9th October

The first Fieldfares were back in the parish today, a flock of around 20 birds in the top fields. This is a good week earlier than last year. There definitely seemed to be birds on the move today. Good numbers of Skylarks were passing over, Meadow Pipit numbers had markedly increased..

And the first Corn Buntings for a couple of months dropped in to the top fields (along with small numbers of Reed Buntings and Yellowhammers).

Up to 30 Pied Wagtails fed in the newly ploughed fields here and three Grey Wagtails were in the marshy ground of the bottom fields…

A small group of Siskin flew over the Magic Garden and there were still two Chiffchaff singing in here. Most surprising find was this rather tame Wigeon on the tiny cattle pond in the bottom fields...

And finally, continuing my painfully slow progress on identifying insects, this striking creature which fell on my son’s head last night is a Hawthorn Shield Bug!

8th October

The first Redwings were back in the village today just a day earlier than last year.

Yesterday evening there were around ten Chiffchaffs in the Magic Garden, all in the same small patch of willow and willowherb. They weren’t there the day before so I assume must be migrants. Surely there’s got to be a stray Yellow-browed Warbler in there somewhere after record numbers on the Yorkshire coast?!

A Jay was back in the Magic Garden, the first I’ve seen since April. I don’t think I’ve missed birds through the summer so it would be interesting to know where these wintering birds come from. Similarly there have been a couple of Nuthatches in the Garden in the last couple of days, are these local movements from elsewhere in the parish or from further afield?

Last weekend’s highlight was a fine skein of around 60 Pinkfooted Geese which came in over the village and flew due south over the Bottom Fields.

Pinkfeet are probably annual migrants over the parish but actually spotting them depends on wind direction (they often pass to the west of the parish) and, critically, being in the right place at the right time. Another new bird for the year and pushes the list up to 112, already equalling the number of species seen in 2015. 

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?

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.

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.

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.

29th August

We set the moth traps in the Magic Garden last night not with any great expectation as it was forecast to be clear and cool. The misty conditions this morning didn’t add to the optimism…

But in the end it was a relatively small but interesting catch with 41 species including six first parish records (plus a couple more to be confirmed). The new ones included half a dozen of these brilliant Feathered Gothics (showing the feathered antennae that give it its name)…

Plus Sallow…

Oak Hook Tip…

Small Phoenix, Twin-spotted Wainscot and Pale Mottled Willow.

It was only the second record too of Canary-shouldered Thorn…

Dragonflies were noticeable again around the lake with three species of hawker, mating Blue-tailed Damselflies and a number of Common Darter…

Bird wise it was fairly quiet although at least two Sedge Warblers were still present , around 25 Mistle Thrushes descended on the Magic Garden and a flock of 50+ House Martins were feeding high over the lake.

Yesterday there was Greeenshank and Common Sandpiper on the river, Andy Johnston found a Wheatear at Morton and six Wigeon were on the flood pools. These were my first summer record in the village.

27th August

Early morning in the Magic Garden and there were signs of movement with at least half a dozen Blackcaps ‘takking’ away and lots of Chiffchaffs in the scrub. This little boggy area was particularly attractive…

Standing here I saw Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Garden Warbler and at least three Sedge Warblers. The most I’ve seen together in the village.

I also saw my first Common Darters of the year here and Brown, Migrant and Southern Hawkers.

On the flood pools in the bottom field the recent rain had topped them up and as well as the obligatory Green Sandpipers (which have been seen every day since late June) there were two Greenshank. Unfortunately this was the best shot I managed for this exceptionally nervous bird.

Last night I walked along the river, it was very quiet but I did find a young Coot, a rare bird in the parish and my 108^th species of the year. 

21st August

I have been away on a family holiday in Norfolk hence no posts for the last fortnight. As usual Norfolk effortlessly produced memorable wildlife moments - Twenty Spoonbills on Titchwell marsh, a big arrival of Pied Flycatchers including one that flew in off the sea and landed next to us on the beach at Cley, scores of Chalkhill Blues fluttering along the ditches of Warham iron age fort, three Cranes circling over the evocative remains of St Benet’s abbey…I could go on!

So I woke this morning a little gloomy that I would be restricted to the rather more mundane environment of Ainderby but a text from Chris Knight that he had seen two Whinchat in Morton was a considerable fillip.

As I walked to the muck heap fields I spotted this young Little Owl perched by the railway line…

There were lots of common warblers around and also reasonable numbers of butterflies including a couple of dozen Wall browns, my first parish records this year.

Chris was here but unfortunately the chats had flown off but as we were talking we spotted a superb Osprey over the river. It was soon mobbed at first by gulls and then by a Sparrowhawk. Unfortunately this was the best picture I managed…

I later got a brief glimpse of one of the Whinchats but in looking for them we stumbled across a great little corner with crab apple and hawthorn bushes that was packed with birds including lots of finches, a couple of Whitethroats and a good dozen phylloscopus warblers…

On the waterworks here there were five Grey Wagtails, a record count for the parish.

As I walked back through Morton I spotted the Osprey again circling over the village before rapidly climbing out of sight. An Osprey was seen at Nosterfield later this morning, I wonder if it’s the same bird? 

4th August

A few signs of birds on the move this week. A colleague rang me to say she had just seen two Sandwich Terns flying over the town library but the best parish records were two sightings of Hobby, on one occasion scything through a mixed flock of around 100 hirundines.   

On the little remnant flood pools in the bottom fields there has been a turnover of birds. Up to three Green Sandpipers have been present all week (and indeed virtually daily from late June) notwithstanding the regular disturbance from people walking along the path. Despite this I still haven’t managed a creditable picture yet!

Disappointingly, other waders, with the exception of Snipe and Lapwing, have not been attracted yet. Other than this appalling photograph of an unidentified wader photographed at extreme distance. Unfortunately it was flushed by a dog walker before I could get closer. Any thoughts welcome!

There was also this small (presumably young male) Curlew which had a brief passing resemblance to Whimbrel at distance.

Around 50 Black-headed and the odd Common Gull have been regularly seen on there together with young Pied and Yellow wagtails, small groups of Teal and a family party of four Shelduck.

The other day, In next door’s garden, this Dunnock was behaving strangely. I thought it may have been ‘anting’ but there don’t appear to be ants on the bird so it is presumably sunning itself.

Dunnocks, unlike many birds that sunbathe by spreading both their wings, typically do this by lying on their side and raising one wing at a time. It later turned round and did the same with the other wing. There have been various theories as to why they do this from UV light destroying parasites, the production of Vitamin D, that it aids the spread of preen oil or direct improvement of feathers through sunlight. After a few moments it shook itself and was back to a recognisable Dunnock