June 2026

Having breakfast on Sunday, I heard a bit of a commotion and then a fine Red Kite drifted low over the garden being half-heartedly mobbed by the village Rooks. Although kites remain scarce in this area they are well established in North Yorkshire now, so this was a not unexpected, but very welcome, addition to my garden list.

Other new species for the year in June included at least one Cuckoo heard calling by the river on 14th and then it (or other ones) were heard near Warlaby and along Greenhills Lane later in the month.  Depressingly, that’s the best showing for about the last 20 years!

The other addition to the year list was a Sedge Warbler singing in the Bottom Fields for at least the last week of June.

I’m not sure what this bird would be, a failed breeder re-establishing a new territory or an early migrant taking up temporary residence? Either way, it was nice to see a former nesting species back in the village.

Talking of former breeding species. June marked the 80^th anniversary of the Yorkshire Naturalist’s Union excursion to Ainderby. The report from that trip makes interesting, if slightly depressing, reading with a picture of a much more diverse landscape with, in particular, a really interesting flora. It also detailed at least 13 species of birds breeding in the parish then that no longer do so.

Away from birds it’s been a good year for Hummingbird Hawk-moths with two in our garden and at least a half dozen reports elsewhere in the parish.

The moth highlight for me, though, was finding around 25 Chimneysweepers in one of the Bottom Fields…

This field has had no grazing this year but I’m amazed how quickly they have moved in (and from where?) as I have never seen the species in the village before. In fact, the last record was the 1946 YNU visit mentioned above.

It’s good to have a second moth-er in the parish too with Peter now trapping regularly at Warlaby. Between us we have already added 19 species to the Parish list.

Highlights included V-moth, now a rare species in Yorkshire…

And in the same trap my first V-pug…

and perhaps surprisingly my first village White Plume..

Butterfly numbers don’t seem to be quite up to the exceptional levels of last year but Meadow Brown’s, in particular, seem to be having a very good year and there were reasonable numbers of Large Skippers along the How Beck...

The only dragonflies of note were two Broad-bodied Chasers although this Emperor dragonfly exuvia was pretty impressive!

I’ll finish with this cracking Golden-bloomed Longhorn beetle I photographed near the railway, it wouldn’t look out of place in the Amazon!