Latest Doings

Of course, the weather falls apart as soon as the Duke of Burgundy starts to emerge... 

The butterfly will be at peak season at many of its sites in southern England over the Bank Holiday weekend and early next week.  They have had a difficult time with the weather lately, but as yet they haven't had more than they can't cope with inflicted on them, and there will be many more adults to emerge at most sites.

News from various places -

Noar Hill.  It started here remarkably early, on April 8th.  I visited in marginal weather conditions on April 23rd (St George) and was impressed by the condition of the habitat.  The site was looking the best its looked for this species for many years: rabbits were almost absent, the turf height was ideal, cowslips were fairly abundant, and the wildlife trust had scaled back on scrub cutting.  The butterfly may well start to go over here soon though.  Here's a nice view of the site -

Ivinghoe.  A top site in the north Chilterns (NT), holding a scatter of colonies along the west-facing slope down to the mouth of Incombe Hole.  Visited in marginal conditions on April 29th and counted 20 Dukes, but might have doubled that tally had the weather been better.  Habitat conditions were excellent over much of the slope, though the slopes of Steps Hill were a little on the short side.  The slopes are managed firmly with this butterfly in mind.  Here's the main male lek, where about ten can be seen in good weather at peak season - 

   
Good news from the re-introduced colonies in the Bradenham Valley (NT) west of High Wycombe.  Viable numbers have been seen at both sites (Park Wood and Small Dean Bank) and more must be due to emerge there - news per Ched George.

Back in the Cotswolds, where Natural England is funding a major survey and ecological study (through Dave Simcox), the butterfly seems to be holding back, waiting for the weather to improve before emerging properly.  Certainly it is by no means well out on Rodborough Common (NT), Stroud, yet (and Pearl-bordered Fritillary has yet to start in Cirencester Park Woods). 

This butterfly needs ten good days at the start of May.  Hopefully that's not too much to ask....

Read More

Sussex In Action Too

This afternoon (18th April) I made a speculative visit to see if the first Duke had emerged at Heyshott Escarpment, believing it to still be a few days too early. Pearls have only just emerged at Rewell Wood, this event usually preceding the appearance of His Grace by a week plus. There was little activity in the chill breeze as I ascended the steep slope and I counted only a couple of Dingy and a single Grizzled Skipper before reaching the plateau.


However, sitting waiting for me was a perfect male. His lack of agility and mint appearance suggested a very recent emergence. He was sitting within a metre of where the two or three (at best) males used to lek at Heyshott when the species was teetering on the brink of local extinction, before operations began to save the Duke in 2007. On the best days 100+ now fly here.


Bearing in mind the effort I put into conserving this species on my own patch, it is hardly surprising that this sighting meant much more to me than the half dozen Dukes I saw at Noar Hill on 15th April (pictured). With this degree of involvement it all becomes much more personal, and that's how it should be with butterflies.


                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                   

Read More

Gloucestershire Kicks Off!

His Grace the Duke of Burgundy appeared in the Cotswolds today, Fri April 18th - a fresh male on Rodborough Common (NT), just east of Stroud.  This was seven days after the first had been recorded nationally - at Noar Hill, Hampshire, on Sat 12th. His appearance in the Cotswolds had doubtless been held up by a sequence of cold nights (a touch of frost most nights this week, and a significant frost early on Wed 16th).  Cold nights really do hold his emergence back (this year, Dingy Skipper appeared at Rodborough before His Grace, which is highly unusual).  

There are three to seven colonies dotted along the lower slopes of Rodborough, three of which are fairly sizeable (offering peak season counts of 20+, sometimes as many as 50).  Two of those colonies are 'early' in appearance, the third is on higher ground and in a more exposed position, and tends to start five to seven days later, as do the small satellite colonies. 

Today's male was behaving despicably - launching himself at bee flies (both Common and Dotted varieties), a Green Hairstreak, an Eristalid hoverfly, an Early Bumblebee and, repeatedly, at the resident male Peacock.  Here he is - 

I have good data on His Grace's appearance at Rodborough for the last 22 years (I've been a little OCD on this).  18th April is the sixth earliest appearance in that sequence.  He has appeared in April there in 16 of the 22 years.  Here are the dates -

1993            1994            1995            1996           1997

28th April     2nd May      14th April    7th May      21st April

1998            1999            2000            2001            2002

25th April     24th April    27th April    5th May       21st April

2003            2004            2005            2006            2007

15th April    2nd May      30th April     1st May       16th April

2008            2009            2010            2011            2012

27th April    20th April     23rd April    9th April      12th April

2013            2014

4th May       18th April

I also have data on His Grace's appearances at Noar Hill going back to the Long Hot Summer of 1976... 

Read More

DofB on Youtube

Short youtube piece on NT reintroduction in Bradenham Valley, S Chilterns, starring His Grace the Duke of Burgundy   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ7cIBSJ8vc

Read More

Still Beating Skippers

All followers of His Grace will have enjoyed watching his attacks on Dingy and Grizzled Skippers on many occasions. However, it is far less often that we are afforded the privilege of watching him beat up the Large Skipper; in fact I only recall ever seeing this once before.

Yesterday (26th June), while surveying a site on the Downs at Storrington, I was only mildly surprised by the relative abundance of spring skippers still flying, bearing in mind how late this season is still running. I even saw Green Hairstreaks, although they weren't very green. What did surprise me was this feisty old Duke who, despite visibly falling to pieces, was attacking every one of the freshly emerged Large Skippers that crossed his territory. This butterfly wins my 'Duke of Burgundy of the Year Award'.

Read More

Old Soldier

This afternoon I stopped off at Springhead Hill near Storrington, primarily to see how the Small Blue is faring. Numbers are much better than last year and females are still emerging, with two mating pairs seen.

What did surprise me, particularly so late in the day, was this geriatric male Duke, still taking on anything that crossed its airspace. The same individual was photographed a week ago, already looking bleached and well past its sell-by date. I'm pretty sure this is the same male I first saw eleven days prior to that, making it at least 2.5 weeks old. Good effort!

Read More

Farewell To The Duke

Yesterday (8th June) I performed my final 2013 count of Sussex Duke of Burgundy. For the ninth season in succession I have spent a great many hours surveying, monitoring and studying this species and, as in previous years, I would like to think that I have learned a little more about it. With 417 sightings logged, I'm pleased to report that on all Sussex sites His Grace survived the worst that the British weather could throw at him in 2012. Perhaps the best news of all is that the sun has shone brightly for more than two weeks, allowing the females an almost uninterrupted opportunity to lay eggs. 2014 could be a good year for the Duke.

Read More

Fantastic Day

Not the best picture in the world I know but representative of the fact that I found Dukes virtually every step of the way today - this is at the top of Butser Hill in Hampshire 270m amsl in a howling gale! 

As the season appears to be drawing to a close I thought I would spend a few hours walking all of the likely areas at Butser. When I turned up there was a strong cold north easterly wind blowing and although the sun was out it was cool. I headed down on to little Butser and was soon assured I had made the right decision spotting two males basking. I must have walked several miles along the entire scrub line around the north and west faces aventually scaling the humorously titled Grandfathers Bottom, which to use Neil's phrase is serious mountain goat territory - it rises 120m in 100m - seriously steep. In all I encountered no less than 68 Dukes in just under three hours ( which is conservative as I only counted definites - could have been  90+) some were still moderately fresh, others were very worn,  and the one pictured which was the last at the top of my climb. I even encountered eight males all defending a nettle patch no less and a battle between a duke, brown argus, grizzled skipper, common blue, green hairstreak and a small heath - the duke win hands down.

In all I don't think I went more than 100m without encountering a Duke which is credit to the park authority who have created some great habitat - bodes well for next year as they have had the best of weather for laying.

Mark 

Read More

Making Hay ...

The spell of warm, sunny weather we have enjoyed through late May and early June is fantastic news for some of our rarer spring species. Duke of Burgundy, Pearl-bordered Fritillary and Wood White will all have had the opportunity to spend long periods out egg laying. As long as we don't see a summer drought, I'm optimistic that the numbers of these and other species will bounce back strongly next spring.


Although most Duke populations in Sussex peaked a week or more ago, the later sites on cool NW facing slopes are still producing freshly hatched females. Yesterday I counted 46 Dukes over three adjacent sites, including two mating pairs and a couple of females with only very minor wear & tear. Let's hope the egging continues for another week or more.

Read More

Sussex from Hampshire

To  compliment Neil's photo of Hampshire from Sussex here is the reverse also taken yesterday, Harting Down is in the centre - Neil might even be there! Taken from Little Butser.

Journeyed right across Hampshire yesterday visiting Dean Hill on the Wltshire border, Bentley Wood then some sites around Winchester finishing at Ramsdean Down. Pleased to say that I only failed to see Dukes at Bentley Wood , but plenty of Pearl Bordered Fritillaries  made up for that. 

I manged to see them in three locations where I had not seen them previously seeing 25 in total. Dingy Skippers are now beginning to predominate but I did see a few pretty fresh Dukes. 

Mark.

Read More

Dukes On The Wane

Sadly, the Duke of Burgundy season is now on the wane and my 2013 survey of all Sussex sites will probably be complete by the end of next week. However, there are still some highlights to be enjoyed, such as the count of 9 males at Harting Down this morning (31st May); none were seen here last year. This site is mountain goat territory, and very seldom visited by anyone else, so it's a great place to escape from the crowds and just melt into the landscape. The views across the West Sussex/Hampshire border are spectacular; this morning they were enjoyed to the soundtrack of skylarks and a distant cuckoo.


After a disappointing count (2) at a private site, I headed to Heyshott Escarpment, where once again I was alone with the Dukes. Although I managed a healthy count of 18, including the beautiful female pictured, the numbers are now dropping off. The Duke is no longer the most common species on the slopes, overhauled by both Dingy Skipper (37) and Small Heath (46). The latter seems set for a good season. Other species included Pearl-bordered Fritillary (1), Green Hairstreak (3) and Grizzled Skipper (3). If you haven't had your fill of Dukes yet, get out there this weekend.

Read More

Duke of Burgundy Reintroduced to Bradenham Valley

In the spring of 2011 the NT, in liaison with Butterfly Conservation and Natural England, carried out an officially-approved reintroduction of His Grace the Duke of Burgundy to two small and almost-adjacent chalk grassland sites in the Bradenham Valley, west of High Wycombe in the Chilterns.  The butterfly had died out there circa 2000.  Fortunately, the reasons behind the extinction have been identified and addressed, and habitat conditions have improved greatly.  The two sites support other invertebrates with similar requirements to His Grace, notably Small Blue and Dark-green Fritillary butterflies and the rare bee-mimic hoverfly Microdon devius.

The chances of natural recolonisation were deemed extremely slim, though there is a small colony, the last in the south Chilterns, along a railway line over 2km away.  This is isolated from a developing matrix of chalk grassland habitat patches in the Bradenham valley by intensive agriculture.  The butterfly has declined drastically in the Chilterns during the last 20 years.

In late May 2010 91 eggs were harvested from the Ivinghoe Hills (NT) further north in the Chilterns.  These were bred through in captivity by Ched George of BC Upper Thames Branch.  From these, 29 adults were released at Small Dean Bank and 25 at Park Wood in the spring of 2011.

Close monitoring, mainly by Ched, revealed a reasonable colony at Small Dean Bank in 2012.  The peak count there was 14 (3 females, 11 males) but only a maximum of 2 was recorded at Park Wood. 

On Mon May 27th this year, in windy weather which hinders this butterfly considerably, 3 males and 1 egg-laying female were counted at Small Dean and a max of 4 males and 1 female at Park Wood.  We undoubtedly under-recorded due to the windy conditions, and would probably have seen twice as many had we visited in calm sunny weather.  At least three of the adults seen were freshly emerged, and it is likely that a few more adults are due to emerge.  Habitat conditions have improved further.  Hopefully enough eggs will be laid during this poor spring to see the butterfly through into next year. 

Gaining official approval necessitated 4500 words of reports and letters, plus some emails and phone calls.  Both donor and receptor sites are SSSIs, so double approval had to be obtained from Natural England.  Internally, all wildlife releases and extirpations have to be approved by the NT's Natural Environment Panel.  This required me to write a 1500 word report and attend a Panel meeting.  The Panel approved the release but expressed some concern as to the long term future of the butterfly in the Chilterns under a climate change scenario - the Chilterns may become too drought-prone for a butterfly whose larvae depend on Primula leaves that remain green well into the summer.  The Panel was, though, impressed by the Trust's vision for recreating chalk grassland in the Bradenham Valley (where several areas are being restored to downland from agriculture or forestry).  Hopefully the butterfly will 'take' properly at Small Dean and Park Wood, and then spread to other places within the Bradenham Valley.  The butterfly needs some decent weather though, and cannot have laid many eggs yet this season....

Small Dean Bank

His Grace, at Park Wood

Read More

Hampshire Dukes

Got out really early today and didn't get home  until 7pm! Made the most of the weather.... First call was magdalen hill down and it was pretty quiet as I was early but saw good numbers of green hairstreaks  including six doing battle when two holly blues joined in - mayhem. Then went over to St Catherine's hill and was a bit disappointed  - no downland species at all but good counts of peacock brimstone and orange tip.
I then visited an adjacent site I had been told about to check it  for dukes. At first it did not  seem very appealing with waste height nettles which caused some grief but I persevered and eventually found good numbers including a mating pair - this was a new site for me so very pleasing.
This site is 'open access land' and there seems to be some scrub clearance but little grazing. The Dukes were spread along several hundred meters of the lower part of the hill so potentially great site with some careful management but I dont know who is responsible fir managing it?
I then ventured to Beacon hill in th Meon Valley again to search for Dukes but with only one tentative siting it was a bit disappointing but again very good numbers of GH.
Then across the valley to Old Winchester Hill very few butterflies around but managed to locate the small colony of Dukes spotting five in total including two females.
There was just time to finish in my favourite spot in Rake Bottom where again saw a few Dukes settling in for the evening - fantastic day seeing Dukes at three different sites  Mark

Read More

Counting Dukes

The last two days (25th & 26th May) have been pretty typical for me at this time of the year, involving a mad dash to try and survey all of the Sussex Duke of Burgundy sites as thoroughly as possible. Although numbers will take another season to recover, there does at least seem to be a viable population remaining in the areas I've visited so far; sometimes only just. That's quite a relief after last year's weather, but I do have doubts that the national tally will remain unaffected by the 2012 washout. I recorded 55 Dukes over 6 different sites and on some of these the butterfly is still emerging. Along the way I'm seeing reasonable numbers of Dingy Skipper and Green Hairstreak, although the Grizzled Skipper isn't faring quite so well. While searching an area of Rewell Wood today I saw 7 or 8 Drab Looper moths, so they seem to have weathered the storm quite well. These frail looking insects are a lot tougher than we give them credit for.

Read More

Dukes Launch 'Save Our Butterflies Week' In Sussex

I'm pleased to say we were blessed with decent weather and a good turn-out of both people and butterflies for the BC 'Save Our Butterflies Week' launch event in Sussex, held at Heyshott Escarpment on Saturday 18th May.

On the walk itself we saw 20 - 30 Duke of Burgundy without straying from the footpaths. I later returned to scour the site and counted 42, including 3 females. I estimate they are still a week to ten days from peak here.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the discovery that Pearl-bordered Fritillary has moved onto the site. I was gobsmacked to see a male during the walk, and even more surprised to later watch a female PBF make her first, unsteady flight. They used to occur along the Downs here in the C21st, so this might signal a welcome return. It's 11.5 Km to Rewell Wood, where the species thrives, so I suspect they've been hiding out in Charlton Forest, just over the ridge from Heyshott.

Read More

45 Years On, and counting...

In 1968, when the world was young and heady, the 19^th of May fell on a Sunday, as has been the case this year.  Spring that year was slow, but sure, and gave the impression that sooner or later something mighty was going to erupt within the world of Nature.  It did, on May 19^th. 

But May 19^th 1968 began with school chapel, which dragged on till 10am.  It was, of course, compulsory at boarding schools in that era – on pain of severe pain.   Between chapel, and the equally compulsory but utterly inedible Sunday lunch, was an opportunity of less than three hours to go butterflying.  Consequently, I ran, in heavy school shoes, dressed as a penguin in full school uniform, the two and a half miles to Marlpost Wood.  I entered the wood at the zenith of spring, with the heady scent of bluebells in the air, stuffed my school coat under a bush – and crossed rapturously into a new dimension, the real world.

There, to an eternal delight that must now be shared, I saw my first Pearl-bordered Fritillaries and what was then known as the Duke of Burgundy Fritillary.  It must be confessed that I still refer to the latter as the Duke of Burgundy Fritillary at every opportunity, for butterfly enthusiasts fall for the names they first learnt – and, as Aslan himself put it: ‘Once a king and queen in Narnia, always a king and queen in Narnia’.  The Pearl-bordered was undoubtedly the most beautiful thing I had seen in fourteen years of life, on account not merely of the juxtaposition of colours, but of the grace with which it flies.  The magic is compounded by its affinity with the exquisite blue of its beloved bugle flowers.  The Burgundy was evidently a living jewel, and a butterfly of strong character. 

Both butterflies occurred around a few acres of young plantation, where rows of oaks had been inter-planted with lines of Norway spruce, as a nurse crop, next to a broad sunny ride bedecked with clumps of bugle and stitchwort.  Speckled yellow moths were hatching, and flopping around amongst bracken fronds old and new, fair weather cumulous clouds were drifting lazily above, for atmospheric pressure was rising, and a distant nightingale sang snatches of some Elysian song.  Will people who do not believe that Paradise exists upon this earth kindly revise their views: it does, only it tends to be transitory and intensely episodic, and you have to be in the right place at the right time.  Moreover, human nonsense, such as compulsory chapel, is forever getting in the way of it. 

A horribly soppy and naïve song by a group called The Honeybus, who mercifully had only the one hit, was riding high in the charts in May 1968, and was in my mind throughout and beyond that visit.  Years later I rewrote I Can't Let Maggie Go, slowed it down and removed the annoying falsetto parts, and attempted to give it some decent lyrics.  This heavily revised, near-paganised and unrecognisable version is my song of the Pearl-bordered Fritillary, but like so much of what one holds dearest is inappropriate for open communication.  We dare not come out at that level, I know not why. 

After an hour and a half in Paradise I ran back to school, in time for the compulsory lunch.  But I had left something behind in the woods, part of me.  Instead, I had taken something with me, not merely a couple of specimens of each species, which I set that afternoon, for people collect memories and forge relationships with places.  Marlpost Wood has changed unrecognisably since that day (most of it blew down in the Great Storm of October 1986), and so have I.  But we remain intertwined, and her Duke of Burgundy and Pearl-bordered fritillaries dwell still within me, not merely within my mind, or my imagination, but within my soul.

Suffice it that 45 years on, to the very hour, I rekindled first my relationship with His Grace the Duke of Burgundy Fritillary and then with the Pearl-bordered Fritillary.  The only significant difference was that Sunday May 19^th 2013 was Pentecost Sunday (when the churches celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to the Disciples).  

Read More

I spent a pleasant afternoon in welcome sunshine walking across  the ' north face' of Butser Hill in Hampshire. From little Butser I could see Neil's domain in Sussex.  Despite there being some good habitat on Little Butser  and on Ramsdean down I did not locate any dukes but I will be back to check again.
However the story was different at Rake Bottom where I came across at least sixteen individuals with at least a couple of females. This is much more like the numbers I would expect to see in early may - hopefully they have caught up.
There seems to be two colonies here the largest in pristine habitat and the other smaller one in an area heavily grazed by rabbits,  having seen some of the areas available at Ramsdean it is a bit perplexing why they haven't been occupied yet.

Read More

His Grace Takes to the Air

The BBC Natural History Unit will be filming His Grace the Duke of Burgundy at Rodborough Common, Stroud, this Friday, May 17th, for a forthcoming Springwatch Special on British butterflies and moths.  We hope to be filming at Manor Combe and on Swellshill Bank.  Apologies in advance if we hog the place... .  Strangely, it looks as though this butterfly hasn't appeared on mainstream TV before.

I particularly want the piece to cover the love life of this little butterfly (he doesn't even ask her name, let alone speak to her father, propose on bended knee and get the banns read out in church.  In fact, no one would want their daughter to associate with a bloke with the morals of a male Duke of Burgundy).

Read More

Hampshire doings

I paid a visit to several areas around Butser Hill near Petersfield today and butterflies were very few and far between. Having explored some new areas that look very promising and found no dukes, it was very windy, I walked over the hill  to rake bottom where I had bumped into Matthew last week. The weather was deteriorating but I manged to track down just one male in a shetered hollow. Taking the opportunity to sit and watch with my binoculars for the next two hours i picked up some details of behaviour. No other males passed during this time although he did see off an Orange Tip that dared to venture too close - I would definitely feel that only a small proportion have emerged to date. The butterfly was seen nectaring on several flowers of Lesser Celandine and The photo shows a small fly of unknown species that was in attendance for about half an hour. It would perch at various locations, within about a centimetre, always facing the butterfly. Mark.

Read More

There is always hope...

Delighted to read that the slightly crippled male first noted in the main territory on Rodborough Common on Sat May 4th managed to find a mate and thoroughly express himself as a male Burgundy (see Simon Primrose's post of May 6th).  When he first appeared on Sat 4th he could hardly fly, his wings were too soft.  He had probably been unable to expand his wings properly as he emerged on a windy day and probably got buffeted whilst drying his wings, having crawled out from amongst a matted grass tussock, plus or minus moss.  Weak individuals are easy prey for the hunting spider Pisuara mirabilis, which is numerous amongst grass litter in Burgundy country and regularly takes mating pairs (favouring the female).  But his wings then set hard, enabling him to rampantly fulful himself.  Gentlemen, he is an example to us all... .  Here he is -

Unfortunately the jet stream has jumped south, ushering in foul and abusive weather.  My guess is that about a quarter, or at most a third, of the 2013 adult emergence has come out so far, but the worry is that the remainder, the bulk, may not be able to hold back from emerging indefinitely: they will quickly perish if they fail to hold back and are forced emerge during a sunny hour in a wet week. 

Very worrying, and not simply because I'm supposed to be helping BBC NHU to film His Grace as part of a Springwatch special on British butterflies & moths...  

Read More