Don’t miss out….Come on and join in the fun…..
YWT community event…
Wood pigeons, Fieldfares and geese on the move…
It was excellent at the watch point today. With over night temperatures dropping to zero Wood pigeon were on the move south with the majority passing to the east of our area. A total of 8,589 were recorded
Pink-footed geese also moved N (above) 122 with a Common Buzzard above.
Fieldfares started to arrive from the N/E and S/E mid morning many overhead and the final tally was 1,835 S/S and 232 to the north
Fungus walk with YWT…
Tuesday was a busy but enjoyable day for me. Firstly it was an early start at the Vis-mig watch point but there were not many birds moving through.
Then at 11.00 Sarah Goldsmith from Yorkshire Wildlife Trust had arranged a Fungus Walk through Raw Nook NR and Toad holes Beck with her colleague Kat Woolley (YWT)a fungus expert. Sixteen excited people attended and my job was to record how many new species Kat could find to add to our fungus list of 30. Well we had only gone a short distance before Kat found a new species a Deer Shield Fungus Pluteus cervinus. As we walked to where the paths divided a member of the group point out a large group of mushrooms…and another new species….
Glistening Inkcaps Coprinus micaceus Left
So as I was busy writing down the minimum count of 17 new species found….One of the group said to Kat ” What this tiny orange one over here” So Kat got on her knees to have a look…then suddenly with a very excited..OH! Brilliant!…I’ve never seen one before…It’s a Scarlet Caterpillarclub (Cordyceps militaris) ( below ) which is not a common fungus and we were lucky to find it.
So after searching Raw Nook NR the plan was to visit TH Beck but we were finding so many interesting fungi that we ran out of time..
However on the way back we just had enough time to view and learn about the White Saddle fungi Helvella crispa ( below
So the end of the walk was over and Kat had taken away a number of fungi for further research so more new species may be added to the list.
A big thank you to must go to Kat for her excellent knowledge and time and to Sarah for organizing this wonderful event.
Pinks are a coming…
If you have heard the sound of geese in our area in the last few days it’s not surprising…as there has been a good number of Pink-footed geese moving through to the S/E and N/W some directly over the watch point at Caldene fields. On the 14/10 I observed 786 and today 544.
Also today there was a nice surprise. As the sun shone I spotted a stunning Painted Lady butterfly which I suspect was new emerged suggesting that some of the last influx of the species have bred. Also noticed was a Red Admiral which flew S/W, a Small white and I glimpsed a small dragonfly Sp that I could not ID.
Visible migration updates…
It’s been a busy few days at the vis-mig watch point. It started on the 1/10 when following overnight rain the pond at Raw Nook NR /Caldene fields was full and attracted a female Tufted Duck. As summer migrants warblers had mostly left our area it was late Chiffchaffs that were of interest with 8 gradually moving S noted with a further 4 birds present. Two Pintails were observed flying high to the south on 5/10.
I witnessed an excellent influx of Redwings on the 8/10 arriving mainly from the N/E. Birds were observed over the fields and well to the east of the watch point and a total of 4,749 were recorded. Then on the 10/10 a bit of a surprise when a Curlew flew to the S/W. Early evening saw 130 Pink -footed Geese move N/W.
Pink-footed geese…
Today at the watch point I observed 3 skeins of Pink-footed geese coming in from the S/W and moving E through to S/E. You could clearly hear the geese calling as they flew over….Oh no a sign winter is just round the corner…
Feeling chuffed…
Yesterday I ventured out in the rain at Caldene fields to do my visible migration watch. It had rained all night and the fields were very muddy. My attention was quickly drawn to a hollow of mud on the path.
It was a hedgehog struggling on it’s back with it’s legs in the air…It must have slipped into the mud overnight and was unable to right it’s self. As soon as I went near it it curled into a ball so I picked it up and put it in the undergrowth…And I went of to do my vis-mig. However, there were no birds about due to the heavy rain. After an hour I left and went to have a look for my friend the hedgehog….By now I was soaked to the skin BUT the hedgehog had crawled away to safety…Brilliant
Bowled over at the workday…
Yesterday was our workday at Toad Holes Beck. We had two jobs to do one was forming a small gully so rain water could run down and into the drain as a public path flooded when heavy rain occurred.
The second was to address grass cuttings which have been put down on land adjacent to the path in Toad Hole Beck which leads to Dyehouse Road.
A complaint had been received by Woodlands cricket club from a member of the public who mistakenly thought the land where the grass cutting were belonged to the council when in fact it is owed by the Woodlands cricket club. So working in partnership with the cricket club we decided to firstly form a ‘Dead hedge ‘which would stop any possible cutting encroaching onto the path.
We then did a first phrase clearing of vegetation with a view to planting wildlife friendly shrubs in front of the ‘Dead hedge ‘to form a screen. Then in the future the area will be under planted with bulbs and wildflowers.
Migrant Hawkers influx…
Yesterday due to the lovely autumn sunshine I thought I would survey the dragonflies at Toad holes Beck. As I was walking opposite the middle pond I noticed a blueish dragonfly. I first thought Oh! an Emperor but it looked a bit small for that species. Anyway it got away from me and I went to the fisherman’s pond. And found another 2 of these dragonflies along with 2 Brown Hawker dragonflies feeding over the pond.
I took a record shot of the dragonfly and realised they were in fact Migrant Hawker dragonflies. I returned to the middle pond and got a better view of the dragonflies I had missed and found a further 2 Migrant dragonflies. Normally I get around one record a year of this species so to have 4 is very good
Dark Chestnut…
This morning I had my first ever Dark Chestnut moth in the light box at Caldene fields bringing the total of moth species recorded in our 3 areas to 338.
On the vis-mig front the first Song Thrush of the autumn came in from the N today and flew S/W. There was a small number of Goldfinches and Meadow Pipits on the move but not in great numbers. Three Chiffchaffs were at the watch point.
