Butterflies and London Wasps



The essence of summer - Clouded Yellows




An "ordinary" Silver Washed Butterfly



I SAW MY FIRST CLOUDED YELLOW OF THE YEAR  TODAY – ALWAYS SUCH A SYMBOL OF HIGH SUMMER – A STRIKING ORANGEY YELLOW BUTTERFLY THAT WILL HAVE CROSSED OVER THE CHANNEL FROM FRANCE. THIS ONE, IN NEED OF A QUICK BOOSTER OF NECTAR TO FILL ITS TANK SO THAT IT COULD CONTINUE ON ITS WAY, STOPPED TO IMBIBE ON A PALE BLUISH PINK SCABIOUS FLOWER, GROWING ALONGSIDE THE LANE THAT PASSES MY HOUSE.

A LITTLE LATER ON DURING THE SAME MORNING WALK WITH MY LURCHER ROSIE, WE WALKED BACK THROUGH THE WOODLANDS AND I WAS DELIGHTED TO SEE SO MANY BUTTERFLIES INCLUDING GATEKEEPERS, RINGLETS, MEADOW BROWNS, PEACOCKS, RED ADMIRALS, SMALL TORTOISESHELLS, BRIMSTONES AND LOTS OF SILVER-WASHED FRITILLARIES. IT APPEARS TO BE ANOTHER GOOD YEAR FOR BUTTERFLIES!

AMONGST THESE SILVER-WASHED FRITILLARIES WAS A DARK “VALENZENA” FORM WHICH OCCURS IN A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF FEMALES, PRIMARILY IN THE LARGER COLONIES IN THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND, WHERE THE ORANGE-BROWN COLOURING IS REPLACED WITH A DEEP OLIVE-GREEN. THE LEGENDARY LEPIDOPTERIST, FREDERICK WILLIAM FROHAWK, WAS SO TAKEN WITH THIS FORM, THAT HE NAMED HIS ONLY DAUGHTER AFTER IT.

YOU NEED TO BE CAREFUL NAMING A CHILD OF YOURS AFTER  A BUTTERFLY - MRS ELEANOR GLANVILLE, A BUTTERFLY ENTHUSIAST OF THE LATE 17TH/EARLY 18TH CENTURY NAMED A FRITILLARY AFTER HERSELF – THE GLANVILLE FRITILLARY – ONLY TO HAVE HER WILL CONTESTED ON THE GROUNDS THAT “NOBODY OF SOUND MIND WOULD HAVE SUCH A HOBBY!"

ON A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SUBJECT, I AM OFTEN ASKED BY PEOPLE LOOKING FOR A CAREER WORKING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE HOW THEY CAN GET A “FOOTHOLD” ON THE CAREER LADDER. WELL, IT IS ALL ABOUT PERSEVERANCE.

GOOD FRIENDS OF MINE HAVE A SON CALLED OLLIE WHO AS FAR BACK AS I CAN REMEMBER WANTED TO BE A TOP RUGBY UNION COACH (WELL HIS DAD IS A NEW ZEALANDER!) HE WENT OFF TO UNIVERSITY TO STUDY SPORT SCIENCE WERE HE ALSO PLAYED THE GAME LOTS, THEN TOOK ALL THE APPROPRIATE COURSES SO THAT HE IS NOW FULLY QUALIFIED RUGBY COACH. NOW THE DIFFICULT BIT – GET THAT INTRO TO A CLUB. HE STARTED TO KNOCK ON RUGBY CLUB DOORS, SAYING THAT HE WAS PREPARED TO DO ANYTHING TO HELP OUT.

WELL TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT, HIS DAD TOLD ME LAST NIGHT THAT HE HAS NOW GOT MINOR COACHING ROLES WITH HARLEQUINS, LONDON IRISH AND SARACENS. BUT THE REALLY EXCELLENT NEWS IS THAT HE HAS BEEN OFFERED THE POSITION OF COACH TO THE LONDON WASPS LADIES TEAM – AN EXTREMELY STRONG SIDE THAT CURRENTLY CONTAINS 6 INTERNATIONALS! HE HAS REPORTED BACK THAT THEY TRAIN EXCEPTIONALLY HARD.

AT HIS VERY FIRST SESSION HE INTRODUCED CATCHING PARTLY BOILED CHICKEN EGGS – SHOWING THAT YOU NEED TO CATCH THE “BALL” WITH CARE. THIS WENT DOWN A STORM AND THE GIRLS LOVED HIS FIRST INNOVATIVE COACHING SESSION. THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT HE HAS OF COURSE NOW GOT THE NICKNAME OF “BOILED EGG!!” SO RUGBY!

BUT IT IS SUCH A GOOD LESSON FOR ALL THOSE WHO WANT TO GET INTO A PARTICULAR FIELD – WHATEVER THAT MAY BE. GET QUALIFIED, BE TOTALLY POSITIVE, TURN UP AND BE A PLEASANT NUISANCE OFFERING TO DO ANYTHING. THE DOORS WILL EVENTUALLY START TO OPEN.

IT WOULD NOT SURPRISE ME ONE JOT IF YOUNG OLLIE BECAME THE ENGLAND NATIONAL COACH ONE DAY. OR ON SECOND THOUGHTS, MAYBE THE NEW ZEALAND COACH – HMMM.    




A "Valenzina" Silver Washed Butterfly

 

The GWCT Julian Gardner photo competition winners recieve their trophies at the Game Fair

The GWCT stand at a hot Game Fair

 Last weekend was of course the annual Game Fair, held this year on the Blenheim estate in Oxfordshire. It was certainly a hot affair on the Friday in particular, which was the first day of three, with temperatures reaching into the 30s. The bucket we have by our GWCT stand filled with water, had to be filled regularly as an unbelievably wide range of dogs drank their fill.

One of the highlights of the show for me anyway, was awarding the trophies to the winners of this year’s Julian Gardner photographic competition. Julian was a farmer and lifelong supporter of the GWCT, who was tragically murdered on his farm, attempting to protect his property. His family made a donation to the trust in his memory and this wonderful annual competition is the result.

This is the third year it has been run and the number of entries has rocketed and the standard is, well to put it bluntly, bloody amazing!! Laurie Campbell, the brilliant wildlife photographer is the head judge, with Louise Shervington, GWCT head of publications being the other expert eye cast over the entries. The third judge is me – very much the amateur of the trio!

This year the trophies were given to the winners by Julian’s sister Anna Murphy, which made this ceremony very special indeed. Julian was so obviously surrounded by the most wonderful group of family and friends who all continue to take a massive interest in this competition and are thrilled by the way it has taken off. The next day, another friend of the family, Caroline Boyde, popped onto the stand to give me a cheque for the GWCT, raised by a local group – the Robertsbridge Bonfire Society – amazing!

Young Mairi Eyres from North Wales, the winner of the 16 and under competition completely charmed us all! She was chuffed to have been allowed by her school to take the last day of term off to come to the Game Fair and she chatted away to us all (and the press!) as though she did this sort of thing every day! Her mum told me that she is passionate about her hobby and spends most of her time with camera in hand. Mairi told me though, that one day she would like to read Zoology at university. I think that there is absolutely no doubt that this is not the last we will be seeing of this remarkable young talent. Zoology degree coupled with such photographic skills – all I can say is “watch out Laurie”!!

Shaun Barrow hails from Devon and his photograph of a Cuckoo got the vote of all three judges because of its fabulous movement, yet with that fixed still eye, taking up centre stage.  This was the first competition that Shaun has ever entered and he seemed genuinely surprised that his photo had won. I told him that his modesty should from now on be put to one side, so that we can all get to see the rest of his portfolio of photographs, because if they are anything like this winner, we are in for a treat.

Along with modesty, the other obvious quality that Shaun possesses in abundance is “patience”. He told me that he had spotted Cuckoos landing on this particular tree and so he waited for hour after hour, until eventually he caught the shot he was after!

So, Game Fair is over for another year, but fear not – the photographic competition is open for you to send your entries in -  http://www.gwct.org.uk/wildlife/the-julian-gardner-awards/  - so go on, why not give it a go?

Teresa Dent, (CEO GWCT) Mairi and Anna

Teresa, Shaun and Anna

The adult winner - what a stunning photo of a Cuckoo

The under 16 winner - a little beetle in a green world

Sun, sea and stunning flowers!

Many were amazed at what came up naturally from the seed bank

 I quietly crept over the Hampshire border into Dorset with my Campaign for the Environment hat on this week, to help out with a farmland arable flower and bird meeting organised by the excellent Clare Buckerfield (you only need to talk to one or two of the farmers that she deals with to find out just how good she is at her job!) who works for South West FWAG.

The afternoon event was held at the wonderfully picturesque Manor Farm at Studland, which is a mixed farm of 900+ acres, tenanted from the National Trust by Steve Smith who is doing a fantastic job of farming profitably, but with the environment firmly included in the agenda.

Unfortunately one or two farmers cried off during the morning because they had to get the combines moving – winter barleys are ready to go in this part of the world and plenty has been taken off already. However, we still had a good mix of farmers coupled with advisers from a number of different organisations. 

We looked at flower rich margins and mixes planted specifically for corn bunting to nest and feed in, discussed hedgerow management and talked about the importance of rotations and weed control amongst many other things.

The highlight – not just for me I think – was standing in a field that had been cultivated in the spring and then left for arable flowers (not weeds – a weed is an unwanted plant in the wrong place – these we wanted!!) to thrive. And WOW had they thrived! What a wonderful sight with Poole harbour in the background!

Interestingly, the first question asked was when did you sow these flowers. Steve quickly answered that nothing at all had been sown and that this display had come from the natural seed bank in the soil. This amazed many, but not the farmers I hasten to add! Despite years and years of cropping and weedkillers, there still remains a vibrant community of wild arable annuals – including the beautiful Corn Marigold – the orange flower in the photo – which is one of the flowers that Clare had been targeting.

So after a fascinating walk around the farm, we adjourned back to the farm for tea and delicious jam and cream scones from the farm tea shop -

Manor Farm Tea Rooms - http://www.creamteaclub.com/studlandteashop.htm

There are days when people say to me "you are so lucky to do the job you do", which grates a little when you are soaking wet, frozen and have only just started your day long mid winter visit. But on a day like this - who am I to argue!!  

How about this for a display!!

Yet another Minister of the Environment to get to know!

The countryside has many complex issues and needs long term strategies in place, not quick fixes

Oh Dear, Oh Dear, Oh Dear! Yet another Environment Secretary!

It seems like only a few months ago (because it is!) that Owen Paterson was put into post, taking over from Caroline Spelman, and now he has gone too. I was saddened when Richard Benyon was moved aside as Parliamentary under-secretary at DEFRA – as you can see from my previous blog – a minister who really understood the countryside. Jim Paice came from a farming background so while he held office in the department there was a great deal of sense spoken - but he too has suffered from the axe.  

When will Government realize that managing the environment – agriculture, environment, wildlife, soil, water, alongside and including the people who live there, is a hugely complex task, requiring long term strategies and not quick fix political gains for whichever party happens to be in power. Especially now, with so many changes taking place with CAP reform and the launch before too long of the new Stewardship Scheme, which underpins so much of the conservation work we do.

The GWCT had, in the last fortnight, shown Owen Paterson around our farm in Leicestershire, up-dating him on the wide range of research work that we are carrying out there and clearly stating how we see things moving forward. This “getting to know each other” takes organisation and effort on both sides and can only really produces results once a proper relationship has been built. This obviously takes time.

Of course, I'm sure that the myriad of organisations who want to have their say about how the countryside should be run – the GWCT included - will eagerly want to get to know and work closely with the new minister, Elizabeth Truss, and I personally wish her all good fortune. She certainly comes from a lovely part of the world – West Norfolk – an area that I know well as I lived in her home town of Downham Market (and played rugby for the town!) for a number of years. The area has a wealth of good farmers, plenty of wildlife and is excellent shooting country to boot! 

        

This is a section from her website: “Farming is a vital industry in the constituency and Elizabeth is working hard to get the best deal for Norfolk’s farmers.  Concerns are being raised regarding changes in the implementation of the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). As a result of this Elizabeth led a delegation of local farmers to meet Farming Minister George Eustice MP.

Elizabeth has a number of concerns about the use of agricultural land for solar or biomass plants and the subsidies for these operations. She does not want to see the UK’s food security jeopardised; food and farming is the largest manufacturing industry in the UK and she is keen to see that the importance of this sector is recognised.

Elizabeth has also raised with the DEFRA Secretary of State her concerns in relation to flooding in her constituency. She has long argued that the £1:£8 cost benefit ratio formula provided by the Environment Agency for the funding of flood prevention schemes do not value farmland high enough”.

I do have one plea to make, for the future well being of the countryside, that Minister Truss does not quickly follow the book title chosen by her namesake – the author Lynne Truss and “Eats, Shoots and Leaves”!

The Cotswold Grey Partridge Group - a winning team!

The Cotswold Grey Partridge group turned out in force!

Richard Benyon, John Phillips and Mark Tufnell

The winning team - Stephen and John back on home soil 

 The Cotswold Grey Partridge group (there are about a dozen groups run by the GWCT across the country including Scotland) held its summer meeting the other evening and around 70 people turned up, reaffirming just how highly regarded the little grey bird is held amongst country folk.

The outdoor meeting was held on the estate of last year’s winner of the coveted trophy - Richard Benyon MP. The trophy (Sponsored by the Calmsden estate, owned by the chairman of the group – Mark Tufnell) is given out annually to the person who is considered to have done the most to help the Grey partridge in the area during the year.

The group was shown around by Richard and Grey partridge keeper David Wiggins (One of the best!). Not only did we see a range of top quality habitats targeted at partridge, but also Lapwing plots with plenty of young Lapwings present – not a surprise really as David is strong on controlling Fox and Crow numbers.

 In fact, alongside the Grey partridge, the estate now has every target farmland bird species present except the Corn Bunting. Tree sparrow, Yellow Wagtail, Skylark, Lapwing, Reed Bunting and perhaps most surprising of all – the Turtle Dove, a species in free-fall decline, are all found on the estate. A classic demonstration that when you put the correct management in place for Grey Partridge – all the other farmland birds respond too. 

  

This year’s winner is John Phillips from Far Hill Farm near Fairford in Gloucestershire, who is a tenant of the Ernest Cook Trust. John, with the help of keeper Stephen Jones, has once again put everything in place for Grey partridge and all other farmland birds.

Alongside the important role that Stephen plays in providing targeted predator control during the breeding period, John has provided tussocky grass areas for nesting, planted wonderful wild flower margins around many of his fields which are alive with insect life – so important for the chicks to feed on – grows wild bird seed mixes to provide food for birds over-winter and has even planted up a couple of hectares with a mix to attract Corn Buntings to nest in. Stephen also scatters grain about on the tracks and places hoppers around the farm, filled with food for birds to feed on when natural supplies start to dwindle at the end of the year. In all, John has put a staggering 17% of his farm into habitats for wildlife – I think that says it all – an incredibly worthy winner of this year’s trophy!!

Back on Richard's estate meanwhile, the evening event finished off back in the barn, where we all gathered to "talk partridge", drink a beer or two and feast on mouth-wateringly delicious Hereford beef burgers, so locally produced that we could see the pure bred herd from the barn! Now that’s what I call a successful evening event!!!

    

What it is all about - creating great habitats - one of John's flower margins !

There are two types of Otter increasing in the countryside!

This Otter, fish in mouth, still took the time to check me out!

 The water loving animal the Otter seems to be thriving again, following catastrophic declines back in the 1960s, and is now once more to be found in every English county. Meanwhile, another sort of “Otter” – an old fashioned barley variety called Maris Otter is also flourishing once again!

There is evidence from an Oxford University study that where Otters are in good numbers on a stretch of river, they actually help to displace the non-native Mink, reducing both the population density and distribution, which in turn could be good for Water voles which can be completely wiped out by high Mink numbers.

Not everyone is totally happy about the increase in Otter numbers though, as can be seen from this extract from the Angling Trust. “One of the results of the recovery of otter populations has been increased concern about predation, particularly on still water fisheries and on specimen fish. This creates a challenge to all those involved in river, wetland and fishery management to ensure that the return of our top freshwater predator is not seen as a problem for fisheries interests”.

Certainly here in Hampshire Otters seem to be doing well, with individuals regularly picked up on security cameras ambling through the centre of Winchester at night, following the river Itchen which also runs through the town. The river managers who look after the Test and Itchen chalk streams, so famous worldwide as top fishing rivers and important to the local economy, have rather mixed feelings over the rise in Otter numbers.
       

As ever, the management of the countryside, with so many different demands on it, is often a complicated business.

The other rapidly increasing “Otter” in the countryside on the other hand, seems only to be bringing joy to everyone’s lips! Maris Otter is a variety of barley commonly used in the brewing industry and was bred by Dr G D H Bell and his team of plant breeders at Cambridge way back in 1966. Dr Bell bred Maris Otter with the express purpose of producing a barley variety that would give consistently high quality malt for the cask-conditioned ale market and he was not disappointed as it quickly became a dominant variety due to its superior malting characteristics.

As we read that pubs are closing everywhere and sales of mainstream beer are in decline, is it not fantastically refreshing (literally!) that Britain now boasts over a thousand microbreweries, bringing back traditional styles and experimenting with new flavours. These so called “Craft beers” as they are called, simply means that it is beer not brewed by one of the big "mega-brewery" corporations. The Brewers' Association defines a craft brewery as small, traditional and independent.

As the great locally brewed beer renaissance gathers pace, the demand for Maris Otter malt around the world is rapidly increasing. Last year 700 craft breweries opened in the USA alone and there are now over a 1000 up and running in China, so you can begin to see why Maris Otter barley commands large premiums over other malting barleys. Brewery aficionados will tell you that beer brewed using malt from this old variety gives a depth of flavour and character that no other malt variety can get near.  Couple this with its history, its unique ‘Britishness” and provenance - no wonder that Maris Otter is the malt of choice for astute brewers around the globe.

Among the fields of gold - there may be a variety of Otter lurking! 

"Pollinators, Pollinators, Pollinators" - its all the rage you know!

Competition for flowers, in this case by Hoverflies, is growing

Pollinators, pollinators, pollinators – that is probably the top message coming out of DEFRA at the moment!

I expect that most people immediately think of Honey bees when pollination is talked about, and if pushed, might add Bumble bees to the list as well. But in fact there is an enormous number of species that are important in the pollination process including Hoverflies, Flies, Butterflies, Moths, Wasps, Beetles, Midges, Thrips, Bugs and even some Mammals can play a part.

Yesterday (with my campaign for the farmed environment (CFE) hat on) I joined the Hampshire Wildlife Trust (HWT) in north Hampshire, to run an event on what farmers and land managers can do to help all these pollinators, as there is plenty of evidence that many of them are not faring well in our countryside at the moment.

Government is presently working on a “Pollinator strategy” to try to encourage more flowers, especially those rich in pollen and nectar, to be planted across the landscape. The new Stewardship scheme, when details are announced either towards the backend of this year or maybe early next year, will undoubtedly concentrate on this as one of its main themes.

The event went well, starting off with Alison Cross (HWT) emptying out a moth trap which she had set the night before, enthralling people with moths such as the Drinker and Poplar Hawkmoth. Then the group walked across College Copse farm, which is owned and managed by the HWT, to look at and discuss ways to improve farmland for these pollinators.

I think the attendees went away with a much better understanding of what can be done to encourage these important species, remembering also just how vital they are in providing a crucial role in the pollination of many of the crops we grow. In parts of China and Japan, they now employ people to walk around pollinating crops as they have lost the natural wildlife to do it for them – how crazy is that! Pollinators contribute over £400 million per annum to the UK economy and €14.2 billion per annum to the EU economy – best that we do not forget that.

Alison Cross talking "Moths"!

Practical discussions - key to learning! 

When is an alien not an alien?

OK – a test for you! Which of the list below would you say is a non-native or so called “alien” to the UK?

1)      Little Egret

2)      Fallow Deer

3)      Ground Elder

4)      Rainbow Trout

5)      Little Owl

6)      Oxford Ragwort

7)      Brown Rat

8)      Red-Legged Partridge

9)      Sycamore Tree

10)   Brown Hare

11)   Charlock

12)   Collared Dove

(Answers at the bottom of this page)

The Non-Native Species Secretariat defines non-native plants and animals as those that have been introduced to the country by humans, deliberately or accidentally, since the last Ice Age (around 10,000 years ago)

A study in 2005 revealed an unbelievable 2,721 non-native species living in the wild in England - 66% of which are plants.

Most non-native species, sometimes known as "aliens", do not cause problems, but a minority are deemed "invasive" when they have negative impacts on wildlife, habitats or the economy.

The introduction of non-native species is rising sharply due to the increase in trade, transport, travel and tourism. World globalisation has offered species new pathways and increased opportunities to establish in new areas.

The term alien or non-native species should only be applied to species that have been moved around the world by people and released – deliberately or accidentally – into areas outside their natural range. Such introductions are one of the primary drivers of global biodiversity loss and are a serious issue.

From the list of 12 species at the top of the page, only numbers 1 & 12 (the Little Egret and the Collared Dove) arrived here under their own steam and as such can be deemed to be native to our shores - the others are aliens!!

Collared Dove first bred in Norfolk in 1954

The Little Owl was introduced to this country

A new, free eBook of 2013 "species of the month" now available!

If you are a Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) member or happen to be a regular reader of this blog, you are probably aware that I write a short piece about a different species every month - the link is on the side of this page.

The clever IT guys at HQ have now created a free downloadable 25 page eBook of all the 2013 species which you can receive by going to: http://www.gwct.org.uk/2013-species-of-the-month-ebook/

They tell me that that in due course other past years will also become available in this format.
I hope you enjoy them!!