Monitoring Butterflies in Dorset
There are several schemes in place in Dorset for monitoring our Butterflies and Moths:
TRANSECTS: regular walking along pre-defined routes. See this section for full details of the walks and what can be seen. If you are interested in becoming involved with Transect Walking in Dorset, please contact Bill Shreeves.
CASUAL RECORDING: records sent in by people of any sightings outside of the Transects. Whilst the regular monitoring of butterflies at key sites across the county (Transects) is of great importance, this is by no means the only way of collecting data. It is equally important to know what goes on everywhere else, and there are therefore two basic methods available for submitting this information to us:
Site recording: this is
useful if you visit the same place regularly, and are able to collect
information over several visits, or maybe you might like to send us the
sightings of butterflies you see in your garden over a season. A form
for this kind of recording can be downloaded in pdf
format (you need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this file) here, or
you might like to submit your sightings to us as you go, via our on-line
Sightings Submission Form.
Casual recording: this is where you see a butterfly,
or butterflies, as you go about the County. We are interested in all your
sightings, including Large Whites and Meadow Browns, as don't forget,
we use this data to provide statistical information about the population
of Dorset's Butterflies, and if nobody reports the commoner species, the
records will end up looking like they are extinct! To report your casual
sightings to us, you can either download the casual
recording form here in pdf format, or submit
them on-line.
REGIONAL ACTION PLAN: Dorset's involvement in the Biodiversity Action Plan. Full information about this is available here.
REPORTING DORSET'S BUTTERFLIES:
Annual reports on how the butterflies have done across the County's Transects: