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DEAN GREEN TEAM Wildlife Conservation Group in the Forest of Dean Gloucestershire |
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6 June 2013
Butterfly Surveying
We are doing a series of butterfly surveys during the summer. Some of the team are regularly checking butterflies in various areas of the forest and have also been planting their food plants such as marsh violets in likely butterfly spots. We are provided with a good butterfly identification chart and all we need to do is to meander around our designated areas and see what we can find.
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6 June 2013 Moseley Green Grid Ref SO637088 The team have got together to discuss the areas we are to cover. We were divided up into pairs according to our level of expertise in butterfly recognition. Although it was sunny, there was a bit of a breeze making it quite cool. Apart from butterflies we also saw deer, a hornet and some baby common lizards. |
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18 June 2013 New Fancy View Grid Ref SO627095 We had to cancel the survey which was for 11th June due to a very rainy day. This survey, on the 18th, was a cloudy day which made the search for butterflies quite hard but we did see quite a few. As you can see in the photo, we were searching along the small ditches for the butterflies food source. Did anyone notice the small pearl-bordered fritillary at the bottom of the photo? No, of course not! (except for the photographer!) |
Small Heath butterfly The Small Heath is an inconspicuous butterfly that flies only in sunshine and rarely settles more than a metre above the ground. Its wings are always kept closed when at rest. Underside of forewing has eyespot at tip. Hindwing banded with brown, grey and cream. The number of broods and the flight periods are variable and adults may be seen continuously from late April to September on some sites in southern England
Small Blue Butterfly
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All these photos were taken on the 18th June by one of our members and are a good example of clear photography skills.
Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary Medium-sized orange butterfly with black markings and silvery patches on the underside. This Fritillary is similar in size and habitats to the Pearl-bordered Fritillary but is more widespread and occurs in damper, grassy habitats as well as woodland clearings and moorland. The adults fly close to the ground, stopping frequently to take nectar from flowers such as Bramble and thistles. The butterfly remains widespread and locally abundant in Scotland and Wales, but has undergone a severe decline in England
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