Kent & SE London Branch Annual Butterfly Report 2019
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KENT AND SOUTH EAST LONDON BRANCH ANNUAL BUTTERFLY REPORT 2019 Introduction 2019 Map of all This report would not have been possible without all the hard work done by John 2019 butterfly sightings Bangay, who has converted all the sightings recorded on iRecord, Transect Walker and the Garden Butterfly and Big Butterfly Count schemes and put them into a form that I can study and pick out highlights. Records that have been sent directly to me by email or on paper recording forms have also been entered onto the Branch database and sent to the Co-ordinator of the National Recording Scheme. We received an amazing In this distribution map, the size of the dot indicates the number of records from number of records in 2019, almost 62,000. These were submitted by 2,657 different that 2 kilometre square. recorders, so I hope you will understand that I don’t have space to list you all at the end of the report – Butterfly Conservation is very grateful to you for your efforts. The records will be used to update the national distribution maps so that changes in butterfly populations can be monitored. You will notice that I have changed the order of the species in the report. This is to tie in with the latest taxonomic ideas. We are privileged to have a world authority in butterfly taxonomy, Dick Vane-Wright, as our new president, so I have been fortunate to be able to consult him on this subject. It is pleasing that several species, including Adonis and Small Blues, Marbled White, Wall and Purple Emperor were found at some new sites. Some species emerged earlier than usual, including Small White, Orange-tip, Green Hairstreak, Small and Holly Blues, White Admiral, Speckled Wood and Ringlet. There were very late records of Green Hairstreak and Comma and there were sightings of second generation Heath Fritillary, White Admiral and even a Grizzled Skipper. Species such as Dingy Skipper, Brimstone, Chalk Hill Blue, Small Heath and Meadow Brown had a very good year but numbers of others, such as Small Tortoiseshell and Brown Argus, were very low. Of the commoner migrants, there were quite a few Painted Ladies and Red Admirals, but few Clouded Yellows. It was an exciting year for rare migrants though, with a Queen of Spain Fritillary, a Camberwell Beauty, a couple of Swallowtails, several Large Tortoiseshells and egg-laying Long-tailed Blues. I am very grateful to John Bangay for producing the excellent distribution maps. ©OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA Michael Easterbrook 2019 was the final year of the latest five-year recording period, as used by 26 Orchard Grove Butterfly Conservation nationally for comparing populations of butterflies Ditton between different time periods, so that changes can be assessed. Aylesford Kent ME20 6BY Tel: 01732 843456 e-mail: [email protected] Front cover: Brown Argus (Photo credit: Richard Oram) Back Cover: Small Tortoiseshell (Photo credit: Richard Oram) 2 | Kent and South East London Branch Annual Butterfly Report 2019 Kent and South East London Branch Annual Butterfly Report 2019 | 3 The data boxes above the text of the following species reports show a combined were reasonable numbers in the second generation in the Folkestone area, where 2015-19 figure for the total number of tetrads that each species was recorded Alfie Gay saw 29 on Cheriton Hill on 29 July, Mike Easterbrook counted 5 at in during that period, and also a figure for the 2010-14 period for comparison. Folkestone Warren on 3 August and Paul Holt recorded 5 at Samphire Hoe on Other figures in bold refer to 2019 data. Figures in brackets refer to 2018 data. 4 August. HESPERIIDAE ©OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA ©OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA GRIZZLED SKIPPER Pyrgus malvae 29 (32) Tetrads DINGY SKIPPER Erynnis tages 51 (41) Tetrads 53 Tetrads 2015-19 (62, 2010-14) 70 Tetrads 2015-19 (82, 2010-14) First: Trosley CP (M. Easterbrook/D. Chambers) Apr 18 (Apr 22) First: Trosley CP (K. Ferris) Apr 13 (Apr 23) Last: Trosley CP (J. Waghorn) Aug 31 (June 13) Last: Aug 4 (Aug 24) Numbers of Grizzled Skippers were rather low in 2019 but in the Ashford area There were some high counts of Dingy Skipper in south-east Kent in 2019. Alfie Ade Jupp recorded 18 near Kingsnorth on 24 May and 10 at Woodchurch on Gay counted 54 on the Downs above Folkestone on 29 April and 39 at a nearby 22 May. At Dungeness Bird Observatory David Walker counted 9 on 12 May. In site on 23rd, while Nate Moss estimated 50 at Folkestone Warren on 22 April. mid-Kent, John Waghorn saw 11 at Trosley CP on 13 May and 9 at Queendown In the Dover area Matthew Weiss recorded 28 at Aycliffe on 15 May and Robert Warren on 24 May, and he found an example of a rare second generation Newington counted 17 at Lydden Hill on 7 May. Further inland, Joan Martin individual at Trosley on 31 August, only the second time this butterfly has been and Kelvin Reel found 65 roosting at Brabourne on 15 May and Ade Jupp saw recorded in August since 1990. 12 at Down Bank, Chilham and 11 at Badlesmere. In mid-Kent John Waghorn counted 19 at Trosley CP on 13 May and in the Darent Valley Keith Perry saw 40 at Fackenden Down on 12 May and John Bangay recorded 17 at Kemsing Down on 14 May. Ewan Shilland saw 15 near Cudham on 13 May. Away from the Downs, Keith Goodman found 2 on the Scotney Castle estate on 14 May. There 4 | Kent and South East London Branch Annual Butterfly Report 2019 Kent and South East London Branch Annual Butterfly Report 2019 | 5 ©OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA ©OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA ESSEX SKIPPER Thymelicus lineola 82 (70) Tetrads SMALL SKIPPER Thymelicus sylvestris 157 (130) Tetrads 193 Tetrads 2015-19 (200, 2010-14) 299 Tetrads 2015-19 (294, 2010-14) First: Welling (M. Robinson) June 20 (June 7) First: Crossness (S. Carter) May 30 (June 11) Last: Brabourne (J. Martin); Eastdown (B. Nobbs); Lower Halstow (D. Tutt); Last: Shakespeare Cliff (D. Smith) Sept 16 (Aug 14) Luton Banks (H. Furse) Aug 13 (Aug 6) Small Skippers greatly outnumbered Essex Skippers at some places, e.g. at Where a recorder had the expertise and time to separate the two species of Dungeness Bird Observatory David Walker counted 400 Small on 29 June, with smaller skippers, there were some reasonable counts. Heather Furse recorded 25 only a few individuals of Essex. John Woodhead reported 27 Small to 1 Essex at Essex Skippers at Great Lines, Chatham on 14 July and 18 at Luton Banks on 16 South Darenth on 28 June. Derek Tutt recorded 200 Small Skippers at Chetney July. Not far away, Robert Pennington counted 19 at Bredhurst on 21 July. John Marshes on 7 July, Keiran Claidenyardley saw 63 at Chartwell and Alan Stubbs Waghorn saw 24 at Northfleet nature reserve on 23 June. counted 57 at Packing Wood, both on 5 July. Mike Robinson reported 105 Small + Essex at Bostall Heath on 2 July and 370 at East Wickham open space on 8 July, of which he examined 20 and identified equal numbers of the two species. 6 | Kent and South East London Branch Annual Butterfly Report 2019 Kent and South East London Branch Annual Butterfly Report 2019 | 7 ©OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA ©OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA SILVER-SPOTTED SKIPPER Hesperia comma 11 (9) Tetrads LARGE SKIPPER Ochlodes sylvanus 160 (152) Tetrads 16 Tetrads 2015-19 (17, 2010-14) 335 Tetrads 2015-19 (326, 2010-14) First: Lydden Down (K. Weeks) July 29 (July 21) First: Samphire Hoe (C. Brotherwood) May 23 (May 26) Last: Lydden Down (K. Weeks) Sept 2 (Sept 7) Last: Sevenoaks (A. Boyle) Aug 31 (Aug 12) As usual, the highest counts of Silver-spotted Skipper were in the Lydden area. While numbers of Large Skipper were still lower than a few years ago, there were Karen Weeks recorded 69 at Lydden Down on 2 September and 45 at nearby some signs of a recovery. Matthew Weiss recorded 38 at Aycliffe on 28 June and Lydden Temple Ewell on 8 August, while John Websper and Mike Sykes had Alfie Gay counted 36 on Folkestone Downs on 4 July. Further inland Alan Stubbs counts of 21, 8 and 7 at three sites on private land in that area on 29 August. saw 33 at Packing Wood, near Hamstreet, on 28 June and Bill Martin counted 31 Also in south-east Kent, there were sightings of individuals at Folkestone Warren in Denge Wood on 3 July. and Cheriton Hill by Alfie Gay, at South Foreland by Ian Hodgson, and at Langdon Cliffs by Emily Neighbour. Elsewhere in the county there were counts of 20 at Queendown Warren KWT reserve in early August from both Colin Brotherwood and Derek Tutt, and Emily Neighbour saw 1 at Wye Downs. 8 | Kent and South East London Branch Annual Butterfly Report 2019 Kent and South East London Branch Annual Butterfly Report 2019 | 9 PIERIDAE ©OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA ©OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA BRIMSTONE Gonepteryx rhamni 427 (240) Tetrads 564 Tetrads 2015-19 (370, 2010-14) CLOUDED YELLOW Colias croceus 55 (70) Tetrads First: Denge Wood (N. Moss) Jan 13 (Jan 18) 174 Tetrads 2015-19 (170, 2010-14) Last: Doddington (A. Brookman); Otford (P. Conway) Nov 3 (Dec 1) First: Samphire Hoe (M. Collins) Mar 18 (Apr 17) Last: Farnborough (L. Mills) Nov 3 (Nov 15) There were some high counts of Brimstone in the spring of 2019, which was a relief after the very low numbers in the summer of 2018, which was probably As seems to happen every year now, there were early sightings of Clouded Yellow due to them responding to the hot weather by going into shelter earlier than at Samphire Hoe in 2019.