Hi everyone! Today I’m going to tell you about the lovely work I’ve been doing for the past week... it involves running around the heath and identifying beautiful butterflies! Before I start rambling I wanted to teach you the Spanish word for butterfly which is mariposa! I’ve always thought it is a beautifully sounding word...
So, RSPB ecologists need information about the abundance of Grayling butterflies at Arne and both I and George, another volunteer, had the pleasure to do some surveys on them. Grayling butterflies are one of the RSPB priority species as they are declining in an alarming rate, they have decreased in abundance by 73% from 1984-2003. This is mainly due to the loss, degradation and fragmentation of their habitats. This butterfly loves to roam on sunny, dry and sheltered sites where vegetation is sparse, which makes Arne’s heathlands excellent for them. The RSPB have been managing the species and its habitat for a while now and the surveys are a way of assessing the efficacy of the management.
The surveys consist in walking around the lovely reserve at a steady pace and counting the number of Graylings that fly past... it is NOT as simple and idyllic as it sounds though! I pictured it as a nice and calm stroll but it ended up being us chasing butterflies up and down the heath. It was great fun and an excellent way of practising my species identification skills. I have to confess that even though we had a few proper butterfly books the most useful one was an I-Spy book that George got as a present when he was 3 years old!
Instead of only recording the Graylings that we could see, we thought it would be useful if we recorded every animal species we encountered. We were lucky enough to see almost 10 different butteflies, including numerous Gatekeepers, a Peacock butterfly and a large white. We also had a look at the small invertebrates that run around the heath floor, such as harvestmen and soldier beetles. And of course, we admired buzzards, swallows, swifts and green woodpeckers flying past us. The most special moment for me was when a Sika deer crossed paths with us, it stared at us for a few seconds and ran happily away.
We covered a big area of the reserve by dividing it into four transects where we would survey every species we could. I have greatly enjoyed the surveys as not only did they help me improve my knowledge but it was amazing to be in this beautiful place where I felt a deep connection with nature. More next week... See you soon!
Julia