Yesterday, the Grizzled Skipper Project volunteers joined the first working party of the season to help to undertake habitat improvement works at Grange Farm near Normanton-on-Soar. The work party focused on the northern clearing, a location where grizzled skipper was seen on the wing earlier this year. Efforts were made to cut back scrub in this clearing and by the end of the day we had made a very good start to this job. Many thanks to everyone who came along - it was a very successful day.

As part of the work party, we also planted up some more agrimony plants (one of three key foodplants of the grizzled skipper butterfly in Nottinghamshire). Another important aspect of the project is asking our volunteers to grow on agrimony seed collected from sites in Nottinghamshire. This year we should be planting out another 100 plants. If you would like some seed to grow on as a means of supporting the project, then please feel free to contact me.

During the work party we were lucky to spot other wildlife enjoying the site, including a smooth newt, dock shield bugs, grasshoppers and we also found one (1) Hound’s tongue plant. Hound’s tongue is an uncommon plant in Nottinghamshire and is listed on the Nottinghamshire Rare Plant register. In the recent past it has also been found on the adjacent Great Central Railway – lots of great finds to make for an interesting day.

The next work party will take place on Sunday 17th November. We will be heading to the Lime Sidings and Barnstone Cutting along the Great Central Railway, just to the south of East Leake. This work party will once again focus on undertaking work to improve the site for the benefit of grizzled skipper butterfly. We will be looking to cut back scrub, enhance suitable areas for potential egg laying sites, and undertake some grassland management in the cutting.

We will be working from 10am to 3pm, so if you are free and you’d like to help, please contact me and I will send you meeting instructions.

Yesterday, the Grizzled Skipper Project volunteers undertook work along the Great Central Railway, just to the south of East Leake. The work party focused on clearing scrub from a low section of cutting, which during the spring will offer a warm and sheltered environment, perfect for the grizzled skipper butterfly (and other invertebrates). The volunteers quickly made light work of this short section of cutting and by the end of the day we were able to look back at our efforts with satisfaction. Another great day and a big thank you to everyone who came along and helped.

The next work party will take place on Tuesday 3rd December. We will be heading to Rushcliffe Halt, another site located along the Great Central Railway, this time just to the north of East Leake. This work party will once again focus on undertaking work to improve the site for the benefit of grizzled skipper butterfly. We will be looking to cut back scrub and to enhance suitable areas for potential egg laying sites.

We will be working from 10am to 3pm, so if you are free and you’d like to help, please get in touch with me and I will send to you meeting instructions.

Yesterday, the Grizzled Skipper Project volunteers undertook habitat enhancement work adjacent to the Rushcliffe Halt station site, along the Great Central Railway, just to the north of East Leake. The work party focused on clearing scrub from a short section of the cutting, focusing on areas known to have been favoured by the grizzled skipper during the 2024 flight season. Work involved clearing scrub and bramble from along the heritage railway line, burning the resultant brash. There were also efforts undertaken to enhance potential egg laying sites within the same cutting, by clearing bramble and planting food plants (agrimony and creeping cinquefoil in this case) into specific locations. The volunteers worked hard and transformed the site during the day and hopefully their labours will assist grizzled skipper numbers at this site in the spring of 2025, when the butterfly emerges from its pupa. A great day and a very big thank you to everyone who came along and helped.

The final work party of the year will take place on Sunday 15th December. We will be heading to Grange Farm, another site located close to East Leake, this time just to the south. This work party will once again focus on undertaking work to improve the site for the benefit of grizzled skipper butterfly. We will be looking to cut back regenerating scrub from across the site.

We will be working from 10am to 3pm, so if you are free and you’d like to help, please get in touch with me and I will send to you meeting instructions..

Yesterday, the Grizzled Skipper Project volunteers were out and about once again undertaking the final grizzled skipper work party before the Christmas break.  A small group headed to Grange Farm, our second visit of the winter to this site, to undertook work to enhance parts of the southern clearing. Once again, the focus of the work party was to clear regenerating scrub on the site and also to try to enhance some areas locally to create features that may encourage egg laying in the spring. During the day we discovered numerous agrimony plants around the site that have been planted up at this here in recent years (agrimony is a key food plant of the grizzled skipper butterfly). We also found many agrimony plants, still holding this year’s seed on their stems, indicating that they had bedded in well and were establishing at the site (prior to the project agrimony wasn’t present at Grange Farm). The volunteers did an amazing job, once again, working hard during the day to transform the site.

The day was broken part way through with a visit from the landowners (who have been very supportive of the grizzled skipper project). They were popping through the site in search of their Christmas tree (the site supports several planted pine trees) and it was good to catch up with them and talk to them about some of the other positive work that they are doing on their farm for biodiversity.

A great day was had by all, and I would like to thank everyone for their efforts.

The work parties will be starting up again in the New Year, with the first taking place on Sunday 12th January. This time we will be heading across to the South East of the county, to tiny village a Flawborough. We will be working on old Gypsum workings, at Flawborough Footpath, on a picturesque site a few miles south of Newark. We will be working from 10am to 3pm, so if you are free and you’d like to help, please get in touch with me and I will send to you meeting instructions. If you haven’t been able to join us yet this winter then it would be great to see you in the New Year at Flawborough, where your help will be very welcome.

In the meantime, have a wonderful break over the Christmas holidays and I look forward to seeing you in 2025.