Sunday 15 May saw the arrival at Cerne Abbas Giant Hill of 44 walkers from Dorset, Devon, Somerset, London and Cambridgeshire to take part in the guided tour for the day, a mixture of novices and experts sharing enthusiasm for the butterflies seen.
Walk leader Malcolm Wemyss reports:
There was immediate good news when a fresh Brown Argus was found at the base of the restored grassland slope below the giant, a butterfly which had severely declined in the previous season.
The stroll northwards soon revealed extensive numbers of Dingy and Grizzled Skippers – and It wasn’t long before a newly emerged Duke of Burgundy appeared, much to the delight of many who had never encountered the species before. As a threatened and scarce butterfly throughout the UK, finding more than thirty specimens during the 1km excursion along the western escarpment adds encouragement to the habitat management done there.
Other species along the way included occasional Marsh Fritillaries and many Green Hairstreaks, seemingly a good season for them in many places. Once again, many walkers had not seen the butterfly before, so were surprised and pleased at finding several examples.
A welcome rest and lunch was taken overlooking lovely views of the valley and Up Cerne beyond, a scene painted during the break by one lady walker – not necessarily capturing the passing Holly Blues. All this was in the environment of a backdrop of literally thousands of cowslips. Then the steep climb eastwards to the exposed summit with its revealed ancient earthworks and reclaimed arable land, after which dropping down the drove where Brimstones, Speckled Woods and more Green Hairstreaks appeared. There was also a Red Admiral, Peacock, richly coloured Marsh Fritillary and a Small Copper, this very welcome as it too had plummeted in numbers last year.
The last part of the walkabout revealed abundant Small Heaths, lovely for their orange colour and distinctive eye spot on the forewings.
Hopefully, news of this kind of enjoyable outing might encourage readers to attend more of the events organised by the Dorset Branch of Butterfly Conservation!