Branch News
The Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey (WCBS) goes ahead in 2009
By Dr Katie Cruickshanks, WCBS co-ordinator
After two years of pilot testing, a new method of monitoring butterflies in widespread habitats, such as farmland and upland moorland, is to be rolled out nationwide this year.
The Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey method has been developed by Butterfly Conservation and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology as part of the UKBMS project.
The existing Transect network provides invaluable data on the status of butterflies, yet widespread habitats are under-recorded. More information on the fate of butterflies in these areas is needed. The new survey is intended to fill these gaps by complementing, rather than replacing, the existing Transect network.
The pilot testing has thrown up some interesting information. Last year, despite the unsettled weather, nearly two thirds of the 1-km squares visited in 2007 were revisited by volunteers. In total 40 species were recorded.
Importantly all 23 target species were detected in both pilot years which means that trends can be analysed to test whether classic Transects provide a truly representative picture of butterflies in the UK landscape as a whole.
Volunteers who have participated in the pilot testing have shown considerable enthusiasm and it is hoped this will continue to grow.
There has been close involvement with the British Trust for Ornithology and the method is based on the highly successful Breeding Bird Survey. We hope that many BTO recorders will be returning to their bird sites this summer to collect butterfly data as part of the survey along with many new surveys completed by BC recorders.
The new method involves making a minimum of two visits to a randomly selected square near to your home between May and August to count butterflies along two 1km survey lines running roughly north-south through the your square. The survey will be co-ordinated centrally by BC but we aim to find a Champion in each Branch to help find willing volunteers. We are aiming for 20 squares per Branch.
Please email survey@butterfly-conservation.org or call 01929 406036 to register interest in taking part and you will be contacted in early spring with instructions and the location of your random 1km survey square. Keep an eye on www.butterfly-conservation.org/wcbs for more information.
The Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey (WCBS) continues in 2010
We are delighted to inform you that the WCBS have decided to continue the survey again in 2010. Once again this will be a collaborative project with BTO and CEH.
They believe that the roll-out last year was a great success with 763 random 1km squares sampled by over 600 surveyors. The squares were recorded almost equally by BTO and BC volunteers, showing how important the partnership approach has been. The results have given the first ever random sample of butterflies in the UK and have established an important new baseline from which to assess future trends. The attached feedback report (356 Kb - PDF) will give you more information and is being sent to all recorders posted on the UKBMS website.
The WCBS would like to thank everyone who took part last year and especially the WCBS Champions who helped promote the survey within the Branches. They hope people will continue to survey the same squares in the same way as last year. Their priority is to re-survey these squares for at least the next 2 years so that they can determine trends in the wider countryside and see whether they differ from transect trends. They also welcome new participants either to help re-survey old squares, or to survey new ones for the first time.
As last year, they have little external support for the survey and the costs are being borne largely by Butterfly Conservation with a small contribution from Natural England and support of otheir partners in CEH and BTO. However, the government agencies have expressed a strong interest in the results and are actively seeking funds for future years. At the present time, therefore, they have to run the survey as cheaply as possible, which means that their time to give support will be somewhat limited.
The WCBS would also like to express their sincere thanks their central co-ordinator last year, Katie Cruickshanks, who did a wonderful job co-ordinating the survey at short notice. Although Katie left in January to take up work with a local consultancy Footprint Ecology, they have placed a contract with her to continue as the main contact. They hope this will provide continuity with last year as well as retaining her valuable experience in running the project.
If you want advice on the survey please contact survey@butterfly-conservation.org or phone Katie on 01929 552486. Any general inquiries about butterfly monitoring can be sent to Tom Brereton or Ian Middlebrook at BC Head Office:
Butterfly Conservation
Manor Yard
East Lulworth
Wareham
Dorset
BH20 5QP
Tel: 01929 400209
Fax 01929 400210
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