Showing posts with label Kiplingcotes station. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kiplingcotes station. Show all posts

Monday, 21 June 2021

Kiplingcotes and the Hudson Way in June

 A cool, overcast day with an easterly breeze and drizzle in the afternoon. I headed for Kiplingcotes, a tranquil spot in the Wolds. On the drive there, I had already come across two Red Kites. As I was getting out of the car I heard the barking of a roe deer, which is an alarm call. There was a buck on the field opposite, barking and staring at me, and then bounding away.

I walked along the Hudson Way to the YNT nature reserve of Kiplingcotes. Willow Warblers and Yellowhammers provided much of the soundtrack.
Red Kite
Willow Warbler.
Sunny spells never materialised, so there were few butterflies and other insects, but it was compensated by the flowering plants. 
Pyramidal Orchid.
Pill Millipede.
Small Heath.
Kestrel.
Wild Pansies.
After exploring the nature reserve, I headed towards Kiplingcotes Station. I heard the Tree Sparrows calling from the hedgerows around the farm by the nature reserve. One was sitting on top of its nest. After I took this photo it disappeared under the eaves.
A Tree Sparrow on the farm roof with a beak full of craneflies. 
Hovering Buzzard.
Kidney Vetch, a plant of chalk grassland.
Common Spotted Orchid.
There are some great views from the Hudson Way, especially when you go over a bridge near the station. At the station I hear a tit song, reminscent of a coal tit, but I can't find the bird, it was either a Willow or a Marsh tit. More Tree Sparrows are nesting in the station buildings, but there is no trace of the colony of House Martins that used to be there.
Tree Sparrow at Kiplingcotes station.
Tame Robin.
I scan the fields after the station. A pair of Lapwings are near a congregation of very noisy Rooks with their fledglings. I also spot 2 hares.
Hares.
Bullfinch feeding on the path.
Rook fledgling with parent.
Unfortunately, shortly after Kiplingcotes station it starts to drizzle so I walk in the rain all the way back to the car with not many photographic opportunities.

Monday, 15 June 2015

Butterflying at Kiplingcotes

I had a busy and enjoyable day in the Kiplingcotes area. First, I had volunteered to carry out a House Martin Survey for the BTO, and I had chosen a square near the nature reserve as I wanted to combine the survey with a trip to the reserve. The survey was a bit sad, as there was a colony, with nine complete nests, but no house martins were around. The farmer remarked how fewer swallows they have now compared to previous years. There were two pairs of Swallows with active nests, but evidence of many more nests not in use inside the barns. A Red Kite flew over the farm.
 After the relatively quick survey I popped to the nearby Kiplingcotes Station. Shortly after starting the walk East on Hudson Way I heard the purring of a Turtle Dove. It called several times, and I tried to locate it unsuccessfully. They have been heard there in previous years, but it was still nice to have my first Turtle Dove in East Yorkshire since 1997. A Lesser Whitethroat sung quite exposed opposite a Greenfinch also singing. There were at least a pair of House Martins and several nests in the station.
There were sunny spells, but only at around midday, when it started to be warmer, butterflies made an appearance: Red Admiral, Peacock (very battered), Small Tortoiseshell and a Common Blue, with a Cinnabar flying too.
 I moved to Kiplingcotes chalk pit NR for lunchtime. There were several butterfly species on the wing, including Dingy, Large Skipper, Common Blue and Small Heath. A couple of new beetles for me, an Orchid Beetle on nettles and a very flighty Garden Chafer.
Dingy Skipper
Common Blue
Male Large Skipper
Trochulus sp.
Orchid beetle, Dascillus cervinus
The large bumblebee mimic hoverfly, Volucella bombylans. Note the very long tongue!
Another colour morph of Volucella bombylans, this one mimicking a red-tailed mumblebee
A Yellowhammer having a bath in a puddle on the car park.
Common Blue
Helophilus trivittatus (?) on the meadow at the top of the post.
Empis sp.
Red Admiral
Lesser Whitethroat singing
The first Pyramidal Orchids are blooming.
Wild Pansy
A young Grasshopper, possibly Common Green
Ant Woodlice, Platyarthrus hoffmannseggi with yellow meadow ants.
Lauria cyclindracea, a tiny snail.
Garden Chafer, Phyllopertha horticola
Male Common Blue
Small Heath
A view of Kiplingcotes NR from the top.