NATURE enthusiasts were able to take a walk on the wide side on Saturday by taking part in the Big Butterfly Count in Biss Meadows Country Park.

As part of a national initiative, the annual walk, led by local expert Audrey Brown, gives the Friends of Biss Meadows the chance to monitor the butterfly population in the country park to see if there has been any changes to their habitat and surroundings.

Event organiser Ashley Wicks said while butterfly numbers were down, the enthusiasm of people taking part remained high.

“We didn’t see as many as usual but that seems to be a national trend,” she added.

“The numbers vary and last year they went up but the different types of butterflies change every year. One thing that I think has changed the numbers this year has been the weather because it hasn’t been as good as normal.

“During the count, there were some notable absences of butterflies and we usually have Gatekeeper butterflies but those numbers were down from last year. Generally some of the main attractions were down.

“The count is great in getting the community together. The problem with it though is that you only have 15 minutes to explore and write down numbers and so as you finish you tend to find some more.”

The Big Butterfly Count is a nationwide survey aimed at assessing the varieties of butterflies in the UK which launched in 2010. Nationally, over 52,000 people took part in 2015, counting over 580,000 individual butterflies and day-flying moths across the country.

Mrs Wicks added: “The country park is a great place to record the numbers and a lot of people don’t know about it.

“The good thing from our point of view is that it flags us up within the community.”

Results of this year’s count are expected to be released by the end of the month at www.bigbutterflycount.org.