Sunday 25 September 2016

24th September

Moths can be a bit like buses…no Beaded Chestnuts recorded in the parish then 82(!) turn up together…


It was almost the same with another new species, Pink-barred Sallow, with an impressive 49 in the Magic Garden traps last night...


I actually wasn’t too hopeful coming out of a party Friday night as it was clear and cold but in the end it was a good catch with almost 200 moths of 26 species including at least nine new ones for the parish. This included this lovely Lunar Underwing…


Together with a Barred Sallow, a scarce moth this far north in Yorkshire…


Red-green Carpet (stunner!)…


Dusky-lemon Sallow…


Green-brindled Crescent…


Red-line Quaker…


And Chestnut…


We also caught a couple of Green Carpets last night but interestingly they were tiny…


Much smaller than the individuals we caught earlier in the season. Is this a feature of the later fliers?

Sunday 18 September 2016

17th September

The Bottom Field pools had virtually dried out but the brief heavy rain yesterday topped them up and immediately attracted birds again. Last night there was a wader which at distance I took to be a Green Sand but when it was flushed neither Frank or I spotted a white rump. I don’t want to think about the bird that might have been!
This morning it was very quiet with only a covey of ten Grey Partridge (my first for a few weeks), Kingfisher and three Snipe to show for a tramp around the bottom fields and the Magic Garden. I saw one of the Snipe drop in to a small marshy area, as I searched for this I spotted three large waders flying high over.
They were Black-tailed Godwits, a new bird for the parish! It’s a species I had hoped to record in the village at some point given the recent use of the Vale of York as a key migration route. The birds headed for the little pools, circled them three times but decided against landing and then headed off towards the river. By the time I lifted my camera they were already specks but you can just make out what they are!


This sighting shows again how much must go unseen as if I hadn’t stopped to look for the Snipe I would have missed these. As if to underline this there were now four Teal on a little pool I had walked around only fifteen minutes earlier.
Earlier in the week there was a really good movement of warblers through the Magic Garden with at least 20 Willow/Chiffs in the reed beds alone. The hot weather was also ideal for dragonflies with up to a dozen Migrant Hawkers seen around the lake, by some way the highest count I’ve had in the village.


Later this afternoon I managed to combine footy and birding with a brilliant Peregrine flying in to perch on a stand at Valley Parade stadium where Rovers were taking on Bradford.

Sunday 11 September 2016

11th September

I had planned to go for the Kentish Plover at Spurn today, a bird I still need for my Yorkshire list, but whilst waiting for news I popped down to the flood pools in the Bottom fields. Yesterday they were empty other than a handful of Mallard. On first sight it seemed the same today with only a single duck visible but this turned out to be a Pintail, only the second parish record!
The Pintail took flight and flushed up a wader with it, I expected Green Sandpiper but the bird didn’t show an obvious white rump. Fortunately it turned and landed back on the pool. It was a cracking Ruff, again only the second record for the parish.



Whilst I was trying to photograph this bird two Greenshank shot across and landed on the pool.


There was also a Grey Heron on here that I at first thought was using its wing as a ‘parasol’ to shade the water looking for prey. I then assumed it had a broken wing but it later flew so I’m not sure why it was holding it like this…


The continuing sunny weather means dragonflies are still noticeable including lots of Common Darters and both Migrant….


And Southern Hawker...


on the lake but both species were also seen along Warlaby Lane today.

Sunday 4 September 2016

4th September

After confirmation by the local recorder the moth trapping the other night has added a further two species to the parish list, both micros...


Acleris laterana


and Acleris emargana

And this is a picture of the Twin-spotted Wainscot, another new parish species.


In the fen area of the Magic Garden I found more of the little micro moth Prochoreutis myllerana , today with at least 11 individuals present.

I assume this must be a second brood as I haven’t seen any for a few weeks. I have also tentatively identified the tiny orangey fly which is very common on the same patch of Skullcap.

I believe it’s a saw fly, Athalia scutellariae, and is specifically associated with Skullcap. This really highlights the complexity of ecological relationships, and the wider ramifications of losing any part of our biodiversity. Now I just need to identify the tiny hoverfly which also seems exclusively linked with the plant…

Talking of second broods these young Swallows have just fledged from a nest only a couple of feet from another in the doorway of the village hall.


Elsewhere Wheatears were seen in Ainderby and Morton and, a real sign of autumn coming, the first Meadow Pipits were back in the parish. On the bottom field pools there were six Snipe, a handful of Teal and another Greenshank. I managed a couple of shots but the geography of these pools does not make for good photography and I ended up lurking behind a straw bale with the camera on full zoom (in horrible light)…


Year list to end of August – 108 species.