Butterflies at Compton Verney in July

One of our recent #CVgrounds volunteer recruits has been out and about photographing Butterflies at Compton Verney in July. With the Old Town Meadow, East Park, and the West Lawn maturing as wild flower meadows, not to mention a good amount of woodland and lake area; we’re rapidly becoming a drop-in centre for most local wildlife which includes some beautiful butterflies!

If you’d like a stroll around to see for yourself there’s a link at the bottom of this post to visiting information, and I’d recommend in respect of butterflies visiting before the middle of August, by which time we’ll have cut the larger part of the meadow areas. Tip – a sunny day is by far better for butterfly spotting, with many species only venturing out when the sun shines!

Below are a handful of stunning photographs snapped mostly by volunteer Arthur Owens that give a flavour of what can be seen during early July for example. From a grounds management perspective the images and accompanying field notes help to build a picture of butterfly and moth species that live or visit Compton Verney throughout the season, which in turn helps us select the best management options for the many areas available to us. ‘Capability’ Brown, when he completed the re-design of the Compton Verney landscape may or may not have been interested in wildlife habitat creation, but the landscapes he left behind certainly offer huge potential, and we’re doing everything we can to enhance those areas to attract wildlife.

Ringlet Butterfly at Compton Verney near Welcome Centre. Arthur Owens 2016.

Ringlet Butterfly near new Welcome Centre at Compton Verney. Arthur Owens.

Meadow Brown, Male taken in the Old Town Meadow at Compton Verney. Arthur Owens July 2016.

Not a butterfly of course – but a colourful Scorpion Fly in the Old Town Meadow at Compton Verney. Arthur Owens 2016.

Small Copper butterfly pictured in 2013, West Lawn. Gary Webb.

If you’re suitably inspired by the images to get out and spot some butterflies yourself, a great way is through the big butterfly count, organised by the charity Butterfly Conservation. It takes place between 15th July and 7th August, only takes fifteen minutes and you’d be joining upwards of 50,000 people who take part annually, exploring parks, gardens and open spaces with a view to identifying species, recording and sending in those results. Excellent identification sheets are available, and I’d recommend a digital camera with a good zoom lens to focus in on those resting butterflies (a good photograph will aid later identification also!) If you’re interested in the Big Butterfly Count then do click on the picture below, you could even complete your survey whilst visiting Compton Verney!

Compton Verney Visiting Information: https://archive.comptonverney.org.uk/plan-your-visit/

Happy butterfly spotting!

Regards

Gary – Head of Landscape and Gardens at Compton Verney.