#MySundayPhoto, It IS easy being green, The great outdoors

My Sunday Photo – Week 29.

Small tortoiseshell
Small tortoiseshell.
I love butterflies – I have three tattooed on my foot – and this summer I wanted to do my bit to try and help protect them.
In advance of Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count, which runs from now until August 9th, Freya and I have been out and about with our free chart (you can download it from the charity’s website or there is a free app available) in a bid to try and at least be a little bit clued up before we have to tick them off our list.
IMG_7163
A very old meadow brown (and friend).
I have also been on a quest capture them with my camera and I have A LOT of photos of blurry butterflies to show for my efforts!
IMG_6998
A large white.
IMG_6846
A younger looking meadow brown.

I am ashamed to say I couldn’t name a single one before we started but I am getting better now  – which should hopefully also prove useful in the future when Freya asks about them – and it’s been really quite exciting spotting different ones. To join in with the count, all you need to do is pick a spot in a garden, park or open space and spend 15 minutes logging all the butterflies you see. The reason the count is important is:

“Butterflies react very quickly to change in their environment which makes them excellent biodiversity indicators. Butterfly declines are an early warning for other wildlife losses. That’s why counting butterflies can be described as taking the pulse of nature. The count will also assist us in identifying trends in species that will help us plan how to protect butterflies from extinction, as well as understand the effect of climate change on wildlife.” Big Butterfly Count.

So if you have a spare 15 minutes please spend it outshine on a warm, ideally sunny, day counting these beautiful insects.  You can log your sightings via the website until the end of August.

 OneDad3Girls

ANIMALTALES

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31 thoughts on “My Sunday Photo – Week 29.”

  1. That first image of the butterfly is absolutely stunning! You can even see how very soft the back looks with fine fine fluff almost (erhm, let’s ignore that I might have studies biology at some point in my life and should surely know better than to call if fluff)!!

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  2. This is a gorgeous shot, the oranges and yellow just pop among the greenery. I have captured a few butterflies this year too, but seem to see a lot of the same species. What a cool project and a great photo.

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    1. Thank you, Nikki. Yes, I’m seeing the same ones too now although rumour has it I should be able to see more than 20 around where I live. I’ll have to look closer 🙂

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    1. What a lovely thing to say, thank you. I have the opposite problem in that my photos don’t usually seem that vibrant and I have to tinker with them in edit.

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  3. Wow, beautiful pictures, I love butterflies there is something so free about them! What a great project =)

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    1. I’ve only just spotted your comment, so sorry for the slow response. I’m slowly learning but can’t seem to remember them well. I bet you’d be a lot of fun to go on nature trails with (not that I’m inviting myself round) 🙂

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  4. Great pictures and it’s a great initiative. Not only to get people counting butterflies but to get people outside and interested. Keep up the good work. Going to start my count this weekend.

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    1. I don’t know much about butterflies in Dubai, are there many? I hope your sister and niece can join in. We were due to do ours this weekend but it’s raining and windy 😦

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  5. Lovely captures; the first one is especially superb – so bright and beautiful. And the Butterfly count is such a lovely activity to do with children, isn’t it. It’s one I’ll keep in mind for the parenting road ahead. Thanks for sharing. 🙂 #AnimalTales

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