Brown Hairstreak Bulletin 118
Dear Brownhairstreakers,
With no recent sightings, I think we can conclude that the Brown Hairstreak flight season is now over for 2015 in Worcestershire. Despite the cool nights during September, there were plenty of sightings at Grafton Wood throughout the month with the last two being seen by John Tilt on his butterfly transect on Thursday 24th. However, it seems the flight season in Worcs was far from over at that point as Geoff Thompson saw one at the Shurnock site on Friday 2nd Oct. However, no further sightings have been reported since then.
The annual Brown Hairstreak Open Day, at Grafton Wood, on Sunday 30th August was unfortunately plagued by poor weather. Indeed, it was the first time in my five years of attending this event that I didn’t get to see a Brown Hairstreak. At least it didn’t rain though – which the weather forecast a few days before had suggested it would…… and heavily!! – enabling the large gathering of visitors to have an enjoyable walk through the wood. A few other species of butterfly were spotted and John Tilt was on hand to point out some of the interesting flora that the wood supports together with quite a few Brown Hairstreak eggs that had been laid on the new blackthorn suckers that have grown up as a result of the excellent management work there. Lunch in the village hall was, as always, excellent and by way of at least some compensation for not seeing any Brown Hairstreaks, Roger Wasley and Mike Williams had brought along a fascinating selection of exotic caterpillars that they were rearing, together with some moths trapped from the previous night.
I recently picked up a cheque from our friends the Terry’s at Hollowfields Farm. This was kindly donated by them to West Mids Butterfly Conservation and represented the proceeds raised from a butterfly walk around their farm earlier in the summer. They are very keen supporters of the Brown Hairstreak and work tirelessly at their farm to ensure that management of their hedgerows is optimised for the butterfly’s precise requirements. They also wrote and supplied a case study of their farm management practices to Butterfly Conservation Head Office, to be included in a partnership website for farm advice www.farmwildlife.info. This website project was led by the RSPB and the Campaign for the Farmed Environment, and the site has been re-launched to coincide with the new Countryside Stewardship schemes. We are thrilled that their case study has been included.
We will soon begin this year's egg searching season in earnest and it is not too long before our first major egg hunt of the season, planned for Sat, 21st November meeting at Grafton Church for 10 am, when we are aiming to begin our core egg count of the blackthorn around Grafton Wood. This will be 45th consecutive year of egg counts at this site, making it almost certainly the longest running monitoring survey of any UK butterfly. Do come along if you can. This year, there were an unusually high number of adults reported around the wood and it will be interesting to see if this is reflected in an improved egg count. In the meantime, (starting on 29th October) we shall be meeting every Thurs at the same time and same place to carry out weekly egg searches of the wider Worcs countryside, including Redditch, and all are welcome but best to let me know in advance (Click Here) if you are planning to attend.
Finally, a reminder of the regular work parties that take place in Grafton Wood. Conservation days are held virtually every week, on a Wednesday, and once a month on the second Sunday of each month. The weekly work parties have just started and the monthly ones will begin soon. Further details are available from reserve manager: John Tilt If you can help, it will be very much appreciated.
www.westmidlands-butterflies.org.uk
https://graftonwood.wordpress.com/
Simon Primrose,
Brown Hairstreak Species Champion,
West Midlands Butterfly Conservation