Maurice Avent

Although born in London my love of the countryside was developed during my formative years spent on a farm near Castle Combe. Later my first wife worked as a VSO doctor in Southern Swaziland and we lived there together for a time in 1969; by improvising a broom handle, a potato sack and fencing wire and utilising hospital chloroform I was able to net a wide range of butterflies and to my later shame, pin them. In 1982 my first business was sold and just one week later the SSSI valley of the farm of my youth was auctioned, thus divine intervention allowed me to purchase West Yatton Down. The site was classified because of its orchids but my frequent valley walks revealed a wide range of butterflies, inevitably Mike Fuller persuaded me to join Butterfly Conservation after bumping into me there and by 1996 a weekly commitment to transect walking had been made. The valley is farmed for wildlife.

I became a Trustee of Butterfly Conservation in 2003 culminating in a period as National Chairman from 2008; meanwhile after a couple of years of dual responsibility, acting also as Chairman of the Wiltshire Branch, I became Branch Liaison Officer at the 2010 AGM.
 

Hugo Brooke

  
Through living on a farm in Essex during the war I became a naturalist at a very young age. It was a hobby I developed over the years and enjoyed on my travels in many parts the world whilst on business. I switched my focus from birds to butterflies and moths about 15 years ago, started transect walking and joined Butterfly Conservation. Some years later a trustee vacancy came up at Butterfly Conservation, which I was fortunate enough to win and my fifth career was borne. Since then Chairmanship of the Wiltshire Branch of Butterfly Conservation arrived out of the blue and now gives me my best reason to get up in the morning. Living as I do deep in the Wiltshire countryside my day usually starts with checking a moth trap or two, which is always exciting - I never know what I am going to find.

We are very fortunate in Wiltshire to have so much excellent butterfly and moth habitat - it is now my aim as Chairman that we should all make the very most of it, with the accent on conservation of habitat and species.

Mike Fuller

I have lived in Wiltshire since 1978 and have been the County Butterfly Recorder since 1982. I co-ordinated the Wiltshire Butterfly Mapping Scheme from 1982 until 1994 and the species distribution maps, compiled from the 1000’s of records received from recorders, were incorporated into The Butterflies of Wiltshire, published in 1995.
Annual Butterfly Reports have been compiled every year since 1992 and there are currently about 230 recorders throughout the county who submit their butterfly observations and comments for inclusion in these reports. The data is also sent to BC headquarters at Lulworth for inclusion in the Butterflies for the New Millennium mapping project and data from the 29 transect monitored sites in Wiltshire is included in the United Kingdom Butterfly Monitoring Scheme.
It is planned to produce an atlas of updated distribution maps for Wiltshire to a tetrad base in 2012/13. 

All butterfly records will always be very welcome either via this website, by email, telephone or paper.

My contact details are:- email:  fullermike@btinternet.com    Tel. (01225) 864122.  6, Methuen Close, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire. BA15 1UQ

Andrew Daw

I am an amateur butterfly photographer and illustrator and field trip organiser for the Wiltshire Branch of Butterfly Conservation and a committee member of the Gloucestershire Branch. I have contributed substantially to recording schemes locally (Bristol Common Butterfly Survey 1981-1999 and Avon Butterfly Project from 2000) and nationally to the BNM Project.

I have also been a committee member of the West Country Branch (now Somerset and Bristol) and East Midlands Branch, and currently member of five UK branches.

Having seen and photographed all the resident British Butterflies, I am now working my way through the European list (184 species seen up to the end of 2010) of Butterflies and diversified out into Dragonflies and Snails.
 

Robin Griffiths

 I have been interested in butterflies for the last forty years, and have lived in Wiltshire since 1979, but only since regularly visiting one site -  Blakehill Farm WWT reserve - from 2004, where I do a transect, have I come to realise how many species are in need of help, and how important is membership of this organisation.

I took over the editorship of the Bulletin from Michael Sammes in 2009 - please send me articles and photos about butterflies and moths - your Bulletin needs you!

I also help Michael with the Brown Hairstreak egg searches in Braydon Forest every winter, and try to find the adults in summer.

My other wildlife interests include birds (for even longer than butterflies) and dragonflies, and I also enjoy music, books and films.

Wayne Clinch

My interest in natural history has been with me since a boy, I grew up on a farm close on the Wiltshire Oxford county border, where I would endeavour to get close to the nature that surrounded me. I have fond memories of catching Peacocks and Red Admirals that were nectaring on the teasels at the edge of the field. For many years my main interest was birds, and perhaps it would have stayed that way if it wasn't for the digital camera. When I got my first digital camera my interest in natural history broadened to include flowers and butterflies because they are actually easier to photograph than birds. I set myself a goal to photograph all the British butterfly species. Finding and watching butterflies soon became my main interest. I joined Butterfly Conservation in  2005 as I realised that many of our butterfly species are in steep decline and require our help to protect their habitats. I attended the Wiltshire branch members evenings and I was elected onto the committee in 2007.

 Geoff Hiscocks
 

I have been seriously interested in butterflies since the late 80's and have been a member of Butterfly Conservation for over 20 years. In 2009 I finally managed to be able to say I had seen and photographed the full list of British species, although I have never seen them all in one year -something to aim for perhaps. Although living in Somerset and completing a transect there , I spend a lot of enjoyable time in nearby Wiltshire searching out such species as Marsh Fritillary,Adonis Blue and Duke of Burgundy, both during organised field trips and socially with friends in the county.

I have operated a moth trap at home since 2008 and have become increasingly interested in the wide variety of these fascinating creatures . Other wildlife interests include birds, dragonflies and orchids. I have been a Wilts Branch committee member since 2007 

Marc Taylor

Moths tie me to my garden and other locations nearby and therein my understanding of the complex interlinking of all organisms.
I am currently studying, with the almost total bias to botany, all moths, with the exception of those in nests and our houses have a dependence on botanical sources. Indeed whilst I light trap, pheromone lure, wine rope and bush bash(!) I also spend a lot of daylight hours examining plants for larvae and pupae.
I am particularly interested in trickling down the field skills from my studies, to benefit both individuals and Lepidoptera
I am a husband, father, son, teacher, cyclist and County Moth Recorder, I look forward to meeting you. Why not come trapping with us?

Cheers
Marc

Geoff Hobson

My interest in butterfles began on a visit to Worldwide Butterflies around ten years ago.

I decided that I wanted to record and photograph butterflies in their habitat and so I started to walk transects in Dorset.

I then retired and moved to Westbury, and joined the committee for Wiltshire when I took over as co ordinator for transects.

I walk the transects at Vaggs Hill, Upton Cow Down and Park Bottom.

My other hobbies include bonsai, orchids and amateur radio

Keeley Spate 

Being brought up in rural Northamptonshire paved the way for my love of wildlife and the great outdoors in general. After obtaining a degree in Ecology in 2004, I spent several years volunteering and working in the conservation sector, before I was asked to take on a butterfly transect. This opened my eyes to not only the beauty of these insects, but also to their importance and their vulnerablity. I currently work on a chalk grassland reserve in Wiltshire, where we are carrying out some exciting habitat management work for butterflies such as Duke of Burgandy and Adonis Blue, and I also have the privilage of working with local farmers to help improve and monitor their grasslands.

My interest in butterflies extends to all wildlife in general but particulary birds and plants. I also love running, cycling, hill walking, surfing and camping.

Ben Cooke 

My interest in wildlife and the environment originates from growing up in rural Pembrokeshire. In 2004 after moving to Essex I joined the Colchester Natural History Society and my interest in butterflies was ignited by the president Joe Firmin and trips to sites such as Marks Hall where the Silver-washed Fritillary was re-introduced. I joined Butterfly Conservation in 2009 whilst living in Worcester and became a volunteer with the West Midlands branch, surveying for Brown Hairstreak eggs in hedgerows around Worcestershire. Through my job at the time I was also fortunate to be involved with the 'Back to Orange' project in the Wyre Forest carrying out conservation work for Fritillaries and Grizzled Skippers. I currently work for a national conservation body as part of a team responsible for managing a number of chalk grassland SSSI's in Wiltshire. These sites are managed for species such as the Marsh Fritillary, Duke of Burgundy and Adonis Blue.

My interests outside of natural history include cycling, camping, and archaeology.