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Blue Sow-ThistleA full minibus headed out to the Forest of Bowland. When Alan turned up not wearing his wellies, it might have been an omen for better weather. Alas not! Shortly after arriving at our destination, the rain started and it continued with varying intensity for much of the day. It was also rather breezy.

Joan ably led today's walk which started in Chipping, a village adorned with flowers, aspiring to be crowned champion in the Britain in Bloom contest. Our route soon took us off the road and onto field paths. A variety of cattle and sheep eyed us cautiously as we invaded their territory. The views, including those of Longridge Fell and Pendle Hill were wonderful even though we weren't seeing them at their best. The planned walk was amended a little, so we didn't get up onto the moorland, but the 4.5 mile route was very pleasant. We passed little brooks and sighted a dipper flying low over the water. Curlews were heard calling, and then four were seen flying.Two of them came down in a distant field. Several goldfinch and a nuthatch were also spotted. In spite of the rain, we did see a number of green-veined white and meadow brown butterflies. 165  plants were recorded including marsh woundwort, blue sow thistle and bilberry. (Gillian enjoyed those bilberries....) On return to Chipping, we headed to the coffee shop for sustenance and warmth before journeying back to Bradford having enjoyed another lovely, albeit wet, day out.    

Sue

Pheasant & chicksIt was raining when we set off from Bradford heading for Kirkby Lonsdale. En route, a buzzard was spotted flying overhead.Todays' walk should have been led by Margaret, but unfortunately she is still unwell.Stuart and Joan stepped in and worked out an amended walk, approximately 5 miles long. Rain was a feature for the best part of the day and could have stopped play, but BEES folk are a hardy group, and fortified by refreshments from the van on Devils Bridge we set off clad in waterproofs, brollies aloft and Alan wearing his wellies.
As we walked alongside the River Lune we saw several goosanders and two noisy oystercatchers flew low overhead. The more observant of the walkers were rewarded with a view of two kingfishers, shortly before we reached the fishermen’s hut, where we stopped to eat lunch. Shame it wasn’t open!
After lunch we headed inland passing through fields with black sheep and stopping briefly at the old church in Whittington. There was a beautiful mosaic picture of a knight at the church entrance. (See gallery).
We continued along a hedgerow lined lane which afforded a little more shelter. We nearly didn’t spot a pheasant with two chicks in a field where horses were grazing. A brief dry spell gave way to rain once more and we elected to return via the road. With waterproofs peeled off, we were wetter than we’d realised. An enjoyable day, but not quite what we’d hoped for. In spite of the weather, Joan managed to record 149 plants!

Sue

Red hemp-nettleThis season's extended day out was to Derbyshire and the limestone delights of Lathkilldale.  Brian's cousin Jo and her friend Peter proved to be very knowlegable guides and Jo's leaving her car at the finishing point of the walk to allow us to retrieve the minibus enabled us to do a linear walk from Monyash to Over Haddon which added much to our enjoyment of the day.  We had one or two light showers, but apart from that the rain held off until we were safely enconsed in the Lathkill Hotel for aperitifs prior to our evening meal (the local Whim Ale's Hartington Bitter was almost worth the trip in itself!).

Lathkilldale is a narrow steep-sided glacial melt-water valley and is part of the Derbyshire Dales National Nature Reserve.   An abundance of butterflies and moths flitted about all day long and we recorded 10 species.  The vast variety of flowers to identify and record ensured that the speed of the walk never got above crawling pace at most times with the total plant count eventually being confirmed at 176 which included 130 species in flower.  This week's highlights were Jacob's Ladder, Hoary Mullein, Red Hemp-Nettle and Nettle-Leafed Bellflower. In Sue's absence, Julia was chief photographer and she took some super shots of what Peter hopes will prove Joan's identification of the red hemp-nettle, which Peter advised us would be a first record for Lathkilldale.  Birds were not too numerous but dipper, spotted flycatcher and redstart were welcome sightings.

Another excellent day's outing was arranged by Joan, Brian and Margaret (who had to miss the trip as she is still unfortunately hors de combat - we all wish her a speedy recovery).

Stuart

bee orchidA select group of eleven members enjoyed at day at Nosterfield Nature Reserve, near Masham, where we were met and shown round the site by Simon Warwick, director of Lower Ure Conservation Trust, and his wife Jill. Simon gave us a detailed background of the reserve and its geological formation which provides diverse habitats for plants and wildlife.  Well over 100 species of flowering plant were recorded including bee and common spotted orchid and the rare but uninspiring mudwort (a first for Joan, and we can't record that very often!)  The absence of bird recorder Donald Lightowler and the fact that many ducks were in eclipse resulted in our bird count being lower than we might have hoped for at 26.  We did however enjoy the avocets and black-tailed godwits whilst the songs of skylark, chiffchaff, linnet and greenfinch struggled to compete with the raucous black-headed gulls and oystercatchers - and we did get a super close-up view of a curlew which flew over a hedge into our path.  Butterflies and damselflies abounded incuding a super comma butterfly of which hopefully Sue will append a photo. (view the gallery)

The weather was again kind to us as we discovered when we returned to Bradford to signs of recent heavy rain - we had endured only a couple of light showers.  Another very enjoyable BEES Tuesday.

Stuart

Plume MothThis week's trip was very local, to the Raw Nook area of Low Moor and to Oakenshaw to visit the Railway Terrace (formerly Raw Nook) Nature Reserve, Bradford's first urban nature reserve, and Toad Holes Beck Nature Reserve which has recently been renovated and which would be officially re-launched a few days after our visit.  Railway Terrace is an area of lowland heath reclaimed from land which had previously spent 150 years or so as railway sheds and sidings and which was officially opened last year after much effort to bring the reserve to fruition by former BEES leader Peter Boyd and local naturalist Martyn Priestley.  Toad Holes Beck nature reserve was formed from local industrial wasteland and includes three ponds which provide a variety of wildlife.

The BEES reputation for fine weather was lost on the weather gods in the morning as we explored Railway Terrace when the highlight was a kingfisher which flew straight between our party as we investigated the pond.  We made use of the facilities at Woodlands Cricket Club at lunchtime but by then the weather had relented and stayed fine for the rest of the day allowing us to explore Toad Holes Beck at our leisure.

The bird count was low, although we were serenaded for much of the day by birdsong, especially chiffchaff and blackcap, but there were a few dragonflies and lots of damselflies and butterfiles about, mainly ringlets and meadow browns.  Joan Dobson did a very careful plant count at both locations and by the end of the day had increased the site count to 125 for Railway Terrace and 128 for Toad Holes Beck.

An enjoyable day spent not far from home was enjoyed by 15 members.

Stuart

High brown fritillaryEric Beety led this week's outing to Warton Crag, Silverdale, the first time that BEES had visited this site since 2001.  A full minibus duly arrived ready for the predicted heavy showers but the forecasters had overlooked the fact that it was a BEES' Tuesday and the further Northwest we travelled the better became the weather and we enjoyed a beautiful summer's day with extensive views South-West over Morecambe Bay to the newly-restored Art Deco Midland Hotel in Morecambe, with Blackpool Tower providing a backdrop, round to the Langdales and the more distant Lakeland fells to the North-West and Ingleborough to the East.

The Carbiniferous limestone habitat supports a multitude of plants and a total of 85 flowerings species was recorded by Alice who is doing a sterling recording job in the absence of both Joan and Margaret, both unfortunately hors de combat at the moment.  The habitat supports few birds and although we were serenaded by chiffchaff and willow warbler for most of the day, few others identified themselves.  Butterflies did flit around all day long with a vivid orange fritillary prominent, but they were very flighty and dificult to identify - our guide suggested High Brown, so we'll settle for that.  Sue will no doubt apend a few images of our sightings on the day.  A contented minibus party duly returned to Bradford after a full and fullfilling day.

Stuart

If you are interested to read more about the ecology and conservation management that has enabled the reintroduction of the large blue butterfly (which became extinct in Britain in the 70's) then follow this link to The Guardian article published on 16th June.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/16/large-blue-butterfly

Moses GateAnother Tuesday, another fine day, and the return of Joan Dobson from holiday to lead a full minibus on a visit to Moses Gate Country Park near Bolton. The first plant of the day, and a first for BEES, was an en route tour of Bolton's recycling plant when our navigator got his radar wrong but that didn't delay our arrival by too many minutes.  A surprisingly well reclaimed industrial site of 750 acres is the habitat for much wildlife and includes the SSSI site of Nob End which produced a great variety of plants and birds.  We recorded four species of orchid (including early marsh which we didn't record last week) in a total of 112 flowering plants (not including the helleborines which were still only in bud) with perhaps the highlights being skullcap and blue-eyed grass.  The habitat was particularly good for warblers and four of these these contributed to a total of 33 birds including cuckoo and yellowhammer - good records as both are scarcer this year.  An accident on the motorway somewhat delayed our return but it was a happy minibus that returned to Bradford after a full and very pleasant day's outing.

Stuart

Otley Wetlands, banded demoiselleWe spent the morning at Otley Wetlands, a private site extremely well managed by Wharfedale Nats, where Neville and his wife pointed out the special features of the site. We saw many different plants and birds together with evidence of otters, which are regularly about by very rarely seen, and an enormous amount of damselflies. In Joan's absence, Alice recorded a total of 73 flowering plants. The forecast rain fortunately did not materialise and we enjoyed a very pleasant afternoon having a guided tour of Sun Lane Nature Reserve, Burley-in-Wharfedale, also managed by Wharfedale Nats, with Anne. This reserve is also very well managed and has a very active support group - quite local and well worth a visit if you didn't make this trip. Because soil was imported from different sites when the old village tip was reclaimed, the reserve has a wide variety of different interesting plants. We added a few birds to our list and saw lots more damselflies! Total flower count here was 120 and the total bird count for the day 36. Marilyn Barber and Brian Ellis led this week's trip which was enjoyed by 16 members.
View more photos from the day in the wfv gallery
Stuart