Comma No91 Spring 2015

Chairman’s Address
Cover story
Our stunning front page picture of
a gorgeous Gatekeeper seen at
Windmill Hill reserve, near
Evesham, was taken by keen
butterfly photographer Neil
Avery, of Worcester, who also
has a picture of a Peacock in our
2015 calendar. Neil is one of
more than 20 branch members
who are contributing high-quality
images for possible inclusion in
our new Butterflies of the West
Midlands book. You can read an
update about the book project on
the centre pages.
Contributions
Please send articles and images
to the editor at: thecomma@
btinternet.com. The opinions
expressed in this newsletter are
not necessarily those of the West
Midlands Branch or Butterfly
Conservation.
Copy deadline
The deadline for editorial
contributions to the Autumn
edition of The Comma is
28th September 2015.
Thanks to our volunteers
First a big thank-you to
all those who have
turned out to attend winter
work parties. Feedback
from monitoring these
sites leaves me in no
doubt that in some cases
Peter Seal it is making the difference
between losing and
retaining the species we have set out
to protect. Against a backdrop of losses
in butterfly populations, the evidence
shows that targeted action can work.
(See pages 6, 14, 15)
Success story
How about this for a success story?
I was browsing through past Annual
reviews (why, you may ask) to learn that
in 1993 Dr Jenny Joy identified a
Shropshire Grayling site under threat of
development. BC intervened and now
that site boasts counts of 300 plus.
We may have lost the fight in
some cases but we know we
can make a difference.
Against the national trend
of decline in recent years,
Pearl-bordered Fritillary
numbers are up at Ewyas
Harold and in the Wyre Forest.
In Grafton Wood we hope our small
reintroduced population will prosper.
Also the Dingy Skipper seems to have
a hold in semi-urban areas and the work
done at Penny Hill landfill site is leading
to an increased population there.
One imponderable is the status of
some of our commoner species. The
2013 UKBMS report highlights a
67% decline over 10 years for the
The
Committee
is seeking
someone to take
on the role of
Records
Coordinator
Gatekeeper, a decline which John Tilt
confirms is reflected in our local Transect
records. How can we address this, or
help the Small Tortoiseshell? This
species has experienced a resurgence
over the past two summers but is still not
up to past levels.
Records Coordinator wanted!
To help address this I would urge
members to go out searching and submit
records. The Committee is seeking
someone to take on the role of Records
Coordinator to be able to support
recorders with their work on transects,
casual sightings and the Wider
Countryside Butterfly Survey, and to
summarize findings.
Regional emphasis
The national organisation is moving
towards a regional emphasis, something
explained to the Branch Committee
when we met with Sam Ellis and
subsequently confirmed by
Martin Warren.
Sam has been promoted
to Director of Landscape
Conservation and Regions to
develop and oversee BC’s
regional network. This is part of
the 2020 vision to establish a
network of core funded regional staff
who can work closely with Branches to
develop projects and deliver effective
conservation at local and regional level.
The new structure will comprise five
regions in England, each of which will
have their own Senior Regional Officer.
Within this the West Midlands
Regional Action Plan is to be reviewed,
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