Caithness small blue butterflies to make big TV appearance on BBC show this Sunday
A Dunnet Community Forest project supporting the rare small blue butterfly is getting national attention this weekend, as the ‘butterfly bank’ and local conservationists are set to be featured on BBC’s Countryfile alongside Hamza Yassin this Sunday (June 15).
The small blue is the UK’s smallest butterfly. With only 80 sites left in Scotland, Caithness is home to the three northernmost colonies of small blue in the country.
Local organisations have been working hard to ensure that the small blue can continue to call Caithness home – and their efforts have caught the attention of celebrity nature filmographer and presenter (and Strictly star), Hamza Yassin.
Endangered species conservation programme, Species on the Edge, has been working with Dunnet Community Forest, Caithness Environment Volunteers and the High Life Highland Rangers to support the Small Blue on Scotland’s north coast.
Together they have constructed two ‘butterflies banks’ in Dunnet Community Forest: mounds of sand and quarry waste planted with kidney vetch – the only plant eaten by small blue caterpillars. The banks have been a big success, and both are currently aflutter with the rare butterflies.
The project caught the attention of the BBC, and at the end of May, Hamza Yassin and the Countryfile film crew paid a visit to see the butterfly banks for themselves and meet some of the team. The stars of Sunday’s Countryfile segment will be Daniel Parlour, junior ranger for Dunnet Community Forest and Louise Senior, people engagement officer for Species on the Edge, who both chatted with Hamza about the butterfly, the importance of supporting it in Caithness and the work done by local volunteers to ensure it continues to have a home here. The episode will air on Sunday, June 15, on BBC One at 5.25pm.
Daniel Parlour said: “I was so excited when I heard that Hamza and the Countryfile team were coming to help us spread the word about these amazing small blue butterflies. Working with Hamza was a great experience; he was very jolly, and he taught me lots about film cameras and the process of filming a scene. He made me feel very at ease when filming, and we had a great laugh.”
Louise Senior said: “It’s so heartening to see what can be achieved to protect an endangered species when a community pulls together. Groups and individuals across Caithness have worked hard on behalf of the small blue butterfly, and it’s wonderful that their efforts are being recognised on a national stage. I hope that this Countryfile episode will demonstrate the difference that each individual can make – and that when we all work collaboratively, amazing things can happen.
“Hamza was great fun to hang out with. His passion for nature has a real playful edge to it, which is incredibly infectious. Whilst the work of saving species is serious, his approach to nature is filled with joy, and he was an inspiration to everyone who met him on the day.”
The episode airs just a week after Butterfly Conservation announced a boost in small blue numbers this year, with over 500 counted in one hour-and-a-half-long survey at a site in Easter Ross, and acknowledged the work done by Species on the Edge and volunteer groups across the north east of Scotland in supporting the rare butterfly.
Butterfly Conservation Species on the Edge project officer Tracy Munro said: “It has been amazing to receive excited messages from our volunteers along the north and east coasts as they report their joy at seeing such crazy numbers of small blue on the wing this year.
“For numbers of over 500 of this tiny but mighty butterfly to be recorded at a single site is incredible and really highlights the value of partnership working: landowners and volunteers pulling together to improve the fortunes of this beautiful butterfly.”
The small blue butterfly is dependent on kidney vetch, the sole food plant of its caterpillars. Habitat loss has led to increased isolation of small blue populations, so restoring connections between colonies is vital for the long-term conservation of this species.
Volunteers have been working tirelessly to enhance the habitat around existing colonies, and the high numbers of small blues recorded this year are testament to that work. Even small habitat creation schemes can provide important stepping stones in the landscape, so local people can make a real difference by getting involved in the efforts to protect small blues.
For a chat about how to get involved in work to protect small blue butterflies in Caithness, please contact Louise Senior, people engagement officer for Species on the Edge: louise.senior@plantlife.org.uk
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