Beverley Westwood and Burton Bushes in April

A cold, sunny start of the day. I put an extra layer on and took the bus to Beverley. I head towards the Westwood, keen not to miss the Wood Anemone's show, which I've been told is soon to be over. As I reach the Westwood, I can hear Skylarks and Linnets singing.

Skylark.

Bluebells.

The impact of the fence (keeping cattle out) on the density of Bluebells is striking.

A very nice patch of Greater Stitchwort.

The entrance to the central ride of Burton Bushes.

An ancient oak near Burton Bushes.

A fallen trunk got wedged on another tree and suspended over the path.

I get to a lovely glade with a large carpet of Dog's Mercury (above and top shot). I linger in that area for a while, as it is a hotspot of woodland birds. Nuthatches are calling, a Jay screeches and then does a hawk-like call for a while. A Goldcrest is singing over my head. A Great Spotted Woodpecker is feeding on a tree nearby. Even a Tree-creeper joins the party. A Speckled Wood flutters around, and finally settles. A Blue Tit arrives with feathers on its bill and enters a crack in the trunk of a large oak.

Speckled Wood.

Singing Goldcrest.

Robin.

Treecreeper.

Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Nuthatch.

After a while, I leave the glade. I'm a bit disorientated after moving back and forth. So far, I've met nobody in the woods, but soon I meet a few dog walkers on the main paths.

Wood Anemones.

I still find a few fresh Wood Anemones, including these very pink ones.

Pink Wood Anemones.

Time to leave the Burton Bushes. Here they are, looking back.

Flowering Cuckoo's Pint, Arum maculatum.

A peek into the Cuckoo's Pint flower. The hair-like projections stopping flies from leaving the cavity containing the male and female are visible. Flies are attracted to the flowers' carrion smell and pollinate the plant.

Jackdaw at the Minster.

Blackbird carrying food.

I check the towers but I don't see the Peregrines. I find a couple of old legs of birds and some Barn Owl pellets, which I will dissect and report back here.

A train trip to Beverley and walk to the Westwood and Burton Bushes

 

It has been a while since I've visited Burton Bushes. It is the easiest ancient woodland to reach by public transport, just a short train ride away to Beverley. This is a pocket of ancient woodland, 13 ha, on the NW corner of Beverley Westwood Pastures on the foothills of the Yorkshire Wolds. It is a misty, cool morning and the mist actually becomes a disorientating fog in the afternoon. From the station, I walk to and around the Minster, three Stock Doves sat atop the roof, the Jackdaws and Feral Pigeons flushed, but no sign of Peregrines. I admire the monumental beech on a corner of the Minster.

A view from the south yard.

After, I walk west and pop in the Treasure House garden. A Goldcrest is singing from the conifers. I take the green lane by Beverley Minster primary school, and emerge at the Westwood. A Skylark flies away from a pool on the pastures, Rooks feed on the grass.

The mist view towards the Burton Bushes.

Rafts of Redwings fly off from the hawthorns. I think that I should have packed a snack, but then I find a Wild Apple on a hedge, rescue a couple of fallen apples from the brambles underneath and pop them in my backpack.

Redwing.

A magnificent Hawthorn.

Oak

I eat my foraged elevenses by a bench at the entrance of Burton Bushes, is very sharp!

More Redwings are inside the Burton Bushes, gorging on the Holly berries.

I have to stop several times to try and capture in photos the autumnal beauty of this woodland with its magnificent Oak trees and carpet of russet leaves. There are some clear paths, but secondary paths are often blocked by fallen branches, and it is exhilarating to get lost amongst the vegetation. I come to a clearing where several Great Tits and Coal tits are feeding, and I hear Nuthatches. A Great Spotted Woodpecker is also feeding high on the canopy. The light is not great, but it is a great wood to explore.

Candlesnuff Fungus.

Nuthatch.

Holly laden with berries.

Beverley Westwood in August

 The members of the lab at work met for a picnic at the Westwood, the first time we meet face to face as a group since the lockdown. It was a glorious day, sunshine, a light breeze. We got there early and took a walk in Burton Bushes. As we came out onto the south-facing side of the woodland, there were many Migrant Hawkers feeding, a few Common darters were also about.

After a walk around the common, we returned to the Burton Bushes for a picnic. I did a butterfly list, the most notable fresh Peacock and Painted Lady and a Common Blue. There were hundreds of migrant hawkers on the wing, feeding on the sheltered grassland. It was a wonder to behold!

Peacock.

Common Blue.

Common Green Grasshopper.

Dor beetle, Geotrupes sp.

The underside of Dor beetles is metallic blue and the mites that hang on to the beetle are visible.

a smaller, unidentified dung beetle.

A walk around Burton Bushes and Beverley Westwood

Andrew Chadwick at Hull Nats told me he'd seen a Nuthatch at Burton Bushes last week. This species is a rarity in East Yorkshire and I had never seen one there and very rarely in the surroundings of Hull (I had one at Pearson Park on the 22/7/2013), so today, after lunch I drove to the Westwood to have a look. It was breezy but quite mild, and it had been raining all morning.
 I have blogged about Burton Bushes before, a small patch of ancient woodland, with large oaks, holly and birch. The mosses in the wood were at their best. Wood Anemone leaves and buds were out, and the leaves of Bluebells and Dog's Mercury.
 There were many Blue and Great Tits about, a single Coal Tit, Robins singing. I was very pleased to find the woodland empty of people, as the place is very popular with dog walkers. I guess the mud must be keeping them away. I'm glad I wore my wellies, as the wood was very wet and the paths muddy. With the place to myself, I walked slowly around the wood, listening to the birds, backtracking to check calls, taking everything in. As I got to the easternmost side, I heard a Nuthatch call and saw one right away, then another in a tree nearby. They fed on the trunk of the trees, and one moved to the ground before both flew away away. I took some photos but didn't follow them, I'm hoping they are a pair and they establish themselves in the wood.

 After the circuit around the wood I walked along the eastern side of the Westwood, following the perimeter hedgerow. A female Bullfinch fed on hawthorn buds. Fifteen Blackbirds, a Song Thrush and a Redwing enjoyed the worms.
 After crossing the Walkington road I heard a Marsh Tit. I located it and got a few record shots. Further along a Skylark landed on the short grass of one of the golf course runs - also free of golfing today - and sat against the wind. Later two were singing over the long grass. On the lee side of the wind, two Goldcrests sallied to and fro from a low hawthorn catching midges. A flock of Starlings fed on the grass.

Nuthatch. It looks like it might have got a ladybird.

Looking for invertebrates in the oak bark. 

Common Gulls feeding on the wet grass with Beverley Minster in the background.

This normally dry valley was in flow. Many pools and puddles about too.

Bullfinch feeding on hawthorn buds.

A Song Thrush watches while a Blackbird pulls a worm.

Black Mill and the Minster.

Marsh tit with dishevelled plumage with the wind.

Skylark.

View of Burton Bushes.

Inside Burton Bushes.