Well, who ever said that winter was a quiet time for conservation?! This winter has been a whirlwind of activity on the East Coast with habitat management, aka Work Parties, taking place from Easter Ross to Moray all the way down to Angus. Northern brown argus butterflies like to live right on the edge of some of our steep coastal sites making for hard physical days out trying to clear scrub from coastal cliffs. It does however mean we are treated to some stunning scenery and are often watched over by wary shags and beautiful long-tailed ducks.
With Species on the Edge being a multi taxa programme, it has been great to work on some areas of the Old Shandwick – Rosemarkie SSSI where three of our species exit in close proximity to each other: small blue; northern brown argus; and purple oxytropis. The habitat management we have started will benefit all three of them, and excitingly after clearing one area of gorse we discovered over 20 purple oxytropis rosettes emerging!
Some of our small blue sites have been badly affected by flooding this winter, with several submerged under water for several weeks at a time. Only time will tell how this has impacted both the caterpillar foodplant (kindney vetch) and the caterpillars themselves which should be overwintering just under the soil at the base of the plants. This year’s upcoming survey season will be crucial as we build data on how winter storms are affecting our species.
We were part of the inaugural Fort George Conservation Group, set up with the Ministry of Defence to help ensure there will continue to be sustainable conservation outcomes after the Species on the Edge programme finishes in 2027. We have also been making new contacts with several golf courses along the East Coast and we are looking forward to working with them in the coming months.
It has not all been about practical labour though; we have made super links with some communities and linked in with other existing groups creating exciting partnership opportunities. One such group is a fantastic craft group up in Dornoch who have been busy creating a mobile fabric display of our East Coast species which we hope to unveil at the Sutherland Agricultural Show in July – watch this space! We have also been working with the Young Curators group from Dornoch Museum, who have been showcasing some amazing caterpillar and butterfly works of art.
To see what we events and opportunities we have coming up on the East Coast, head over to the Species on the Edge Upcoming Opportunities page and select East Coast.
If you have any questions about Species on the Edge activity on the East Coast or you’re looking for more details on getting involved, get in touch with the team:
Tracy Munro, Project Officer, Butterfly Conservation: tmunro@butterfly-conservation.org
Caitlin McLeod, Project Officer, Buglife: caitlin.mcleod@buglife.org.uk
