In a very thinly disguised effort to block out the horror that is the current state of UK, indeed World politics I had a potter around the garden this morning before it got too hot and took lots of photos of the life I could see out there. This was a really joyful few minutes as well as a potentially useful one as, for the next few weeks, the latest Citizen Science project is in progress - the UK's
Big Butterfly Count. Launched last week by the
Butterfly Conservation Trust it's a chance to take a snapshot of the butterfly population across the country in a way that no individual study could really manage. It's also a fun thing to do for both adults and children and as it runs for another couple of weeks there is still time to download the count sheet and join in.
In just 15 minutes I clocked up half a dozen little Gatekeepers, a Peacock, a Small White and a couple of Large Whites. I also had the added bonus of lavenders full of buzzing bees, hover-flies and other critters and a much happier mind!
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Three's a crowd for these Gatekeepers
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| Gatekeeper |
I stood outside in this heat trying to get a photo of a Peacock on the buddleia - was just about to give up due to heatstroke! when one sat with open wings for a few seconds, so got my picture ready for when I'm back on the blog (the things I do for blogging!!) There were 6 peacocks on the bush - a good summer for butterflies I think
ReplyDeleteDaft aren't we? But lovely to see them all around. Enjoy the rest of the day.
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