Woodoaks Butterfly Walk

Thank you everyone for joining us the Woodoaks Butterfly Walk this weekend and taking part in the Butterfly Conservation charity’s Big Butterfly Count. It was great to welcome so many of you, especially those discovering us for the first time.

We kicked off with an opportunity to view the moths which had been trapped overnight by Woodoaks’ moth expert and entomologist John Mynett. Moth numbers have been low this year, but a good range of species had been trapped, including some not previously recorded on the farm.

The Spectacle Moth was voted the favourite wearing its characterful glasses.

It’s also been a low count for butterflies too this year. This has almost certainly been down to the summer drought of 2022 combined with the wettest of weather this spring.

Despite this we were incredibly lucky. As the warm weather arrived, Martin Taylor helped us to spot and identify the emerging butterflies and day flying moths. As we walked the farm’s circular route we saw a great number of species including.

Small Skipper
Small White
Large White
Brimstone
Common Blue
Red Admiral
Peacock
Comma
Marbled White
Meadow Brown
Ringlet
Gatekeeper
Speckled Wood
Cinnabar Moth (& caterpillar)
Six Spot Burnet Moth.

We rounded off the walk in a section of field margin where the regenerative farming model adopted at Woodoaks by the Soil Association has enabled a rich habitat of wildflowers and native grasses to develop. It was here that we completed the exciting 15 minute Big Butterfly Count with wonderful enthusiasm shown by attendees young and old, spotting as many species and individual butterflies as possible.

Our count will be added to the nation’s numbers to help us understand the health of our butterflies. As indicator species these numbers can tell us a lot about the wider environmental health.

Thank you to our expert volunteers Martin Taylor & John Mynett for leading the walk & helping us to connect with nature on a deeper level.

Part of the Colne Valley Regional Park Festival Fortnight.
All photographs by Chris Bessant & Sue Lacey.