Two Tunnels Butterfly Count

It has been nearly four years since I started monitoring butterflies along the cycle-path between Tucking Mill and Midford. This stretch of the path crosses a variety of habitats including both woodland and grassland. A network of public footpaths either side of the path provides the opportunity to explore the surrounding area. The map below gives an approximation of the area I will typically cover through the summer months. This area is dominated by deciduous woodland, with a mixture of species including Oak, Ash, Field Maple, Hazel and Wych Elm of varying maturity. During the last couple of years the most frequent of these, Ash, has started showing the signs of Ash-Dieback disease.  Much of this woodland is owned by the utility company Wessex Water, who have started work removing some of the ailing trees. They justified this on safety grounds, given the public footpaths that cross this area and the danger these trees may pose as they die. This work will change the the woodland an...

Small Copper - Tucking Mill 11-09-21 2021 proved a frustrating year for me, having broken my ankle in mid-May, just as the 'season' was underway. I did however manage a species list of nineteen. Included in this list is the Grizzled and Dingy Skippers. Both these species have seen big declines in recent decades and are now of conservation concern. One butterfly NOT on this list this year is White-letter Hairstreak. This is probably due to the fact I was not able to visit the location during their peak flight season.  Species                                         Common name Aglais io                                         Peacock Aglais urticae                     Small Tortoise...