Almost a year to the day, I'm back at Fylingdales, on the North Yorks Moors NP, this time with Sarah, for a Bog Bush-cricket recce. We even take the same circular walk. Fylingdales moor is very extensive and scattered records of Bog Bush-crickets are found over a large area, so by necessity we can't survey the whole area. No Bog Bush-crickets at the car park. Instead, a frog and a small heath have to do. We do catch up with the first one soon enough on the wet heath at the left hand side of the main track down to the Jugger Howe. There is plenty of cross-leaved heath and purple moorgrass, with wet boggy patches.
Common Frog
A curious lamb briefly straying away from mum.
This lizard came up to me as I was looking for bush-crickets.
One of the first Bog Bush-crickets. It jumped to my phone, and before I could do anything about it, it was onto the heath again.
The view towards the east from the path.
Cross-leaved Heath.
Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary.
Thyme.
We start descending the valley to Jugger Howe beck. On the bare path, we come across several Green Tiger Beetles. We find more Bog Bush-crickets on the lush heath by the side of the beck. After a quick lunch, it's time to follow the path by the beck to complete the circular walk.
Green Tiger Beetle.
Bog Bush-cricket.
The Jugger Howe valley
And another Bog Bush-cricket nymph. They were really plentiful.
A very pregnant lizard on the boardwalk.
A Bog Bush-cricket on Bracken.
Bog Cinquefoil and Golden-ringed Dragongfly.
Small Heath.
A small bog by the beck.
Keeled Skimmer, by a flush by the boardwalk.
It is less humid at the top as we return to the car for our next stop, Harewook Dale, just a short drive away. This is a conifer plantation, but a recent bush-cricket record on the side of the track by a clear-felled area prompted us to visit.
There are ditches by the track, with some cross-leaved heath and purple moorgrass, but we see no bush-crickets.
A dark pool which held several species of dragonfly and damselfly.
Emperor Dragonfly.
Four spotted chaser
Large Red Damselfly in copula.
Sphagnum moss
Large skipper.
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