Newport Wetlands weekly butterfly survey (1 August 2022)

Once a week from April to October at Newport Wetlands NNR a small group has contributed to the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. I joined the group last year together with three other volunteers as a way of expanding my knowledge of the reserve beyond what you normally absorb on “meet and greet” or leading guided walks and just because I like butterflies. I also tend to wander round with a camera on nice days. In the evenings I sometimes sit and think about the nine years of survey data that I’ve scrounged from Kevin Dupe and how we can use it to help inform visitors to the reserve.

This week’s butterfly survey was on a hot and sunny Monday morning.

Fish House Lane was warm and humid with clouds of brown butterflies near the brambles. Two Gatekeepers flew in tight circles around each other changing course only slightly to fly past me.

The next section is elevated and verdant, covered in plants in bloom or just going over (fine seed spikes on June’s Common spotted orchids). The first sound was Shrill carder bees on most plants, then the rattle of dragonfly wings. This stretch is a photographer’s paradise if only the insects will stay still … it’s also a biting insect’s paradise since photographers don’t move fast enough to get out of the way. The next 20 minutes yielded the second highest count of Common blue butterflies (the highest was 100 in August 2013). Looking back, the great majority of Common blues were males, so perhaps next time I should look more carefully for the slightly duller females.  Perhaps the greatest spectacle was a male Emperor dragonfly chasing butterflies in flight but having to settle for insects resting on grass stems (Emperors are substantial enough that the stem swayed down to the ground under dragonfly impact and rebounded jettisoning the hapless dragonfly). 158 butterflies in total.

The small woodland was much quieter with only four butterflies one of which was the first Green veined white of the day.

Beyond that, the route lays along paths. Wandering around with a clipboard tends to attract attention visitors who are keen first to find out what you’ve up to and then to tell you about what they’ve seen around the reserve. It’s usually possible to add to their enjoyment of the day. The remaining sections of the transect also tend to be quiet but can yield surprises … the biggest being that the figures show that the car park is actually quite a good spot for butterflies.  And, then it’s time for coffee and paperwork!!

Monday’s list had 262 individual butterflies of ten species: Large white (11), Small white (11), Green-veined white (1), Common blue (83), Red admiral (1), Peacock (4), Comma (5), Speckled wood (24), Gatekeeper (76), Meadow brown (46).