Ian Watts

Out and about.

[Cumbria Butterfly Conservation @BC_Cumbria]

Mountain Ringlet seen at Raise, Glenridding on 20 Jun 2025. Photo © Ian Watts.

[Cumbria Butterfly Conservation @BC_Cumbria]

Small Heath seen at Langdale Pikes, Chapel Stile on 19 Jun 2025. Photo © Ian Watts.

[Cumbria Butterfly Conservation @BC_Cumbria]

First branch Mountain Ringlet report in 2025! See record at https://t.co/tmdNSOtE7t (file photo).

[Ian Watts @idwatts]

Crazy year. I normally go to this location in late June to see the Mountain Ringlet. I was hoping to see one or two early individuals but counted 29!

[Cumbria Butterfly Conservation @BC_Cumbria]

Mountain Ringlet seen at Hartsop Dodd, Hartsop on 23 May 2025. Photo © Ian Watts.

[Ian Watts @idwatts]

@cloudedyellows @savebutterflies @BC_Dorset @HantsIoWBC That's a great find, Mike, and far more interesting than the various Glanvilles irresponsibly released in recent years (Wiltshire, Dorset and even the Forest of Dean).

[Mike Gibbons @cloudedyellows]

Massive surprise when I found a Glanville Fritillary on the mainland at Southbourne Undercliff Dorset today.Probably one flying from the IOW in the hot settled conditions. My first mainland coastal record since Hordle Cliff and Hurst Spit. @savebutterflies @BC_Dorset @HantsIoWBC

[Ian Watts @idwatts]

@MatthewOates76 Should have left the little blighter to get the bus home.

[Ian Watts @idwatts]

My latest piece for the NS.

[The New Statesman @NewStatesman]

The Scunthorpe crisis and the rebirth of national capitalism

By rescuing British Steel, Keir Starmer has marked a turn against neoliberal complacency. This realism should guide his government from here on.

🖊️ Ian Watts https://t.co/yTIQ279ftf

[Ian Watts @idwatts]

https://t.co/BWJsWObJOB

[Ian Watts @idwatts]

https://t.co/wLjh4STV25 @Jaguar

[The New Statesman @NewStatesman]

“Rachel Reeves will not have understood the importance still given to continuity and tradition in rural Britain and, in particular, the symbolic link between its inhabitants and the land itself.”

🖊️ Ian Watts https://t.co/sTKa5V0sxU

[Ian Watts @idwatts]

@BC_Cumbria Just a warning for anyone planning to go and see the Hairstreaks at Arnside: I’ve removed nine ticks since returning home. 😂 I think the recent warm weather has given the ticks a bit of a boost.

[Ian Watts @idwatts]

@JulianTiler @EssexWildlife No, it was much quieter than last year (e.g. about a dozen Purple Hairstreak seen rather than the 40 odd we saw on the walk in 2023). It's a fairly large site and there are a lot of large Ash and Oak trees so I'm not sure there is any obvious assembly area for BH.

[Ian Watts @idwatts]

@JulianTiler @EssexWildlife I saw 16 Common Blue on my transect the other day (plus 6 Brown Argus). I think things are starting to look up.

[Ian Watts @idwatts]

@BC_Cumbria It was nice to see a female feeding on the Hemp Agrimony. It seems to be mostly males that spend the day addicted to that nectar.

[Ian Watts @idwatts]

Arnside Knott is now the go-to place for Brown Hairstreak in the North and possibly the most reliable site anywhere in England for a good sighting. They (mostly males) spend most of the day nectaring on Hemp Agrimony and are very easy to find.

[Cumbria Butterfly Conservation @BC_Cumbria]

Brown Hairstreak seen at Arnside Knott, Arnside on 6 Aug 2024. Photo © Ian Watts.

[Ian Watts @idwatts]

@MatthewOates76 @bc_cambs_essex I should think so. Purple Emperor is already well established in the wider area and Epping Forest is only 3 miles away. I’d be surprised if it isn’t already in those woods just southwest of the farmland in question.

[Ian Watts @idwatts]

@martinswarren @BC_Dorset @nationaltrust Must be something about the Purbeck air. The Silver-studded Blues and the Lulworth Skippers seem to go on forever.

[Ian Watts @idwatts]

@Greenhsteak @martinswarren @BC_Dorset I think that’s right. There are a lot of other nectar sources around at present. The number of butterflies on Buddleia is likely to increase towards the end of summer.

[Ian Watts @idwatts]

@ehbpollard @bc_cambs_essex 😂seeing the adults is definitely more exciting but finding the eggs has its moments too.