For a variety of reasons, I wasn’t able to venture far from home for my butterfly viewing opportunities this year. As a consequence, the number of species I saw was small, just 30. Of those, 26 species were seen within walking distance of home, which, even after seven and a half years here in Wales, I still find amazing. In my native New Zealand, you would usually only see two species so easily (the introduced White and the self-introduced Monarch), though this does depend, of course, on where you live. The other four species on my list were seen up the valleys, at Aberbargoed, Grayling on the coal spoil tip, and Small heath, Marsh fritillary and Small pearl-bordered fritillary in the Aberbargoed Grasslands National Nature Reserve. Only 29 species are shown in my video, as I didn’t manage to get close enough to the Purple hairstreaks I saw for viable photographs. I am hoping / intending / planning to see more species in 2023, and compiling this video has made me impatient for the return of my beloved, beautiful butterflies.