CallumMac

[Wurzel]

Lovely fresh Copper Callum and here is definitely something different with those wing markings; they seem quite minimal and then there's the 'splodge'

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[CallumMac]

Thanks all. I did think that one looked a little unusual.

Is there a third brood out now at Calley Heath do you know?

There certainly has been a third brood out at Calley, and since they're still flying on Walmgate Stray I guess they might still be out at Calley. I haven't been in for a couple of weeks though.

[David M]

More lovely Coppers to delight us, Callum! I don’t recall such numbers at any time of year (aside from at Hoggers’ patch at Dungeness, of course). Hopefully this is a trend that will continue.

[CallumMac]

17/11/2018 - Donna Nook
or; "And now for something completely different"

Over a month since I last posted in my PD, and only one butterfly spotted in that time - a Red Admiral very briefly in the garden. I thought I would break the silence to relay my experience from the weekend as, even though there were no butterflies, it was still a remarkable wildlife experience.

On Saturday we headed to Donna Nook, a Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust reserve that spends 11 months of the year as a little-frequented and barren strip of coastline on the southern bank of the mouth of the Humber. However, every November it comes alive with one of the largest colonies of Grey Seals in the country coming ashore to pup. The count on Friday was 1058 cows, 943 pups; and it appeared that many more pups had arrived overnight.

I make this post as a curiosity. I've never seen so many members of the general public (i.e. people who are very clearly not in a regular habit of visiting nature reserves) travelling to such a remote location, on a chilly winter's day, to see wild animals. I suppose it shows the power of a well-publicised natural spectacle.

[David M]

That is quite some spectacle, Callum. Not surprising that so many people made the journey to see the seal pups...those numbers are amazing. I can't imagine being amongst 2,000 or so of these creatures.

[Goldie M]

What lovely shots Callum, I'd love to have seen them, Goldie

[Maximus]

Nice shots of the Grey Seals, Callum, it must have been quite a sight to see them in such numbers. I've read that despite their numbers dropping to about 500 in the early 20th century, it's estimated that there are now more than 120,000 grey seals in Britain, representing 40% of the world's population, amazing.

Mike.

[PhilBJohnson]

Hello Callum,
Thank you for speaking at the Butterfly Conservation members day recently in Nottingham.
I took some notes regarding your talk.
I thought that some of those white flowers under street lamps, that were more frequently pollinated, were more obviously seen by moths there because of white's reflective qualities. (a moonlit or mute point possibly, for the future).
Some plants are grown indoors (particularly in aquariums) with grow lamps (the better lights for photosynthesis).
If you did relate that to different types of street lighting, I might not have been paying attention (sorry).
Are different moth species attracted more to different lamp types than others?
#moth trap.
Just south of you in Yorkshire are the Lincolnshire Wolds (LW),(which are chalk, so possibly much different from the Yorkshire Wolds). I once lived much closer to the north and South Chalk downs, where chalk grassland species such as Marbled White, Chalkhill Blue and Adonis Blue were locally numerous.
In Lincolnshire, I thought that there was an opportunity for Chalk Grassland Habitat Restoration on the LW. I thought that some Blue species, also depended on species of ant as well as larval food plant.
I think that it is worth a future investigation,

Kind Regards

[CallumMac]

Thanks for some interesting questions, Phil!

I thought that some of those white flowers under street lamps, that were more frequently pollinated, were more obviously seen by moths there because of white's reflective qualities. (a moonlit or mute point possibly, for the future).

That is certainly one of our top hypotheses for the observed pattern. SImilarly, the White Campion plants tended to be taller than the surrounding sward, which may also have helped them to stand out.

Some plants are grown indoors (particularly in aquariums) with grow lamps (the better lights for photosynthesis).

We did wonder about this but it's unlikely to have had an impact in our study, because the White Campion plants were only under the street lighting treatments for four days each whilst being pollinated, but were all in the same greenhouse under the same conditions beforehand (when growing) and afterwards (when setting seed).

Are different moth species attracted more to different lamp types than others?

Yes. Off the top of my head, from the most abundant families, the Erebidae are most strongly attracted to light, and prefer light right at the blue/ultraviolet end of the spectrum (i.e. LED lamps). Noctuidae are slightly less strongly attracted but also prefer blue/UV. Geometridae are less strongly attracted still, and may have more of a preference for longer blue/green wavelengths. But this has not been very solidly established yet.

Just south of you in Yorkshire are the Lincolnshire Wolds (LW),(which are chalk, so possibly much different from the Yorkshire Wolds). I once lived much closer to the north and South Chalk downs, where chalk grassland species such as Marbled White, Chalkhill Blue and Adonis Blue were locally numerous.
In Lincolnshire, I thought that there was an opportunity for Chalk Grassland Habitat Restoration on the LW. I thought that some Blue species, also depended on species of ant as well as larval food plant.

I've had the same thought in parts of the Yorkshire Wolds (which are also chalk!). We still have Marbled White in quite a few places, and Brown Argus breeding on Rock-rose. I can certainly picture those Blues present, especially under future climate change, though they wouldn't get there without assistance, I suspect.

[CallumMac]

10/02/2019 - RSPB St Aidans

Another break from the winter silence to relay another remarkable wildlife experience. There has, for the last three weeks, been a male Bearded Tit foraging in full view along the edge of a footpath at the RSPB St Aidans reserve near Leeds, completely unflustered by the passing traffic of cyclists, dog-walkers and photographers. It must be the most-photographed organism in Yorkshire at the moment! I went along on Sunday to see what all the fuss was about.

There is something quite astonishing about finding oneself so close to a Schedule 1 rare bird that it is worth switching from telephoto to macro lens! This amazingly calm individual was foraging for seeds and aquatic insect larvae up and down a stretch of 200m or so where the footpath runs atop a narrow bund between two lakes. By observing some of the other photographers present, I established that although the tit was not entirely prepared to allow anybody to walk right up to it, if you positioned yourself roughly in its foraging route, it would happily approach to as little as a metre's distance.

After a full two hours spent with the bird, the freezing wind finally broke me and I headed for home, and a well-deserved hot chocolate!

[Wurzel]

Excellent shots of the Bearded Tit/Reddling/Babbler Callum it's been years since I've seen them - as you said definitely worth switching lenses for I've never seen one down on the deck before

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Amazing shots, Callum. Normally, these birds are hidden away in the reeds. I've never seen one display itself so openly.

[CallumMac]

Thank you both

I've never seen one down on the deck before

I've never seen one display itself so openly.

Nor have I! I suspect that foraging on the ground is quite normal behaviour for this species when it is windy (which it was, last Sunday - extremely!). But we just don't see it because usually it happens somewhere in the middle of the reedbed, rather than right beside a busy footpath!

A couple more nice encounters with birds to report from the last week -

14/02/2019 - North Cave Wetlands

...a Goldcrest that approached even closer than the Bearded Tit had!

16/02/2019 - Tophill Low

...a beautiful Barn Owl in the evening sunshine.

However, it appears that several people saw Peacocks, Small Tortoiseshells and Brimstones in various parts of East Yorks yesterday, and I hope to be lucky soon - there's only so long that you can plug the butterfly-shaped hole with these feathery things!

[Wurzel]

That evening glow Barn Owl is a stunner Callum but I know what you mean about finding the first butterfly of the year, can't be long now

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Beautiful pair of images, Callum. We get goldcrests around our workplace but they're so fidgety that photographing them must be highly tricky.

As for butterflies, you should only have to wait till the end of this week as it looks as though we're again going to be up in the low to mid teens as far as temperatures are concerned.

[bugboy]

Fantastic Beardy encounter, I've never seen one so . Good effort with the Goldcrest too, as David says, fidgity little buggers!

[Neil Freeman]

...Fantastic Beardy encounter, I've never seen one...

Me neither, great photos

I have had a Goldcrest hanging around the garden for the past couple of weeks but so far it has eluded my efforts to get a photo.

And I love that Barn Owl in the evening sun, lovely image

Cheers,

Neil.

[CallumMac]

Thank you all. The Barn Owl was a real delight - one of those species that I often look for but rarely see. "Fidgety little bugger" just about sums up that Goldcrest! Lucky to have good back-lighting for both photos.

[CallumMac]

25/02/2019 - Walmgate Stray

As it turned out, I didn't have very long to wait! I made several attempts over the weekend to track down some butterflies, but to no avail. However, with the glorious weather continuing today, I popped out for half an hour on Walmgate Stray after lunch. One of the features of the Stray is a 3m-high south-facing brick wall forming the boundary of The Retreat (a mental health facility dating back to the late 18th century). Walking along this wall, I noticed that there were many more flowers blooming here than on the wider Stray - probably a sign that the warmth captured by the wall was creating a warmer microclimate in this spot? And it was walking back down the wall that I finally spotted my first butterfly of the spring, a Small Tortoiseshell. As I followed it, it was joined by two more, and I was able to get a few photos of them basking on the wall and nectaring on some of the available flowers.

A nice start to the butterflying year - let's hope we don't get a cold snap now!

[bugboy]

Great shots, love the one on the blue wall, wonderfully contrasting colours