You can count on Sir David
SINCE creating a meadow area in his back garden three years ago, Sir David Attenborough has enjoyed an influx of wildlife and is this year hoping to see a wide range of butterflies visiting it.
“I have an area of meadow tur f with a mown lawn walkway which winds its way through and I see a number of different butterflies – meadow browns, cabbage whites and occasionally tortoiseshells.
“I haven’t seen a red admiral for a number of years though, but I used to.”
As president of the charity Butter fly Conservation, Sir David will be taking part in this year’s Big Butterfly Count, in which the public are asked to report sightings to give the charity a clearer picture of the nation’s butterflies. This, in turn, gives a view of the state of the countryside as a whole.
The small tortoiseshell enjoyed its best year for a decade last summer, while peacocks, small and large white also had good years, but migrants including red admirals and painted lady struggled.
“The count helps us a great deal,” says Sir David. “It provides a recognition chart from a scientifically accurate huge army of observers whose results can give you all kinds of important information.
“We know that last year was a good year for butterflies in that a lot of species came back or increased in numbers, but the decline in British butterflies is still going on. Last year was an optimistic blip.”
Three quarters of the UK’s butterflies are in decline and one third are i n danger of extinction, according to the charity.
“This is bad news for butterflies and bad news for the UK’s birds, bees, bats and other wildlife.
“Butter flies are a key indicator species of the health of our environment – if they’re struggling, many other species are also struggling.
“Butterflies are pollinators, pollinating the countryside. To have pollinators in the countryside means you have a healthy and renewing countryside. Without them, you lose a great deal.”
Butter fly numbers have declined because the numbers of wild places in the countryside have diminished as agriculture has become more efficient, he says.
“But if you put together all our suburban gardens, they form a huge area and they can help replace those wild places that agriculture has taken over.”
Dr Tom Brereton, head of monitoring at Butter fly Conservation, says: “The recovery of butterflies in 2013 was welcome but there is still a long way to go before butterflies return to former glories.
“Our ongoing monitoring efforts will be vital in assessing whether we are on track to reverse butterfly declines and rebuild a healthy countryside.”
The Big Butterfly Count runs until Sunday, August 10. For i nfor mation and help with identifying butterfly types, visit bigbutterflycount.org