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Good News from THB..

A bit of good news from Toad Holes Beck in the form of a Lesser Whitethroat a fairly uncommon bird in the Bradford area.

A male has been in full song at the site since the 5/5. This is interesting as usually a male in spring tends to spend only a couple of days trying to attract a mate before moving on.

The species bred at THB annually about twenty years ago but nothing since. Fingers crossed!

Some more good news came from the site today when I found a Brown Silver-line moth ( A fairly common moth) which is a new species for the site

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Great News from Raw Nook LNR..

Can now confirm that a pair of Tree Creepers have bred at Raw Nook LNR.

On the 1/5 I saw an adult collecting food as it climbed up a nearby tree.

When it had a beak full it flew off to an area which is really suitable for the species breeding requirements.

This is the first time to my knowledge that the species as bred at the reserve, which is great news.

Migrants have been slow to come in. However, Lesser Whitethroats have been passing through with a single on the 1/5 at Caldene fields, 1 was at Toad Holes Beck on the 2/5 and another single sang there on the 5/5. A Sedge Warble sang briefly at the very bottom of Toad Holes Beck on the 6/5.

Two Common Whitethroats were at Low Moor Banks on the 28/4

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Future Conservationist !

On Saturday we had our groups workday.

Readers may be aware that at Toad Holes Beck there is a wonderful large bank of Primroses. However, in Raw Nook LNR there is just a small patch of these valuable spring plants which are a good source of nectar for early pollinators.

So we carefully collected plants from TH Beck and brought them to R Nook so we could establish them in different areas of the site.

However, when arrived at RN armed with 3 buckets full of plants we bumped into a father and his little son Noah. Now young Noah loves nature and was looking for Tadpoles and bees. I explained to Noah and his dad what we were doing and asked if Noah would be interested in planting some plants to help the Bees.

He jumped into action and must have planted about 10 plants!

The good thing is Noah and his dad live nearby and now really want to get involved in helping THEIR wonderful environment !

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Free Accommodation!

You may recall we had to cut some saplings and young trees down in Raw Nook LNR to allow more light into the undergrowth.

Well I had some time this week and with the logs that were left I recut some and formed a log pile, with a some EXTRA”S! at the site.

The pile which faces S/E will be warm in summer and is a metre high so I have drilled a number of different sized holes to TRY..and attract Solitary bees to nest..fingers crossed.

Also I created a void underneath the log pile (below) so amphibians can hibernate in the winter.

At the end of the day the wood has been recycled into …Free Accommodation for our wildlife!

Also

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Spring Sightings…

Despite the constant heavy rain we have had some southerly warmer winds that no doubt assisted some early migrants to arrive.

A Blackcap was noted in full song at Toad Holes Beck on the 6/4 followed by a single Willow Warbler at Raw Nook LNR on the 8/4

The large party of Siskin at T H Beck has reduced to 16 feeding birds suggesting birds are now starting to disperse to breed.

Spring moths have been in short supply probably due adverse spring weather.

Although I had a nice surprise when I looked at the moth trap on 7/4.

I found a Acleris cristana on the side of the trap.

This moth ( A site first) is certainly not a common moth in the Bradford/Yorkshire area.

One of the main shrubs the larva feeds on is Blackthorn, which can be found at both Caldene fields and Toad Holes Beck so fingers crossed the moth becomes established in our recording area.

Oh! Nearly forgot a Brimstone butterfly was at Caldene fields on the 31/3

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Work day Surprises!

On Saturday our conservation group had our monthly work day at Raw Nook LNR.

You may recall we had earlier cut down some large saplings to enhance the breeding opportunities for ground nesting birds.

So with the cut down wood Richard and Bill set to work to create a dead hedge which would provide nesting habitats for Thrushes, Dunnocks and Wrens etc and top marks as the finished hedge was Brill!

A good number of logs were also created so I thought of a log pile with an additional bee hotel which will be beneficial for not only our Bees but other invertebrates.

So a suitable site has now been found so…Watch this space!

I found a Long Tailed Tit’s nest which we all observed from a distance and Peacock butterfly enjoyed the sunshine.

However, there was some bad news!

Once again we filled two bags with litter and even more sad was the number of Poo Bags which were discarded by irresponsible so called dog owner!

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It’s Official, Spring is here!

The first spring migrants, Chiffchaffs are back in our area!

On the 19/3 I visited Low Moor Banks and found a single male Chiffchaffs in song. I then went to Toad Holes Beck and found a further 3 birds. Raw Nook LNR also held 2 singing birds with Caldene fields having a probable passage bird on the following day.

We did some tree pruning at Raw Nook LNR on the 21/3 and just as we were finishing I glimpsed a nearby Tree Creeper which was great. But on the next tree was another TC which looked alot cleaner and smarter and I took this bird to possible be the male. Both birds then flew off together which is excellent news.

If they find a nest site it would be a new breeding record for the reserve.

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Important conservation work!

Relating to my last blog ‘ Helping the Warblers’ to find suitable nesting habitat at Raw Nook LNR I have arranged for a retired experienced landscaper to carry out some conservation work at 10 am on Thursday 21/3.

The aim is to reduce some of the Silver Birch mature saplings that are spreading and blocking light to the canopy floor which in turn is reducing nesting opportunities for birds like the Chiffchaff and Willow Warblers limiting any wild flowers to grow.

Mature trees will not be cut only not mature saplings and this will be carried out using a chain saw.

The area will be checked for any early nests and if there is any hint of one found the work will not be carried out.

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Helping the Warblers…

Over the years I have noticed that ground nesting warblers like the Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs have been looking at territories in spring at Raw Nook LNR but few have actually bred.

One of the reasons for this is Bramble that has encroached into their favourite nesting areas within the site. So on Saturday it was our groups conservation morning and we all set about clearing the dense Bramble and cutting down some small saplings to let more light into the area. It was hard work! but worth it as we all hoped that when the males arrived back in spring they should find a more suitable nesting habitat.

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Scarlet elf cup bonanza

At the moment Raw Nook LNR is full of the beautiful Scarlet Elf cup fungi. The fungus like damp habitats and with all the recent rain I think the species is having a bumper time!

Interestingly I visited nearby Toad Holes Beck and found only a few mainly by the large pond. The resident Tree Creeper was also observed in the same area.

Also at the site were the winter flock of feeding Siskin (around 40).

PLEASE NOTE: Toad Holes Beck is slightly flooded and the paths are slippy

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