Sun February 05 2012

Butterfly Hobbies

Mystery visitors identified

 

One of the most common questions last year and this spring has been “What was that bright yellow butterfly?  I’ve not seen one here before.”

 

The species in question is the brimstone. The males are bright, sulphur-yellow and the females are lime-green. They are one of the few British species to hibernate as adults over winter, normally deep in clumps of ivy. When they emerge again in spring, the female lays her eggs on buckthorn bushes. These plants were rare in east Suffolk, but in recent years there has been a scheme to increase the number of bushes, orchestrated by Butterfly Conservation (a charity devoted to protecting and helping our butterflies).

 

Here at the golf club bushes were planted at the 5th and 15th holes, as none were present. It took at least five years for them to get to the right size for the butterflies, but they are now used every year, hence the gradual increase in sightings of the brimstone.

 

The highs and lows of course bird life

 

The hobbies returned to nest again in 2009, this time being more successful than 2008, raising three chicks. These birds showed very well at the end of summer generally in the area of the 9th and 11th holes, with the adults regularly seen bringing in food. The warm, dry weather probably helped with the successful fledging, their main foods being fast-flying birds such as swallows and also large insects such as dragonflies (they also had a good season thanks to the sunny weather).

 

The annual British Trust for Ornithology nestbox survey for 2009 revealed that for smaller birds it was not such a good year. Twenty-six nests were found in the surveyed boxes, 21 being blue tit and the other five occupied by great tits. The blue tits laid 184 eggs, but only 110 young fledged, with six nests failing completely. In 2008, there were 20 nests of blue tit, producing 127 young with four failures, slightly better than 2009. The great tits laid 39 eggs, but only 20 young fledged, with two nests failing. In 2008 there were six great-tit nests, one failed but they raised 35 young, much better than 2009.

 

Most of the abandoned nests had very small chicks in them. It seemed that the adults couldn’t find enough food to feed them. The spring period at the time in late April was very sunny, warm and dry, prompting the trees to break into leaf earlier than normal.

 

This meant the annual flush of caterpillars feeding on this new growth was also early, so possibly by the time the young birds were hatching the caterpillars were fully grown and had started pupating. 

 

The survey for 2010 has just been completed. Once the data has been collated I will put together a report, along with information on the sightings of note so far this year – there have been some exciting discoveries. 
 

Neil Sherman, conservation manager

 

 

 
 

Ipswich Golf Club,  Purdis Heath,  Bucklesham Road,  Ipswich,  IP3 8UQ
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