I always see the end of July as ‘High Summer’ the point in time when we are fully out of Spring and the flowers associated with this time are in bloom.
Rosebay Willowherb, Privet, Knapweed, buddlia and bramble to name but a few. The scent of privet is especially evocative and takes me right back to my childhood . It is then I start making connections with the past -Withernsea Carnival, school holidays, flowers laden with butterflies, catching moths under the street light in our old front garden-the memories flood back in an instant.
This year especially with the re-discovery of one of my childhood bibles (The I Spy book of Butterflies) combined with 2 weeks leave have re-kindled my interest in these most enigmatic of creatures.
It is well documented that the amount of butterflies on the wing is a good barometer for the health of the rest of the ecology in our environment. It would appear to me that there are some good numbers of them around at the moment creating some optimism, offering some hope giving a much needed boost in what has been pretty dark times just recently.
As I leafed through the pages of my I Spy book I looked on with some amusement at some of the descriptions I put in against a sighting ‘my friends house’, ‘on a field’, ‘the allotments’ and ‘the railway lines’. To anyone else reading those early notes they would have no idea where in the world those records came from, yet I could take you now to the nearest square yard and show you where those early sightings were made over 40 years ago.
Some of the butterflies to a young lad with a passion for lepidoptera held almost mythical status (some still do)-The Swallowtail, Purple Emperor and Fritiliaries were never going to show up in a small East Coast town and as such were sightings I could only dream about.
Given the recent declines in numbers of most of our wildlife in recent years, I would have been blissfully unaware of what would been an abundance of flora and fauna at the time. Me and my mate Russ used to spend hours on a night catching moths in our butterfly nets-nearly every one was a Silver Y moth but given their size we always thought there would be a chance of something more unusual. Imagine the day when I saw and caught my first hummingbird hawk moth-I remember it as though it was yesterday and seeing one even today brings the same excitement.
My first forays beyond our garden were down the railway lines at Withernsea, This opened up a new group of butterflies that were different from my previous standard fare of red admirals, small tortoiseshells, peacocks and whites.
The railway lines were home to meadow browns, ringlets, the odd gatekeeper (hedge brown in those days) and what I mistakenly thought was silver studded blue but were in fact common blue. Importantly it was the prospect of seeing something even more unusual that made it all the more exciting.
I can remember the remains of the old railway platform being overtaken by nature-brambles down the back and massive (or seemed to be at the time) groups of privet which at this time of year were teeming with butterflies. I used to go down there with my dad-his mission was to bring back as many brambles as we could-enough to keep us stocked up to make bramble pie and jam until well after Christmas. It was here amongst the brambles that the butterflies abounded.
Memories from over 40 years ago which are so fresh in the mind it could have happened yesterday.
So back to the present-my mum and I had a walk down the railway lines last Sunday. Nice and sunny, warm but quite breezy. The change from then until now is very apparent, some may say it looks overgrown, The once wide track is now a footpath not much more than 3 foot wide. For me it all looked pristine and it is a credit to those who have allowed it to develop and enhanced it with tree planting.
It was teeming with all kinds of insects including lots of butterflies. We walked maybe a third of a mile down and not only the number but the diversity was fantastic. It seemed like every flower in bloom had some sort of insect on it-it was teeming with life,
This was only a snapshot-there is no data to compare it against, but this little piece of East Yorkshire, a place so close to my heart is a clear beacon of hope. The butterflies are a gauge for how well the environment is doing and clearly in that small place they are doing very well.
Our natural world is under pressure from all angles right now and areas protected from the threat from farming or development must be given the highest levels of protection.
Their value for allowing us to connect with nature, for uplifting the spirit and calming the mind and their enduring message of hope is something that is priceless in the madness of the world we are living in right now.
Thanks for reading.
Comma- Withernsea Railway Line
Common Blue-Withernsea Railway Line
Essex Skipper-North Cave Wetlands
Essex Skipper-North Cave wetlands
Gatekeeper (Hedge Brown)-Withernsea Railway Line
Gatekeeper (Hedge Brown) Withernsea Railway Line
Green Veined White-Withernsea Railway Line
Meadow Brown-North Cave Wetlands
Peacock-North Cave Wetlands
Purple Hairstreak-North Cave Wetlands
Purple Hairstreak-North Cave Wetlands
Red Admiral- Withernsea Railway Line
Ringlet- Withernsea railway Line
Small Copper-Beverley
Small Skipper- Withernsea Railway Line
Small Skipper-Withernsea Railway Line
Small Tortoiseshell- Withernsea Railway Line
Small Tortoiseshell- Withernsea Railway Line
Speckled Wood-North Cave Wetlands