Kiplingcotes Chalk Pit and the Hudson Way

It was my first visit to Kiplingcotes Quarry YWT Nature reserve today. The site is a site of scientific interest and is a disused quarry. Chalk was extracted to be used in the embankments of the Hudson Way between Beverley and Market Weighton. It took me a while to triangulate it, as the entrance is not visible from the road, just from the path of the railway line, but after parking on Kiplincotes station and returning I managed to find it. Thanks to my slow driving while trying to find the site I managed to get some photos of a Little Owl right on the edge of the reserve, and not far from it a pair of Grey Partridges, which made for a very good start of the morning. It was still quite overcast, but in my little walk on the Hudson Way, a disused railway line, Ringlets, Meadow Browns, Marbled Whites and Large Skippers were active.
 There were some young warblers (not sure if Chiffchaff or Willow) on the hedges. I heard a male Chiffchaff sing nearby.
 By the time I got to the reserve the sky was starting to clear up and it was quite warm. Hundreds of butterflies were present, with some bramble bushes and a couple of patches of creeping thistle teeming with Marble Whites, Ringlets and Meadow Browns. Elsewhere in the reserve there were active Large Skippers, Small Heath and Common Blue and I saw a single Small Tortoiseshell and Red Admiral too, taking it to eight species of butterfly present. There were also several day-flying moths, Cinnabar, Six spot burnet, silver Y and a Bordered Sallow (thanks to Chris @VerwoodGarden for ID).
 At some point a Red Partridge started to call, that, the butterflies, the calling grasshoppers and the vivid memory of the the Little Owl sighting made me feel like I was in Spain.

Little Owl

Grey Partridges

Marbled White on Pyramidal orchid

Ringlet

Willow or chiffchaff young?

Common Spotted Orchid

Male Large Skipper

Swallow

Mullein

Rabbits and wild pansies

Yellowhammer, one of two males singing in the reserve

Wild pansy

Marbled White and 6 spot burnet

Yellow Rattle

6 spot burnet

Bordered Sallow moth, Pyrrhia umbra, also feeding on bramble

Robin's Pin Cushion

Cinnabar moth

Mating large skippers

Stonecrop

Pisaura mirabilis, Nursery web spider with nursery

Male Common Green Grasshopper

Meadow Brown feeding on Selfheal

Marbled White

A bit battered Male Common Blue

Small Heath feeding on Eyebright. This was the first time I saw this species of butterfly. It rests with wings closed and leans to one side to face the sun, some times almost resting on one side.

Marbled White and Meadow Brown on Creeping thistle

Common Blue

Silver Y feeding on Meadow Cranesbill

More information
YWT site. Here.
NBG site with information on the flora and fauna of the reserve. Here.
Hull Valley Wildlife group site. Here.

Bird list

1. Blackbird
2. Blackcap
3. Blue Tit
4. Bullfinch
5. Buzzard
6. Carrion Crow
7. Chaffinch
8. Goldfinch
9. Great Tit
10. Grey Partridge
11. Linnet
12. Little Owl
13. Long-tailed Tit
14. Magpie
15. Red-legged Partridge
16. Robin
17. Skylark
18. Swallow
19. Whitethroat
20. Woodpigeon
21. Wren
22. Yellowhammer

Bug fest at Tophill Low Summer of Wildlife Event

A cloudy, mild respite from the hot weather of the last couple of weeks, we spend the day at Tophill Low. As we arrive, we join @esticadinho13 at the moth trap, where he shows us the range of moths captured overnight. The kids delight on holding various moths, which are mostly very obliging, and sit still while held.

  Then we walk south towards South Marsh, find a picnic spot by East Pond for lunch. There are lots of Butterflies by the verges, especially Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Small Skipper and a few Six Spot Burnets. After a quick stop by South Marsh, where we manage to see two Marsh Harriers dropping in the nest, we turn round and head towards D woods, where we join the Yorkshire Watch group for some pond dipping.

All moths below from the moth event, for more on moths at Tophill Low visit Martin Hodges site.

A couple of highlights are a Little Egret flying over D res and two common shrews found by my son.

Elephant Hawkmoth

 Coxcomb Prominent

Swallow Prominent Moth ?

Garden Tiger

Peach Blossom

Buff Footman Eilema depressa

Garden Tiger, Arctia caja

Female Ruddy Darter, pausing briefly on an information panel

Female Emerald Damselfly

Male Blue Tailed Damselfly

Lots of Ringlets and Small Skippers gave me this rare chance for both species on the same shot.

Large Skipper on creeping thistle

Meadow Brown

Small Skipper, they often sit on flowers with fore and hindwings at different angles

Six Spot Burnet

 Ringlet

Six spot burnet

Another Small Skipper on Knapweed

A Cucumber spider Araniella sp. with captured soldier beetle, one of my favourite photos of the day. 

A Zelotes sp. a beautiful glossy all black spider., a first for me.

On the grassy verges by South Pond there were plenty of nursery webs of the nursery web spider, Pisaura mirabilis, but we didn't find any adults

Mating Soldier Beetles, lots about.