Two Tunnels Butterfly Count

  Butterfly Species: Dingy Skipper, Brimstone, Grizzled Skipper Brimstone - Tucking Mill 14-05-2021 My afternoon trip on the 14th May was later in the day than I would normally set out. The weather, although sunny was still cool for the time of year at 14c. The average for a sunny May day for this part of the UK is around 17c.  Still, a number of butterflies were active and which made the trip worthwhile. Not far along the path from Tucking Mill I spotted a Brimstone nectaring on a Dandelion flower. These remarkable butterflies are the longest lived, in the adult state, of any UK butterfly. This individual most likely emerged during the preceding summer in July or August, and having survived the winter was still going strong five months into the new year. Brimstone eggs - Midford 14-05-2021 The larval foodplant of the Brimstone is Buckthorn and Alder Buckthorn. This is an uncommon shrub along this stretch of railway path. I know of a couple of straggly specimens near the Midf...

 Butterfly Species: Holly Blue (1) Dingy Skipper (1) Orange Tip (1) Ramsons (Wild Garlic) Another cool and cloudy May day. My trip started about 11am and again, I was not that optimistic about seeing many butterflies. The three I did see made the trip worthwhile.  Dingy Skipper - Tucking Mill 11-05-2021 The cycle path was looking near it's best with the woodland understorey a carpet of white Ransom flowers, peppered with Bluebells and the yellow Lesser Celandine. The first butterfly was a Dingy Skipper. This was seen at the top of an embankment where the cycle path runs alongside a meadow. This is one of three locations in fairly close proximity, where you can expect to see these uncommon butterflies. Further along the path a single male Orange Tip flew past me, busily checking out a variety of flora without pausing and a single Holly Blue fluttered higher up in the shrubbery. Wild Strawberry - Tucking Mill 11-05-2021 Diverting off the cycle-path and following a footpath acro...

Butterfly Species: Dingy Skipper The beginning of May brought some fine weather, albeit cool. At around midday I made a short dog walking trip to Tucking Mill. Rather than going along the cycle path I walked down a footpath from Combe down village and across the fields where I would expect to see Grizzled Skipper butterflies at this time of year. With the temperature struggling to reach the heady heights of 11c, I was not expecting to see many butterflies on the wing. It was a nice surprise then to see this Dingy Skipper basking in the weak sunshine. This small butterfly is often hard to follow as it darts rapidly around over it's grassland habitat. This one was much more approachable given the cool weak sunshine. Sadly this is a species has declined greatly over the decades but showing a modest improvement in the last ten years. It remains a priority species for Butterfly Conservation.