Sammy's Cuckoo

Cuckoo [juvenile]

Broad Bodied Chaser [female]

ebirder, Marcus Conway, wanted to photograph a Cuckoo, and the only reliable one I know about is at Sammy's Point on the threshhold of Spurn. Luckily, it was there, but was wary, as most Cuckoos usually are. It was very efficient at catching caterpillars - it appeared to catch four within 2 minutes! After spending some time with the Cuckoo, we scoured the prolific horse paddock where Common Blue butterflies were in abundance. Also present were Painted Ladies, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Meadow Brown, and 4 lifers for Marcus - Wall Brown, Small Heath, Small Copper and the above dragonfly - a Broad-Bodied Chaser. There may have been a Brown Argus among the Common Blues, but the photo will have to be examined by experts, before final confirmation may be given. The paddocks cover only a fairly small area of ground, but they were absolutely teeming with insect life, which was probably why the Cuckoo also found it the perfect hunting-ground!

YWT Reserve Fen Bog - Insects Galore

Dark Green Fritillary

Longhorn Beetle
Red-legged Shield Bug

Small Copper

Painted Lady

Peacock

Green-Veined White

Grasshopper

One for the trainspotters!

The Whinchats and Curlews appeared to have cleared off, but the Redpolls, Willow Warblers and a raptor were still around. In contrast to the paucity of birds, there was an abundance of insect life. Almost as soon as I left the car there were several Dark Green Fritillaries among the Painted Ladies - I've never been lucky enough to see these particular Fritillaries before. It was just a shame that they were so faded, as they near the end of their flying life this year. In addition to the species photographed there were some vivid pale blue dragonflies, which wouldn't settle long enough for a photo. At one time 3 males were fighting over a female. They appeared similar to Black-tailed Skimmers, but seemed to be a little smaller and couldn't discern any black on their tails - they must have been Keeled Skimmers - another new species for me. A rewarding visit, and the stunning scenery wasn't too bad either!

Spurn High Tide Special

Bar-Tailed Godwit

This pic taken in spring, but there was one as bright as this today

Sandwich Terns (plus Common Tern)
Wall (Brown)

Cuckoo - last year's in same location as today's

Common Lizard on Robin's Pin-Cushion

Whimbrel

Wheatear

Juvenile Whitethroat?

Ruddy Darter

Little Grebe

We met a bit earlier than usual this morning to take advantage of the high tide at Spurn. We were in place half-an-hour before time, and we did see excellent colourful examples of Bar-Tailed Godwit, Grey Plover, Knot, Dunlin, Sanderling, plus Whimbrel, Oystercatcher, and Cormorants, but the numbers of birds were fairly small. However, on our return to the car park we literally saw thousands of birds, so the main Humber roost can't have been at Chalk Bank today. At Chalk Bank we found a tiny lizard on a Robin's Pin Cushion, and there were plenty of Linnets and Starlings. We went on to the Point where the highlights included some juvenile Willow Warblers, a juvenile Whitethroat and a Hawker dragonfly. We travelled back to Canal Scrape, where a Lesser Whitethroat showed well, and a Dunlin dropped in briefly. An Emperor Dragonfly gave good, if brief views. Most of the group stayed behind to have a look round Sammy's Point. There were masses of Common Blue & Painted Lady butterflies, plus a few Small Tortoiseshells, Peacocks, Walls and Small Coppers. The best birds seen in the area were a juvenile Cuckoo, an angry young Whitethroat and a pair of Wheatears. There were clouds of what looked like more than a thousand Golden Plovers over the Humber. Overall, it proved to be quite a varied day. Some of the group stayed on to try their luck down Beacon Lane, so I will include their findings if they report back.

Nature Spotting as an Art Form

Spotted Flycatcher

Yellowhammer
Tawny Owl
Tawny Owl chick
Little Owl (c) 2009 Richard Hampshire

Today I had the great privilege of being shown around an area of the Yorkshire Wolds, which is relatively unknown to me - a sort of recce for next spring, as a possible venue to take my classes. The song of the Yellowhammer and Linnet provided the soundtrack for the morning in beautiful sunshine. My guide has been living in the valley for just over a decade, and his knowledge of the wildlife of the area is second to none. He has some amazing apparatus for taking his brilliant photographs, and I was shown round his studio, where several of his pics were simply jaw-droppingly good. He was able to regale me with stories of all 5 UK species of Owl, which are regularly seen in the area. He thinks the Tawny may even have predated some of his Little Owl chicks this year, which in turn had probably decimated a Redstart brood! The local Barn Owl has retreated after several skirmishes with the more aggressive Tawny. It is a great area for raptors in general with plenty of Kestrels and Buzzards - whilst Red Kites occasionally fly over and several other species of birds of prey are seen from time-to-time. It wasn't the best time of year to see the passerines, but I was shown some ideal places to see them in the spring, and what species to expect. I was lucky enough to spot a Spotted Flycatcher, a bird which my guide hadn't seen in the area this summer. There were plenty of gamebirds, mainly Red-legged Partridge, and Pheasants, but Quail have been heard singing recently. Curlews breed in the area, and Woodcock flood in during the winter. Even Water Rails can be fairly plentiful in wayside pools in both summer and winter. In addition to all the wildlife the scenery was simply stunning - definitely an area to explore further and certainly an area the 'students' will find very impressive and rewarding. I left my camera at home today, so all the above pics are dredged from the archive.

Passerine Migration Underway!

Whinchat

Lesser Whitethroat Oystercatcher

ditto
ditto

Willow Warbler

Juvenile Cuckoo - last year's in same place as today

Record shot of Linnet

Record shot of Kestrel

Common Blue

Common Blue (female)

Painted Lady

Small Copper

The southerly wader migration has been noticeable for several weeks, but today was the first day this year I could really say, that the passerine migration is also underway. The first one I spotted was the Whinchat at post number 32, followed by plenty of Willow Warblers, Whitethroats, and especially of Lesser Whitethroats. There were a pair of Yellow Wagtails outside the warren, and just south of here a Tree Pipit was identified, as was another at Chalk Bank. A Grey Wagtail flew south, and at least 2 Redstarts were seen; one in a garden & one near the gate. At Sammy's Point there were at least 3 Kestrels; one of which was being mobbed by a juvenile Cuckoo. If anyone gets fed up of chasing the birds, Sammy's Point was absolutely dripping with butterflies (these are conservative totals): 40+ Common Blues, 2 Small Coppers, 2 Peacocks, 5 Painted Ladies, 3 Small Tortoiseshells, a Meadow Brown, and my first Wall Brown of the year. Unfortunately, it didn't stay still to be photographed.

Another Summer Butterfly

Silver-Washed Fritillary (c) 2009 Maurice Gordon

The above butterfly is now extinct in Yorkshire, but in the C19th it was not uncommon in the county. According to The Butterflies of Yorkshire (2005) it may have died out in the mid-C20th because of "changes in woodland management, which abanonded coppicing & allowed close growing conifers to shade out the growth of violets" (the food plant). Maurice photographed this one in the New Forest.

Summer (What, Summer?) Butterflies

Painted Lady - supposed to be c.18 million individuals on the wing

14 of these on our buddleia yesterday (c) 2009 R.K. Broughton
Purple Hairstreak- still a slim chance of seeing one of these
A typical view of a Purple Hairstreak (c) 2009 Maurice Gordon

zoomed in a bit closer (c) 2009 Maurice Gordon

Grayling (c) 2009 Maurice Gordon - not the most exciting-looking species

ditto

Despite the on-off summer we seem to be having, there are still plenty of butterflies to be seen in the right conditions. Nearly everyone must have seen the Painted Ladies, which seem to be everywhere at the moment - press reports say there are approximately 18 million individuals on the wing. Yesterday in the warm sunshine we had 8 on our 4 buddleia bushes, but they were still outnumbered by the 14 Peacock butterflies, which are also happen to be more beautifully-coloured, but also more ubiquitous every year. There were also a couple of Small Tortoiseshells, and a smattering of Large, Small and Green-Veined Whites in the garden. In the wider countryside there is still a possibility that you may see Purple Hairstreaks. The best place to look are high in oak trees, but it's also worth checking any nearby ash trees; as in late afternoons and evenings on warm days, the Purple Hairstreaks can be seen, apparently drinking honeydew. There are a few local sites where Grayling may be encountered, but it is extremely scarce locally, and it shouldn't be disturbed on its Yorkshire breeding grounds. Maurice went to the New Forest to get close to this species. There should still be plenty of chances to see Wall Brown & Small Copper over the next few weeks if the weather dries up a bit! The Marbled Whites are very close to the end of their season, and the same may be said for the Large Skipper. Brimstones can still be encountered until the end of Sept, but in much smaller numbers than in the spring. Last year the rare Brown Argus peaked in a number of Yorkshire sites in the latter half of August. The Holly Blue should be peaking around ivy plants around the same period, but Painted Ladies (brighter than earlier in year) Red Admirals, Comma & Peacocks will be getting more common over the next few weeks & can last into November. If you feel tempted to help our beleagured butterfly species, please consider joining Butterfly Conservation, who are currently offering 3 months free membership. You will automatically be enrolled in your local butterfly conservation group: http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/text/20/join_butterfly_conservation.html

Media Hype

Heron About to swallow a dead perch

swallowing
Southern Hawker
Wasp Nest - 30 feet up a Larch
Comma

Comma - taken by 10-year-old Ben Coneyworth

Green-Veined White taken by 10-year-old Ben Coneyworth

Bloody Cranesbill - yes, really!

Toadflax

Knot - surrounded by Dunlin on beach at Spurn

Grey Plover, Dunlin, Knot & Turnstone

Knot & Dunlin

Whimbrel, Curlew & a Bar-tailed Godwit

Dunlin

ditto

ditto

Turnstone

Roe Deer

The above pics are a backwards compendium of the photos taken over the past week. Yesterday included a visit to Filey, pretty poor birdwise, but at least we missed the torrential downpour back at home. Stopped off at Tophill Low where we enjoyed a priviliged insight into unusal areas of the site. The wasp nest was particularly startling - very high in a tree. On Tuesday we tried a few butterfly venues, but most of the individuals were rather washed out. However, Ben got to try out his fledgling macro photography potential. On Monday morning I tried for the high tide wader roost at Spurn, but it was drizzling, so it was all rather dull. Arriving home, there was an urgent email waiting for me, asking me to ring a number at Yorkshire Water HQ. As Richard Hampshire, the Tophill warden had a day off, would I be prepared to be interviewed by a local TV programme about the Collared Pratincole at Tophill Low? After a bit of persuasion, I agreed & travelled for another 45 minutes to the reserve, where I was able to read up on the species before the arrival of the cameraman. The bird hadn't been seen since Saturday lunch time, but we lugged the heavy equipment to the correct hide, where he took pictures of Tufted Duck chicks, and roosting Common Terns. I was interviewed here and filmed bizarrely raising, panning and then removing my binoculars at nothing in particular. He needed more shots, so another hour and a half passed, as he filmed more ducks, a Comma butterfly and a Southern Hawker dragonfly. Finally, we returned to the car park where I had to walk up to the notice board, point at the entry for the Collared Pratincole, and then walk past the Tophill info boards. By this time is was 4.30, so he wasn't sure if he could get the interview back to the office for the evening bulletin. After he'd gone I had a text to say there had been an accident on the Dunswell road in Beverley, blocking both lanes, the very route he intended to take; but I was able to get home via the Beverley bypass. Of course, there was only a 30 second bulletin on the programme showing stills of the bird with commentary from the publicity handout. I had wasted a whole 2.5 hours for no attendant publicity for the course, but at least it was an insight into the prolonged process of filming for a 2-minute piece on local TV.