As March drew to a close it was very pleasing to look back at all that’s been achieved through the 2009/2010 work party season, by a large number of hard-working volunteers, and highly supportive individuals that work for a variety of government and private organisations. Most of the remaining (known) Duke of Burgundy sites in Sussex are now under active management, although the amount of habitat maintenance or improvement required on each varies greatly. This species now gives such cause for concern that Professor Jeremy Thomas recently wrote ‘it is a moot point whether the High Brown Fritillary or the Duke of Burgundy is the next most probable butterfly to become extinct in the British Isles’. Hopefully we have now got a sufficiently detailed understanding of its autecology to get the management just right for this notoriously tricky species. Below are some images of recent habitat works performed for the benefit of ‘the Duke’, on a number of different sites in Sussex.
Much has been written recently about the disastrous ‘blitzkrieg’ at Straits Enclosure. While the FC were given a thorough ‘roasting’ over the situation here, it’s important to see such an unfortunate event in context. In Sussex I regularly deal with bodies such as Natural England, South Downs Joint Committee, National Trust, Forestry Commission, Sussex Wildlife Trust, West Sussex County Council, several Downland Trusts, Estate owners and farmers, some of which are very close allies of BC. Over a four year period I would say that the success rate in achieving a positive outcome for butterflies and moths is certainly greater than 95%. I think this represents a much higher level of co-operation than was prevalent in the past, as attitudes have changed for the better. Similar work will be going on in all other BC Branches, so if you don’t already do so, please support them with your membership! I know that some of the regular contributors to UKB get involved with winter work parties, and I’m sure they would all agree that you get a great sense of satisfaction from seeing your local patch flourish, assisted by your own labours – as well as keeping fit, without paying exorbitant gym fees!
Dave Brown made a very important point in the Alice Holt thread – in some areas the FC are doing a sterling job, so it’s far from an ‘institutional’ shortcoming. Last spring I joined some BC staff at Denge Wood in Kent, where positive experiences in managing sites in both the North of England and Sussex were used to inform conservation efforts for the Duke of Burgundy here. The BC Denge Wood Project Officer, Fran Thompson, is doing a great job and her ‘management suggestions’ report was adopted in its entirety by local FC staff. I agree with Dave’s views that things are set to improve for the species here, although it might take a few years for the benefits to really kick in. In Sussex the FC are doing valuable work to benefit the Pearl-bordered Fritillary, at places like Rewell Wood and Abbots Wood.
Although we should all ‘kick up a stink’ when things go seriously wrong, it’s in the nature of all ‘media’ that the negative stories get highlighted, often at the near-total expense of the positive. For every ‘bad’ story, there are literally hundreds of ‘good ones’ out there.
. Save some for this month's competition.
