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Visible migration starts…

I’m sad to say it but early autumn is on it’s way..

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And here’s the proof..an Autumnal Rustic found at Caldene Fields last night.  But early autumn is a welcome time for me as it is the start of my visible migration observations from Caldene Fields and this morning 138 Meadow Pipits flew mainly to the south with a few moving to the west. Goldfinches seem to be moving early this year with counts of 87 on the 10th and a further 63 this morning which are reasonable counts for this time of the year.  Two Common buzzards drifted to the west.

 

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New Ladybird species added to our list…

Found a 22-Spot Ladybird yesterday at Caldene Fields which is a new addition to my Ladybird species list.  I am unsure of it’s status in our recording area at the moment this is due to how difficult it is to find due to it’s tiny size.

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If anyone does find one in our recording area please let me know. Thank you.

Also of interest was finding another Heath Rustic moth again at Caldene Fields on 18/8

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The reason is that this species of moth is associated with heathland and moorland and Raw Nook Nr which has a lowland heath habitat is adjacent to where the moth was caught.  In addition the moth shows little signs of wear and it’ the 4th moth iv’e caught which strongly suggests the species may be breeding…and the site it’s just 3 miles from Bradford City centre!

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Dare I mention Autumn…

Yes..sorry about this but I picked up an early sign of autumn this morning at Caldene Fields. I saw 5 Willow Warbler and a juvenile Common Whitethroat feeding in bushes.  These are birds (mainly juveniles) that are starting to leave their breeding areas and are feeding up in preparation for autumn migration.

I the coming weeks keep an eye out in your gardens as birds like Chiffchaffs, Willow Warbler Blackcaps etc start to feed up to gain weight.

Any interesting local sightings please let me know.

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Butterfly walk reveals an unusual butterfly…

I went on a butterfly walk this afternoon at Raw Nook NR.  As expected the numbers of all species were down however, I managed to find 10 different species but all in low numbers.

On the negative side I failed to find a single Small Tortoishell and Meadow Browns and Small White number were well down on what they should be at this time of the year.  Only A single Common Blue male was observed which is worrying for the species.

Other species observed were Ringlet, Small & Large Skipper, Red Admiral, Large White, Speckled Wood and Gatekeeper.

Now for the positive…I was surveying the meadow area when I saw 2 Gatekeepers chasing each other but one was ‘ aberrations ‘ as below.  At this stage I am not sure which aberration this one belongs to but I will update when I have further information.  But at the end of the day a good find and something I have never seen before..

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Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus

Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus

 

 

 

 

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Increase in moths and butterflies…

At last we are enjoying some warm sunshine and there has been a marked increase in moths and butterflies in our area. However, numbers are still down on previous years

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First sighting yesterday of a Gatekeeper at Raw Nook NR. Also at the site were a minimum count of 22 Ringlet, 7 Meadow Brown and 5 Small white butterflies.

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Narrow-bordered Five-spot burnet moths at Raw Nook NR.  A red-barred Tortrix moth identified on the 21/7/16 at Caldene Fields brought my moth total to 248 for our recording area.

A Red Kite flew west over Tong on 20/7.

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Recent sightings…

A single male Common Blue butterfly was found at Raw Nook NR today which is poor for this time of the year.

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Can confirm that a pair of Linnets have successfully bred in our area juveniles on 10/7

26 Ringlet, 9 Meadow Brown butterflies, 17 Staw Dot and 2 Narrow-bordered Five spot Burnet moths seen at Raw Nook on 13/7.  A Blackneck moth was caught at Caldene Fields on 11/7 a site first.  I found a new Hoverfly for our area a Chrysotoxum festivum in and amongst IMG_1677the heather at Raw Nook Nr on the 30/6. This species is expanding it’s range north.

 

 

 

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Orchid walk turns up more surprises…

Yesterday I took other members of the Low Moor & Oakenshaw conservation Group to look at the Bee Orchids at the Dealburn Road Woodland site at Low Moor.  The walk started off really well one the rain stop and secondly Clare our chairperson showed me a plant which she had seen earlier and thought it was another Orchid..She was right another lovely Southern Marsh Orchid!.

When we got to the Bee Orchid site my heart fell as the Orchids appeared to have completed their life cycle and had gone… But I did manage to find a well eaten and somewhat bedraggled specimen that was still in flower… so relief as the group enjoyed this excellent Orchid.

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Members of the group at the Bee Orchid site ( Southern Marsh Orchid in the background)

But as I looked away from the original site BINGO… I found a further 2 plants but these were in excellent condition..giving a total of 8 Bee Orchids found at the site.

But the good news didn’t stop there…As we walked away from the area Clare shouted Iv’e found another Marsh Orchid..

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however, a closer look revealed it to be a Common Spotted Orchid a new plant for the site..

So it was a good enjoyable walk with plenty to see and Oh! Clare received a new name ‘ The Orchid Finder’…

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The good news just keeps coming…

Following the discovery of the Bee Orchids I thought I had just about calmed down…but there was more good news for our local area with 5 Southern Marsh Orchids appearing at Toad holes Beck at the usual site left of the footpath going towards the bridge.

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The I found a stunning Emperor dragonfly at Raw Nook Nr followed by 3 new Moths pushing the total recorded to 240.

A Red Kite was seen by Phil near the Chain Bar roundabout

The first Small Copper and Meadow Browns butterflies were recorded at Raw Nook Nr.

And just to cap off an exciting few days I have to share with you a moment of panic I had.  Just at the point when I found the Bee Orchids I was on my hands and knees when a ‘ wader ‘ flew low overhead..thankfully it was calling… an excellent Black tailed Godwit…

 

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I’ve been ‘Buzzing’ all day…

Today I went to a site in Low Moor to look at a Southern Marsh Orchid found by Joan Dobson of the Bradford Urban Wildlife group.

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But as I was taking some photographs of the Orchid a nearby plant caught my eye as it gently swayed in the breeze. Strange I thought…it looks a bit like a member of the Orchid family…in fact it looks like a ‘ BEE ORCHID’…  But there was more good news as I looked around I found a further 5 plants!

This is excellent news of the Low Moor area.

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