Swinemoor with Hull Nats

A mild afternoon with sunny spells and a stiff breeze, we visit Swinemoor, one of the commons of Beverley. Unlike the Westwood, on the foothills of the Wolds, this is in the river Hull valley, an ancient floodplain which was fen before embankment of the river, and the digging of the Beverley and Barmston Drain dried it. It has peaty soil and it is still flooded seasonally, small parts year round unless it is a dry summer. It is still acting as a common land, with horses and cows grazing in the summer months. The area still holds some plants that are uncommon in the area and represent marsh. wet meadows and marginal and aquatic plants, despite many losses over the years. One of our members is a local who takes pleasure in showing us the Swinemoor botanical delights. We enter the common by Hull Bridge and walk along the river bank, recording the marginal and aquatic plants that have survived grazing thanks to the protection afforded by the moorings and jetties. Despite the very wet winter, when the common was flooded between the river and the drain, the long dry spring meant that the moor was very dry. We walked across an expanse of dried and exposed peat, which was now mostly dry towards 'Bricky Bridge'. It was amazing to see the density of Brooklime and celery leave buttercup in huge areas. There were one or two places where the peat was damp, but the only area holding water was a pool just north of the bridge, on the east side of the Barmston drain. There, to everyone's surprise is a pair of Avocets with two grown chicks. One of the adults flew off and called in alarm constantly, while the other led the chicks quickly away. They calmed down as we got to the bridge. A pair of passing crows lifted six Lapwings and soon enough we counted a few scattered chicks, beautifully camouflaged. I was amused to see how the Lapwings mobbed the Swifts, two fantastic flyers in pursuit. A small flock of Canada and a Greylag, some Pied Wagtails including a fledgling and a pair of Shelduck were also around the pool.

 We then walked on the west side of the drain where we recorded a patch of Adder's tongue, and found some Marsh Arrowgrass, the latter a first for me. 

Goldfinch singing by the Barmston Drain.

Female Banded Demoiselle. The wind kept the flying insects down. I record a Common Blue damselfly and this Banded Demoiselle. A large dragonfly, maybe an Emperor, patrolled the drain at Hull Bridge, but we didn't manage to clinch the id.

This is River Water dropwort, Oenanthe fluviatilis, a strange aquatic umbelifer, with fine sub aquatic leaves, which flop when out of the water giving it a sickly appearance, it has thick stems.

Appearance of the sub-aquatic leaves of the River Water dropwort.

Brooklime.

Hemlock Water dropwort..

Three white geese. A flock of white geese has been at the river at least since 2017.

Swift.

Water forget-me-not.

11 spot ladybird.

Alarming Lapwing.

Avocet and chicks.

One of the several horses at the Moor with pool on the background.

Shelduck.

Lapwings and chick.

Barmston drain by Bricky bridge.

Territorial Swan.

Slender Groundhopper.

Adders tongue.

Adder's tongue.

Cleaving Coombe with Hull Nats

My first visit to Cleaving Coombe, a dry, steep sided valley typical of the Yorkshire Wolds. It is private and grazed by cattle, but it is unimproved grassland and its biodiversity surprised me greatly. The valley is open access land, accessible via a gate at the head of the valley. There are wonderful views over the Vale of York. A herd of young cattle grazed the land, and they appear quite nervous, running from one side to the other. We kept together to avoid further stress, and left them behind. Marbled Whites were soon in evidence, nectaring from Great Knapweed (top shot) and both Field and Small Scabious. Fairy Flax and Salad Burnet were past flowering, as was Cowslip, but we managed to find a single Pyramidal Orchid. There were so many grasshoppers, three species, Common Green, Common Field and Meadow Grasshopper, the latter very plentiful. I checked a few clumps of longer grass protected by small hawthorns and found a Roesel's Bush-crickets and a large female nymph of Long-winged Conehead. On the flat bottom of the valley the grass was longer and I found another two Roesel's, one of them long-winged.

Another view of the site.

Looking down into the vale of York.

The 30 strong herd of cattle.

Meadow Grasshopper.

Roesel's Bush-cricket.

Long-winged Conehead, my mobile as a background to aid with focusing and positioning of the conehead.

Mating Common Field Grasshoppers.

A long winged Roesel's Bush-cricket.

Common Green Grasshopper.

Meadow Grasshopper.

A pink variant of the Common Field Grasshopper.

Essex Skipper.

Marbled White feeding on Scabious.

From the bottom of the valley.

Burnet Saxifrage.

Small Scabious.

Field Scabious.

Wild Thyme.

Betony.

Not many birds about, but some exciting ones. We heard a Marsh Tit calling from the woods, a Yellowhammer was singing from the hawthorns atop the valley, and a family of Stonechats.

Stonechats.

Male Stonechat.

Overall, a great site of much diversity, I hope I will visit it again soon.

Holderness: Withernsea, Owthorne, Waxholme and Sand-le-Mere

I have done all, or parts, of this walk in the past: in May 2020 as part of the Migrants Way, when I was lucky enough to explore first hand the ancient submarine forest at Sand-le-Mere. Then in December same year, when we went to see the stranded Sperm Whales along this section of the beach. I wanted to avoid visiting the coastal towns and villages I've visited before for this Holderness Walks series, but it is hard to avoid the sea breeze when a heat wave is raging inland. I took the 8:00 X7 bus to Withernsea, the temperature was already hitting 20 oC as I walked to the station. I'm a bit early and the tide is still flowing, so I walk around the town, exploring St Nicholas church, which appears to be closed and being refurbished. The churches at Withernsea have had a rough time through history, this one was built in the 15th century to replace the Church of St Mary's, lost to coastal erosion. Withernsea (or should I say New Withernsea, the old one a casualty of erosion too) had a great spurt of development after the arrival of the railway, and the survival of this church, which lay in ruins for 200 years, is partly due to investment by the owners of the railway, which wanted to enhance the town for tourism reasons.

 The sea breeze is wonderfully cool, aided by a southerly wind. It is also nice to walk north on a sunny day like this. The town is busy with Swifts, House Martins and Swallows. Most Herring Gulls have young, their plaintive, whistling begging calls coming from their nests in chimneys and roofs. I'm careful not to stare at the young, as the parents are very wary and will start alarming, after the most minor of motives.

Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Herring Gulls with their young.

St Nicholas Church.

A detail of the walls, made of cobbles and pebbles, the most easily available material.

Young starlings, some already moulting into their adult plumage.

Withernsea Lighthouse.

A Swallow looks to other swallows perched on an aerial above.

Young Swallows.

House Martin in its nest.

Comma.

Owthorne Walk. 

On the North side of Withernsea sat the village of Owthorne, in the mid 19th century, before the railway arrived, it was larger than Withernsea. Today it has been subsumed by Withernsea, it is effectively an area in Withernsea. Its name survives in a footpath and a street, Owthorne Walk, leading to the sea. After exploring the walk, and ticking off Owthorne, which I had included in my list of villages, I take the promenade heading North, and then descend the steps onto the beach. The tide is now low enough and there is a wide sandy beach. The sea defences of Withernsea mean that sand collects north of the town. The effects of this is clear, the cliffs are more sheltered from erosion and there is a higher sandy beach that appears not to flood at high tide. Sea Rocket is colonising the strandline, with some young plants of this year. Unfortunately the plants are affected by some parasite and there are no flowers. Sand Martins and House Martins fly along the beach. I notice House Martins flying around a seepage and wonder if they are collecting mud from it. I hear two Meadow Pipits displaying above and flush a couple of Linnets.

Meadow Pipit.

A Black-headed Gull resting on the beach.

A Sand Martin chases an insect.

Sand Martin colony.

Sand Martin.

Sand Martin flying around its colony.

The tide hasn't exposed a small stretch of beach in the horizon, by Waxholme, but it's only a matter of minutes. I linger around it and cross it as soon as a wave recedes. I almost bump onto a couple with a dog, who are walking in the opposite direction, as we cross at this pinch point. The beach rises and widens again quickly after this, and there are shingle banks and hollows off the cliffs. The cliff is rapidly reducing in height, until I get to Sand-le-Mere, where there is no cliff, there is an opening and a slope (top shot). A few years ago there was a boatyard, but there are no boats today. Sandwich Terns call from far offshore and a flock of Shelduck fly against the wind, and then decide to alight on the sea. I walk on the rapidly eroding bank separating the sea from the low lying fields to the west, part of the basin of a lost mere, Sand-le-Mere ('Sandley Marr' in Jeffrey's 1771 map). This bank is no longer repaired and has large gaps. Tunstall Drain takes water to the west too, ending in Keyingham Drain and Stony Creek in the Humber. A managed realignment scheme protects the road itself, eventually letting the remaining basin of the mere being flooded again at spring tides and storms.

Shelduck.

The coastal path has been diverted inland here, across the caravan park of Sand-le-Mere. I take it, lingering on the several lakes of the park, and eventually find a shady spot by a lake to have my lunch. If it had been cooler I would have carried on to Tunstall, but its the middle of the day and much warmer inland. I watch the waterfowl and record some dragonflies before catching the bus back to Withernsea, and then home.

Red Admiral.

Swift over Sand-le-Mere.

Black-tailed Skimmer.

Mute Swans and cygnets.