Neil Hulme

[Neil Hulme]

Business As Usual

Today (27th February), being a Wednesday, I spent a few happy and constructive hours in the company of UKBer Colin Knight and the Murray Downland Trust volunteers at Heyshott Escarpment. Mark Colvin had other business to attend to, so couldn't join the regulars on this occasion. Inch by inch, foot by foot (we don't do metric at Heyshott) we are reclaiming more and more of the old chalk workings from the invasive scrub. As always a great team effort and much progress was made. Thanks to all that attended.

[Rogerdodge]

Neil
I am so impressed with all the work you guys are doing at Heyshott.
I don't think I will recognise the place when I visit for my annual Duke fest this year.

We must try to meet up - even if only for a pint in the pub the night before hand. I always stay there - very convenient.

Cheers

Roger

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Roger,

Would be great to meet up. Feel free to contact me nearer the time to find out whether the Dukes are early or late this coming spring. I can get out for the entire day on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through the flight period, with the exceptions of 5th, 15th and 18th May and 1st and 2nd June, when I'm leading BC walks.

Best Wishes, Neil

[Jack Harrison]

Inch by inch, foot by foot (we don't do metric at Heyshott)

If of course you were to go metric, there would be 2.54 times the amount of clearance achieved

Jack

[Neil Hulme]

Eggs And Cat

On Friday (1st March) I continued my Brown Hairstreak egg surveys of the Knepp Castle Estate Wildland project area. The first three hours were hard going, with only a single find over a wide area, despite it being blessed with plenty of blackthorn. Although browsing pressure is undoubtedly high, this was well below expectations. A welcome relief from the growing boredom was provided by a pretty Drinker moth caterpillar, snuggled tight up against a blackthorn stem. It won't be long now before it stirs from its deep slumber.

With only a dozen eggs found over six hours, spread over two visits, I was relieved to find a hotspot in the last hour, situated only a couple of hundred metres from a group of master trees I discovered during the flight season. Most of the blackthorn suckers had been nibbled back to a height of less than 40 cm, but they were liberally sprinkled with eggs. I found 23 along a 30 metre section, including a double and a treble. Bearing in mind that egg numbers drop off significantly by late winter (predation) and that many would have been lost through browsing, this is probably the work of quite a few female butterflies. The image below shows how close the pair of eggs came to being deer fodder.

[David M]

many would have been lost through browsing, this is probably the work of quite a few female butterflies. The image below shows how close the pair of eggs came to being deer fodder.

I daresay that multi thousands of eggs are lost in precisely this manner (not just to deer, but cows, horses and other ruminants).

[Gibster]

Not to mention all those pesky volunteer work parties

Seriously though, strimmers and flails must almost decimate entire colonies. It's a good thing the females wander far and wide and don't egg lay in batches. I've never found a 'treble' before. I'm really quite jealous!

All the very best,

Gibster.

[David M]

Not to mention all those pesky volunteer work parties

Seriously though, strimmers and flails must almost decimate entire colonies. It's a good thing the females wander far and wide and don't egg lay in batches. I've never found a 'treble' before. I'm really quite jealous!

All the very best,

Gibster.

Couldn't agree more, Seth.

Whilst out walking in the 'wild' surrounds of my workplace this afternoon, I noticed that the authorities had cut all the long grass (and everything else growing amongst it) near to the river's edge.

For God's sake, nobody needs to walk there in any case...there's a perfectly good path five metres to the left which is maintained naturally purely by people regularly walking on it. Goodness knows how many butterfly casualties there have been as a result, and all for the sake of 'tidyness'.

Ignorance must kill multi-millions of small creatures every year. If you don't really need to do it then just leave it. It's not rocket science!

[Neil Hulme]

The End Is Nigh

Today (6th March), while at the Wednesday Heyshott Escarpment work party, I got the distinct feeling that winter is finally on the way out. Not only was it a good deal warmer than of late, but the bird song has taken on a more optimistic pitch, as territories are set up. Today I joined Mark Colvin and Colin Knight, in addition to Murray Downland Trust regulars Mike E, Mike H, Roger, Andy and Greg, to complete the clearance of yet another old chalk pit. There are only a couple more weeks to go now before we hang up our tools for another season, as scrub clearance stops so as not to risk disturbing any nesting activity. It's then just a case of waiting for Mother Nature to do her work. Image courtesy of Mike Hadley.

[Jack Harrison]

I notice on the map just to the south of Heyshott Down in Singleton Forest, there is an Oil Well marked on the OS map. Any paid employment for you there Neil?

Seriously, is the much in the way of oil reserves in the area? I found this five-year-old note:

http://www.midhurstandpetworth.co.uk/ne ... -1-1548521

It does of course raise some environmental issues if there is. But they might not all be bad: opening up some clearings within the woodland could be a bonus.

Jack

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Jack,
"Seriously, is the much in the way of oil reserves in the area?" That's very much a question of scale. Onshore wells, of which there are quite a few scattered around, generally tap into much smaller accumulations than the North Sea oil fields. They mention an increase from 500 to 850 barrels of oil per day (bopd) - that's considerably less than the 100,000 bopd produced by the platform I used to work on, and that was only a medium sized field. Of course the economics are very different, given the locations.
BWs, Neil

[Neil Hulme]

Moth Suggests Winter Nearly Done

Today (14th March) I did an entire circuit of Rewell Wood, primarily to look at the very extensive blocks of recently coppiced sweet chestnut. Given a reasonable spring I suspect we will see a major increase in Pearl-bordered Fritillary numbers here in 2014.

While on my travels I noticed a little brown job fluttering amongst the branches of a silver birch. It was my first Orange Underwing moth of the year; a female out laying eggs. Spring is fast approaching.

[David M]

It'd be nice to think so, Neil.

Problem is, the forecast has at least the next 7 days as either wet and windy or abnormally cold.

Hopefully there will be some compensatory reward for all this at some point in April.

Right now, I sincerely doubt if I'll see another butterfly before Easter.

[Jack Harrison]

...increase from 500 to 850 barrels of oil per day...

One day’s production, after refining, would produce enough petrol for around 300,000 miles in my little car. Two to three days would provide all I need in a lifetime

Put it another way: a larger less economical car doing 20,000 miles per year would get some ten year’s motoring from just one day’s production.

Calculations such as this put the worth of small fields like Singleton into perspective.

Jack

[Neil Hulme]

Spring Equinox

Yesterday (20th March) I joined BC Sussex and Murray Downland Trust volunteers on the slopes of Heyshott Escarpment. We split into two groups, one helping the fencing contractors and the other felling some hefty Yew trees; removal of the Yew is essential when grazing is planned (poisonous to livestock). Although the 'regulars' all worked as hard as they do every week, special thanks must go to Mark Bunch (essexbuzzard), who travelled a long distance to join us and shifted a huge quantity of timber . Without Mark's assistance it would not have been possible to remove and burn up the massive Yew seen in the images below. By later in the afternoon it had been reduced to just a section of main trunk, beyond the capabilities of even my trusty Silky.

At just past 11 am I climbed further up the slope to sit and celebrate the Spring Equinox, which passed to the sound of drumming woodpeckers. This is always a time for optimism; I just hope that this year it is not misplaced.

[essexbuzzard]

Many thanks for your kind words,Neil,and thank you for having me.
I am very impressed with all the splendid work Sussex BC and Murray Downland Trust have done at this great site.Giving a day is the very least i could do,though i did ache a little by time i got home!

[Colin Knight]

Mark, great to meet you again on Wednesday, thanks for all your hard work, especially staying on with Neil to clear the yew. I look forward to seeing you again on site during the flight period.
Colin

[essexbuzzard]

Hi Colin,it is very nice of you to say so,it was good to see you there,and Mark as well.
Heyshott is such a great site,not just for Dukes,but Dingy and Grizzled Skippers and many others. I am so impressed with the work you guys have been doing there,it is looking fantastic!
All we need now is some sunshine...

[Neil Hulme]

Drab Day

On Wednesday (27th March) I attended my last work party of the 2012/2013 season. Rather than join the usual event at Heyshott, I met up with a mix of Butterfly Conservation employees, Sussex Branch volunteers and National Park staff at Duncton Hill. We cut a new opening in the steep, heavily wooded slope here, primarily to encourage the growth of Wood Spurge for the benefit of the rare (but admittedly underwhelming) Drab Looper moth. The participants (L - R), Graham, Michael, Tony, Matt, Audrey, Rob, Dan and Clive made quite an impact in just a few hours, which if replicated annually, will be sufficient to keep this LBJ happy. The image of mating Drab Loopers below, taken in May 2012, remains the most exciting picture ever taken of this tiny, unmarked species! However drab, we must love and protect them all.

As I came off the hillside I felt that I'd done 'my bit' over the winter months, having attended an average of a work party every week since the end of September. I always think that getting involved in hands-on conservation provides a double win. Not only do our rarer species benefit, but every Duke or Pearl-bordered Fritillary I see this season will give me a greater feeling of satisfaction as a result. To put it in different terms, I think these activities provide us with an even closer connection with nature. I’m sure that many other UKBers feel the same way as they hang up their saws and rakes for another season.

[Pete Eeles]

Congrats to you Neil, and everyone that spends so much time voluntarily helping our Lepidoptera cousins out (we are distantly related after all!). You, in particular, are a real inspiration and set a wonderful example. I wish I had more time myself to help out with such things; running a website ain't quite the same Although I've just found my first Purple Hairstreak egg of the year so don't feel too bad, now that my 2nd reportable record is in the bag.

Keep up the excellent work

Cheers,

- Pete