This was our group's first ever visit to this ancient woodland which lies to the east of the village of Biggin. Three of us did do a recce back in early 2020 when the plan was to go in early June of that year to see the Argent & Sable Moth, at its only Yorkshire site, but sadly Covid ruined our plans. The site is quite extensive & is bordered to the west by a main railway line & to the south by a busy road. It is very flat with some wide rides so walking this woodland is as easy as it gets.
The forecast was for sunshine & showers so we were all prepared for some rain & though it often threatened it never arrived !
Four of us departed from Culture Fusion, then collected Margaret & Dania from the Unitarian Church & at Low Moor the remaining three joined us. Travelling to & from the site via the M62 was without problems. That made a pleasant change. After a toilet stop at Ferrybridge SS we arrived on site shortly before 11am. Our main target, the Silver-Washed Fritillary butterfly put in an immediate appearance as we were alighting from the minibus. Although we hadn't parked far from the main ride, it took the group the best part of an hour to get there!
This is the best part of the woodland as it is a hard track, wide & with lots of botanical interest on either side. We were lucky that the sun was now out & so were the butterflies. There was a veritable flotilla of Silver-Washed Frits. These are the largest species of fritillary in the UK & were unknown in Yorkshire until comparitively recently. Bishop Wood is their main stronghold & in recent years the population has been expanding into the surrounding areas such as Bramham, Thorne Moors, Brockadale etc. Many of us were trying our best to photograph them but they are a tantalising insect, often remaining high on the brambles behind a welter of awkward vegetation. They seemingly only nectar on purple plants, predominantly Spear Thistles. Those sections of woodland that lacked thistles, Knapweed or burdock also lacked SWF's.
Eventually we did manage some good shots but getting a good picture of the underwings proved to be a very difficult business indeed, requiring a great deal of patience & fieldcraft. There are no benches, seats etc in this wood so our lunch was taken sitting on the ground at the main junction of paths. It was almost 12:30 by the time we arrived at that juncture ! Some members of the group found getting down & back up again quite a challenge ! We were treated to many SWF's during lunch + Ringlets, Meadow Browns, Commas, Large & Small Skippers & a Gatekeeper. During the day we recorded 13 species that also included Speckled Wood, Red Admiral, Large. Small & GV Whites & a Holly Blue. Only 3 macro moths: Riband Wave, Silver Y & a Large Yellow Underwing that attached itself to Gillian's coat!
Flowers identified included: Enchanter's Nightshade, Common Valerian, Melilot, Marsh, Spear & Creeping Thistles, St John's Wort, Common Centaury, Common Spotted Orchid, Broad-leaved Helleborine, Figwort & Nipplewort.
A Brown Hawker dragonfly showed up briefly & I also glimpsed a large dark blue one, maybe Common Hawker?
Birdlife was largely absent as is to be expected in July & the best birds seen were a Kestrel & a Buzzard; on the road back!
The group split into 3 after lunch & each found their own method of getting back to the start though not every route was of equal length!
Thanks to the joint drivers, Kevin & Julia.
John Gavaghan
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