Butterfly survey 1st July

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The first of two butterfly surveys, the second one being in August.  This uses the same transects as for the Breeding Bird Survey.  The weather was sunny for the first half an hour, but then became much cloudier.

Fortunately the sunnier conditions coincided with the area in the valley where most butterflies are expected, and there I recorded totals of 54 Marbled Whites and 43 Meadow Browns. A single Dark Green Fritillary also flew through.

The remainder of the survey was very much quieter, particularly in the woods.


Red Admiral




Whilst walking round I had a quick look for reptiles, finding one apparently very pregnant female slow-worm, and a male adder.  The adder was found in the same place as that on 7th June, and appeared to be the same individual on the basis of head markings, general body colouration and overall size.




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