Blog
It was a rainy day when we came last year but today was glorious. Butterflies were present all day, Ringlets being the commonest. Other species seen were Green-v & Small Whites, Small Sk, Sp Wood, Peacock, Red Adm, Small Tort, M Brown, GK's, Comma & a Painted Lady.
Dragonflies were also abundant. In particular, Common Blue Damselflies were in huge numbers across the entire site. Other species seen were Emperors, Common Darters, Banded Demoiselles, Brown Hawker & Blue-tailed Damselfly including a lovely rufescens form. This is a form I hadn't previously encountered.
The site is botanically rich, Bird's foot Trefoil, Knapweed, Clovers, thistles, Tufted Vetch proliferated. Other plants identified incl Wild Carrot, White Bryony, Common Spotted O, Prickly Ox-tongue, Marsh Woundwort, Melilot, Gypsywort, Lesser Trefoil, Amphibious Bistort & Agrimony.
Strensall Common is a large area of lowland heath that lies several miles nort of York. We have visited the site on several occasions & we have often had poor weather. The omens were not good as the forecast was for showers. Today was no exception & the rain arrived about noon & lasted approx 90 minutes. Fortunately the rain was light & once it had cleared we were blessed with sunshine & warmth. Having our lunch in the rain is becoming a regular occurence; Bishop Wood & Malham Tarn being two recent examples!
The site is flat & we stuck to the main tracks, walking as far as the MOD fence where there is a flagpole & a red warning flag. Birdlife was quiet but we did see a small family of Stonechats, three Linnets, Reed Buntings & a Heron. En route we had also seen a Buzzard.
It wasn’t the first time, and I’m sure it won’t be the last, that we set off for a wet day at Malham Tarn.
After calling in at the toilets in the village, we drove up the hill enjoying views of the cove, and parked near Malham Tarn on the Arncliffe Road.
Our aim today was to concentrate on the sedges, and before heading onto the boardwalk we looked at Alice’s diagrams of the structure of the sedges, so we had an idea of what to look out for. When it is so wet it is tempting to keep our books dry in our bags, but with umbrellas to hand we tried our best to get an identification for each one we saw – though this still isn’t an easy task, books or not.
An early start and we were off for a full day out in the Southern Lake District, passing familiar land marks on our journey, including Gargrave ( Leeds - Liverpool canal), Feizor (wonderful spring flowers), Kirby Lonsdale (intriguing toilets), Hutton Roof (Dark-red Helleborine) and Whitbarrow Scar (Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary) until we turned right following Newby Bridge into the dense canopy of Grizedale Forest.
On arrival it was a case of "what do we do now?" John the proposed leader was unwell. Recollections of our last visit in 2012 were vague. We made our way to the education centre and ate lunch outside. This was a day for wetland flora, sedges, reptiles and deer. Our highlight sightings were osprey in flight and also the slow worms and adder..
A fine weather day was in prospect as a small party of seven set forth along the M62/A64 towards Wharram. We made our comfort stop at the Seaway cafe at Fridaythorpe which seems to have become a bikers’ cafe since we were last there but offered the same opportunity to refresh ourselves. We parked in the car park for the deserted medieval village of Wharram Percy (which three of the party decided to explore) and walked approx 2km to the quarry along pleasant tree-lined lanes which afforded sightings of around 40 species of plant which included hedge parsley, meadow cranesbill, yellow vetchling, zigzag clover, hairy tare, musk thistle and blue water speedwell. There was a constant accompaniment of bird song, especially chiffchaff, willow warbler and chaffinch (although the Merlin app was picking up many more, including yellowhammer which has been a feature of the site on previous visits) but very few were visible.
There were many highlights from our visit to Hetchell Wood today but by far the most dramatic was when Sue disappeared down the cliff edge to thankfully rescue her camera. Our lunch spot had been above the crags overlooking the tree canopy and fields beyond. Her interesting photos of the day are included in the Gallery.
Hetchell Wood is an ancient woodland situated to the north of Leeds and famous for its spring flora, several rare plants and interesting geology. Both magnesian limestone and millstone grit form the bed rock of the reserve. It is managed by the YWT. However today our main focus was on the area of grassland located on the magnesium limestone. Our exploration was gracefully led by our guide Maddy.
We last visited these sites in May 2018. Each site is a former limestone quarry covering 20 acres. Salthill quarry has SSSI status for its geology, where vast numbers of crinoids (sea lilies) are embedded into the rock face. A recce had been done a couple of weeks ago by Alice and myself and we immediately noticed how much growth had occurred in the interim period. The wild thyme was out in profusion with birdsfoot trefoil adding an additional splash of colour. Lady's bedstraw was just starting to come into flower with fairy flax and hoary plantain also being noted. It was a bonus to see bee orchids as we progressed and mention should also be made of the beautiful Portugal laurel that was in full flower either side of the path as we entered the site. An excellent view of a kestrel was enjoyed by all with a willow warbler also being seen. Chiffchaff, garden warbler and blackcap were also heard.
This is a site we visited for the first time last July. Then, we were primarily looking to see the Silver-washed Fritillary butterflies and we were quickly rewarded with numerous sightings. The weather that day was delightful. The weather this time was anything but. Those members of the group who had cancelled their bookings were not missing out!
Our tree walk in Ben Rhydding took place on a dull, rainy Tuesday. It wasn't a problem however, the six of us remained quite clean as our route was on the pavement and didn't involve any muddy paths and fields. The walk was based on the suggestions in an informative booklet which can be found at http://ilkleytrees.org.uk/ I particularly recommend that people with very little knowledge of trees, like myself, follow the map in the booklet and then reread the information in it on returning home.
The plan was to have 2 drivers for this week's extended day out to North Landing/Flamborough and Bempton Cliffs but unfortunately illness forced Kevin to drop out, so Julia had sole driving responsibilities as well as leading. I was among three to be picked up at Low Moor before the minibus took the M62 route, turning off towards to Market Weighton to refuel, use the facilities and have a brief rest. As the minibus continued on its journey, Angela and I spotted a deer and a hare! There was plenty of blossom in the hedgerows.