Hertfordshire & Middlesex Branch
Saving butterflies, moths and our environment
Xmas greetings. Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year [Posted by Peter Clarke]
Red Admiral in St Albans. Red Admiral sunning itself on the garden wall of Eleanor Ormerod’s house on Holywell Hill this afternoon. One of the latest dates in the year I’ve recorded a butterfly in the wing in Herts. Good news from my hibernation shed - all 5 Peacocks are still intact, despite nearby spider activity! [Posted by Malcolm Hull]
Sighting from Stanwell Moor.. Glorious sunshine, light winds and temperatures just into double figures was just the recipe for a Red Admiral to appear on my local patch. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Butterflies Boom in New St Albans Wildflower Meadows. Herts & Middx Butterfly Conservation volunteers have been working with St Albans District Council to record butterflies on over 40 new Summer Meadows. These new meadows have been created in parks and other green spaces across the district. Mowing has been reduced to a single cut and collect at the end of the summer. Wildflower seeding with a mixture of good larval foodplants, nectar sources and Yellow Rattle has been carried out on selected sites. The results are impressive. Butterfly numbers have soared, with a 350% increase since 2022. You can read more about it on the councils website by clicking on the link below. Or contact me at malcolmhull@hertsmiddx-butterflies.org.uk for a copy of the full report St Albans Butterflies. The PDF version of the report can be viewed on the website under 'Projects' on the horizontal menu bar. [Posted by Malcolm Hull]
Brown Hairstreak egg hunting. Returned to Brook Farm Open Space near Totteridge & Whetstone Station to try and complete my search of all the blackthorn. I also continued along the Dollis Valley Green Way to Whetstone Stray Open Space which on the south side of Totteridge Road, but there wasn't so much blackthorn and a lot on the west side of the Dollis Brook had been trimmed rather than cut back (worth checking next year though). Searching conditions were ideal with nice cloudy skies but either I wasn't trying very hard or there weren't many eggs to be found? In total in just over 3 hours of searching, I found only 7 Brown Hairstreak eggs and just one of these was in Whetstone Stray Open Space, the others around the edges of Brook Farm Open Space. [Posted by Liz Goodyear]
Another Winter Red Admiral. Observed a free flying Red Admiral working its way along the Warren on Hartham Common, Hertford just before noon todau. [Posted by Andrew Wood]
Red Admiral. Red Admiral on SE-facing side of cultivated Viburnum at Norcott Court Farm near Berkhamsted [Posted by Colin Everett]
Winter Red Admiral. A Red Admiral was taking in the sun this lunchtime on Hartham Common, Hertford. [Posted by Andrew Wood]
Planting hedges for butterflies and moths. Burrs Green Farm, Walton-at-Stone - volunteers from Herts & Middx BC and Herts CPRE planted another 150 meters of hedge today. That’s around 750 individual saplings, all selected as being particularly suitable for butterflies and moths. Why not join us for the next planting day this Sunday, 14th December, (for details see entry for 1st December below). There will be more tasks in other locations next year, more details to follow after Christmas.., [Posted by Malcolm Hull]
Saving our Insects - Dave Goulson. For those that missed last Wednesday's Zoom presentation by Dave Goulson - this is the YouTube link. It is a very thought provoking and well worth watching. Insects have a lot to contend with in this modern world but there are still a few things anyone can do to help! Saving our Insects [Posted by Liz Goodyear]
Brook Farm Open Space & Dollis Brook Greenway. Five years ago the branch launched the Blackthorn Survey Project - with the aim of encouraging members to look for blackthorn during the 2021 winter lockdown and the hope of finding suitable Brown Hairstreak habitat that might one day be colonised? One site suggested was Brook Farm Open Space which is just north of Totteridge & Whetstone Station on the Northern Line. I finally visited the site today starting at Wyatts Farm Open Space at the north end. I quickly found 4 Brown Hairstreak eggs, however, from that point eggs were much harder to find. I then crossed the Dollis Brook and found the grassland that our member had suggested we look at. It was certainly blackthorn rich but not all was in ideal condition. I spent just over 3 hours in total searching today and in total found 19 eggs which was very satisfying. The light conditions were very poor at times as it was very bright sunshine so there were many eggs probably missed! There is still more blackthorn along the Dollis Brook towards the station and further south on the other side of the road if anyone else has a few hours to spare! [Posted by Liz Goodyear]
Sighting from Stanwell Moor. A warm sunny day here just to the west of Heathrow, and at around midday I spotted a Red Admiral in one of the sheltered areas next to the river. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. On another sunny (though not quite so warm) day today, I found two Red Admirals in my local hotspot by the River Colne. One was an individual I'd seen a couple of times before recently, and though the other closely resembled one I'd seen yesterday, close scrutiny of the photos showed it to be a different butterfly. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Hertfordshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy. Over the last year the branch committee have been busy contributing ideas towards a Local Nature Recovery Strategy for Herts. This has been co-ordinated by Herts County Council and the Herts & Middx Wildlife Trust. It provides a blueprint for nature recovery across the county and incorporates many of our ideas for saving butterflies, moths and our environment. It is an important piece of work and will guide funding for conservation priorities for years to come. You can read the plan here We haven't forgotten Middx, which is covered by the Greater London LNRS. We have also been advising on that plan which I expect to be published in the next few months [Posted by Malcolm Hull]
Butterfly Conservation National AGM and Members Morning. This years event was held online. Simon Savile was elected as the new Chair and Steve Almond is the new Treasurer. Speakers included Richard Fox, who spoke about Some fascinating research projects; Rachel Jones on conserving the Lulworth Skipper (she predicts the climate in Herts will be suitable for this species by 2050); and Craig Bennett who leads the Wildlife Trusts and their 3,800 staff nationally spoke about some of the political and policy challenges the UK conservation movement faces For those who didn't make it there is a recording available on YouTube. Worth dipping into if you have a quiet moment over Christmas! National Members Morning [Posted by Malcolm Hull]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. After yesterday's rain and sporadically windy day to kick off meteorological winter, today dawned sunny and mild in my part of the world. The sunshine continued for much of the day, and temperatures must have been nudging 12 degrees at lunchtime. In these benign kind of conditions, it would perhaps have been more surprising not to have seen a Red Admiral, and I ended up seeing at least four. Two were chasing each other high up, and I managed to catch up with what I assumed was one of these when it came down again in the same spot later. Another one was basking elsewhere, and I disturbed a fourth with my shadow (annoyingly long at this time of year!). [Posted by Dave Miller]
Hedgerow Heroes kicks off!. Woodhall Estate, Watton-at-Stone - volunteers from CPRE Herts and Butterfly Conservation had a successful hedge planting session on Sunday. Over 600 saplings were planted, the start of new hedges, to be planted on the lines of old hedgerows which were removed in the 1960's at Burrs Green Farm. The carefully selected mix of 15 species suitable for butterflies and moths included Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Buckthorn, Holly and Dog Rose. As these mature they will provide excellent habitat, alongside a fallow field which is planted with Bird seed mix Further planting sessions are planned on Weds 10th and Sunday 14th December. All branch members welcome. If you'd like to join in or find out more details contact James Lunn James@cpreherts.org.uk Thanks to Kevin Russ and Katherine for the photos [Posted by Malcolm Hull]
