Editorial

Editorial by Peter Maddison

The desk where I write these notes during this first week in March looks out upon a garden of snowdrops, now past their winter-white best. Recent blustery, cold winds have done nothing to coax the nodding heads of daffodils into flower, and as for the butterflies in these parts, well… a Peacock, unmoved since last October and still hugging a timber beam, is oblivious to the desiccating wind beyond the garage doors. Elsewhere in the county early flights have been noted: David Tomlinson saw his first Peacock on the 21st February, and on the same day a Peacock appeared in Jo Wood’ s Bury St. Edmunds garden, and another was seen by Steve Goddard at Minsmere dunes. However, Steve had an earlier sighting of a Peacock at Martlesham on the previous day.

Since the last Newsletter we have held our AGM. Jim Foster, who is a long-standing member of the Branch, was the Suffolk Argus Editor between 2001 and 2005 and who has been our Treasurer since 2005, retired from this post. Mike Dean thanked him for his dedicated and much valued work for the Branch and welcomed Graham Simister, who was duly elected as Treasurer. We look forward to our field event visit to Graham ’ s farm at Wickhambrook during May.

After a disappointing butterfly season in 2008 we hope, of course, for a muchimproved summer to come, and for those people who want to be busy, two surveys are announced in these pages. Rob Parker outlines the background and the targets for the Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey. This is a joint Butterfly Conservation / British Trust for Ornithology survey and it is hoped that nationally 1000 squares will be surveyed this year to provide valuable baseline information on the status of widespread butterfly species. Garden Moths Count inquires after twenty commonly found moths. This is a national survey, and Tony Prichard shows how even those of us with little experience of moths can play a valuable part here in Suffolk. I urge you to consider taking part in these surveys.

Tony ’ s Suffolk Moth Group website www.suffolkmoths.org.uk is a fascinating encyclopaedia of information containing a comprehensive library of moth photos and intriguing pages such as ‘What’ s Flying Tonight’ .

Elsewhere in the Newsletter Rob Parker introduces us to the first of a series of monographs on this county ’ s BAP species, Richard Stewart continues his ‘Butterfly Hotspot’ series with a look at Rushmere Common, a site where recent management proposals have been in the news. Beryl Johnson has added another stunning drawing to her gallery, this time to accompany Jim Foster ’ s report of the Heath Fritillary field day at Thrift Wood, and James Mann takes us on a delightfully tempting butterfly walk in the south of France. Perhaps the summer of 2009 will be a Mediterranean one, full of our own burgeoning local species, and migrant Hummingbird Hawkmoth, Clouded Yellow and Painted Lady too!