Holderness: Burstwick and Burton Pidsea

A sunny, warm day with little wind, I take the 75 bus to Burstwick and leave the bus just before the village to have a look at the pond south of it. Two Emperor Dragonflies are hunting over the water and along the hedgerows. Domestic Geese, Mallard, a juvenile Black-headed Gull and Pied Wagtails is all I see. I walk across the village and take the public right of way along Burswick Drain. By the bridge over the drain there is a small patch of long grass and I do some recording of butterflies and grasshoppers. A pair of Common Blue butterflies are nice and also some Roesel's Bush-cricket. All along the drain in the stretch along the golf course, there are plenty of butterflies. As I get to Thack Carr Bridge, I see a Brown Hare running top speed towards me. I freeze and the hare seems to realise I'm there, does an incredible U turn and runs away. Later I spot two hares on the fields of the Carr. A Curlew flies away and lands beyong that field. The heat haze is strong and the photos not great, but there are about 9 Curlew feeding at Thack Carr. 

Juvenile Black-headed Gull.

Common Green Grasshopper.

Female Common Blue Butterfly.

Male Roesel's Bush-cricket singing.

Brown Hare.

Ruddy Darter.

I get to Braemere Drain and cross the new bridge. Six bay horses feed on the paddock, one of them watching me intently. I reach Fielden Lane, a busy road and turn right towards Burton Pidsea. A huge flock of Rooks and Jackdaws takes flight, apparently spooked by a hunting Buzzard. I take Back Lane and walk to St Peter and St Paul church, a 12th century, Grade 1 listed, building, the construction with cobble and stone dressings and some brick. There is a small park by the church, with wildlife garden features. It's time to turn round, but to make it more interesting I walk back by Greens Lane and then join Burstwick Drain by the golf course and make my way back to Burstwick bus stop.

Horse at Braemere Farm. 

A large flock of Rooks and Jackdaws flew up and away from...

...a Buzzard.

St Peter and St Paul church at Burton Pidsea.

A pair of Swan Geese and two goslings was an odd sight at Burton Pidsea.

Mill at Burton Pidsea. 

Yellowhammer.

I had never seen a field planted with Fennel.

Linnet.

Curlew at Thack Carr.

A Swift over Burstwick.

Holderness: Out Newton and Burton Constable

It is overcast thanks to the northeasterly wind that has dominated the last few days. The wind has cooled the east side of the UK and spared us the heatwave that is afflicting the rest of the country. It hasn't rained in weeks, and the wheat is either already harvested or ready for it, all golden and proud on the fields. As I walk from Skirlaugh (8:10, East Yorks, 24 bus) and take Ellerby Road a Skylark rises and starts singing and a second and a third join it from other parts of the field. I decide to take a detour and walk on the Hornsea Railway trail to New Ellerby instead of the main road. It pays off, Yellowhammer, young Linnets, Blue Tits and Whitethroats along the track. Swifts and Swallows fly over New Ellerby. Today's main aim is West Newton, which involves walking around the perimeter of the Burton Constable estate, along Marton.

Linnet.

Blue Tit juvenile.

Young Whitethroat, its parent alarm-calling nearby.

Yellowhammer.

A Swift with a bulging throat full of insects.

Swallows.

Letterbox cottage.

This sign makes me realise I might have missed High Fosham for my village list. I check when I get home and I realise is just a couple of farms, but I'm giving it a miss today as the walk is long enough.

As I get to the corner of West Newton road I stop for a break. West Newton is a very elongated hamlet and I don't plan to walk to the end of it. As I walk along I hear the unmistakable call of a Quail. Again! I get my phone ready to record the call and eventually I manage. It is a field either fallow or with a mixed crop.  A Roe Deer watches me as I record, the call coming from its direction, but impossible to see the bird with the tall cover. This is my first Quail and it appears they are having a great year in the UK, with a much higher reporting rate than usual in Birdtrack. After the exciting Quail encounter I explore the hamlet a bit longer. There is a colony of House Martins and plentiful sparrows. A Starling alarm calls at the sight of a Buzzard. The Burton Constable estate is very wooded and was one of the first areas where Buzzards settled when they recolonised East Yorkshire. Great to know they are still doing well. 

Roe Deer.

Starling.

A cottage in West Newton.

I carry on to Burton Constable cafe, where I have my lunch. After making an enquiry to check that I can leav the grounds via the holiday park, I get my grounds ticket and head for the lake. The north section of the lake is blanketed by yellow lilies, a sight to behold. The sun makes brief appearances and butterflies and dragonflies follow suit.

Burton Constable Hall.

The Sperm Whale skeleton.

There is a cordon and new plaque by the ancient Sweet Chestnut that states that this is the oldest Sweet Chestnut in East Yorkshire with a girth of 7.8 m. It dates back to the late 16th or early 17th century. I remember making a rough measurement of the tree with the help of my kids years ago and reporting the tree to the Ancient Tree Hunt website so I feel I've somehow contributed to the recognition and protection of the magnificent tree.

Jackdaw.

A Mute Swan navigating the lilies.

Yellow Lily fruits and Great Pond Snails. 

A view of the North Lake

Small Red-eyed Damselfly.

Black-tailed Skimmer.

I leave the holiday park and make my way to Sproatley, where I'm keen not to miss my 277 bus to Hull at 13:48. I have some time and I explore the Arboretum, where I find my first adult Long-winged conehead of the year. As I walk on the village, I find a couple of Holly Blues feeding on snowberry flowers and near them, a Purple Hairstreak! I'm just underneath an oak. I take some photos and as I carry on and in the canopy of a different oak, a flurry of Purple Hairstreaks! I manage to photograph three at once. What a way to finish the day!

Long-winged Conehead.

A view of the grand holiday park entrance.

Some decorative vases in the arboretum.

Holly Blue.

Purple Hairstreak.

Find the three Purple Hairstreaks.

Risby Warren with Hull Nats

My first visit to this Nature Reserve and SSSI in North Lincolnshire, near Scunthorpe. Risby Warren sits on a post-industrial landscape, result of the open cast extraction of iron ore from an almost 12 km long seam running near the surface, N-S just east and north of the town Scunthorpe, and which fed first its iron production and then the steelworks. The ore extraction led to depressions in the land (The Ironstone Gullets) which eventually filled with water and re-vegetated, and are used for leisure, recreation, wildlife conservation and also as land landfill. Iron ore extraction continues in some areas and the continuous extraction has also led to land subsidence and the appearance of sink-holes. Although Risby Warren NR is on the edge of one of the gullets and not far from ore extraction and iron works, the place feels wild,expansive and remote, perched on higher land that contains the largest relic inland sand dune in Britain. The recent heat waves (three and counting!) and very little rain means that the sandy ground is very dry and many plants wilted or bone dry. The abundant Viper's-Bugloss, Wood Sage and Hound's Tongue retain their greenness. As we expected given the historical use as a rabbit warren, Rabbits are plentiful and together with the effect of wind and sand, are keeping the vegetation short. The heather forms short mounds with flower spikes starting to bloom. We planned the meeting this time of year to try and see the elusive Grayling. John a local who has carried out butterfly surveys for many years greets us and leads the way. We leave the botanists behind and we sweep the area in search for the Grayling. The morning started cloudy, but the clouds are parting, the sun burning every time it shines, but it is breezy, a cool NE wind which appears to deter the species. John has to leave and we have had no holy Grayling!

 

The wheat is ready for harvest. The next field was being harvested as we parked by the reserve entrance.

Labirynth Spider.

Roesel's Bush-cricket.

Painted Lady on Viper's Bugloss.

A huge congregation of Jackdaws rose over the warren.

Brown Argus.

Mottled Grasshopper.

A view of the vegetated dunes.

A view of the mobile dune.

We have lunch under the shade of a lone hawthorn and then we join the botanists and explore the dunes together. We end up doing a circular walk and finish the trip with a few additional dragonflies.

Essex Skipper.

Painted Lady on ragwort.

A group of Exmoor ponies emerges from the dunes by a woodland. They make a very picturesque sight, and they add to the rabbits and some sheep in grazing the common to manage scrub encroachment on the heath and acid grassland.

pony.

Small Heath.