The Fifteen Minute Voyages of a Butterfly Counter

RSPB Mersehead Blog 17th – 23rd August 2024

From Lillian to Lepidoptera

It has been a wet, windy and wild week on the reserve to say the least! The combination of storm Lillian and some unusually high August tides saw the Merse spectacularly inundated.  Faced with such conditions, staff time is split between ensuring our livestock are doing well in the harsher conditions and checking for storm damage, such as fallen trees, in the aftermath.  I am happy to report that apart from the exceedingly wet conditions, no real damage occurred, and we are looking forward to getting back to business once the water subsides.

And now for something completely different…

Several weeks ago, we wrote about the butterfly monitoring work (click here if you missed it  ) we were undertaking on the reserve and how everyone and anyone could get involved in counting butterflies by participating in the Big Butterfly Count which ran until the 4th of August. 

Keen to improve my ID skills and to understand what was going on across our beloved reserve I decided to participate by exploring different areas of the reserve. 

Journals of a Butterfly Counter 

Remonstrating with colleagues that I should have been provided with a pith helmet, safari suit and butterfly net, this intrepid explorer instead set forth with the tremendous and newly installed Big Butterfly Count application.  Weather permitting, I wanted to try and cover as many different habitats and record as many different species across the reserve as I could manage. 

Time was limited to 15 minutes per recording period or count, with the number of counts I could perform open to as many as my own time permitted (it turned out to be eight).

My first location lay not 25 feet from RSPB Mersehead’s Office doors in our Wildflower meadow.  Unabashedly trying to outcompete a colleague who had previously recorded multiple species in the same location I dove straight in and recorded a whopping 22 butterflies and 5 different species in my 15 minutes with the highlight being a single Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas).  Victory, and a great start, huzzah!

Small Copper. Photo Credit C.Glass 

Mersehead is lucky enough to have several areas of visitor accessible wildflower meadows throughout the reserve.  Each of our wildflower meadows vary in the type of plant species present and this diversity provides the opportunity for variation in butterfly species in them.   

In my first count I recorded one Small Copper and 5 different species.  When I targeted the wildflower meadow next to our Dipping Pond, I recorded less species, just 3, however numerous Small Copper and Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina).

It turned out that an amazing area to count in was the rather unexotic and small patch of wildflowers next to the Car Park picnic benches, talk about visitor accessible!  Enlisting the help of a couple of enthusiastic colleagues Green-veined White (Pieris napi), Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) and a Pink Lady (Vanessa cardui) were spotted before a visit to the rather aptly named Butterfly Meadow paid dividends with Large White (Pieris brassicae), Small White (Pieris rapae) and Meadow Brown gliding gracefully across the pathways inside the first few seconds.

Small Tortoiseshell. Photo Credit N Bone.

Having marched through the meadows, next up was a change in habitat with a voyage to our woodland.  Peacocking and prancing around like a true Victorian naturalist, I was delighted to spy  Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) before being called upon by the Admiralty, as a Red Admiral (Vanessa Atalanta) catching a gust, sailed breezily by.   

Red Admiral on the Woodland Path. Photo Credit N Bone.

A key piece of kit for my woodland adventure, and a top tip for any new butterfly enthusiasts, was the packing of a pair of binoculars allowing me to gaze at often under recorded tree-tops.  Although not included in the count, the rather punkishly iridescent Purple Hairstreak (Favonius quercus) was on show atop the new shoots of an Oak and I would simply not have been able to see it without the binocluars.

Raising myself for a last push I was about to retreat from the woodland when a Peacock (Aglais io) rose to bid me adieu! Dr Livingstone I Presume…I exclaimed! Neither waiting for nor expecting a response I moved on to what would be the penultimate of my count areas, the depths of the Sulwath Garden!

Peacock. Photo Credit N Bone.

Did you know?

Butterflies have different ways of communicating; chemical production of pheromones, wing movements, sight (they can see in ultraviolet) and some species are even known to use sound from wingbeats.

There is nothing more adventurous than a garden.  A cold glass of squash and a seat on a picnic bench (Adventuring, exploring and counting things is a thirsty business), I began my final count in earnest.  In general, I expected to see less activity in the garden area and it sadly proved to be the case.  Despite the drop off, I was rewarded mid-way through the count with an unexpected late season appearance from a Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus).

Holly Blue in the Sulwath Garden. Photo Credit N Bone.

Feeling refreshed and not 10 feet from the office, like all true explorers I valiantly made a final push to uncover the glories of another undiscovered area, in-between some farm buildings.  Tipped off by a colleague that there may be the odd Comma (Polygonia c-album) around I stood, I counted one last time.  Initially aghast at a disappointingly syntaxless count, I was rewarded with a precious Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) and a sighting of a Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus).

Ringlet. Photo Credit N Bone.

Common Blue. Photo Credit N Bone.

Overall, I was fortunate enough to observe 14 different species (including the Purple Hairstreak) but mostly it was just a great easily accessible nature experience.  It really helped force me to improve my butterfly ID skills (Large or Small White when they fly anyone?) and made me really appreciate the variety of the reserve’s habitat.   

Yes it is late in the summer, and yes the weather is not always amazing, but there are still plenty of butterflies around and adventures to be had in finding them.  Giving yourself a target or participating in Citizen Science projects like the Big Butterfly Count is also a great way to improve your own ID skills and spend time with friends and family.  Look out for the RSPB's Big Garden Bird Watch in early 2025.  Big Garden Birdwatch is the largest Citizen Science Project in the UK and an easy way to get involvedand make a contribution to nature recording if you are not sure where to start.

The Species and Abundance I (and Others) Recorded

Nick Bone, Trainee Warden

Upcoming events: For more information on individual events and to book a place, please go to our website: https://events.rspb.org.uk/mersehead

 At Mersehead you will find the RSPB’s only self-catering holiday cottages - Barnacle and Shelduck. Available dates are currently going quickly, so please follow the links to book your next holiday.

*Flooding - Please note that Mersehead nature reserve is prone to flooding during periods of high rainfall and/or strong winds and tidal surges. To avoid disappointment at these times, please contact the reserve in advance of your visit by email in the first instance at mersehead@rspb.org.uk or check the RSPB Dumfries and Galloway Facebook Page for daily updates.