that you managed to get an image of a Red Admiral - I'm still seeing them here in south Wales but they're all airborne!

Thanks, David. I managed a Brimstone and a Red Admiral today. Incredibly, elsewhere, a friend saw 3 Long-tailed Blues!
BWs, Neil

Remembrance Sunday Work Party

Many thanks to all 17 who turned out for the Remembrance Sunday conservation work party at Park Corner Heath, with our two-minutes period of reflection marked by a distant cannon. The team continued coppicing and clearing scrub along the northern edge of Parris Plateau, and we said farewell to a few more unwanted Turkey Oaks. Along with the 'regulars', it was great to see some new faces today. The impressive progress made can at least partly be attributed to the excellent cakes provided by Andrea and Carola - thank you.

Wildlife included Brimstone, Red Admiral, Common Toad and a Goshawk (size suggested female), which is the first I've ever seen in East Sussex.

Group image by Theresa Turner.

Thanks, David. I managed a Brimstone and a Red Admiral today. Incredibly, elsewhere, a friend saw 3 Long-tailed Blues!l

That Brimstone is a gift, Neil! Amazing too that Long Tailed Blues are still being recorded. You were right about them being indestructible. Surely even they can't last much longer though?

Vert Wood Regaining Its Former Glory

Our contractor, Ian Hampshire, has been hard at work in Rowland Wood over the last week, conducting the annual programme of ride and glade maintenance. This autumn, most of the rides and open areas have received a lighter touch, following the period of major restructuring in late 2017 and more intensive management over the winter of 2018/2019. However, several rides have been given a more thorough working over with the mulcher, as the log piles and trunks still lying around from much earlier operations have imposed an unrealistic burden of management by hand. Recent history has shown how rapidly these rides will recover. The ability to now manage all rides with a tractor will free vital volunteer time for fine tuning of the habitat.

The mulcher has also been used to open up the track down to Park Corner Heath, which has become increasingly shady and wet. It wasn't that many years ago that it was possible to drive a Morris Minor down to the old hut, but you'd need a rugged 4x4 to make the journey today. It will take a while to settle down, but the greatly increased penetration of sunlight will make the track (and new glades along its southern edge) highly suitable for White Admiral and Silver-washed Fritillary, as these areas once were.

Even more exciting is the work we have performed in Sandpit Wood, to the immediate south of the reserves, by kind permission of Fountain Forestry and the owner. Please remember that this area is private property, and out-of-bounds to our members and visitors. Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary has already penetrated the wider Vert Wood complex and numbers are set to grow, following the reconditioning of >0.75 km of rides.
I would like to thank Ian Hampshire, the manager and owner of Sandpit Wood, and all volunteers (BC and Brighton Conservation Volunteers) for their work and cooperation so far this winter. However, there is still much to do, so please come along to the next BC conservation work party on the reserves (8 December).

I love these images of prime butterfly habitat firmly out of season, Neil. They always seem a little austere like the 'gloaming' paintings of Farquharson, only with a promise of better things to come the following year.

I wish everybody all the best in their efforts to further improve Rowland Wood and Park Corner Heath.

Thanks, David. Plenty more of the same to follow this winter.
BWs, Neil

Beavering Away

Many thanks to the 13 hardy volunteers, including Mike Fearn & the Brighton Conservation Volunteers and our own Richard Farran, for braving the heavy rain to attend a work party on Park Corner Heath on Tuesday 26 November.

We split into two groups, with one continuing the coppicing and scrub control along the northern edge of Parris Plateau. The other group mimicked the work of Beavers, by building a series of dams and lodges along the stream ghyll using pre-cut timber and brash, following the felling of some dangerous, wind-blown trees. These water retention structures will improve the habitat for mosses, liverworts, fungi and ferns. A little further 'thinning' of this woodland block is planned, to create new habitat for semi-shade-loving species such as White Admiral and Silver-washed Fritillary. The work will also increase the 'permeability' of this compartment, allowing the easier dispersal of butterflies, including the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, into the adjacent (private) woodland, where much habitat improvement work has recently taken place.

With the assistance of Vert Wood Community Woodland, Fountain Forestry and some private owners, I believe that we can restore the fauna and flora of more than 100 hectares of the Vert complex to levels not seen for three or four decades.

Rewell Wood Progress Report

Yesterday (30 November) I visited Rewell Wood, to see how this winter's commercial and conservation activities are coming along. On the Norfolk Estate it's sometimes difficult to separate 'commercial' from 'conservation', as all commercial forestry operations are conducted with conservation in mind. I know of no better example of this in the UK.

With my five-year-old in tow (he did well to walk more than two miles in boggy conditions, but loves it in the woods) we first looked at the rolling programme of scalloping and ride-side mowing along the main W-E ride in the southern part of the wood. Many thanks to Simon Mockford and colleagues from the South Downs National Park Authority (and Volunteer Ranger Service) for the former. This bridleway is the best place for visitors to view the Pearl-bordered Fritillary each spring, negating the need to wander onto private land.

We then caught up with the current Sweet Chestnut coppice cuts (please keep well clear of ongoing forestry operations). The brash is now being harvested for biomass, which reduces waste and significantly increases the area of fritillary breeding habitat per hectare. The sequence of commercial cuts is designed, as best as possible, to facilitate the movement of butterflies from year to year, further assisted by the programme of ride widening throughout the wood.

I'm now getting very excited about the prospects for a very large area (c.9 hectares) which has been open for many years, but recently replanted with conifer species and mixed broad-leaves (tubed). Working in close co-operation with the estate (many thanks to Peter Knight, Mark Aldridge and Tony Hart), we have incorporated a pattern of unplanted areas, which will form wide woodland rides in the future. As the new plantation develops it will, for some years, provide additional breeding habitat for the Pearl-bordered Fritillary and many other species, including Grizzled and Dingy Skippers, Green Hairstreak and Small Copper (and birds such as Nightjar and Woodcock). Control of competing plants, while the trees become established, is already providing the perfect conditions for violets to flourish.

Elsewhere, ride widening continues, conducted by both contractors and the resident woodsman, Kenny, who is as much a part of the fabric of Rewell Wood as some of the mighty Beech.

I know of some of the estate's future plans, which will guarantee even further improvements for butterflies and other wildlife here, so last year's peak count of more than 300 Pearl-bordered Fritillary may be far from the best we'll see. I suspect that a well-hidden and small colony of Duke of Burgundy is likely to expand, having already spawned a new colony at the adjacent Fairmile Bottom, where excellent management by WSCC, assisted by the cattle of local farmer James Seller, is creating a real gem for butterflies, moths and orchids.

Working with so many enthusiastic partners sometimes makes the job of a conservationist rather easy, and always a pleasure. My thanks to everyone involved, past and present.

BC Sussex Reserves Progress Report

My thanks to Theresa, Helen, Andrea, Rosie, Colin, James, Richard, Richard, Gary, John, Ian, Ian, Mark, Keith and Bob for attending another highly productive conservation work party at Park Corner Heath on Sunday (8 December).

We initially split into two groups, with one completing this winter's coppicing and scrub/Bracken control on Parris Plateau, while the other worked in Mitchell's Ghyll, where additional flow retarding features and an access bridge were constructed. We all ended the day working in the copse which runs along the ghyll, where we completed thinning operations to allow more light through the canopy. It will now be much easier for butterflies to move through this lightly wooded area into surrounding parts of the Vert Wood complex. We have now completed all work on Park Corner Heath for this winter and will move to Rowland Wood in January.

All of the main rides, glades and other features on the reserves have now been given names; these can now be seen on the very smart reserves map which Bob Foreman designed and has now mounted on the main reserves noticeboard.

Although no butterflies were seen on the day, I was delighted to see a Kingfisher perched on Reedmace in the PCH pond; this was the first I've ever seen on our reserves.

Neil Hulme wrote: ↑Mon Dec 09, 2019 5:23 pm...Although no butterflies were seen on the day, I was delighted to see a Kingfisher perched on Reedmace in the PCH pond; this was the first I've ever seen on our reserves.

What a fabulous surprise, Neil. You must have been thrilled to see that electric orange and blue delight perched in one of your reserves.

Some impressive machinery (not to mention volunteers) in your reports - no wonder your success level is so good.

Thanks, David. With such great volunteers (BC and Brighton Conservation Volunteers) it's no wonder that things are progressing so well here. But I'm convinced that far better is to come.
BWs, Neil