Hertfordshire & Middlesex Branch
Saving butterflies, moths and our environment
Therfield Heath butterflies. BNA Herts had a wildlife walk at Therfield Heath. we went to church hill very windy but saw 2 Marbled whites, 4 Meadow Brown, a Common Blue, 2 Brown Argus. The highlight was a Dark Green Fritillary. on Church Hill my first of the year. We went to the Rifle Range after lunch and saw 4 Adonis blues, 2 Brimstones. The wild flowers were lovely too. [Posted by steve kiln]
Small Blue at Millhoppers. During today's work party I was delighted to see this fluttering around our chalk bank. This is the first ever record of Small Blue at the Millhoppers Reserve! Apologies for the 'record shot' pictures. [Posted by Chris Hilling]
Therfield Heath. Church Hill warm, sunny - Adonis Blue 1 (male), Small Heath (4). Rifle Butts; Adonis Blue (3 males), Common Blue (3 males), Brown Argus (4). Internet searches indicate that Adonis Blue at Therfield in 2024 had poor 1st and 2nd broods, probably related to the weather. In 2025, internet reported first brood counts have been in single figures. So the species may be at a cross roads and if this 2025 first brood does not fare well, it may not survive 3 poor breeding seasons in succession. Let us hope it responds to the good weather - 2nd brood counts in (August) 2025 will be important. [Posted by Paul Duff]
Small Skipper sighted near Heathrow. Inspired by Dave's records of his observations in and around Stanwell Moor, I headed to the area close to Heathrow in the hope of seeing a small tortoiseshell. Instead, I was most surprised to see this Small Skipper which seems incredibly early even by this year's standards. It was nectaring on grass vetchling. I had it in sight for about 30 seconds, and did not see it again in all the time I spent there hoping it would return! [Posted by David Bristol] [Posted by David Bristol]
Sightings at Hillbrow, Letchworth. 3 x Small Blue; 1 x Small Heath; 1 x Meadow Brown; 1 x Brimstone. Moths: 1 x Cinnabar, 1 x Common Carpet [Posted by Patricia Clegg]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. During a shorter than usual local walk this afternoon, I counted over 70 Meadow Browns and about half that number of Small Heath. Everything else had much smaller numbers, with even Common Blues down to fewer than 20. However, highlights were a Painted Lady, another new Comma and two Large Skippers battling over the same short stretch of path. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Sightings at Grovelands Park, Southgate. At Grovelands Park [1150 to 1420 BST] - 3 Common Blue, 3 Holly Blue, male Meadow Brown, 1 Red Admiral, 1 Small Heath, 4 Speckled Wood, 1 Mother Shipton & 1 Red-headed Cardinal Beetle. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
We the Lea. Zain Henry and I joined this innovative event involving walks, talks and spotting nature al multiple sites along the river which forms a green corridor along the eastern border of Hackney. We learnt about the local biodiversity action plan, a plan to convert old filter beds into a wildlife haven and much more. Starting at Horseshoe Bridge with talks including one from me on the fortunes of butterflies and moths in the area. We crossed Hackney Marshes and saw several of the sites which form the Hackney Buzzline, featured at our Members Day. It was a quiet day for butterflies, with Small Whites being the most common species. Red Admirals, Comma, Large White, Holly Blue and Speckled Woods also seen Others in the group saw and photographed a mating pair of Lime Hawkmoths. An apple orchard of several dozen trees, contained hundreds of ghostly shrouds of the Apple Ermine moth, with caterpillars visible inside. The six mile walk finished with nature films in a bar at Cody Dock - quite an event and many thanks to Gerry Tissier who organised it [Posted by Malcolm Hull]
Marbled White butterfly on Therfield Heath. A single male Marbled White was flying over the south side of Church Hill this morning - the first time I've seen one in May. Also present: Meadow Brown (4), Small Heath (6), Common Blue (4), a few unidentified, worn 'brown' blues and a Burnet Companion moth. I couldn't find any Adonis Blues. [Posted by Martin Johnson]
Sightings at Enfield & Trent Park. At Trent Park - 10 Yellow-banded Longhorn Moth [Nemophora degeerella], including males & females, along bridle-path near Merryhills Brook [TQ297967], male Large Skipper at Rough Lot. Male Large Skipper near Duncan's Wd/Enfield Chase at Park Farm. 3 Common Blue, 1 Large Skipper & 1 Hedge Beauty [Alabonia geoffrella] at a private site near Trent Park this morning. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. A similar selection of butterflies on my local patch today - minus the Large Skippers, but including a rather faded Peacock and a brand new 2nd brood Comma, form hutchinsoni - another first for the year for me. There was also a very new Red Admiral showing off its magnificent underside in the late afternoon sunshine. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Sightings at Enfield. At a private site near Trent Park this morning - 1 Red Admiral, 2 Large Skipper - my first of the year [FOY], several Meadow Brown, male Common Blue, 1 Green-veined White & 1 Mother Shipton. Also, an immature Black-tailed Skimmer - my first of the year [FOY]. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. Welcome Small Tortoiseshell sightings continued on my local patch near Heathrow today. They included one which was very heavily marked, and another where the two black forewing spots were reduced to almost nothing - verging on the listed aberration ab. ichnusoides. 12 species were seen in all, and despite only occasional sunshine I counted around 120 butterflies altogether: Common Blue(29), Small Heath(25), Meadow Brown(24), Brown Argus(14), Small Tortoiseshell(6), Red Admiral(5), Small White(5), Holly Blue(5), Speckled Wood(3), Large Skipper(2), Brimstone(2), Small Copper(1). [Posted by Dave Miller]
Branch visit to Hillbrow, Letchworth Garden City. Six people joined us for our visit to this notable Small Blue site this morning plus we later joined by two staff from the Garden City Heritage Trust. After 15 minutes of dullness the sun broke through and we recorded: Butterflies: Brimstone 5, Common Blue 3, Holly Blue 2, Large White 2, Peacock 1, Small Blue 27, Small Heath 2, Small Tortoiseshell 1, Speckled Wood 1. Moths: Burnet Companion 5, Cinnabar 2, Cochylimorpha straminea 5, Mother Shipton 2, Scoparia pyralella 1, Small Yellow Underwing 1, Yellow Shell 1. [Posted by Andrew Wood]
Sightings at North Enfield & Southgate. At Gough Park, Forty Hill - 1 Speckled Wood. At Forty Hall CP, Enfield - 1 Red Admiral, 2 Speckled Wood together, 2 Chimney Sweeper, 1 Yellow-banded Longhorn Moth. At a private site at North Enfield - 1 Orange Beauty [Commophila aeneana] - my first of the year [FOY], 1 Yellow Shell - my first of the year [FOY], 2 Cinnabar, male Common Blue, 1 Small Heath & 2 male Meadow Brown. 1 Treble Brown Spot at Dalrymple Close, N14 - my first of the year [FOY]. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Meadow walk near Brickendon. Very unsettled weather today around the farm and the blustery wind made getting any photos amongst the long grass a challenge but at least I stayed dry...mostly. Common Blue (lots), Small Heath (8), Peacock (1), Speckled Wood (3), Small Copper (4), Small White (1), Large Skipper (4) highlights were FOY Meadow Brown and a fresh Small Tortoiseshell. [Posted by Nathan Ellis]
SSL Certificate renewal. The SSL certificate renewal process did not run this morning making the website insecure. I just contacted the server/database administrator to resolve. Apologies for the inconvenience [Posted by Peter Clarke]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. A very mixed day weatherwise on my local patch - aside from the strong breeze as a common factor. However, the main highlights were six different Small Tortoiseshells seen in three quite well-separated spots. It was very good to see what has become a relatively uncommon species these days. Perhaps surprisingly, over 100 butterflies were seen altogether, including ten other species. Common Blues, Small Heaths and Meadow Browns made up most of these to be fair. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Sightings at Enfield. At private sites near Trent Park this morning - 3 male Meadow Brown - my first of the year [FOY], 1 Small White [worn & tatty], 2 Alabonia geoffrella & male Yellow-barred Longhorn Moth [Nemphora degeerella] - my first of the year [FOY]. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Large Skipper near Brickendon. Finally spotted my FOY Large Skipper on the farm. Cloudy day so not much flying around the meadows at the moment but the flowers are nearly at full might. Plenty of Ox-eye daisies, buttercups, vetch, red clover and the bramble blossom has started around the perimeter. [Posted by Nathan Ellis]
