Firstly I counted at least 6 Green-veined white butterflies( opposite) this morning at Toad Holes Beck which is great news as last year there were hardly any sightings.
Also at the site on the 23rd was a passage Common Whitethroat.
A trip today to Low Moor Banks (Dealburn Rd) revealed a further single male Common Whitethroat in song and some good news was a Lesser Whitethroat in song from suitable nesting habitat.
Also at the site was a stunning low flying Red Kite (a site first) which was been harassed by a Carrion Crow.
We remember with affection when Yorkshire Wildlife Trust worked with our conservation group in managing the bio-diversity in our nature areas in Low Moor & Oakenshaw.
I also remember when Peter Gurney from the trust stated ” Shall we erect some Bat and Bird boxes on site? ”
Brilliant was my reply…
Well one of the boxes was for Stock Doves. Thankfully we have about 8 of the species that feed at Caldene fields.
I have kept an eye on this nesting box over the years with no sign of the doves nesting.
Well that was until today! The bird at this stage may be investigating the box but I’m hoping that a pair breeds which will be great news for our area!
Whilst walking in Toad Holes Beck the other day I noticed by the fisherman’s pond a different looking species of Dock.
I examined it closely and it was a Water Dock – Rumex hydrolapathum which surprisingly has never been recorded before.
There were about 5 plants in the area so it seems to be doing well in the damp soil by the waters edge.
I then went to look for any early Bee activity during the sunny weather on the path at the top end of Raw Nook LNR.
I saw a mining bee coming out of a nest hole in the ground and assumed that it was a Lathbury’s nomad bee which breeds in the area and I even put down in my records as that species.
However, I was wrong it was a Tawny mining bee!
However, it is still a good record as I can strongly suggest that the species is breeding at that location which is good for the reserve.
As of yesterday there is still no frog spawn in my garden pond or at at Raw Nook LNR, which is concerning. There is still a very slim chance but it’s not looking good. There is a Grey Heron that visits the pond at Raw Nook LNR on a daily basis which may have affected the frog population at this location.
On a better note the Primroses at Toad Holes Beck at possibly at their best now so worth a visit…
There is at least 4 male Chiffchaffs in our area at the moment and just outside at East Bierley on the 28/3 a stunning Red Kite was patrolling the top of Cliff Hollings Rd
Spring butterflies are starting to show with a lovely male Brimstone at Caldene fields on 20/3
Today I went looking for signs of early spring on our local patch.
You may remember we have an excellent large bank of native Primrose (Primula vulgaris) at Toad Holes Beck. So our conservation group thought if we took a few plants from TH Beck we could try to establish them at Raw Nook LNR.
So one Saturday morning with buckets at the ready we carried about 20 plants to nearby Raw Nook.
We planted them mainly on the western side of the site and today I found 17 healthy plants, which is great news!
So keep a look out at the site for the Primroses and even better check out the sloping bank at the bottom of TH Beck near to the wooden THB sign.
On the 26th of June I used a pheromone trap to try and catch a rare moth in Yorkshire Grapholita lobarzewskii in fact it’s UK status is: A scarce and local species, with relatively few records in Britain.
I thought the chances would be -1000+ but you can always dream!
Well unbelievably the trap which hold the scent of a female Grapholita lobarzewskii worked and I caught a male!
Given the rarity of the moth I knew that the Yorkshire Moths recorders would want more details and photographs to back up my claim
Grapholita lobarzewskii
Thankfully after much debate and emails to the top micro moth recorders in Yorkshire the moth has been accepted as Grapholita lobarzewskii which is brilliant news for our recording area!
I suspect that with the use of this pheromone trap for the species probably more records will start to appear.
I recently received an email from Chris who lives in Oakenshaw.
On the 1/12 he was in his garden when he saw a Raven flying over his house. Thankfully he took a good description and recorded it’s call, as the Raven can be confused with the Carrion Crow which is common in the Oakenshaw area.
The Raven is uncommon in urban areas so it is no surprise that this is the first know sighting I am aware of in the Oakenshaw/Low Moor area.
Thank you Chris.
On another note I spoke to Luke Tetley at Tiffin’s Sandwiches recently and he told me that the project to enhance the land they bought next to Toad Holes Beck for nature is still on target but they are just waiting for some further bio-diversity information to come in, which is excellent and encouraging news!
On the 19th of October it was our annual Raw Nook LNR Fungi walk lead by the excellent Kat Woolly of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and the weather created ideal conditions.
After Kat had explained about the walk itinerary I talked about the site and how great it would be to find some new species for the reserve.
So with motivations running high we set off into the meadow to see what we could find.
It wasn’t long before Kat was running here there and everywhere with cry’s of ‘What’s this ?’ and species like Poison Pie Hebeloma crustuliniforme, and the lovely Snowy Waxcaps Cuphophyllus virgineus were found in abundance.
It was in the meadow that the first new species Crystal Brain Fungus Exidia nucleata was found on a rotting log.
Blackening Waxcaps (opposite) appeared to be doing very well as a good number were found.
Has Kat explained to her enthusiastic audience about how to identify certain species… another interesting fungi was found.
OH! that’s exciting stated Kat…A Parrot Waxcap Gliophorus psittacinus had been found at the edge of the meadow and I knew immediately that this was the second new species of the day for the reserve.
We then started to move into the wooded area finding more and more species like the lovely Rosy Bonnet Mycena rosea and plenty of Brown Rollrim Paxillus involutus.
With all the excitement we had nearly forgotten about lunch!
So we stopped at the pond for something to eat but some people (including myself ) were still looking for fungi. This is when the one of the fungi with a strange names turned up The Jelly Baby Leotia lubrica (oppostite)
After a fungi searching lunch we headed to the top of Raw Nook LNR with it’s heather, Oak trees and grassed habitat to look for any further Waxcaps.
It was in this area the third new species was found the Frosty Wacap Cortinarius hemitrichus.
What was really interesting in this area was the large amount of Amethyst Deceiver Laccaria amethystina (Opposite) that were found…they appeared to be under ever Oak Tree!
Then as the walk started to come to an end it was a time to reflect.
It was brilliant to see the enjoyment people had experienced and heartening to know that people had travelled not only from all parts of Bradford but even Holmefirth!
I have now collated my figures and imputed all the data, 38 different species were identified of which 3 new species were added to the reserve Fungi List.
A number of fungi species were taken away by Kat for further detailed analysis. When I receive that information I will update.
The current total of species recorded mainly at Raw Nook LNR but including Toad Holes Beck and Caldene fields now stands at 130.
MAY I TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO THANK KAT AND EVERYONE ELSE FOR THE THREE NEW SPECIES THAT WERE FOUND.
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