Summary 0f 2012 season in Upper Thames [berks/bucks/oxon]

Matthew hates statistics, but how else can you summarize a season so that others can have a comparison with their region?? Started 2 to 3 weeks later than usual. I had a fleeting glimpse of a high flier with Wendy Campbell in Naphill Common on July 4th, but it didn't really start properly until July 8th. The peak was during the 5 days from July 22nd till July 26th, when 123[44%!] of the total sightings [276] were made. This is about 17 days later than the normal peak. Six new habitats were identified including two interesting ones: Wildmoor Heath and Decoy Heath in Berkshire: both heathland BBOWT reserves. The last was seen [tired old lady in Doddershall Wood] on August 14th, making it a 5 week season: fairly normal. But 28 sightings in August was a record for this month. This was in fact the second best season [393 sightings in 2010] during the last 9 nine years. So, iris is a very British animal: lousy weather to start with may put it off for a while, but it gets over it and triumphs in the end.