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.

Craking in Our Boots

Barn Owl [male?]

 Greenshank

 Friday was our final visit to Hempholme Meadows.  On the drive up we had a pair of Grey Partridges along the reservoir walls, and then later we saw another pair near Hempholme lock.  At the new scrape area there was a Greenshank, Oystercatcher, Whitethroat, Lapwing, and Greylag Goose.  Birds heard but not seen around here included: Yellowhammer, Skylark, Blackcap and a distant Cuckoo, which seemed to be on the southern area of the site.  Jim spotted a Barn Owl out hunting.  This bird was being victimised; first it was mobbed by an immature Common Gull, and later it caught a vole, and was harried & attacked several times by a Kestrel, until the Kestrel flew away bearing the vole to its next box.  You can’t beat a bit of klepto-parasitism!

Barn Owl

 Male Kestrel Striking the Barn Owl

 Owl taking Vole to the Ground & Kestrel Flying to a high perch 

 Barn Owl perched in the pm with Thieving Kestrel's Box Behind

 Barn Owl Hunting in the pm

 ditto

 Common Tern

From Stanningholme farm we could see a Stock Dove and a Great Spotted Woodpecker, whilst there’d been an influx of Reed Warblers since the last visit with at least 2 birds heard.  A Song Thrush belted out its song.  From the shooting estate we could hear a Reed Bunting, Reed warblers and a loud Sedge warblers, but the Whitethroats were much quieter.

When we reached Scurf Dyke and 4 Sand Martins flew overhead in a northerly direction.  Meanwhile 5 Pochard went in the opposite direction.  This was the area where we heard our nearest Skylark.  A Common Tern was hunting for fish along the dyke, and a Kingfisher saw us & took evasive action, but did give a fly-past on 2 occasions allowing everyone to enjoy a flash of blue as it came down from its higher evasive route to hug the water, as is its usual wont.  Towards the junction with Barmston Drain we came across our first Willow Warbler, and several Tree Sparrows and a Long-tailed Tit. 

Long-tailed Tit

 Roe Deer [Hind]

On the River Hull we had a very loud Reed Warbler which seemed to be singing from a Hawthorn bush rather than the reeds.  A Shoveler flew along the River Hull & appeared to land, but there were 2 small boats heading south along the river Hull, so it wasn’t able to hang around.  There was our first Meadow Pipit singing in this area & 5 Canada Geese were in a field next to plenty of Friesen cattle.  It disappeared into the shooting estate, and this is where Kathleen spotted a female Roe Deer, which stared at us for a few minutes before disappearing into cover.   Another pair of Grey Partridge flew into the fields on the east side of the river, and nearby it was clear that the Otter trail was still being well used, as it had forged a noticeable path in a the newly-grown vegetation.  Later we were nearly back at the cars when we noticed that a Mute Swan had taken up residence on the riverbank near the new hide. 

Mayfly

 Linnet [male]

 Hare

 Mute Swans

 Swift

On the drive in the afternoon we had good views of a male Linnet on the reservoir wall., a Buzzard flew over us at the beginning, while the barn owl was out again, and this time successfully caught a vole and was not robbed this time.  A Hare was seen in a field of Red & White Campion, while minutes later a flock of 33 Mute Swans flew south overhead.  The remainder of the sightings mainly followed the am session, but we had very close encounters with a flock of Swifts and an Oystercatcher flew just over our heads.    However, there was one encounter in the afternoon, which was very different from anything which happened in the morning.

 Oystercatcher

In the afternoon I was scrambling up the bank of Scurf Dyke when I heard 4 harsh notes in a very distinctive rhythm.  I could hardly believe what I was hearing.  I waited while the rest of the group scrambled up, when it gave a further 2 harsh notes ‘crex, crex’, but it was very faint.  I wasn’t convinced everyone on the class could hear the Corncrake.  We waited for 20 minutes and I heard it again for another 4 times, sometimes only 2 notes, but the final time a whole 6 notes.  The call seemed to come from 2 different areas, but the gap between them was long enough for the bird to have moved between one location & the other.  This was the first time I’ve heard the bird apart from in TV documentaries, when I was always led to believe that they sang for hours at a stretch, so these short bursts were a bit disconcerting.  I telephoned the reserve warden, and he informed me it was one of only a very few records for the site.  He later texted to say both he & 2 Hull Valley stalwarts were listening to the bird.  It was a relief to have independent confirmation!

You can hear the Corncrake singing for longer, recorded later that same afternoon by Reserve Warden, Richard Hampshire here: http://tophilllow.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/just-one-cornetto.html 

2 Lifers for the Majority

Temminck's Stint (c) 2012 Martin Standley

Taken at the same location a few years ago

 Wood Sandpiper - taken at Spurn a couple of years ago

Today was a rerun of the same location as 5th of May: http://www.eybirdwatching.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/yesterday-was-another-day-struggling.html  

 Pied Wagtail

Standing on the bridge yielded House Martin, House Sparrow, Starlings and Goldfinches feeding young.  There were also Swifts, Carrion Crows and a Magpie.  Immediately we went through the gate was a Reed Warbler on Cow Parsley, which then began to sing in a beech tree in someone’s garden.   A Sparrowhawk went over the gate being chased by 2 Magpies.  A Pied Wagtail was singing on a post near a paddock, but the usual Mistle Thrush was absent.

Record shot of Reed Warbler

Swallow

Along the river bank there had been a big influx of Reed Warblers since the last visit, but there were few Sedge Warblers in full song – but we did obtain good views of both (not Sedge in the pm).  A Lesser-Black backed Gull flew overhead.  There were Swallows perched on some of the ‘jetties’, and the Reed Bunting chicks, proved something of a novelty.  Meadow Pipits and Skylarks seemed down in number but they may have been on chick-feeding duties.  We met a couple who’d been out birding much earlier & they had seen an Osprey directly overhead at 9am, flying north along the River Hull heading towards Pulfin Bog.  I’m sure the class gave a collective gasp or it could have been a groan at this point.  In the afternoon we saw a pair of Buzzards over a small copse being mobbed by crows.  

 Record shot of Meadow Pipit

 Growth on a Feral Goose

Reed Bunting Fledgling (above)

Waders seen included plenty of Lapwings, a few Oystercatchers, Redshank with at least 2 chicks, and then a strange bird was seen through Liz’s scope – a Wood Sandpiper.   There was a group of 8 Ringed Plovers at one point flying around, which came down to land, which the students thought just disappeared into the mud.  Another bird flying around was a single Snipe which performed its magnificent display, although we couldn't hear it from the distance we were from it. After a lot of searching in vain and head scratching Steve picked out a tiny bird by the side of a pool.  All the other sightings seemed to be of Pied Wagtails, but this one proved to be a nicely-marked Temminck’s Stint.  In the afternoon we just about managed to see (badly) the Wood Sandpiper through the bins, but the Temminck’s Stint was virtually impossible.  Luckily, a very patient West Yorkshire couple took their time with the whole group to ensure that everyone saw it.  The Wood Sandpiper was a lifer for all but one more experienced birder, while the Temminck's Stint was a lifer for all but the tutor.

 Greenfinch

Foal 

 Cygnets

 Submarine

 At the bridge in the afternoon we had a singing Blackcap, and a Wren almost went between someone’s legs, whilst a Greenfinch wheezed at the top of a recently-opened Ash tree, whilst in the morning we were merely scolded by a pair of Blue Tits and a singing Chiffchaff.  On the am return journey we took the path along Barmston Drain and added Yellowhammer, Linnet, Whitethroat, & Shoveler.  As we were leaving the site before lunch a Grey Partridge called behind us just after a hedge screened our view.  The pm session was much quieter in this area.  Both groups gawped at the 'submarine', whilst the cygnets were spotted in the afternoon.

Crepuscular Activities

After waking at 5am & leading 2 overwarm classes at an urban site during the day, I wondered what I was doing leading another session for 3 hours in the evening.  The omens didn’t augur well with very gusty conditions and the news that like many other migrants this year Nightjars are arriving late.  Luckily, Chris Cox offered to pick me up as he was driving past, so there was no chance of me dropping off at the wheel on the return journey.

The Moon with Vapour Trail

 Grey Partridge (c) 2012 Chris Cox

We arrived at the destination at about 7.15 pm and were surprised to discover that almost every participant was already present.  As Chris turned in to the lane towards the parking area we saw a Grey Partridge, a Yellow Wagtail and Skylarks – we had already seen a very bright male Yellowhammer by the road just a mile before the turning.  Meanwhile from the parking area the attendees had spotted Sand Martins, Oystercatcher and a Plover, which required fine-tuning for ID purposes.  It was too far away from here, but from the hide it had a gold ring round the eye, so it was a Little Ringed Plover.  The most confiding bird was a miserable Coot!  Also on the large lake were Lapwings, Mute Swans, a Great Crested Grebe, a Little Grebe, Pied Wagtail, Tufted Ducks and the dreaded Canada Geese.  I thought I could hear a distant Corn Bunting, but I couldn’t pin it down at this stage. 

A Scumbag

Record shot of Green Woodpecker

On the walk to the next hide Sue M spotted a Green Woodpecker landing on a Silver Birch, so most people were able to see it before it was frightened off by a Magpie.  We also saw a Woodlark fly up from the ground, while Linnets flew overhead.  Meanwhile, Chris continued with his specialist subject when he saw 2 Herons flying distantly over the fishing ponds.  Reed Buntings and Reed Warblers could be heard singing from the reedbeds, we tracked down the former, but the latter remained concealed in dense cover. From the hide we heard a Cuckoo and David managed to lock onto the Corn Bunting singing on a distant bush – all we could observe from the hide was a plump blob, throwing its head back to sing.   

Great Spotted Woodpecker (c) 2012 Richard Whateley

 Crepuscular Record Shot of Yellow Wagtail

 Crepuscular Record Shot of Great Crested Crebe 

(c) 2012 Richard Whateley

We didn’t see a great deal between the hides and the next one, so we made our way back to the car park and then walked along a country lane swarming with insects.  David spotted a Yellow Wagtail, whilst 3 Gadwalls flew over, as did a single Great Crested Grebe – a sight many of the ‘students’ hadn’t previously observed.  There was a beautiful, peaceful sunset, and even as the light faded a Kestrel continued to hover, whilst the Cuckoo became much more vocal.  We crept towards the Corn Bunting, so everyone obtained a better view, and on the way we saw a pair of Grey Partridges and a Hare munching in a field of young maize.   

Crepuscular Record Shot of Corn Bunting 

(c) 2012 Richard Whateley

 Crepuscular Record Shot of Grey Partridge (c) Richard Whateley

 Crepuscular Flies

In the end it was too dark for a Nightjar Photo, but this is a 

View of a Nightjar we'd all have Preferred to the One we Got!

(c) 2012 Mick & Kath Sharpe

We headed back to the cars as the light began to fade.  In the crepuscular world of half-light we listened to a Cuckoo and a Song Thrush, whilst a few duck species whizzed over our heads, and Swans lumbered towards the ponds for the evening.  The arrival of a phalanx of trumpeting Canada Geese narrowly missing the tree tops as they headed for the lake, seemed almost magical as the darkness began to take complete control.  It was at this moment (10.15pm) that a fluttering was noticed among the trees just above our heads – at last a Nightjar.  She returned another couple of times before suddenly disappearing without any clue as to her direction of departure.  There were no churring noises heard, or any of the usual clicking flight notes, or wing-clapping, and as far as I could make out there weren’t any white wing-patches, so I suspect our bird was a female.  The white hankies which I duly trotted out were completely ineffectual, which is another reason I suspect we were dealing with a female bird – a male is supposed to aggressively investigate any white patches moving in its territory.  We waited for another quarter of an hour, but she failed to return.  

Luckily, the Nightjar Special delivered the goods, but I think next time I try & look for Nightjars, I’ll ensure I've had a full night's sleep the previous evening....