On Saturday, 1st March 2025, Sparkes Hill Reserve in Stafford buzzed excitement—and butterflies—as Kedron Brook Catchment Branch participated in Brisbane’s Big Butterfly Count. This community-driven event brought together volunteers and nature enthusiasts to tally winged wonders flitting through one of our catchment’s urban bushland sites. The results offer a snapshot of butterfly diversity in monitoring our local ecosystems.
A Day of Discovery
Under a warm autumn sun, seven participants gathered at Sparkes Hill, armed nets, identification jars, binoculars and a shared passion for nature. The event, organised support from Brisbane Big Butterfly Count program, ran until 11am, teams fanning out across many tracks through bush.
Preliminary counts revealed a vibrant mix of species, including Common Crow (Euploea core), Blue Tiger (Tirumala hamata), and ever-present Small Dusky-blue (Erina erina). In total, 20 species of butterflies were spotted. The full species list has been added to photo gallery below.
Why Butterflies Matter
Butterflies are more than just a pretty sight—they’re vital indicators of ecological health. Their presence reflects success of restoration efforts, like those at Sparkes Hill, where years of weed removal and native planting by former Sparkes Hill Bushcare Group and Brisbane City Council have worked towards removing restoring and improving bushland. As pollinators and prey, butterflies support biodiversity, while their sensitivity to environmental changes helps us gauge impacts of urbanisation and climate shifts in our catchment.
This count builds on our previous butterfly count observation surveys (November 2023 and March 2024), reinforcing importance of consistent biodiversity monitoring over time. By documenting presence of butterfly species, we gain insights into habitat quality and guide future restoration—whether it’s planting more nectar-rich natives or tackling invasive weeds that threaten these delicate creatures.
Just shows these urban green spaces are worth looking after…
A Big Thank You
A heartfelt thank you goes to our dedicated volunteers who made this event a soaring success. Special gratitude is owed to Cliff Meyer, our butterfly expert, for volunteering his time to lead identification of butterflies and collate observation data, along his inexhaustible enthusiasm and knowledge on butterflies (as well as moths!). Your efforts have laid groundwork for what we hope will become an annual tradition, deepening our understanding of Sparkes Hill’s ecological story.
We also want to give Rob and Harry a shout out for their enthusiasm and passion for butterfly surveys!
Get Involved
Missed count? There’s still plenty of ways to join journey! This is our second butterfly count and Sparkes Hill and we plan to continue this annual count next year!
