Butterfly Recording

Many of us have been spending more time in our gardens this year, enjoying the flowers and insects. But all is not well in the butterfly kingdom…

Overall, there has been a decline in butterfly numbers over the last 10 years. Monitoring this change has never been more important.

Butterfly records are scarce across West Oxfordshire and the Wychwood Forest area, making it more difficult to track how populations in our area are changing. Luckily, it's easy to help change that!

There are two simple ways you can start recording butterflies:

Download the free iRecord Butterflies app, which can be used to make records wherever you are. It's very simple and includes identification help and location tracking.

Click here to create and account and start recording butterflies in your garden on Butterfly Conservation's website. It's easy to use with plenty of guidance and photos to help with identification.

You can download free identification guides to the butterflies you might see in the historic Wychwood area - 120 square miles of West Oxfordshire - by clicking the images below. Many thanks to Butterfly Conservation's Upper Thames Branch for putting together these monthly and overall guides for us.