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.

A Warm Finale

Yesterday the final Thursday session until September went ahead even though Yorkshire was ringed around with heavy showers.  Some on the pm session were wondering if it was worth leaving Church Fenton, Wressle or Goole where it was hammering down with rain, but it was actually nice weather at Spurn.   We set off along Beacon Lane, where we immediately encountered House Martins and a few finch species: Goldfinches, Greenfinches & then flyover Linnets. The best early bird during the pm session was a singing Wren perched above the hedge belting out its 10-second- 100+ note trills.   Normally there are plenty of Linnets along here, but there are definitely fewer of these this year.

Immature Kestrel

 Goldfinch

 Large Skipper

 Ringlet

 Meadow Brown

 Common Blue [male] above
Burnet-Moth

 ditto

It was the sunniest day we have visited this location this year, and there was a corresponding increase in insect activity.  There were a couple of Red Admirals & Large Skippers, some Small Heaths, a single Small Tortoiseshell, and a few Ringlets and Meadow Browns.  There was also a single large dragonfly hawking along the lane.  Over the fields the activity of the Meadow Pipits and Skylarks was more subdued than last week, and the Sedge Warblers seemed less willing to sing in the open.  Many more Burnet-Moths had emerged since last week, and were making the most of the sunshine.  There seemed to have been a noticeable influx of Silver-Y Moths in the afternoon, which wasn’t apparent in the morning.  A young Kestrel spent the whole day among the sand dunes & caught something small on the sand, which it proceeded to eat & then it walked up the dune looking for more of the same.

 Kestrel

 Kestrel

 Sandwich Terns

 Little Gull (flying past a Common Tern)

 Reed Bunting

From the hide it was evident that the loss of many of the Little Tern chicks since our last visit had caused the netting to be rearranged in front of the hide to protect 2 or 3 nests there.  Sandwich Terns were more in evidence, perched on a couple of concrete slabs with a few of their youngsters.  A couple of Common Terns were perched nearby, and an immaculate Little Gull flew through.   The pm crowd watched a Cormorant catch an enormous fish, whilst I was trying to determine if a tern in awkward light could possibly be a Roseate – unfortunately, it turned out to be a Common.  There were also Ringed Plovers, Oystercatchers, and after we left the hide in the morning 3 Knots with remnants of breeding plumage headed south.  Liz did very well to spot a distant soaring Sparrowhawk, which everyone managed to pick up before it was lost to sight.  

 Cormorant

 Wood Sandpipers

 Wood Sandpipers

 Wood Sandpipers

At lunch-time I went to Canal Scrape, but was disappointed that there were no Lizards on the posts outside – perhaps the sun was too strong?  The prospects from the hide didn’t look too good either.  The water was dominated by squealing baby Coots, whilst the grass was overwhelmed by moulting Mallards.  I had a quick span, but couldn’t see anything of interest, so I cracked open my sandwiches.  I was tucking in when there was an unusual wader call.  I looked out of the window and spotted a pair of tiny waders on the shore.  At first glance without bins they looked like Dunlin, but the sound was different.  The bins revealed them to be Wood Sandpipers with their pale vague eyebrow, speckled back, delicate bill & yellowish legs.  They remained there 15 minutes until they were attacked by a stinking Coot & they flew West over the Humber.  Meanwhile a Little Egret flew in & was preening among the Mallard.  It only stayed a couple of minutes before flying off North-West.  Four Cygnets emerged from the reeds and swam right across the pond, but there was no sign of either of their parents.  There was no one to say 'awwww' at their appearance this time.  A Small Tortoiseshell was outside the hide on a thistle, whilst when I joined the main road a Sedge Warbler was perched with its bill stuffed with insects.

Little Egret

 Little Egret

Small Tortoiseshell

 Mute Swan Cygnets

 Sedge Warbler

 Sedge Warbler

 4-Spotted Chaser

 Caterpillar

It was great to bring this term to an end in decent weather conditions when we have had to endure all sorts of unseasonal showers, winds, mists and generally appalling weather over the last few weeks.  We deserve a peaceful, Indian summer after this unsettled so-called Spring & Summer, but will we get it?

Spots, Beards & Shanks

Bearded Tit (c) 2009 Vince Cowell

Spotted Redshank (c) 2009 Vince Cowell ditto

ditto (right)
L to r: Spotted Redshank, Lapwing, Spotted Redshank & Ruff (male)

Avocets

ditto

Sedge Warbler (c) 2009 Vince Cowell

Black-tailed Godwits (c) 2009 Vince Cowell

Reed Bunting

Ringlet (c) 2009 David Ware

Scorpion-Fly (c) 2009 David Ware

David Ware reports we had 47 species today, some of them quite striking. This includes c.12 Spotted Redshank – a couple at Marshland, more than 10 at Townend, and one dropped into Singleton late on. The views of these were uncharacteristically fine, and we were able to see that the legs were black, which is normally only seen on their breeding grounds. In a few weeks’ time these will be red, and their plumage will be much paler! Unfortunately, it was very overcast today, so Vince is not satisfied with the images he obtained. There were also half-a-dozen male Ruff in various stages of undress, but most of them still displaying a fair amount of their amazing neckwear. In contrast to these rather tatty individuals there was one smart heavily-blotched Reeve. There were also several summer-plumaged Black-tailed Godwits displaying their orange-red fronts. There were plenty of Bearded Tits all around the reserve, but they were usually fairly elusive. 2 early birds (‘students’) managed good views of a few at Marshland, and eventually the afternoon session saw 5 fly from one area of reeds to another from First Hide. Just before we were about to wrap for the week a female or juvenile remained on top of the reeds opposite that hide long enough for everyone to get good views. Early indications are it’s been a good breeding season for Bearded Tits, as there also seem to be plenty at Far Ings. There were c8 Green Sandpiper (which is a good number for this species), plus 2 Little Ringed Plover, a Greenshank, a Wigeon in eclipse & several Gadwall, Pochard, and a single Shelduck. There were also 6 Heron, plus one flyover Bittern. There were still several Avocets on show, including one immature, a Barn Owl peeped out of its box, and a pair of Stock Doves flew near the Barnie’s nesting-place. Among the passerines there were still singing Blackcaps, Whitethroats, Sedge Warblers and a Reed Bunting; but the Reed Warblers were completely silent, although we did eventually see one in the afternoon. Hirundines were also noticeable by their absence, but at lunchtime several similar-looking Swifts were above the visitor centre. What about raptors? I hear you ask. Only one species was seen – just those you take for granted at this location – Marsh Harriers – at least three were visible at any one time.