Brown Argus
Brown Hairstreak
Chalkhill Blue
Clouded Yellow
Comma
Common Blue
Dark Green Fritillary
Dingy Skipper
Essex Skipper
Gatekeeper
Green Hairstreak
Green-veined White
Grizzled Skipper
Holly Blue
Large Skipper
Large White
Marbled White
Meadow Brown
Orange-tip
Painted Lady
Peacock
Purple Emperor
Purple Hairstreak
Red Admiral
Ringlet
Silver-washed Fritillary
Small Blue
Small Copper
Small Heath
Small Skipper
Small Tortoiseshell
Small White
Speckled Wood
Wall
White Admiral
White-letter Hairstreak
Extinct/rare immigrants
About Me
My first experience of a butterfly that I can remember, was as a little boy seeing a Peacock on the lawn in my grandparents' back garden at Bushey Heath in the 1960s. My passion for butterflies has never wavered since then. In the middle of that decade the family moved to Hove and trips to the nearby downs in the following few years yielded many species which I had not seen before like the Chalkhill Blue.
My secondary education was spent at a boarding school near Newbury where I encountered my first Speckled Wood along the country lanes.
After completing my full-time education I moved to Stevenage to embark on my first professional IT job. Although I joined the British Butterfly Conservation Society, as it was then known, in 1973, it wasn't until 1992 when I decided to take butterfly conservation more seriously. In the following year I took on a new transect to record numbers and species of butterflies over a set route, covering Whomerley Wood, Monks Wood, Fairlands Valley Park south of Six Hills Way and Shackledell Grassland. The transect is walked from April to September almost every week so more than 20 years worth of data to work with!
From 2017, transects covering Knebworth Park and Knebworth Woods are walked as well. Ken King walked the Knebworth Park transect between 1996 and 2010.
Since 2004, I paid regular visits to Norton Green especially in high summer to look for the elusive Purple Emperor. It wasn't until 2011 when I finally saw one perched on top of an oak tree west of Watery Grove. Around this time, the beautiful Silver-washed Fritillary was now gracing the common. Since 2012, I have been searching for Brown Hairstreak at the site. Although there are promising signs that it is present there is insufficient evidence to support such a claim.
8 Oct - Transects' annual totals
6 Oct - Stevenage week 27
29 Sep - Knebworth Woods week 26
23 Sep - Stevenage week 26
19 Sep - Knebworth week 25
16 Sep - Stevenage week 25
12 Sep - Knebworth Woods week 24
9 Sep - Stevenage week 24
6 Sep - Stevenage week 23
5 Sep - Knebworth week 23
31 Aug - Knebworth Woods week 22
28 Aug - WCBS Aston
26 Aug - Stevenage week 22
24 Aug - Knebworth week 21
19 Aug - Stevenage week 21
17 Aug - Knebworth week 20
12 Aug - Stevenage week 20
10 Aug - Norton Green
8 Aug - Knebworth week 19
6 Aug - Stevenage week 19
5 Aug - Big Butterfly Count in Fairlands Valley Park
2 Aug - Knebworth woods week 18
30 Jul - Stevenage week 18
28 Jul - Knebworth week 17
25 Jul - Astonbury Wood July
23 Jul - Stevenage week 17
21 Jul - Big Butterfly Count in Fairlands Valley Park
20 Jul - Big Butterfly Count in garden
18 Jul - Knebworth week 16
17 Jul - First garden Common Blue
16 Jul - Stevenage week 16
13 Jul - Knebworth week 15
10 Jul - WCBS Aston
9 Jul - Stevenage week 15
4 Jul - Knebworth week 14
3 Jul - Field trip to Norton Green
1 Jul - Stevenage week 14
30 Jun - Large Skipper in garden
29 Jun - Knebworth week 13
25 Jun - Stevenage week 13
20 Jun - Knebworth week 12
19 Jun - Painted Lady
17 Jun - Stevenage week 12
16 Jun - Brimstones in garden
14 Jun - Knebworth week 11
11 Jun - Stevenage week 11
8 Jun - Knebworth Woods week 10
6 Jun - Stevenage week 10
31 May - Knebworth week 9
30 May - Stevenage week 9
25 May - Fairlands Valley Park
23 May - Knebworth week 8
20 May - Stevenage week 8
17 May - Knebworth week 7
16 May - First Common Blue and Large Skipper
13 May - Stevenage week 7
12 May - Astonbury Wood May
10 May - Knebworth week 6
9 May - Stevenage week 6
2 May - Knebworth week 5
1 May - First garden Holly Blue
29 Apr - Stevenage week 5
28 Apr - First Holly Blue of the year
27 Apr - Knebworth week 4
22 Apr - Stevenage week 4
21 Apr - Website updated
19 Apr - Knebworth Woods week 3
17 Apr - Stevenage week 3
12 Apr - Knebworth week 2
8 Apr - Stevenage week 2
7 Apr - 3 firsts of the year
4 Apr - Knebworth week 1
2 Apr - Stevenage week 1
31 Mar - Peacocks to the fore
26 Mar - Stevenage week 0
24 Mar - Brimstone & Comma
20 Mar - More Brimstones
19 Mar - First Small White of the year
9 Mar - First garden butterfly of the year
8 Mar - Commas at FVP
6 Mar - Comma
5 Mar - First Peacock of year
4 Mar - First butterflies of the year
2 Jan - Happy New Year
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