Shropshire Hills Butterfly and Moth Festival
Free Events, Stiperstones, Clee Liberty and Long Mynd
Wednesday 18 May to Wednesday 13 August 2022
Can you help record butterflies and moths as part of a summer programme to save rare and important insects and celebrate their upland home across three areas of common land in the Shropshire Hills?
Free events are taking place on the Stiperstones, Clee Liberty and the Long Mynd and you can pre-book for guided walks, identification workshops, moth mornings and training in survey techniques.
You are invited to take part in any or as many of these sessions as you like but please book, so we can contact you if we need to change arrangements at the last minute. Please contact the Our Upland Commons Butterfly and Moth Co-ordinator, Mike Williams via email: mike2dewberry@hotmail.com
Wed 18th May
Green Hairstreak and Emperor moth survey day Part 1 – a search for two of the most charismatic butterflies and moths of the Shropshire Commons. Meet at 11 am at The Bog car park, Stiperstones.
Wed 25th May
Green Hairstreak and Emperor moth survey day Part 2 – Meet at 11 am at Heatham Gate entrance to Clee Liberty Common (SO573849).
Thu 2nd June
Green Hairstreak and Emperor moth survey day Part 3 – Meet at 11 am outside National Trust Tearoom in Carding Mill Valley, Long Mynd.
Fri 17th June
Join the Bog Squad – wetland search for the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary. Meet at 11 am at The Knolls car park, Stiperstones. Wear suitable footwear.
Sat 18th June
Long Mynd Moth morning followed by a butterfly walk if the weather is suitable. Meet at 9 am at Batch Valley car park, hoping for some of the large and spectacular Hawkmoths.
Fri 1st July
Butterfly ID workshop – learn how to identify and record the butterflies and day-flying moths of the Long Mynd. Importance of local recording (target maps available). Meet at 10.30 am for a classroom session at All Stretton Village Hall followed by an afternoon walk in Batch Valley, Long Mynd. Bring packed lunch, tea & coffee provided.
Sat 16th July
Moth morning and Big Butterfly Count. Learn more about moths and how to take part in the Big Butterfly Count. Meet at 10 am at Rectory Field car park in Church Stretton to go through moth trap followed by a 12-noon butterfly walk to Townbrook Valley, Long Mynd in search of Grayling.
Sun 31st July
Introduction to moths. Meet at 10 am at Burnt House, Clee St Margaret to look at moths caught the previous evening (event courtesy of Polly Bolton, local Clee Liberty commoner).
Wed 10th August
Moth morning and butterfly walk on Clee Liberty. Meet at 10 am at The Plough, Cockshutford SY7 9DY to look through moth traps, and a butterfly walk at 12 noon. Park at Heatham Gate which is nearby. If anyone has mobility issues, there is space for one extra car at The Plough or drop off at the gate. Teas/coffees provided (event courtesy of Clive and Nicky Fisher, local commoners).
Sat 13th August
Moth evening. Meet at 8:30 pm at The Knolls car park Stiperstones. We will be out until midnight or later depending on weather conditions. The event will be led by Dave Green.
Emperor Moth Pheromone Lures
One of the festival’s featured moths is the stunning day-flying Emperor Moth and the project has purchased three sets of pheromone lures, one for each common. These are available if you would like to borrow one to take out onto the commons. They are very small rubber bungs but very effective!
If you’re not familiar with the use of pheromone lures for moths there is some useful guidance here.
The window for the Emperor Moth is from April through to early June and warm sunny days with a slight breeze (not very windy) are ideal.
Where to get the lures:
One is kept at the Carding Mill Valley Pavilion and if you would like to borrow that one, call Chalie Bell on 01694 725008 to let her know in advance (or turn up on the day if you’re passing - but can’t guarantee someone else won’t have got it)
The one for Clee Liberty can be collected from Polly Bolton, contact Polly via info@oak-barn.co.uk to arrange
The one for the Stiperstones is kept by Richard Small and he can be contacted via richard.w.small@gmail.com to arrange a pick-up
Recording Your Findings
When you go out to spot butterflies and moths on the wonderful upland commons of the Shropshire Hills, we are very keen to know what you have found. A free app, iRecord Butterflies, will guide you through the identification of any butterfly that you see in the UK and allows you to add your sighting to millions of other valuable records that inform the work of Butterfly Conservation.
Photographic Competition
You could also take part in our photographic competition and even win a prize!
There are prizes for the top three best shots. The overall winner will be featured in the 2023 West Midlands Butterfly Conservation calendar.
Submit up to six photographs of butterflies or moths (they must have been taken in 2022 on one of the three commons – Clee Liberty, Long Mynd and Stiperstones).
For each entry, simply state the date on which it was taken and an exact grid reference (at least 6-figure) of the location.
Digital images only, of at least 1Mb in size singly by email to nigelaball@gmail.com by the closing date of 30 September 2022.
You can download the ‘rules’ here.
Spotting Help
Jenny Joy and Mike Williams, OUC’s Butterfly and Moth Festival organisers, introduced the exciting range of free events taking place this spring and summer at an event in Bishops Castle. They showcased the many species of butterflies and moths you might hope to spot on each of our project commons, take a look at their presentation here.
We are grateful to the local Community Wildlife Groups and the West Midlands Butterfly Conservation volunteers, and other walk leaders and hosts for their part in helping to organise, promote and support these Butterfly and Moth sessions and surveys as part of the Our Upland Commons project.
The ‘Our Upland Commons’ project is a national partnership project led by the Foundation for Common Land and includes organisations like Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Natural England, National Trust and Shropshire Hills AONB. These and other partners have contributed, financially or in kind, to make this project a reality. Major grants have also been awarded from National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Esmée Fairbairn and Garfield Weston Foundations as well as many smaller grant-giving trusts including the Shropshire based Millichope Fund.
Happy butterfly and moth spotting!
Photo credit: Emporer Moth - Dave Williams