WeT,WeT,WeT but 'Dukes' win through

Out and about in April, 'the Duke'

Not a great day for outdoor work and having walked the dogs in heavy rain early morning it was with some doubts I met up with the WT team in a very wet lay-by not too far from Naunton golf club. From this spot we were ferried to the work site, on Round hill Farm, which was a section of an old disused railway line hidden in the rolling hills. After an introduction by Chris Wiltshire, butterfly recorder for Glos. , the surprisingly large team were set to clear the steep banks of overgrown shrub {ash, field maple..} and use bonfires to dispose of the brash.  The objective was to remove unwanted shading to encourage grass growth along hopefully with cowslips and other plant life all to help sustain the resident Duke of Burgundy population along with other butterfly species [Green hair streak...]. As the Duke male can be feisty in protecting its territory plus attracting females it was important to leave hawthorn shrub which it uses for its flowers and as a good vantage point. It turns out that the Dukes require a not too hot habitat with longish grasses and the cowslips they feed on similarly as they last longer out of prolonged sunlight. Its useful to point out that we aren't normally encouraged to work in such damp conditions but time is disappearing fast for avoiding disturbing wildlife during the seasonal breeding times. Again its sad to note the once healthy colonies of these butterflies has decreased significantly over the past few years so any work to help improve habitats is crucial.

Earlier in the week I joined Mike and James at Lodge Park to clear the mountain of leaves prior to the opening of the lodge later this month. The weather was decidedly better than today and this seemed to attract a healthy number of raptors. This included a red kite , a kestrel and a 'band' of 8 buzzards! As it turns out there used to be a colony of 'dukes' in 'Snowbottom belt' and there may be potential to do similar habitat improvements to see their return. Chris W is only too happy to offer further advice on this.