A 'Butterfly' Walk at Noddle Hill

Yesterday the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust organised a Butterfly Walk at the Noddle Hill Nature Reserve, and they even arranged for it not to rain!  Approximately 12 members of the public turned up  including a young media star, who recently found some Speckled Bush Crickets near the Humber Bridge.  Helen had plenty of ID sheets for anything other than butterflies we might see, and the children each took a net and some jars and magnifiers to observe any insects in detail.

Small Skipper

We set off down Red Admiral Alley, but my expectations weren't terribly high after the recent unsettled weather.   However, this alley is quite sheltered and quite soon we saw a few Ringlets, a high-flying Comma, a migrant Silver-Y-moth, and a smaller brown moth.  A pair of Blue-tailed Damselfies flew off before their picture could be taken.  There was no sign of the Speckled Wood butterflies, which had been in this area the other week.  However, we could be between their 3 or 4 broods.

Ringlet

 Silver-Y Moth

We emerged from the alley into a more open area, and pretty soon there was a fast moving skipper butterfly, and another dark brown moth, which may have been a carpet moth species.   There were plenty of wild flowers including Red and White clovers, Mellilot, and other members of the pea family.  An insignificant white-mauve flower was spotted by Helen and after investigation seemed to be the Smooth Tare.

Shaded Broad-Bar (thanks to Barry Warrington for ID)

 Caterpillar

  Caterpillar

 

Not long after this Maggie caught the first Meadow Brown of the day.  It seems hard to believe that this is the most numerous butterfly in the UK.  Only a little further one was a Soldier beetle, and we were going to see a lot more of them before the session ended.  We then came across a flooded area, which isn't really surprising considering the recent rain we've had.  It was along here that a Sedge Warbler could be heard singing from a bramble patch.  

Meadow Brown

 Smooth Tare

 Small Skipper

Soldier Beetle

Narrow-Bordered 5-Spot Burnet-Moth

 In an area with a lot of clover we saw a Narrow-Bordered 5-Spot Burnet-Moth flying around, which we were unable to catch in a net, but there were several more in the area.  The children wandered off the path to a fenced-off area where there may have been an old tip.  Near here we heard the strange scratchy sound of a Grey Partridge, which was great as numbers of this gamebird have plummeted in recent years.   Ten minutes later we flushed another in a different area, so hopefully there is at least 1 pair in the area.  Gail, Jacob's mum, moved a stone & disturbed a large moth.  This seemed to be injured and was very difficult to photograph as its wings were fluttering even more rapidly than the Silver-Y.  It didn't appear to be pumping up its wings after it emerges as a moth from the chrysalis for the first time, but there was a very active ants' nest near to where it was found, so they may have been attempting to devour it until it was disturbed.

Oak Eggar

 The children were hungry, so when we reached a bench they had a few sandwiches, and it was at this point that one young searcher and his parents headed back to the car.  As they ate their lunch a Grasshopper Warbler started to 'reel', and its strange insect-like song rose and fell for the next quarter-of-an-hour.  The second half of the walk wasn't as fruitful as the first, as it had clouded over, so there weren't as many insects on the wing.  A Yellowhammer could be heard singing faintly over Foredyke Drain, while Reed Buntings stuttered their simple ditties closer at hand.  

One of the highlights on the return journey was a noisy female Sparrowhawk which soared for a while before plunging into thick vegetation, and then finally setting off in a northerly direction.  We reached the ponds where we found a female Blue-tailed damselfly resting on a reed.  It stayed long enough for everyone to study it.  

Sparrowhawk 

 ditto

 Blue-tailed Damselfly

My initial fears proved groundless, because although there weren't exactly hundreds of butterflies, and there weren't as many bird species to see as there had been in May, there was still plenty to see and observe, and hopefully everyone went home impressed with Noddle Hill and the wildlife they had studied there.

The One That Got Away

Thursday was a rerun of Tuesday, but the songbirds were a lot quieter, especially in the very strong afternoon winds.  Despite this the morning started well with Yellow Wagtail on the journey and a Short-eared Owl shortly after leaving the cars.  We saw & heard mainly the same species on Tuesday, with the Grasshopper Warbler again providing one of the highlights.  It was a very hard bird to photograph.  However, a new bird in was a Garden Warbler.  This sang beautifully several times, but was even harder to see than the Grasshopper Warbler!  In the afternoon these were both ones that got away, as we could no longer hear or see either of these birds.

It had rained hard in the night and the dykes, ditches and streams were much muddier, so there was no sign of the Kingfisher – it was one which got away.  A male Linnet was one of the final birds at the site in the morning, and on the return journey 2 male Yellow Wagtails proved highly popular.  It was just a shame that the Common Sandpiper had moved on – another one that got away.

One of the first things we saw in the morning was a Wren’s nest, which was directly in the centre of the road leading to a pumping station.  Conversely, one of the last things the pm group saw was a quite different nest left abandoned in the centre of an Otter-path.  There can be little doubt that both these nests had been predated.  Any ideas of what species made the second nest would be gratefully received.

An addition in the afternoon was a Cuckoo singing from a plantation of Poplars.  It flew over the shooting estate, but half an hour later it returned to its earlier position. Towards the end of the afternoon session my phone rang.  I thought it was going to be another company wanting to sell me a mobile phone, and I was prepared to hang up, but was relieved to discover it was the reserve warden, asking if I’d seen the Red Kite.  We had failed to pick it up as it was directly behind us.  Everyone swung round & were able to see a Kite as it flew in a Westerly direction, struggling against the strong southerly wind.  Apparently, this was the second of a pair.  Although the first one got away, we were lucky enough to latch on to the 2^nd bird.  There is no doubt without the reserve warden’s call one of the highlights of the late afternoon would have been missed.  

Yellow Wagtail (c) 2012 Richard Whateley

 Yellow Wagtail

 Short-eared Owl (c) 2012 Richard Whateley

 Short-eared Owl (c) 2012 Richard Whateley

 Mute Swans (incl V636)

 Avocet (c) 2012 Richard Whateley

 Common Tern (c) 2012 Richard Whateley

 Sedge Warbler (c) 2012 Richard Whateley

 Grasshopper Warbler

 ditto

 Linnet (c) 2012 Richard Whateley

 Mistle Thrush (c) 2012 Richard Whateley

 Wren's Nest

 Nest

 Goslings

[Above] A Grasshopper Warbler, perfectly framed - just a shame the camera focussed on the twigs!

Now You See Him, Now You Don't

Today we went around an area of a familiar reserve we’d never visited before.  Perhaps the biggest surprise was that the weather was quite nice – sunny and warm at times!  We set off around the wall of a reservoir where the best bird was a very confiding Common Sandpiper which allowed us some great views.  Opposite the new scrape area we had Whitethroat and Willow Warbler.  On the new area we saw Moorhen, Mallard, Greylag and on the return journey we had a pair of Grey Partridge in the same area.

We crossed a rickety bridge to circumnavigate an area of scrub and new growth which has been earmarked for a shooting estate.  We heard many Whitethroats, including 3 individuals involved in a chase and a fight.  A drake Gadwall flew over us several times calling, and seemed to be lost.  There were also several Sedge Warblers, and everyone was able to discern the white supercilium (eyebrow).  A male Kestrel hovered in the distance at various times and a Buzzard was seen soaring on a thermal.  We saw hundreds of Swifts in the air once we focused on the distant Buzzard, meanwhile Swallows flew along the drain banks and the fields through which we walked.

On one drain we saw several Tufted Duck and one pair of Pochard, but all these took to the air well before we got anywhere near them.  A little further along the drain I could just make out the song of a Grasshopper Warbler.  We retraced our steps a little to try & hear it a little more clearly, but we never came close to seeing it.  It was singing from an area of bramble well within the shooting estate.  However, after lunch it appeared in the open a few times, but so briefly the camera wasn’t quick enough to catch it.  All the images show a partially concealed bird.  The Grasshopper Warbler (or Gropper as many lazy birders call it) was a ‘lifer’ for the vast majority of the participants.  I’ve never heard the alarm call of a Grasshopper Warbler before but this one, as well as singing normally, suddenly made a harsher, deeper-pitched call, in the same manner of its standard song, almost as harsh as a Savi’s Warbler’s reeling.    In the afternoon I saw a quick blue flash of a Kingfisher flying away from us, but unfortunately no one else spotted it

As we got nearer to the end of our circuit I pointed out the well-worn track of an Otter, and we saw a male Barn Owl hunting for food at 11.30.  It probably has a growing family to support, and last night was very wet, so the better weather brought it out early.  Although we watched it for some time, we didn’t spot it making a kill.  It also had to contend with a male Kestrel, which mobbed it once & would probably have attempted to steal any vole the Barn Owl caught.  A few Linnets near the pumping station enlivened the final few minutes of the session.  

On the way back we called in at a new hide.  I heard a Treecreeper singing near here, but the bird itself remained concealed.  On the return journey the Common Sandpiper posed for the pics accompanying this post.  In the afternoon I heard the distinctive pathetic song of a stunning Yellow Wagtail, but the light was in an awkward position, so these were the best pics I was able to obtain. This very popular bird provided a very fitting end to a bright and sunny day.  

Grasshopper Warbler - in Reeling

 Still Reeling

Gone Silent 

 Yellow Wagtail - 'singing' not eating!

 Yellow Wagtail - Rear View

 Sedge Warbler

 ditto

 Barn Owl

 ditto

 Common Sandpiper

 Mute Swans

 Mute Swan

New Reserve Gets Nod of Approval

Today we were able to visit a brand new nature reserve, and the morning group encountered 45 species.  The sighting highlight was a Kingfisher, probably only seen by 2 (incl the tutor); whilst the best bird heard was a Grasshopper Warbler – again only heard by 2 (incl the tutor & a different participant).  In the afternoon the Kingfisher was almost in the same place, and was seen by all but one participant.

In the morning I made the mistake of walking round the edge of the reserve, and although this yielded Willow Warbler, Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler, it would have been better to have plunged straight into the bushes by the way-marked paths.  In the afternoon we tried this method, but by that time the small passerine birds had largely vanished.  The strong winds prevented many birds from being tempted to sing high from exposed song-posts.  One notable exception were the Linnets, which on today’s showing seemed to be the most ubiquitous species, as we came across them everywhere throughout the northern section of the site. 

The Kingfisher was in the area of the pumping station, and near here were breeding Tree Sparrows and Swallows collecting mud.  A Lesser Whitethroat was heard singing and was even observed by the afternoon group.  The Sedge warblers were much quieter after lunch, and the Grasshopper and Reed Warblers remained completely silent.

Les spotted a large female Sparrowhawk which gave good views before disappearing towards North Bransholme.  The only other raptor species seen was a Kestrel in the morning & a pair near the parking area during the last part of the lunch hour.

The morning group, especially, were much impressed with the site, and are keen to visit again without a biting north-easterly wind.

Sedge Warbler

ditto 

 Linnet [male]

 Linnet [female] (c) 2012 Tony Robinson

 Whitethroat

 Reed Bunting

 Skylark

 The Duck which Cannot be Named

 Small Tortoiseshell [very worn]

Immature Gull Trying to Devour a Fish