Saturday, 20 July 2019

Big Butterfly Count


Big Butterfly Count – 19th July to 11th August 2019

This is a national count – look at  www.bigbutterflycount.org  for details and to see how you can take part. The site has a helpful chart of some of the butterflies you might see.

It is particularly important at the moment when numbers of some butterfly species are changing greatly from year to year.

Chris Packham has been talking in the media in the last week about the Painted Lady.  These butterflies fly up from Morocco in the summer to Europe and sometimes to the UK. We have seen a few in Abington this year; the last time we had a Painted Lady year was 2009 when there were millions in the UK and hundreds in Abington, especially on the Roman Road.  So that is one species that you should be looking out for.

Another species that you should look for is the Marbled White.  This was very scarce in Cambridgeshire 10-20 years ago but we are seeing it a bit more now in Abington.  In the last 10 years we saw none or only one from 2011 to 2015, but this July we have seen 10 already in 6 different places.  Please look out for it in your gardens and wherever you walk in the village.

Please report all the butterflies that you see in Abington, particularly as part of the national count, to me – I keep a record of all the Abington butterflies reported during the whole year. These reports are published in the Abington Naturewatch Record at the end of each year.

Jennifer Hirsh
Contact for butterflies, bees and other insects
Email: Jennifer@hirsh.com

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The Aims of Abington Naturewatch

At their meeting on 9 April 2005 the members approved this revised version of the aims of Abington Naturewatch:

  • To monitor and record the wildlife (fauna & flora) within the borders of the Abingtons;
  • To encourage protection of our wildlife, maintain its quality and foster its diversity;
  • To promote awareness of the richness, potential and problems of the natural environment of the Abingtons;
  • To cooperate in improving access to the local natural environment for the benefit of all Abington villagers.

Pat Daunt, Founder

The organisation is informal and communication is by email if possible; members are notified of events from time to time. Contact details are maintained by a small "project team". There is currently no membership fee as costs are covered by voluntary contributions at events.

Members are encouraged to report notable sightings of flora and fauna within the Abingtons to the appropriate sector coordinator and an illustrated record is published annually.

A map of the area covered, with some features noted, is available here: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=213774935674882866424.00000111dca2be9f06ab8&z=13>

For more information or to join, please contact David Farrant on (01223) 892871.

Contributions to our records should be sent to sector contacts or either of the above. Photographs may also be submitted to Andy Merryweather (amerryweather61@gmail.com)