As we left one of our reserves recently having completed a rather unappealing job, a male Common Blue butterfly showed himself. It lifted our mood instantly. We hadn’t seen many Common Blues this year and they are so beautiful – little summer-sky jewels.
It isn’t just beauty either, although that helps, and it isn’t just rarity, although Tony and I do tend to be excited by uncommon species appearing on YACWAG’s reserves. Butterflies are an indicator that things are going right on our reserves. They are sensitive to their environment a kind of canary in the coal mine. If a Common Blue is on our reserve the habitat must be OK. The icing on the cake was seeing a five-spot burnet moth in the same field.
The same thing had happened to us earlier in the year at Paddocks – another recently acquired field where we hadn’t seen blue butterflies before. It had been in the news last year that Common Blues were in decline and yet here was one on our new land, giving us an insight into the restoration of the meadow habitat but also confirming our reward for the hard work it had taken to acquire the land and begin to manage it for wildlife.
The Common Blue is not the first, nor will it be the last, reward for us. In recent weeks we have been similarly cheered by the unexpected appearance of a Red Kite. Just when we are feeling tired and overwhelmed, nature presents us with a reward and a boost to our spirits.
A stalwart tree waterer at Cobthorn messaged in the height of the heatwave to describe
their view of a fox sauntering through the meadow as they were leaving. The watering of the
young trees at Cobthorn has been very hard work over two scorching summers for a small
number of committed volunteers. They have been blessed with unexpected views of Barn
Owls, Kestrels, Foxes and other significant and scarce wildlife. I like to think they share the
deep feeling that nature is rewarding them.
YACWAG’s effect and impact is on a very, very small scale but nonetheless we really are
making a difference to wildlife locally. Can you find the time and energy to help out on our
reserves some time? I can promise you a glow of satisfaction from volunteering, and I feel
confident that nature will also find a way of rewarding your efforts.
You can contact YACWAG by completing our contact form at https://yacwag.org.uk/contact-us/