www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

I particularly like that second photo, Neil, it's beautiful.

Beautiful and delicate,Neil.

They are both lovely. I particularly like the first. It's as if the butterfly's markings were designed to hide on an autumnally fading plant of just this type.

Dave

Stunning photos Neil! A reward for all the hard work you put in tracking them down...

Clouded Yellow!!!!

The hard search paid off then Neil. Excellent, and the piccies aren't too bad either - well, they're OKish

Norfolk might not be the best county for butterflying, but for birds, it sure takes some beating. Just off to the north coast this fine Saturday morning. Target for the day: "Seagull"


Jack

Beautiful shots Neil. I think the one on the bramble leaf is one of your best, it encapsulates Autumn.

That first picture is an absolute belter. Well done Neil. Butterfly and leaf - a perfect match!

Thanks to your posting of Clouded Yellows down at Southbourne Undercliff, I managed an hastily arranged three day visit to Dorset during the very hot weekend in late September. Dad and I had wonderful weather and a great time. It was another species first for myself. We saw four altogether, a couple of them were a bit worn though. Thanks a lot for flagging them up on the September sightings page. Much appreciated. I am already planning a three to four day break in Sussex for next May. Can't wait. I'll be in touch nearer the time if that's still ok, for best places to view Adonis, DOB, PBF etc. Best regards, Peter.

Thanks to all for the generous comments. Although the colours in that first image are very nice, unfortunately the high winds made things tricky and the image is a little 'soft' around the rear margins. There are also too many scales missing for it to make the grade IMO - I'm getting very fussy in my old age. The second image is a lot sharper all the way across - and the specimen is unblemished, at least on that side, so that's the one which will ultimately get printed off.

Dave: The ability of butterflies to identify foliage which provides them with the very best possible camouflage never ceases to amaze me. While watching Dingy Skippers going to roost this spring I was astounded by their ability to pick out those individual seed-heads which would provide them with an almost perfect match, while travelling at high speed over thick scrub containing a huge diversity of plants. It's an ability upon which their lives may depend - but hugely impressive nevertheless.

Peter: I'm glad you caught up with the Southbourne Clouded Yellows. I heard reports of up to a dozen along that short stretch, which was probably the best turn-out anywhere in the UK for the species this year. See you in the spring!

Neil

Autumn & Winter 2011

The period from late October 2011 until New Year has been so hectic that it’s not been possible to keep my diary up to date. It’s also been a period of significant change for me, with time constraints meaning that reluctantly some volunteer activities had to go, in order to make way for some new pursuits.

Sadly I had to step down from the BC Sussex committee at our AGM at the end of October. Performing the roles of Chair, Conservation Officer and Publicity Officer, while running a business and juggling a small baby (she loves being juggled) had finally reduced me to total sleeplessness. So it was with a heavy heart that I had to ease off my BC commitments …… at least for a few years. That said I have still retained the role of Conservation Adviser to the Branch, as it is the hands-on conservation of butterflies that drew me to the organisation in the first place. This is what matters to me the most and I’m pleased to say that I can now do even more of this than before, as those additional roles had started to erode the time available for habitat management.

The AGM was a lively and entertaining affair, as it always is in Sussex. We are totally intolerant of lengthy, boring AGM proceedings. Maintaining the very high standard of guest speakers in recent years was the legendary Torben Larsen. Michael Blencowe then did his always highly entertaining turn which now attracts attendees from far afield. I found it quite difficult to relinquish my position alongside such a friendly and supportive group, but I left without any fears for the continuing success of the Branch. There are some great people on the committee and they have since been joined by some top class new recruits.

Although I’ve got my hands dirty at a few other sites over the autumn and early winter, most of my own labours have been directed at Heyshott Escarpment. A small but enthusiastic group of Murray Downland Trust and BC Sussex volunteers has made spectacular progress in improving the reserve for the Duke of Burgundy at the weekly work parties. Much of this has been reported in Mark Colvin’s diary; he and UKBer Colin Knight have been beavering away here relentlessly. I have little doubt that Heyshott will become known as one of the best butterfly sites in the UK over the next few years.
Images by Colin Knight

During September, October and November I attended a series of South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) autumn workshops. Three were held in each of the counties covered by our newest national park (Hampshire, East and West Sussex), providing an opportunity for stakeholders to have a say in shaping its future, particularly the development of the South Downs National Park Management Plan and the Local Development Framework. Unsurprisingly I was there to ensure that biodiversity and particularly butterfly conservation issues were given a strong voice, as many of those attending events of this nature come to speak up for business interests and to air planning concerns. I was pleased to see that the entire process was run in a very open, fair and inclusive manner. It also became clear that the SDNPA really did listen to the views expressed both here and via their online forum (http://southdownsforum.ning.com/) as the Special Qualities document evolved (http://api.ning.com/files/KGYR74em6IU9O ... sFinal.pdf).

I was delighted when the SDNPA took on almost the entire workforce of the South Downs Joint Committee (SDJC) as it dissolved to make way for the new organisation. SDJC rangers and volunteers had been our greatest allies for many years in helping conserve butterflies and moths in Sussex, and many of our successes would just not have been possible without their assistance. The continuity of experience on the ground and particularly the relationships with landowners built over many years will serve the new SDNPA well in the future. The National Park Authority has thus inherited almost endless reserves of goodwill as far as I’m concerned and it’s certainly good for the future of numerous butterfly conservation projects that this excellent relationship continues under another banner. Throughout the autumn and winter we have been working on numerous sites scattered along the Downs of West Sussex, both on established sites and some new ones too. I’ve also been assisting with an ambitious project proposal which, if it attracts the funding sought, could benefit butterflies (and everything else) along the entire length of the South Downs Way.

In late November and early December I had the chance to put my feet up and catch some winter sunshine in Marrakech. There wasn’t much in the way of butterfly interest, but I did manage to fulfill my ambition of seeing Painted Ladies on their home turf, during a spectacular trip over the snow-clad High Atlas Mountains. As you can see, my entomological assistant Mia Iris is growing fast.
Following an invitation to attend a social gathering at Knepp Castle (north of Worthing, south of Horsham) and then a meeting of the Estate’s advisory committee, I joined the team with a view to assisting with monitoring of the developing flora and fauna here. Some of you may have seen Sir Charlie Burrell talking about his ground-breaking re-wilding scheme on Countryfile before Christmas. A good deal more information can be found on their excellent website at http://www.knepp.co.uk/.

I’m a big fan of this bold experiment which has a lot of support, but perhaps unsurprisingly, its fair share of more local opposition. Without knowing the ‘whys and wherefores’ it may look as if a once productive and efficiently farmed estate is being left to go to rack and ruin, with the development of injurious weeds over some areas; particularly odd as the project is attracting agri-environmental grants (public money). So it is vitally important that the message and the potential benefits of such a project are understood by the wider public. To this end I was asked, along with others on the advisory committee, to make a statement explaining why I think it justifiable that Natural England has committed money to the project. This is how I see the situation.

“Throughout history we have periodically made fundamental changes to the way we manage agricultural land and during the later half of the last century we learnt that intensive farming, with the sole aim of achieving high yields, comes at too high a price to the natural environment and ultimately our own well-being. We are only now attempting to quantify the value of the diverse benefits provided by a healthy environment (Ecosystem Services) beyond food production alone.

The use of agri-environmental schemes to encourage farmers to employ features such as set-aside, conservation headlands, grass buffer strips, beetle banks and to more sensitively manage hedgerows and ditches has brought tangible and measurable benefits to wildlife. However, if we are to have any chance of more fully restoring ecosystems across the landscape, and better connecting those areas which are still rich in wildlife, we need to act on a much larger scale in the future. We must endeavour to achieve a better balance between the production of food and other Ecosystem Services including carbon sequestration, the provision of clean water and elements of biodiversity ranging from pollination to our spiritual connection with nature.

The Knepp Wildland Project provides a unique opportunity to investigate, on a sufficiently large scale, the effects of de-intensification, by encouraging natural processes to reshape a previously highly managed area; central to this is the use of free-roaming herds of large grazing and browsing herbivores (Old English longhorn cattle, Tamworth pigs, fallow & roe deer and Exmoor ponies). By design the project lacks strictly defined targets and as such it errs from the norm. However, it is only by venturing to observe and monitor these processes that we will be able to assess the potential benefits of a step change in the way we might manage the land in future.

This project provides an important test bed for such an innovative and adventurous approach and must surely be seen as worthy of support through agri-environmental and/or other grant schemes.”

Being aware of some the fundamental changes to farming and wider land management practices that are ultimately required to save some of our butterflies and moths, it has not been difficult to throw myself wholeheartedly behind the Knepp Wildland Project. I may be looking for some local help with butterfly monitoring here in due course.

Neil

Hi Neil,

Quite simply, keep up the fabulous work you are doing. The UK butterfly fauna, particularly that residing in Sussex, would be in a far worse place without your hard work and dedication (though please try turning up on time at the work parties!).

Speak soon.

Kindest regards. Mark

I second that Mark. Keep up the great work Neil.

Splendid stuff

Mia looks more like you every day! . I bet Christmas with her around took on a whole new dimension.

It's love to read a post in your diary again, you've been missed!

Neil

Not only are you doing excellent work but that is an extremely well written article. Your conservation work should be recognised more widely. People have been awarded “gongs” for far less worthy activities (I nearly ventured into political in-correctness by mentioning some of those I had in mind )

Jack

Don't do that,Jack! But i quite agree. Neil,you are a credit to Sussex and to conservation.Not least the Duke of Burgundy,in Sussex and beyond.
Keep up the good work and i hope to see you in Sussex very soon.
Kind regards,
Mark.

I agree with all that has been said before. You are a credit to the butterfly world, Neil.

Great stuff Neil.................The Dukes and I salute you

Vince

Thanks for your generous words of support. I've come to expect nothing less from the UKB community.
Best Wishes, Neil

Back To Work

After lazing around in the Canarian sunshine for a couple of weeks it was surprisingly enjoyable to be back in a cold, damp English woodland today. At Heyshott Escarpment the usual suspects were hacking away at the brambles and hazel to create more new habitat for the Duke of Burgundy. Mark Colvin has posted plenty of action and bonfire shots lately, so I thought I'd show a couple of images showing how the bigger picture has developed over the winter. It's hard to believe that fewer than ten individuals, many well into their retirement years, has cleared this bank of heavy scrub, derelict coppice and secondary woodland, stretching several hundred metres into the distance. The tiny grey smudge in the far background, just to the left of the quad bike coming down the track, is today's bonfire. The second image shows the view through a corridor cut upslope to meet the grassy disused chalk workings which characterise this Murray Downland Trust (MDT) reserve.
There are still a few weeks to go but the end of the work party season is now in sight. The BC Sussex Events Organiser Penny Green recently collated a few statistics for the Branch and, as usual, the numbers reflect the gigantic effort made by our fantastic volunteers (and those of several partner organisations such as MDT). From Heyshott to Graffham, Barlavington to Rewell Wood, and along the Downs towards Chanctonbury, the amount of suitable habitat for some of our rarer species has increased significantly over the 11/12 winter, a few examples of which are shown below. When the efforts on Michael Blencowe's patch in East Sussex are added, at the Park Corner Heath and Rowland Wood reserves, the total comes to 33 work parties and 342 attendances. The bile recently spouted by the out-of-control MP Ian Liddle-Grainger (see 'General' forum), who claimed a total of £166,109 in expenses in 2007 - 2008, can never erode my faith in human nature while people such as these are willing to give so much of their time FREELY.

Marvellous. Can't wait to go to Heyshott in the spring and enjoy the fruit of your (and the others) labour!

Great work Neil. Nice to have you back. It was great to see you the other week. Did you see any good stuff while you were away enjoying the sun?