Natural England - Teamwork to get rare Cornish butterfly back on track
Teamwork to get rare Cornish butterfly back on track
23 February 2010
The Grizzled Skipper is not an old salty sea captain, but a rare butterfly with only two known colonies in Cornwall. A partnership approach to save the Grizzled Skipper butterfly at St Dennis Junction next to Goss Moor National Nature Reserve in Mid Cornwall is currently underway.
Network Rail, Butterfly Conservation, the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers and Natural England have joined forces to prevent this endangered species from disappearing in Cornwall by encouraging wild strawberries to grow.
The Grizzled Skipper butterfly used to be more common in Cornwall, but numbers have declined drastically in the last fifty years. It is now restricted to only two sites: Penhale Dunes to Perran Sands on the North coast, and St Dennis Junction, next to Goss Moor in the heart of Mid Cornwall.
The disused railway junction owned by Network Rail is the only known inland colony of this rare butterfly in the county, lying adjacent to the Newquay to Par branch line and Goss Moor National Nature Reserve.
First discovered here until the mid 1990’s, it is a mystery as to how long it has been here or indeed, how it arrived in the first place. It has been speculated that it could have ‘hitched a ride’ on a train from the coast in the days when the steam railway line was operational.
Whilst shelter is important to this butterfly; encroaching scrub can shade out strawberry plants growing on the railway ballast, leading to local extinction.
On Tuesday 15th February, volunteers from the Cornwall branch of Butterfly Conservation, British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) and Natural England picked up tools to halt this decline by undertaking essential scrub clearance and creating localised bare ground conditions along the old railway line - the main breeding area for the Grizzled Skipper.
The work has been organised by Paul Browning, Treasurer of the Cornwall Branch of Butterfly Conservation with permission from Network Rail and in conjunction with the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers and Natural England.
Volunteers will be clearing further scrub again on Saturday 20th February.
Martin Davey, Natural England’s Senior Reserve Manager for neighbouring Goss Moor said “People don’t realise that Network Rail own many miles of wildlife rich habitats. They have enthusiastically supported this work on Goss Moor. St Dennis Junction is very close to another disused railway line crossing the National Nature Reserve which is now part of a multi-use trail for local communities. The habitat along the trail is very similar and we hope that in time, this rare butterfly will expand its range throughout the railway junction and along the trail”.
Paul Browning, from the Cornwall Branch of Butterfly Conservation, said, ‘’The adult butterfly is on the wing in late April and May and favours laying it’s eggs on wild strawberry plants that grow on warm, open and bare ground; sheltered from the wind. The ballast of the old railway line at St Dennis Junction provides an ideal habitat for this endangered butterfly’’.
Tom David of BTCV said “It is great for our volunteers to get involved with habitat management for nationally important species and it links well with other rare butterfly management work that we undertake in Cornwall. Locally, it is good to be building new partnerships with national companies like Network Rail”.
Jack Hitchcock, Route Infrastructure Maintenance Director for Network Rail said: "Over 30,000 hectares of vegetation near the railway provides habitats to many plants and animals and there are 408 sites of special scientific interest on our land. We take conservation and environmental issues very seriously and always take extra care to protect these areas when we carry out our work on the railway. Today’s effort, albeit small, is vital to encourage the Grizzled Skipper butterfly to thrive here. This will also encourage similar successful partnerships that have worked extremely well to further encourage biodiversity on our land, so that more rare plants and animals can blossom”.
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Notes to editors:
If you would like an image of the Grizzled Skipper Butterfly and for any other information please contact Joanna Busk in Natural England’s South West Press Office on 07900 608440 or joanna.busk@naturalengland.org.uk
About Natural England
Natural England is the government’s independent advisor on the natural environment. Established in 2006 our work is focused on enhancing England’s wildlife and landscapes and maximising the benefits they bring to the public.
• We establish and care for England’s main wildlife and geological sites, ensuring that over 4,000 National Nature Reserves and Sites of Special Scientific Interest are looked after and improved.
• We work to ensure that England’s landscapes are effectively protected, designating England’s National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Marine Conservation Zones, and advising widely on their conservation.
• We run England’s Environmental Stewardship green farming schemes that deliver over £400 million a year to farmers and landowners, enabling them to enhance the natural environment across two thirds of England’s farmland.
• We fund, manage, and provide scientific expertise for hundreds of conservation projects each year, improving the prospects for thousands of England’s species and habitats.
• We promote access to the wider countryside, helping establish National Trails and coastal trails and ensuring that the public can enjoy and benefit from them.
Network Rail
Network Rail is the 'not for dividend' owner and operator of Britain's railway infrastructure, which includes the tracks, signals, tunnels, bridges, viaducts, level crossings and stations - the largest of which we also manage.
We aim to provide a safe, reliable and efficient rail infrastructure for freight and passenger trains to use. Our website: www.networkrail.co.uk
BCTV
BTCV is the UK’s leading practical conservation charity. BTCV supports 300,000 volunteers every year to take hands-on action to improve both the rural and urban environments. www.btcv.org
The Butterfly Conservation Trust
Butterfly Conservation is the UK charity taking action to save butterflies and moths and their habitats. It has 14,000 members and is the largest organisation of its kind in Europe. www.butterfly-conservation.org
