Wilberforce Wood, Noddle Hill and Castle Hill with Hull Nats

A warm sunny day, I decide to do some dragonfly recording at Foredyke Green and Noddle Hill in the morning, and join Hull Nats visit to Castle Hill Farm in the afternoon. I take the bus to Kingswood and walk along Wilberforce Woods. A local kindly leads me to a striking metal sculpture in the woods I've been wanting to see for a while. There is an earthy ridge on the ground with the shape of a slave ship, and the statue is at the front. I would have never found it on my own!

The striking metal sculpture of an enslaved man. I have been unable to find any information online about it.

Butterflies

It is a great summer for butterflies, in stark contrast with last year's. Large White, Gatekeepers and Comma are particularly abundant, and Red Admirals follow closely behind. Ringlets, freshly emerged Peacocks and Meadow Browns are also about. I only find Small Skippers today. A total of 13 species were recorded.

A Gatekeeper basking early in the morning.

Small Skipper.

Large White nectaring on Creeping Thistle

Red Admiral.

Comma.

Peacock, showing its very dark underside.

Speckled Wood.

Holly Blue.

The biggest surprise of the day, a Purple Hairstreak who landed on a gate near Castle Hill mound, not a butterfly I come across very often! The curious thing is that we couldn't find many oaks around.

Grasshoppers and Bush-crickets

Five species were recorded, Roesel's Bush-cricket and Long-winged Conehead in several places, Lesser Marsh Grasshopper, Common Field Grasshopper and the last, with a single record, Speckled Bush-cricket on the eastern side of Noddle Hill.

Roesel's Bush-cricket.

Long-winged conehead, female nymph.

Adult female Speckled Bush-cricket.

Dragonflies and Damselflies

Twelve species recorded, aided by the warm conditions. A few damselflies at Foredyke Green pond, which was the earliest in the morning I visited. Things got more exciting at Noddle Hill, with Black-tailed Skimmers and a male and a female Banded Demoiselles at the pond-dipping pond. Ruddy Darters and Southern Hawkers were also around. As I was leaving, I spotted a Red-eyed Damselfly. Many Brown Hawkers were quartering the rides and footpaths everywhere, I flushed several, but I only managed a couple of record shots. The pond near the Trans-Pennine trail, which was created around a year ago, was wonderful (top shot) and kept us entertained for a long time. Male emperors patrolled whilst females oviposited. A couple of Four spotted chasers and plenty of Black-tailed Skimmers, enjoying the open ground of the pond margins. Overall, 12 species of dragonflies and damselflies. 

Black-tailed Skimmer.

Male Banded Demoiselle.

Female Banded Demoiselle.

Ruddy Darter.

A Southern Hawker at Dragonfly Alley at Noddle Hill.

Large Red Dragonfly at Noddle Hill.

Male Emperor.

Female Emperor ovipositing.

My record shot of a Brown Hawker.

Black-tailed Skimmers mating.

****

Other than these groups there were a few further highlights. Three Hares off Noddle Hill was the largest number I've seen together

Yellow Water-lily at Holderness drain.

Naturalist in action on the new grasslands by a ditch.

Singing Linnet.

Terrapin at the pond-dipping pond at Noddle Hill.

A walk along the urban Humber

 I had been told of a returned Curlew and Oystercatchers at Victoria Dock village last week, and I realised that I didn't have Oystercatcher in my 100 bird challenge list, and I hadn't seen Curlew by Victoria Dock this year, so I headed to the Humber this morning, as low tide was at 10:40, hoping for some waders.

I lingered around the river, and I found a pristine Painted Lady by Scale Lane Bridge. Only my 4th this year.

Painted Lady

I search for Short-winged Coneheads on the sea clubrushes and other saltmarsh vegetation. They like to bask in the morning and it was cool enough but sunny. I scan the likely basking spots with the binoculars. I find several adults, some of them look like long-winged forms, and plenty of nymphs. 

Female Short-winged Conehead.

There are several House Martins flying over the mouth of the river Hull, I wonder if there is a colony nearby, or they are young of this year dispersing from their nest sites. They join the pair of Swallows at Myton Bridge. Soon enough I find the female Curlew on the first stretch of Victoria Dock. She is picking ragworms from the mud at the bottom of the sea wall. 

At Half-tide basin, a young Pied Wagtail and returned Black-headed Gulls are the only thing of note.

I reach the end of Victoria Dock and spot the Curlew. It is a male, and one of its legs has a noticeable kink. It is limping, but otherwise looks alert and feeding well. Looks like it broke its leg and it has healed in that position. Then an Oystercatcher flies over (number 94 for the challenge). I would have liked a better sighting, but hopefully, I will see them again this year.

Lesser Black-backed Gull with juvenile.

Pair long-calling.

Oystercatcher.

Returning along the promenade I watch five House Martins collecting mud.

House Martins collecting mud from the Humber mudflats.

House Martin with a beakful of mud.

Some occupied nests at Victoria Dock village.

Black-headed Gull.

Wonky leg Curlew, a male.

A Dunnock fledgling.

A Black-headed gull young of the year.

Pied wagtail by Hull College with food.

Stock Dove on the Guildhall.

Holderness: Rimswell, Roos and Tunstall

A cooler morning than previous days, blue skies with fluffy clouds, an ideal day for a long walk. Today I'm heading for Roos, and visiting Rimswell and Tunstall in a circular walk of around 17 km. I start the walk at Withernsea North Road, the last stop of X7 bus. I start by recording butterflies at the thistles on the corner of the field there: Gatekeeper, Small Tortoiseshell, Ringlet, and whites, plenty of whites. I'm rewarded by a Hummingbird Hawkmoth, my first this year, feeding on Red Valerian in a front garden. 

Small Tortoiseshell.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth

I walk on the roadside by Withernsea Sands holiday village and take a left public right of way towards Rimswell Valley and then Rimswell. The footpath weaves around arable fields, mostly of wheat, with some barley and many with broad margins, which are buzzing with butterflies, hoverflies and bumblebees. A section after a derelict bridge is on a paddock overgrown with hogweed and brambles. Then I come out by Port Natal house, and a surfaced track. A woman walking her dog asks where I'm walking. I mention how few people I encounter in these walks and the solitude and she says 'you can hear a pin drop!'. I concur!

Wheat field, looking north.

A female Black-tailed Skimmer, rests on the footpath.

A derelict bridge near Rimswell Valley.

Common Darter.

A curious young Wren.

Rimswell is a small village, along a street, Church Road. Two horses follow a cat along a field, while a Rabbit watches. Swallows and House Sparrow chirp from wires and roofs. A Buzzard calls.

Rabbit at Rimswell.

Church of St Mary, Rimswell.

The public footpath follows field margins. This wheat field at Carr Farm gave me my favourite sighting of the walk, a singing Yellow Wagtail.

Yellow Wagtail singing from the wheat.

Yellow Wagtail.

Buzzard.

A better bridge, White Bridge, with Roos in the horizon, hidden by the trees.

Yellowhammer.

I get to Roos at midday and I'm very pleased by its many mature trees. The church grounds have large lime trees and beeches. A bench is in the full sunshine, so I sit on the steps to have my snacks listening to a  Goldcrest singing from the yew trees. A Robin emerges with some prey (a lacewing, I think) in its bill and does a bit of basking. Later I spot a Blackbird basking too. Roos is quite a large village, extending mainly north to south. I walk north, taking photos of the Swifts and Housemartins, and then take a narrow footpath heading towards Tunstall, along fields.

Roos All Saints Church.

Robin basking.

Blackbird basking.

 A Sedge Warbler.

All Saints Tunstall Church.

It's getting warmer as I get to Tunstall by the main road. After a short walk to the churchyard, I take  Seaside Lane to the bus stop at Sand-le-Mere. I have an hour until the next bus so I check the ponds out. Green-veined and Small White butterflies lick salts by a pond, while four or five males Black-tailed Skimmers chase over the water, one of them catches a female and they mate. All through the walk today, hundreds or thousands of thrips filled the air, landing in dozens on my face and arms. I take the Swifts and Swallows are scooping them out.

Singing Swallow.

Mute Swan with cygnets.

A snoozing cygnet.