Bug fest at Tophill Low Summer of Wildlife Event

A cloudy, mild respite from the hot weather of the last couple of weeks, we spend the day at Tophill Low. As we arrive, we join @esticadinho13 at the moth trap, where he shows us the range of moths captured overnight. The kids delight on holding various moths, which are mostly very obliging, and sit still while held.

  Then we walk south towards South Marsh, find a picnic spot by East Pond for lunch. There are lots of Butterflies by the verges, especially Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Small Skipper and a few Six Spot Burnets. After a quick stop by South Marsh, where we manage to see two Marsh Harriers dropping in the nest, we turn round and head towards D woods, where we join the Yorkshire Watch group for some pond dipping.

All moths below from the moth event, for more on moths at Tophill Low visit Martin Hodges site.

A couple of highlights are a Little Egret flying over D res and two common shrews found by my son.

Elephant Hawkmoth

 Coxcomb Prominent

Swallow Prominent Moth ?

Garden Tiger

Peach Blossom

Buff Footman Eilema depressa

Garden Tiger, Arctia caja

Female Ruddy Darter, pausing briefly on an information panel

Female Emerald Damselfly

Male Blue Tailed Damselfly

Lots of Ringlets and Small Skippers gave me this rare chance for both species on the same shot.

Large Skipper on creeping thistle

Meadow Brown

Small Skipper, they often sit on flowers with fore and hindwings at different angles

Six Spot Burnet

 Ringlet

Six spot burnet

Another Small Skipper on Knapweed

A Cucumber spider Araniella sp. with captured soldier beetle, one of my favourite photos of the day. 

A Zelotes sp. a beautiful glossy all black spider., a first for me.

On the grassy verges by South Pond there were plenty of nursery webs of the nursery web spider, Pisaura mirabilis, but we didn't find any adults

Mating Soldier Beetles, lots about.

Butterflies, dragonflies and birds at North Cave Wetlands

What a difference to my trip two weeks ago to the wetlands. Today it was very hot, butterflies, dragonflies and grasshoppers - with many other invertebrates - were active. I saw several birds panting, and a blackbird and a sedge warbler sunbathing.

 I finally caught up with the Corn Bunting (above). As I approached the north path I heard its jingly song and flushed it. I relocated it at the top of the hedge, singing again, and managed some shots. 

There were many dragonfly species around the maize field and dragonfly ponds, of some I couldn't get a photo of, but I think I saw an Emperor Dragonfly cruising about.

There was still a Common Tern on a nest by Crosslands Hide, looking like it was turning eggs.

After the walk around the reserve it was a relief to sit on the cool south hide for lunch, and watch the diving little grebes and the constant mobbing of the Common Terns (a pair had two grown chicks on the raft) to the Black Headed gulls. A few mute swans and a lone back swan were also in Main Lake.

Meadow brown

a very battered Peacock on ragwort

Small Skipper

The youngest black headed gull chicks I saw today, on Island Lake

Young Shelduck resting

Shoveler

Avocet and chick in Island Lake

Small Tortoiseshell

Elder, rosebay willowherb and ragwort blooming by the maize field

The first silver Y of the year

Male black-tailed skimmer

Four spot chaser

A Small Tortoiseshell resting on pondweed

A distant shot of a Broad Bodied chaser

and of Mating Azure damselflies

Water lilies

Avocet chick in Reedbed lake

mystery bird

Sedge Warbler sunbathing

Speckled Wood

Great Crested Grebe 

Little Grebe Diving

Little Grebe

Reed Bunting singing on the North Hedge

Butterflies

Peacock

Small Tortoiseshell

Meadow Brown, pair mating.

Ringlet

Small Skipper

Dragonflies & damselflies

Black-tailed skimmer

Four-Spotted chaser

Broad-bodied chaser

Azure damselfly, pair mating.

Common blue damselfly

Birds

1. Avocet        
2.  Black Swan        
3.  Black-headed Gull        
4.  Blackbird        
5.  Carrion Crow        
6.  Common Tern        
7.  Coot        
8.  Cormorant        
9.  Corn Bunting        
10.  Curlew        
11.  Dunnock        
12.  Feral Pigeon        
13.  Gadwall        
14.  Goldfinch        
15.  Great Crested Grebe        
16.  Great Tit        
17.  Green Woodpecker        
18.  Greenfinch        
19.  Greylag Goose        
20.  House Martin        
21.  House Sparrow        
22.  Jackdaw        
23.  Kestrel        
24.  Lapwing        
25.  Lesser Whitethroat        
26.  Linnet        
27.  Little Grebe        
28.  Magpie        
29.  Mallard        
30.  Moorhen        
31.  Mute Swan        
32.  Oystercatcher        
33.  Pied Wagtail        
34.  Pochard        
35.  Reed Bunting        
36.  Reed Warbler        
37.  Robin        
38.  Rook        
39.  Sand Martin        
40.  Sedge Warbler        
41.  Shelduck        
42.  Shoveler        
43.  Song Thrush        
44.  Starling        
45.  Swift        
46.  Tufted Duck        
47.  Whitethroat        
48.  Woodpigeon     
49. Wren

Hornsea Mere and Wassand

 I went to Kirkholme in the morning, and then had a walk around Wassand Estate. Kirkholme was dominated by a very large flock of moulting Canada Geese resting with a few Greylags and the usual hybrid/domestic geese assortment. The noisy Jackdaw flock included many juveniles, and hirundines and swifts flew overhead. As I approach the point, a flock of Canadas swims in a line with the backdrop of Swan Island (above). No Little Gulls on the jetty, just some mallards and Black Headed gulls.
 A family of swans provided some entertainment. First, the male was preening on the shore, feathers falling to the ground as he vigorously, and noisily! rubbed his flanks, chest and belly.

A little further, by the jetties, the female and three cygnets. One of them giving the impression that it already felt quite grown up, as it was chasing the mallards, that were more or less its size. The quarrelsome cygnet approached me and I offered my hand. It hissed and pecked me several times! I won't be messing with it when it grows up.
 At Wassand, despite the overcast sky and drizzle, many Ringlets and Meadow Browns on the wing around the meadows, with Common Blue Damselflies. Just before I left, I spotted a Jay and watched it on a large oak before it flew away.

The lone black swan 

Cygnet chasing duck

Just before hissing at me.

Jetty

Canada greylag hybrid goose

A curious young Jackdaw

Chinese goose greylag hybrid

Rabbit in Wassand (as all the following photos)

Male Common Blue damselfly

Meadow Brown

Female Common Blue Damselfly with lunch

Ringlet

Half a mole? on the side of the path. Head and front legs missing.

Bird List (Kirkholme)

1. Black Swan        
2.  Black-headed Gull        
3.  Blackbird        
4.  Blue Tit        
5.  Canada Goose        
6.  Carrion Crow        
7.  Chaffinch        
8.  Collared Dove        
9.  Coot        
10.  Cormorant        
11.  Dunnock        
12.  Greenfinch        
13.  Greylag Goose        
14.  Greylag Goose (domestic)        
15.  Herring Gull        
16.  House Martin        
17.  House Sparrow        
18.  Jackdaw        
19.  Lesser Black-backed Gull        
20.  Long-tailed Tit        
21.  Mallard        
22.  Moorhen        
23.  Mute Swan        
24.  Pochard        
25.  Reed Warbler        
26.  Sand Martin        
27.  Song Thrush        
28.  Swallow        
29.  Swift        
30.  Tufted Duck        
31.  Woodpigeon        
32.  Wren     

Bird list (Wassand)

1. Blackbird        
2.  Blackcap        
3.  Blue Tit        
4.  Carrion Crow        
5.  Chaffinch        
6.  Chiffchaff        
7.  Dunnock        
8.  Goldcrest        
9.  Goldfinch        
10.  Great Spotted Woodpecker        
11.  Great Tit        
12.  Greenfinch        
13.  Herring Gull        
14.  House Martin        
15.  Jay        
16.  Magpie        
17.  Moorhen        
18.  Pheasant        
19.  Robin        
20.  Song Thrush        
21.  Stock Dove        
22.  Swift        
23.  Woodpigeon        
24.  Wren