BACK__________________________________________________________________________________________________
BACK__________________________________________________________________________________________________
October 2007
Dear
Brownhairstreakers,
We
have now reached the end of another very interesting and productive season for
the Brown Hairstreak in Worcs with an early start and a late finish.
Our first reported sighting on 4th August was five days earlier than the
previous year, while our last sighting was somewhat incredibly 14th October!
This latter date matches our previous latest sighting ever which dates
back to 1994. We can seldom compete
with other Butterfly Conservation branches who monitor Brown Hairstreaks when it
comes to early sightings, largely because they are located further south than
us, but may be we can lay claim to the latest record of 2007. No doubt some of our BC colleagues will be quick to set the
record straight if this is not the case! Looking
back, numbers around Grafton Wood NR have been good and most visitors have been
successful in finding and photographing their quarry.
Weather during the flight season was generally suitable for egglaying and
it will be interesting to see the impact on this winter's forthcoming egg count.
I was somewhat amazed to read in an article in a recent Butterfly
Conservation's Wiltshire branch newsletter that most of their sightings occur in
July and August and the author was yet to see a Brown Hairstreak in September.
This is certainly not the case in Worcs where numbers don't generally
peak until late August. Adults this
year were regularly reported throughout September and into early October.
Indeed, Trevor Bucknall's sighting on 14th had been preceeded by another
sighting by our regular Wednesday group of volunteers at Grafton on 10th
October. There have been very few
confirmed sightings of male Brown Hairstreak this year, which is not in itself
unusual, but at least we saw adults around assembly trees which we had not seen
at all in 2006. The regular tree
halfway between Grafton Flyford Church and Grafton Wood was again productive but
perhaps the most exciting discovery of the season was of a tree in a garden at
Stock Green which produced double figure counts of hairstreaks in early August.
Highest counts were recorded very early in the morning from 8.30 am
onwards which is very interesting. There
is no doubt a lot more still to be discovered about the Brown Hairstreaks use of
assembly trees. Despite efforts to encourage Hairstreakers to broaden their
horizons, there have been few sightings reported away from known hotspots.
It is very pleasing to report, however, that the farm mentioned in the
last ebulletin, where Trevor recorded two adults in early September, has now
been accepted into the Higher Level Stewardship scheme.
The presence of Brown Hairstreaks was a very important component of the
application and a major factor in securing the grant, proving once again the
value of our Hedgerows for Hairstreaks initiative in securing conservation
benefits. We are hoping that, along
with colleagues at DEFRA, we can continue to promote the benefits of
Environmental Stewardship and that this success will encourage other nearby
farmers to apply to join.
Dates
for our winter egg counts have now been set and we look forward to seeing some
of our local Hairstreak Champions at these events. The dates are 16th and 30th December which are both Sundays
and 26th January which is a Saturday. On
all three days, we will be starting out from Grafton Flyford church at 10.30 am
and continuing to around lunchtime depending on weather and enthusiasm.
The traditional mincepies will be on offer on 30th for everyone who
manages to find a Brown Hairstreak egg! I
will give people another reminder nearer the time.
I have been contacted recently by Jenni Schenke at the Worcestershire
Biological Records Centre who as part of her MSc in Countryside Management is
interested in developing a standard monitoring technique for the Brown
Hairstreak which would be certainly useful and I shall be interested in seeing
what Jenni comes up with. We shall
also be continuing our wider mapping scheme over the winter aimed at improving
our knowledge of the distribution of the butterfly in the county.
We finished last winter with records from 140 1km squares stretching from
the outskirts of Redditch in the north to nearly Pershore in the south and from
the M5 motorway in the west to the Warks border in the east.
I will bring the current distribution map to our first planned egg day in
December but if any of our local champions would like to be given a few
potential squares to search in the meantime please get in touch.
Mentioning the M5, reminds me that we will be looking for volunteers to
do another egg search along the motorway verge at some point over the winter so
if you have always wanted to audition for Village People and dress up in full
bright yellow flourescent safety gear complete with hard hat, this could be the
chance you have been waiting for! Let
me know if you are interested and I will put your name on the list.
The
fact that the Brown Hairstreak, which is now a full UK BAP species, is doing
relatively well in east Worcs is in part a reflection of the good management
work being carried out in many parts of the Forest of Feckenham on various
nature reserves but also increasingly on farmland and privately owned woodland.
As far as the nature reserves are concerned, Butterfly Conservation and
the Wildlife Trust are very dependent on volunteers giving up their time to help
with this work. Work will be
continuing at Grafton Wood throughout the winter on the second Sunday of the
month meeting at Grafton Flyford Church for 10 am with the next work day planned
for 11th November, but we shall also be concentrating efforts this year on
improving Brown Hairstreak habitat at Trench Wood where the butterfly has
recently been rediscovered. Some
additional blackthorn planting was undertaken at the reserve over the summer
and, working with the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, we now want to build on
that by doing further glade management over the coming months.
A good start has been made on this but more help is needed and if any of
our local champions could support this work that would be great.
Work parties at Trench Wood take place every fourth Sunday meeting at 10
am in the reserve car park. For
those that haven't visited before the entrance to the reserve can be found
halfway along the minor road running from Sale Green towards Dunhampstead.
Further details are available from the Reserve Manager, Neil McLean on
07710 626668 who would be pleased to welcome volunteers old and new on 25th
November.
Local
Champions may also be interested in attending the AGM of West Midlands Butterfly
Conservation which this year is being held at the Three Parishes Village Hall
next door to Grafton Flyford Church on Saturday, 1st December 2007 starting at
11 am. The event is open to
non-members and one of the guest speakers will be talking about the White-letter
Hairstreak. This is a butterfly
which is in the same family as the Brown Hairstreak but is dependent on Elm
trees. Its population has been
devastated by Dutch Elm disease which has wiped out so many elms but it is still
surviving in some areas. There have
been recent records of this species within the Forest of Feckenham but its
current status is largely unknown. The
talk is aimed at sharing information about the best ways of recording the
butterfly (yes, it involves more egg searching!) and how we can best ensure its
long-term survival. Should be an
enjoyable and informative day and refreshments are available including a light
lunch.
Mike
Williams
Brown Hairstreak Species Champion