Hull City Nature Challenge - Day 3 - KC Stadium railway triangle, Noddle Hill

I got nice and early and I was ready to go, only to realise I had stupidly forgotten to charge my phone overnight, which meant waiting for half an hour for it to charge before leaving the house. My plan was to head to the KC stadium triangle via the General Cemetery, then to Albert Dock. Not encouragingly it was cloudy and drizzling intermittently. 

I love to record Convalaria majalis, it reminds me of my mum, one of her favourite plants! Small and beautifully formed.

I was up for a lovely surprise as I hadn't even got inside the cemetery when I heard the song of a Treecreeper. This species can be very hit and miss, despite being resident at the cemetery. I recorded the song and then even managed a few record shots. A good start for the day!

I found a great illustration of rewilding at the cemetery (top shot), the Ivy and the Sycamores hugging a headstone, with the lush growth of Cow Parsley on the ground. But must concentrate on recording.

After a good search, I managed a single individual of Discus rotundatus under a log. They don't seem to be doing well, maybe the dry summer and autumn has meant their hiding spaces have declined. The cemetery is one of their hotspots in Hull.

The Wood Anemone, its last flowers all ragged, was hard to find, hidden by the incredible plant growth on the cemetery verges.

I moved to the KC stadium triangle, my aims were Rabbit, Kestrel and Long Tailed Tits, which had evaded me so far.

Rabbit was pretty easy, I found a young one right away, feeding with relish on the fresh growth of Giant Hogweed!

Giant Hogweed on the foreground and KC stadium on the background.

A carpet of Cowslips.

I briefly saw a Kestrel, but it didn't reappear and I got no record.

A view of the site from the mound, currently a Rabbit warren.

Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Whitethroats were singing. The scrubby area by the railway line was favoured by Linnets and a singing Sedge Warbler, which I failed to see.

Singing Linnet.

Singing Song Thrush.

The Long-tailed tits were very busy moving back and forth between a patch of brambles and some Sycamores, obviously feeding chicks. I failed to take any photos of them and they were quiet so sound recording wasn't an option. After a long wait, I decided to try and find the nest. I pointed my binoculars to the area where they were getting into the brambles, and luckily found it right away as the nest opening was facing me. My camera zoomed in to the entrance, it was a matter of waiting for an adult to return to get a photo. The Long-tailed Tits nest is very distinctive, so it alone could have made a record. After getting some photos, I left the Long-tailed tits to their busy feeding schedule and moved on. 

Long-tailed tit entering the nest with food.

The beautifully camouflaged, lichen-covered nest.

This Rabbit posed for me for a while.

Male Linnet collecting nest material.

My phone charge was getting low, so I headed back for lunch and a battery recharge at home via Princes Avenue. I made a stop at the Church on the Way to record some ferns, which were looking very fresh.

Wall Rue

Hart's tongue fern.

Maidenhair Spleenwort.

I was meeting MM after lunch for a trip to Noddle Hill Local Nature Reserve. I have blogged quite a bit about this wonderful suburban reserve, a haven for warblers. Blackcaps, Whitethroats, Lesser Whitethroats and Willow Warblers were recorded quickly, as was this Yellow-bellied Slider swimming in the pond.

Roe Deer.

I wanted to record Tree Sparrows, but the hedge at the pumping station where I usually find them up to two months ago had been completely removed. The removal of the hedge revealed these three old nest boxes, one of them without a roof. To my knowledge, this was the last area where Tree Sparrows nested in Hull. The species is Red Listed, and also in the Biodiversity Action Plan of Hull. We can't even give them a hedge and some decent nest boxes, so sad.

Reed Bunting.

Raptor wise we had Kestrels, two Buzzards and two Marsh Harrier flyovers, a species I wasn't expecting to add to the challenge. Yellowhammers are regular there but we missed them too.

Buzzard.

Marsh Harrier.

We walked on the north side of the reserve, and flushed a Fox without getting a photo, a Little Egret flew past and after an enjoyable chat with a very knowledgeable local, we managed a recording of a singing Cetti's Warbler. A nice bunch of species added to the challenge.