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NEWSLETTER No. 14 -  Winter 1985 / 86

WEST MIDLANDS BRANCH, BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION

 

Habitats of the West Midlands

1. Haugh Wood, Herefordshire

Mike's idea of doing a series of articles on different sites of special interest for butterfly watchers coincided with my offer to put pen to paper and write a brief article on one of my favourite Herefordshire haunts, the nationally important Haugh Wood. Over the past few years I have visited Haugh Wood many times, this includes the period of intense study when Barry Fleming, Rob Hall and I made 25 visits during. the 31 day period 4th. July/3rd. August 1984 to the quick 1 hr. stroll on Boxing Day morning to walk off Christmas Day and prepare an appetite for the rest of the 26th.

The Wood was originally owned by the Hereford family of Mordiford - who still own much of the land in the area, and who have always been interested in conservation; they have given me access to their land to look for Butterflies, and this resulted in the discovery of one new White-letter site in 1984. They sold the land to the Forestry Commission but have retained the shooting rights which presumably means game birds and deer which can often be seen in the wood. Much of the wood has been replanted with conifers but at least there is a variety of species used, including

(Some information missing here)....

The habitat survey identified some 20,000 sites potential wildlife interest and, through the records centre, data will be collected of the flora and fauna that such areas support. The West Midlands branch will be co-operating with this new centre and passing on appropriate records gathered through our own branch recording scheme.


Conservation Weekend

Committee member, Dave Hatton, organised a special butterfly conservation weekend in
Stafffordshire during June, which offered a series of field visits to sites of particular interest followed up by an illustrated talk in a Stafford hotel on the Sunday evening. We are grateful to Dave for taking the initiative over this event and for his other efforts to put the BBCS well and truly on the map as far as Staffs is concerned. If other members would like help in organising events in their locality please contact the Branch Organiser. With the branch covering such a large region, we have to rely on our members to initiate local activities that will benefit the BBCS and promote the cause of butterfly conservation..

Branch Reserves

Sighting of Marsh Fritillary for the second year running at Miserden has led to hopes that the butterfly may be breeding there. Our Press Officer, John Reeve, has identified an area where the foodplant grows at a reasonable density and larval searches will be carried out in the Spring to establish whether we can add another species to our breeding list.

An article on our Wyre Forest reserve appears in the Autumn issue of BBCS News.

High Brown Fritillary

After an unfortunate start, when Nick Lear had his bag stolen from the train on the way to Birmingham, work has started on assessing the ecological requirements of this butterfly under the overall guidance of Dr. Jeremy Thomas. The main focus this year was on the Malverns which along with Cumbria, must rank as the premier site for this butterfly in the country. As far as the Wyre Forest is concerned, early indications suggest that the butterfly is probably breeding only in areas of young successional habitat, perhaps 1-2 years coppice. If this proves to be the case, then it is a further argument for an active system of coppicing in those parts of the Forest controlled by nature conservation organisations. The coppicing of Alder and Hazel started last year in the BBCS reserve will be continued in the hope of further improving conditions for the High Brown and other Fritillaries.

 

DINGY

Late morning and the heat lay trapped
along the short turf of the bank.
As I struggled up, the sun sapped my energy.
My spirits sank.

I dabbed smeared sweat from neck, forehead
and red-sore corners of my eyes.
No air to breathe, my legs like lead,
I stumbled on a brief surprise                                   

that bumbled just above thin grass,
tormentil, clover, like a bee,
but settled on the ground to bask,
became a skipper - a dingy!

My first sight of this dull butterfly
and, dingy, you lightened life for me!

Brian Mitchell.