The Big Butterfly Count

On 8 August members of ARHC colleagues gathered in the gardens to observe the wildlife at the Cambridge Hospice as part of the nationwide survey aimed at helping to assess the health of our environment.Here at the Hospice at Shelford Bottom, our volunteers work hard to ensure our gardens are picturesque, tranquil but also that they attract local wildlife. We share our gardens with an extensive array of animals, including squirrels, tiny creatures from ladybirds, bees, butterflies, to day-moths and on occasions we have visits from a pheasant, local cat and a fox! Launched in 2010, the survey has quickly become the world’s biggest survey of butterflies with over 100,000 people taking part in 2018 and submitting their results. The survey takes place between Friday 19 July and Sunday 11 August. The weather was not very favourable for the Hospice count and there were only three butterflies spotted, 2 Large White and 1 Comma, which is down on last years count. The flower borders were encouragingly very busy with bees and hoverflies, there was a dragonfly buzzing around the garden and a flock of Long Tailed Tits and a beautiful Song Thrush.If you would like to find out more on the Big Butterfly count please click HERE