Briantspuddle Butterfly Recording Day 30th July 2005
by Anna Barwick
Bill Shreeves organised a very successful and well attended Butterfly Recording Day on 30th July at Briantspuddle with the help of people from Affpuddle and Turnerspuddle Parish, for Butterfly Conservation members and local residents, with between 40 and 50 people of all ages turning up to help and learn. The day started at the Village Hall, where Bill gave a talk and slide show on butterfly identification, before everyone set off on their allocated walk around the area to record the butterflies and moths on their route.
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Bill Shreeves provides a talk and slide show on butterfly identification at the Village Hall
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Education and Sales Stalls at the Village Hall |
The idea behind these Recording Days is to cover as many 1 kilometre square grids as possible on the map for the area, to help establish the status of Dorset's butterflies. The data obtained is collated and provides the data for the Millennium Atlas Supplement Map. Despite the less than helpful weather, a first glance at the records shows that the day added 3 new species not seen in the area between 1995-2004 (Purple Hairstreak, Brown Argus and Essex Skipper), new kilometre squares for a further 12 species, and a total of 21 species recorded on the day. The area's total species now grows from 27 to 30.
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Surveying an area near Gallows Hill
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The Grayling - one of the butterflies found on the heathland around Briantspuddle
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Most of the area borders the army
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The event was also a success for the Branch from a fund-raising perspective, with a £19 surplus in donations after paying for the hall, and the Sales Stall took in excess of £90 on the day.
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