Two Tunnels Butterfly Count

  Species: Comma (3) Orange Tip (1) Peacock (6) Small Tortoiseshell (2) Small tortoiseshell - Tucking Mill 24-03-2022 The sunny and warm spell of weather had continued for some days as I set off along the cycle-path for my first 'butterfly' trip of the year. I had visited the area on the 18th March when the weather conditions were far less favourable for butterflies. Today was different. The weather was fine and sunny with the temperature reaching around 17c. Comma - Midford 24-03-2022 I had seen butterflies before today. I had seen Brimstone, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies whilst out walking the dog. I hadn't up this point seen a Comma. This was to change as I paused on the path just south of Midford. A Comma found me, rather than the other way around. After flitting around near to where I stood, it settled for a while on my hand before flying off to sit above the path on an overhanging branch. Comma - Tucking Mill 24-03-2022 This Comma was one of three I saw...

Butterflies don't like the cold. As a rule of thumb, I don't expect to see many butterflies flying if the temperature is below 14c. There are of course exceptions. As the naturalist and Times Nature Notes writer Mathew Oates put it,  'Red Admiral will fly in a fridge' .  So it was no surprise to me that on this trip, I saw no butterflies. It was mid-afternoon when I set off and although the weather was fine, the temperature had eased back to around 12c. Despite this, there was a pleasant feel of Spring in the air and plenty of signs of what was coming. Slow worm - Tucking Mill 18-03-2022 I stopped first at a section of embankment a couple of hundred metres past the Tucking Mill viaduct. It was warm and sunny here and I noticed a piece of roofing felt had found its way onto the steep slope. I recognised it as a long lost 'reptile mat'.  These were used several years ago by one of the Sustrans ecologist as part of a reptile survey. I decided to move the mat off th...