The Butterfly Effect
Every butterfly counts, and so does every person taking part in the Big Butterfly Count - so what are you waiting for? Get outside and get counting!
Wildflowers are at their peak and our countryside is a vibrant mosaic of colour, accompanied by the constant hum and buzz of insects making the most of this seasonal abundance. Among the easiest and most rewarding insects to spot are butterflies, with their incredible variety of shapes, sizes and colours.
Butterflies rely on a rich diversity of plants throughout their lives. Caterpillars need specific food plants to grow and develop whilst adults seek out nectar-rich flowers to provide vital energy to fuel their flights, find a mate and survive. Without a healthy mix of larval food plants and nectar sources, many butterfly species simply would not thrive.
Comma Butterfly on lavender in Fiona’s garden
Butterfly watching
Monitoring butterflies is incredibly important not only to keep an eye on their number and variety but because butterflies are key indicators of biodiversity. An annual record of the abundance and diversity of butterflies helps build a picture of the health of the wider environment.
How are butterfly populations monitored?
We are fortunate to have dedicated volunteers to carry out butterfly transects on Brill Common. A butterfly transect is a fixed-route walk completed every week from April to September. Although each survey has specific criteria, the basic principle is straightforward: every butterfly seen within a standard recording area - an imaginary 5m cube - is identified and counted. The same route and method are repeated each week to produce reliable data that can be compared over time.
This methodology forms the backbone of the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS), one of the world's longest-running insect monitoring programmes.
So how can I help?
The annual Big Butterfly Count (website opens in new tab) is about to begin, and they need YOU!
All you have to do is spend 15 minutes in a sunny spot in your garden, on Brill Common, in The Walks or any other open space and record the butterflies and day-flying moths you see. When you've finished, upload your sightings to the Big Butterfly Count website or use the free iOS or Android app. There’s an interactive map on the website showing how your records contribute to a picture of butterfly populations across the UK.
Peacock Butterflies are easy to spot in Brill!
Every butterfly counts, and so does every person taking part - so what are you waiting for? Get outside and get counting!
Resources
🦋 Big Butterfly Count ID Chart for England (pdf opens in new tab)
🦋 Identifying butterflies is fun but can be quite bewildering! This Butterfly Conservation Identify a Butterfly interactive tool is excellent (website opens in new tab).
🦋 A delightful child-friendly spotter sheet (pdf opens in new tab) from Munching Caterpillars (website opens in new tab), the educational arm of Butterfly Conservation. Visit the Munching Caterpillars website for lots of other activities for children and families.
Bitten by the butterfly bug?
Why not build a Butterfly Feeder? Try this simple Wildlife Trust Butterfly Feeder (pdf opens in new tab) - or tackle this slightly more complicated Butterfly Café from the RSPCA (website opens in new tab).
Did you know?
Hugh Warwick’s talk was the absolute highlight of my week and reminded me of what beauty there is right in front of our noses.
by Matilda Tuffley, Brill resident
Did you know that hedgehogs are rather promiscuous? That they curl in a ball by frowning? That they are actually lactose intolerant? If it wasn’t for the wildlife talk I attended by Hugh Warwick last month, I wouldn’t know either - and I wouldn’t be endlessly repeating these facts to nearly everyone I meet.
Hugh was hilarious and so engaging. His passion for hedgehogs really shone through. He stressed the importance of making sure our gardens aren’t too neat - and enabling ‘hedgehog highways’ by making holes in our garden fences for them to travel through. I came away with so much more insight and knowledge.
This talk was the absolute highlight of my week and reminded me of what beauty there is right in front of our noses. I came away inspired and absolutely determined to protect not just hedgehogs but all the wonderful species Brill has to offer. Huge thanks to Fiona for organising this event!
PS Did you know baby hedgehogs are called hoglets?!
Survey on events and activities
Please complete Fiona’s short survey to let her know what events and activities you and your family would be interested in.
Fiona is looking forward to getting people out and about on the Common, learning about wildlife, sharing stories, doing simple conservation tasks - and having fun! Please complete her short survey to let her know what events and activities you and your family would be interested in. There may well be coffee and cake afterwards…
There are several ponds on Brill Common and a large one in The Walks, an enclosed area managed alongside the common. This photo shows the pond on The Walks in mid-December 2025.