The Wimbledon and Putney Commons’ Wildlife and Environment Report 2022 has just been published.
This monitoring report on the wildlife species living on our commons shows health of our local wildlife, with winners and losers changing year on year.
This year the report shows:
28 species of butterfly were recorded – a slight increase on 2021. There was a more noticeable increase in dragonfly species, up by nine to 21, including a single Norfolk Hawker and a Keeled Skimmer which is a typical wet heathland species not seen on the Common since 2018.
16 Common Lizards were spotted, an increase on the previous year while frogs, toads and newts continue to spawn in many of the ponds.
The stag beetle population continues to decline with only 21 reported by visitors, a continuation of the fall since 2014.
While a number of new species are appearing, there is broader concern expressed in the report that more common species of butterfly are declining in numbers continuing a trend seen over the last few years. In particular Meadow Brown, Small Heath and Common Blue are showing significant declines over the past 5 years.
Read the full report on The Conservators website here