18.06.2026 - Indoor Meeting : Butterflies in Norfolk

Speaker: Malcolm Fisher
Report: Steph Plaster

​We had another good turnout for Malcolm Fisher of the Norfolk branch of Butterfly Conservation. Malcolm has been a birder for over 35 years and also has a great love of natural history and conservation, so being an advocate for butterflies is no surprise and he delivered a marvellous insight
into the state of Norfolk’s butterflies. He joined the committee of the Norfolk branch in 2022 and is responsible for press, social media and publicity.

The Norfolk branch of Butterfly Conservation was started in 1982 and it now has around 900 members throughout the county. If you join Butterfly Conservation, based in Dorset, it’s only £45.00 per year for a single membership, plus you’ll automatically become a member of your local county group and be able to attend meetings and events and receive a twice-yearly Norfolk newsletter. So worth considering and would make a nice gift for someone too.
There are around 58 species of butterfly in the UK and here in Norfolk we have 38 species, although Malcolm says we may have another species added to the list soon as the Marbled White may begin to breed here as it does already breed in Suffolk.
As we are all aware, butterflies, along with most species, are under threat and many are in decline. Malcom explained that 2024 had been a ‘Butterfly Emergency’ as the annual count was only 7 species, down from the usual average of 12. He listed some of the species that were seen to have declined and the figures are quite shocking:
Peacock down by 59% in 2024
Red Admiral down by 49%
Small Tortoiseshell down by 62%

I can concur with this as the maximum number of Red admirals I saw in my garden in 2024 was only 4 when in the previous year I’d counted 39 and in 2019 there were well over 100 of them flying around our large white Buddleia bush. This number was very unusual and I wonder if any of these were migrants? Looking at my records from BTO’s Garden Birdwatch scheme I only saw Small tortoiseshell three times in the whole of 2024, and only one at a time. Malcom said that this species, once common, is now very rare with a reduction of 82% since 2023. The cause of this is still unknown but could be due to a parasitic fly. This year I have already seen
a few in the garden, but it would be great to see a lot more Small Tortoiseshells this year.
It just shows how important it is to keep track of our Butterflies and Birds and for everyone to care about the state of Britain’s nature as Malcolm so passionately put it - we must all care about our natural environment and encourage everyone to do the same. Malcolm advised that thankfully 2025
was a much better year for our declining butterflies with around 85,000 records he said and let’s hope that 2026 will be a good year too.
As regards the species we see here in Norfolk there are some butterflies that are true migrants and will arrive on our shores, sometimes in small or occasionally very large numbers. Some of the WVBS group reported seeing a huge influx of Painted Ladies which crossed Norfolk earlier this year. Another migrant species is the Clouded Yellow which was spotted at Warham Camp on the coast last year and also at Kelling, but some members have also recorded this species further inland too.
The Common Blue is another butterfly that is not so common anymore which is a shame as it’s such a beautifully marked little creature.
The Silver-studded Blue which can be found at Buxton Heath and Broadland Country Park and according to Malcolm the population in Norfolk is considered as stable with 25 females and 10 males being moved to BCP to help increase the population there.
The Small blue is moving northwards and has been seen in Scotland - in Norfolk it can be found at Cranwich heath, near Mundford. 65 were counted in 2025 and they’ve also been spotted at Blakeney - their food plant is Kidney vetch.
The only place in Norfolk to see the rarer Chalkhill Blue is Warham Camp, the Iron Age circular hillfort near Wells. It was introduced in 2009 thanks to habitat restoration and over 2000 of these little butterflies have been counted here.
Purple Hairstreak is the commonest of the hairstreaks, it’s a small butterfly that’s increasing in number and can be seen in Norfolk where it favours Oak trees. If you look up to the tops of an oak tree on a still, warm evening in late June and July you may see some small ‘silver-looking’ butterflies chasing each other. Malcom reckons this species has increased by 460% which is fantastic news and a good place to see them is Hickling tower or Sheringham Park, although they can be seen in unexpected spots - I watched some whilst having a drink in a pub garden! So always check your local oaks as you may spot some, especially if there are several large oaks as the butterflies will fly from one tree to another. 
One of the most iconic Norfolk butterflies must be the Swallowtail which is only found in the Norfolk Broads. It’s a large colourful butterfly and it’s restricted in area as the caterpillars will only feed on Milk-parsley (Peucedanum palustre). The population here is reported as stable but Malcolm hinted that there is more news to come out soon about this species - so watch this space! Other large butterflies include the White Admiral, Purple Emperor and the Silver-washed Fritillary which is
increasing in range in England and can be seen all over Norfolk but especially in Foxley Wood where the other two just mentioned can also be seen. The Purple Emperor lives at the top of oaks and is often difficult to spot, it disappeared from Norfolk for a long while but then reappeared in 1992. Foxley and Sheringham Park are the best places to spot this species and 2025 was the best ever year recorded.
Malcom noted it had also been seen at Sandringham.
The Grayling is a butterfly of the coastal zone as they prefer dry, stoney ground and can be seen at Blakeney and Cley marshes, the Wall butterfly too is now restricted to the coast and is regularly spotted at Cley on the reserve’s footpaths - this butterfly often has late broods which don’t always
survive winter so it’s a priority species for Norfolk and they’ll be monitoring it to check that it does not fall into decline. The Small Heath is a species which is in decline on the coast sadly - but can still be seen at Winterton Dunes and also in the Brecks where it is faring a bit better.
Other species mentioned by Malcolm were Dingy Skipper and Grizzled Skipper which are just about hanging on in Norfolk and can be seen at Foulden Common, Narborough Railway Line and the Stoke Ferry Cut-Off Channel. If you go to the Butterfly Conservation website and click on local groups map and bring up Norfolk - you can find out all details about the species found here.
​Malcolm also spoke about how we can all help Norfolk’s endangered butterflies. The simplest way is to be an ‘organic’ gardener and not to use insecticides in your garden, plant nectar-rich flowers such as Lavender, Marjoram and shrubs such as Buddleia. Leave a patch of grass and a wilder area, as many butterflies like to feed on wildflowers and grasses (No-Mow May etc), plus Ivy is great for Red Admirals in Autumn. Also please sign the open letter to the Govt about banning ‘Neonicotinoids’ which kill butterflies and bees – there is a link on the Butterfly Conservation website to do this.
Another easy thing we can all do is to record Butterflies and that can be through the BTO’s Garden Birdwatch or with the Norfolk group or on the Butterfly Conservation website. Malcolm reminded us that the annual Big Butterfly Count takes place from the 17th July to 9th August when we are asked if we can record all the butterflies we see within a 15 minute period. This can be in your garden or a park or anywhere really and last year 3,100 people in Norfolk took part. 55,000 butterflies were counted with an average number of species being 13, the average nationwide is only 11 species. He’d dearly like for Norfolk to be the first in terms of the number of Butterfly species seen - so perhaps our group can assist him in this as it’s a lovely thing to stand and watch these beautiful creatures.
Many thanks to Malcom for such an informative talk about what butterflies we’re able to see in Norfolk and where to see them - hopefully he’s encouraged us to look more closely at them all from now on.

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