It’s the final day of the Big Butterfly Count. I haven’t been involved with citizen science projects before as they always sounded like hard work but it’s quite extraordinary how relaxing it has been contributing to this one.  The task is to simply notice and record butterflies and moths for 15 minutes, so much like my usual Sunday nature worship.

Standing among the creeping thistle flower heads in the sunny woodland clearing, I’ve seen Holly Blues, Commas, Gatekeepers, Small Whites, Meadow Browns, Ringlets and a Small Skipper flew past me on the way here.

It’s not only been a pleasure but I’ve also brushed up on my identification skills and sense of butterfly jizz. The Comma for example has a particularly vigorous way of flying which you can recognise from 10 metres away.