The annual Big
Butterfly Count organised by Butterfly Conservation ran from 17th July to 9th August 2020 this year …. see here.
The Big Butterfly Count is an annual nationwide citizen science survey aimed at helping us assess the health of our environment. It was launched in 2010 and has rapidly become the world's biggest survey of butterflies. Over 113,500 citizen scientists took part in 2019, submitting 116,009 counts of butterflies and day-flying moths from across the UK.
I submitted my butterfly records from my visits to my 2 local patches during the recording period.
On 28th September 2020, Butterfly Conservation announced the results of the Big Butterfly Count for 2020 …. see here.
It is of great concern that the Big Butterfly Count for 2020 has seen a decrease in the average number of butterflies logged per count of -34% in comparison with 2019 and the lowest average number of butterflies logged overall since the event began 11 years ago.
Butterfly Conservation state “Coming so shortly after the recent WWF and UN reports on the global biodiversity crisis these 2020 results illustrate the perilous state of wildlife in the UK. However, the fact that so many people take part in this exciting citizen science initiative is encouraging and makes a huge difference to our understanding of how the natural world is responding to the crisis it is in. Now we need to see initiatives both here and across the world to put nature on a path to recovery”.
Butterfly Conservation suggest that the decrease in butterfly numbers recorded during the Big Butterfly Count for 2020 may be due to a number of factors. In particular, an unusually warm spring led to many species emerging earlier than usual and therefore the recording period may have only caught the end of the flight period for many species. Anecdotally, this was certainly my experience at my 2 local patches.
More encouragingly, the Big Butterfly Count for 2020 saw the highest number of butterfly sightings ever submitted with 111,628 participants submitting a record-breaking 145,249 counts this year, an increase of 25% on 2019.
My 2 local patches both provide valuable habitats for butterflies. At St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas, I have recorded 21 species of butterfly including a further 6 species this year, whilst at Noak Bridge Nature Reserve, where I only started visiting this year, I have recorded 18 species of butterfly.
Here are some of my many butterfly photos taken this spring/summer at my 2 local patches ....
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