Field Trips for 2021
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Spring/Summer 2021 SkipperNumber 71 SURREY 40+ Field trips for 2021 Butterfly Conservation Saving butterflies, moths Surrey & SW London & our environment Surrey Skipper 2 Spring 2021 Branch Committee Chair Simon Saville (first elected 2016) 07572 612722 Conservation Adviser Ken Willmott (1995) 01372 375773 Field Trips Mike Weller (1997) 01306 882097 Membership Ken Owen (2015) 01737 760811 Moth Officer Paul Wheeler (2006) 01276 856183 Skipper Editor Francis Kelly (2012) 07952 285661, 01483 278432 Social Media Francis Kelly (& Mick Rock) see above Transects/WCBS Coordinator Bill Downey (2015) 07917 243984, 0208 9495498 Website Francis Kelly & Ken Owen see above Committee member Clive Huggins (2014) 0208 9427846 Committee member Richard Stephens (2021) 07815 444166, 01342 892022 Treasurer vacant ALSO National Council Chair Karen Goldie-Morrison (Branch member) Branch reserve Oaken Wood Steve Wheatley Media Website butterfly-conservation.org/surrey Email [email protected] Twitter @BC_Surrey, @surreymoths Recording irecord.org.uk Facebook Branch page ............................Butterfly Conservation in Surrey Groups ......................................Surrey Butterflies (Mick Rock), Surrey Moths Conservation groups ..............Small Blues in Surrey, Wealden Wood Whites Surrey Skipper thank you to all contributors copy deadline published online Spring end Feb ....................mid-March includes new season’s field trips Autumn end Sep ....................mid-October previews AGM & Members’ Day n The full Surrey Skipper is published online only. A Small Skipper is posted to the 10% of members who may have difficulty accessing the online version. Front-page picture Purple Hairstreak male, freshly emerged, Chiddingfold Forest, 2020-06-19 Steve Simnett LINK When reading on screen, click underlined link to visit webpage © Surrey Skipper is published by Surrey & SW London Branch of Butterfly Conservation, a charity registered in England & Wales (254937) and Scotland (SCO39268). Company limited by guarantee, registered in England (2206468). VAT No: GB 991 2771 89 Registered office: Manor Yard, East Lulworth, Wareham, Dorset BH20 5QP Tel 01929 400209 Surrey Skipper 3 Spring 2021 Chair Simon Saville AS I write this, the sun is Despite the pandemic shining and there are reasons to restrictions, a good number of be optimistic about the summer transects were walked last to come. I can confirm the great summer: our thanks to the news that we were successful in 120+ walkers who delivered our application to the National 2,000+ walks. Work parties Lottery Heritage Fund for our over the winter have been Big City Butterflies Project. severely curtailed, but thanks Head Office are now to those who have helped at recruiting the two Project Oaken Wood, Saving the Wood Officers, and we hope to be up White, and on the North and running in April - just as Downs during the intermittent lockdown restrictions ease. This spells when work was allowed. exciting four-year project could be game- I am delighted to announce that Richard changing for BC in London. More details Stephens has been co-opted onto the are on page 5. Branch Committee. He will be formally Our other projects have had to work elected at the AGM. Meanwhile, our search around the various restrictions, but have for a new treasurer continues. made good progress nonetheless. Steve We have made progress in establishing a Bolton talks about Brilliant Butterflies on Recorders Sub-committee and a London p8 – see also the national Butterfly Sub-committee. I am particularly pleased magazine. A good number of scrapes and that the London Sub-committee includes wildflower meadows have been created, and people from London Wildlife Trust the focus is now turning to how these are (Anna Guerin), Royal Parks (May Webber), maintained after the project ends in August two London Boroughs (Annabel Osborn, this year. Wandsworth, and Elliot Newton, Kingston), Fiona Haynes describes progress with Barnes Common (Will Dartnell), and a Saving the Wood White on p10. The colony transect walker from Brockwell Park in the Chiddingfold area is nationally (Danielle Wagner, also WWF important, and this project, which runs to International). 2022, is doing vital work to consolidate and These are still at the formative stage and extend its range. n continued next page Contents click item to go directly to page New Committee Member....4 Surreal year ....................14 Membership ....................28 Big City Butterflies ..........5 Poem................................15 Social Media....................28 Online talks ......................5 Website............................15 Weather Watch................29 Steve Wheatley ................6 iRecord ............................16 Legacies ..........................29 Black Hairstreak ..............7 Surrey Atlas ....................16 Moths ..............................30 Projects ............................7 Field trips ..................17-20 Email Appeal ..................31 Brilliant Butterflies ..........8 WCBS ..............................21 Back-page picture ..........32 Saving the Wood White 10 Transects data ..........21-27 Big Butterfly Count ........32 Small Blue Project..........11 Oaken Wood ..................24 Transects ........................12 Dates................................24 Poster ..............................13 Effingham Golf Club ......25 Surrey Skipper 4 Spring 2021 n SIMON SAVILLE from previous page Common on July 10. Invitations will be sent out in May. we will report further in the next Skipper. Last year’s AGM had to be held virtually Our season of 40+ field trips is on p17. – a total of 47 members engaged, either by These are a good way to meet other voting or attending. This year we hope for a enthusiasts and to learn about some of the full Members’ Day & AGM on Nov 6. best wildlife sites in the area – as well as to g I plan to complete my postponed see some beautiful butterflies, of course! Bike For Butterflies ride from Land’s Thanks to Mike Weller for putting End to John O’Groats in July-August. together such a varied programme, and to Details will be on the website. The aim is to the other walk leaders. raise money for Butterfly Conservation and We intend to resume our New generate publicity by visiting as many Members’ Day event on Ashtead wildlife sites as I can along the way. New committee member Richard Stephens macro lens and another camera. I have been interested in butterflies & I joined Butterfly Conservation in 2014. moths since a school trip to L. Hugh Since retiring I have walked transects and Newman’s butterfly farm in Bexley. led field trips in Surrey and Sussex, My interest was rekindled 12 years ago including Ditchling (Black Hairstreak) on a holiday in Greece, where I and Knepp (Purple Emperor). photographed Scarce Swallowtails with a In 2019 I was lucky to find a female pocket camera. The photographs improved Long-tailed Blue in my Godstone garden, when I purchased a DSLR camera, then a egg-laying on Everlasting Sweet Pea. YOUR BRANCH NEEDS YOU We are looking for a new TREASURER. If you would like to volunteer please email [email protected] Surrey Skipper 5 Spring 2021 Big City Butterflies Kate Merry BC’s Head of Volunteering Through May Webber’s development & Engagement work for the project in 2019, we identified a network of sites across inner London EXCITING times ahead! Butterfly on which to focus our activities, and we will Conservation has been awarded £440,000 continue to connect with local community from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and volunteer groups. to deliver an ambitious four-year project – Big City Butterflies. We will be working with land managers to enhance and connect It will support Londoners to London’s green spaces, so that discover butterflies and moths, and they can better support butterflies in doing so will connect them with and moths. nature and their local green spaces. The project will draw on the local The people reached through the project knowledge and expertise of our four will have opportunities to learn about Greater London Branches: butterflies and moths, how to seek them Surrey & SW London, Kent & SE London, out, to enjoy them and to help them thrive Herts/Middx, Cambs/Essex. in their neighbourhoods. The project will enable Butterfly g We hope to appoint two officers in April Conservation to make important and cannot wait to get started. discoveries too. We need to understand Please visit our project webpage, and more about how populations are faring in download the project leaflet. the capital. London butterflies and moths are under-recorded, and we will provide LINK Kate Merry’s Zoom talk, March 31 training opportunities to equip a new wave of urban recorders in the heart of the city. LINK Big City Butterflies Project web page Zoom talks Simon Saville IN December, we started a series of online Remaining talks (Zoom) talks by branch members, Mar 16 White-letter Hairstreaks averaging two per month. Bill Downey These have been well attended, with Mar 31 Big City Butterflies Kate Merry 60-80 people tuning in live - more than Apr 20 Blue Butterflies at Box Hill would have attended a face-to-face event. Gail Jeffcoate As a bonus, the recordings on YouTube Apr 26 Black Hairstreaks in Surrey have also been popular, attracting over 260 Gareth Tilley views in one case. Full details butterfly-conservation.org/in- My thanks to all involved. your-area/surrey-and-sw-london- branch/zoom-talks Field trips DO come along to a Branch field trip. There is no better