Sunday 13 May 2012

Snuff Mill Lane and Priory Fields

In the last few months I have paid a few visits to this site on the outskirts of Cottingham. It is one of the closest area of rural land to where I live in Hull. South of the lane itself are low lying fields prone to flooding, overgrown hedges, ditches and ponds, a small lake, trees and grassland. I have never been in the summer, but it looks like a promising butterfly site as there are extensive meadows. Indeed, it was sunny when I arrived yesterday morning and there were many butterflies on the wing, including a male Orange tip, several whites and a Holly Blue. It is also a great spot for birds, with resident Tree Sparrows and Bullfinches. There were many bird species singing and I heard a Whitethroat (above), the first of the year for me, which showed well atop a Hawthorn and then displayed in a song flight.
Despite being a site of scientific interest I have found very little information online about the site history and wildlife.

Snuff Mill Sign
White Lipped Snail
This Stock Dove was so confiding I thought it was a Woodpigeon fledgling - there was a woodpigeon sitting near it, you can see it on the top right hand corner. 
Maybe the fact it is breeding in a nest box on a garden explains why it is so trusting of people.
Mating flies
Fly and beetles on buttercup
Red Campion
Entrance to the site by Bricknell Avenue
White Dead Nettle
Male Blackcap singing
There is a small parking lot by Bricknell Avenue on the entrance to Snuff Mill Lane. There are quite a number of dog walkers on the site, and a busy train line, with only an uncontrolled pedestrian crossing cuts the site in two.

Location map

View Larger Map

Bird list (yesterday and today)
  1. Blackbird 
  2. Blackcap 
  3. Blue Tit 
  4. Bullfinch 
  5. Carrion Crow 
  6. Chaffinch 
  7. Chiffchaff 
  8. Collared Dove 
  9. Dunnock 
  10. Goldfinch 
  11. Great Spotted Woodpecker 
  12. Great Tit 
  13. Greenfinch 
  14. House Sparrow 
  15. Jackdaw 
  16. Linnet 
  17. Magpie 
  18. Mallard 
  19. Pheasant 
  20. Robin 
  21. Rock Dove 
  22. (Feral Pigeon) 
  23. Starling 
  24. Stock Dove 
  25. Swallow 
  26. Swift 
  27. Tree Sparrow 
  28. Whitethroat 
  29. Woodpigeon 
  30. Wren

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting article - thanks. I live near there, and often walk along the lane, but sadly lack your knowledge of the wildlife there.

John Richardson said...

Great to see this blog! I grew up as kid playing on Snuff Mill and was also an avid wildlife enthusiast. I wonder if Barn Owl still frequent the area? I would often see them hawking in the fields as I was walking home back towards Cottingham Rd at dusk. The strangest thing I ever saw was an Eastern Chipmunk (presumed escaped!) on Snuff Mill Lane. And the irony of that is I live in Minnesota now and have them in the garden in the warmer months.

Africa Gomez said...

Thank you for your comment John and for sharing your Chipmunk story. I have never seen the Barn Owl, but again, I often visit in the middle of the day. The habitat seems spot on for owls.