Spring in Yorkshire - Other Wildlife

Our original plan for our trip up to Yorkshire, was to drive direct to Buckton, with rest breaks along the way. It wasn't until we were actually driving north on the A23 that Bob suddenly wondered about the possibility of detouring to Glapthorn Cow Pastures. It's a site in Northamptonshire that is known to be good for Black Hairstreaks - a rare butterfly species in the UK. As I was navigating, I had a quick look on my phone and saw that it would only add about 40 minutes to our journey. Since I'd never seen this butterfly species in its natural woodland habitat - the local colony in East Sussex is of questionable origin, and has most likely been introduced - I was eager to visit this new site. I like being spontaneous and I think Bob was surprised I agreed. In the end, it was the perfect place for us to stop for lunch and enjoy some time in a beautiful quiet woodland. Of the few people there, most were about to leave when we arrived. Bizarrely, I recognised one of them too from back home!

It was quite easy to find the ride where the majority of Black Hairstreaks were nectaring. Since it wasn't sunny to begin with, it wasn't too tricky taking some photos as they weren't too flighty. I couldn't believe how many I was seeing. There were several flying around in one small area, and as we ambled up the ride we saw many more - about 30 in total. I saw more in that hour than I had in total prior to that occasion. For the majority of time it was just the two of us in this small stretch of the woodland. It was so peaceful. For the most part, only the sounds of the birds and bees could be heard. It was heavenly!

One of the reasons why I'd chosen our accommodation at the farm in Buckton was because the deck of the cabin overlooked a lovely extensive garden. Even from inside, we had a view of some bird feeders nearby, plus a view down a wide ride with overhanging trees leading to another open green space adjacent to neighbouring fields. Between there and the garden was an enclosed area with a pond. The hedges and trees divided each section, so it was a bit of a maze and wonderful to explore.

As it was sunny on those first few days, we often looked to see what butterflies were in the garden. I was very pleased to photograph a fresh looking Painted Lady nectaring one time and the underside of a Red Admiral, which was curling up its proboscis. As it turned out, we saw loads of Painted Lady butterflies during the course of the week. There was a very sudden influx of them around the country at the time. I've never seen so many before. We literally saw hundreds every day.

We loved walking around the grounds at the farm, during the day and evening. In the lower open section we were hoping to see a Barn Owl flying over the patches of tall grass, but unfortunately we weren't lucky on any of the evenings. However, we did spot a Hedgehog on two occasions, which was fabulous.

This holiday was mostly about seeing the birds - specifically Seabirds, which you may have read about already in the first half of this blog. But, there were plenty of other bird species that we spotted. I loved the Tree Sparrows especially, and had remembered seeing them before on my previous trips. The adults were busy flying around the flowers looking for insects, not only for themselves to eat, but also to feed their fledglings. Amazingly, the fledglings were often seen sitting on the footpaths at the nature reserve and not too wary of people. You can see the yellow gape flange at the base of the beak, which gives the adults a high visibility area for feeding.

In this last photo, you can see the fledgling has been ringed. It was a bit more adventurous and wasn't just staying on the path, but looking for insects itself, up on the grassy banks.

Also, seen around Bempton Cliffs one day was this gorgeous Sedge Warbler singing its heart out.

Plus, several Linnets were seen flying around the wildflower meadows (male photographed below). The Skylark we spotted on our walk around Flamborough Headlands, also being very vocal, which was lovely to see and hear.

We saw lots of hirundines flying around the reserve, and some were even nesting in the eaves of the visitor centre. We spotted a few on the ground nearby one time, picking up some nesting material.

I also enjoyed the challenge of photographing the swallows on the move, flying low over the fields near the nature reserve. We often walked along the track from Buckton leading to the coast, not just during the daytime, but also in the evenings. There was always something of interest to see. Several times, we saw and heard some Yellowhammers, perched high along the hedgerow.

We would always keep an eye open for Brown Hares too, whenever we reached a gap in the hedgerow, so we could see into the fields. One time I was lucky and managed to take a photo. But, most of the time, they heard us coming and ran away quickly. It was when we were on our evening walks that we saw the most hares.

It was also when we saw some Barn Owls, quartering the fields, looking for prey. Most evenings we spotted at least one, but it was too dark to bother with taking photos. In fact, it was lovely having evening strolls leaving our cameras behind and just enjoying whatever we saw.

On one of the first evenings after we arrived, we were in the car heading out of the village, when Bob suddenly noticed a Little Owl perched on a street sign beside the road. Amazing! Thankfully, we both caught a glimpse of it before it flew off. We had a better sighting of a different Little Owl elsewhere, on one of our day trips.

In the middle of the week, we took a break from photographing the seabirds and headed inland to RSPB St Aidan's, just south of Leeds. It used to be an open cast coal mine and now nature has taken over this previously industrial site. A Little Owl has taken up residence on one of the giant relics of machinery called 'Oddball'. It's not a bird of prey I often see, and despite it being a bizarre spot to photograph it, I'm always happy to see one.

We saw a lot of the usual species of waterbirds you'd expect to find whenever you have large pools of water, including Moorhens (above). I love the clear reflection of this chick in the water, as it was quietly resting on a log.

We were hoping to catch a glimpse of a Black-necked Grebe, which are known to breed here. I'd had my first ever sighting of one locally, just earlier this year in April, when one was passing through. We kept a look out at St Aidan's, but it was proving very difficult to see them as they were mostly hiding in the reeds. But, at one point, when we'd almost given up hope, we spotted one quite some distance away heading back towards the reeds. I quickly took some photos with my camera, but they weren't worth keeping, they were that bad! However, they were at least good enough to know we had seen one!

There were several Reed Buntings around the reserve and we both took several photos of these. They can be very obliging and perch at the top of a bush or hedge in clear sight and sing, as this male was doing. Then later, towards the end of the day, we spotted this female with a beak full of spiders. She was clearly on her way back to her nest to feed her young.

On this day, the highlight for me was having some time to observe a family of Great Crested Grebes. There was a gap in the hedgerow, beside one of the channels of water, where we were able to stand and watch their behaviour, not too far away from us. Although they kept a watchful eye on us, they didn't move away or feel threatened. For ages, I've been wanting to capture the young chicks - often referred endearingly as 'humbugs' - whilst they are riding on the back of the adult. This particular adult had three nestled in amongst its feathers. I love the way their faces are peering out from behind her neck. They had good reason to do this. The other adult was approaching with a fish and they were eagerly awaiting to be fed!

It might look as though the fish is too big for the little one to swallow whole, but I can assure you, eventually it did!

Whilst the little ones are on the left, the other adult on the right is having a shake, to expel the water from its feathers. What I didn't realise, is the adults are about to swap over duties.

The adult carrying the chicks suddenly extended its wings, lifted up, and rather unceremoniously deposited the chicks into the water.

Whilst the first adult went off fishing, the chicks swam to the other parent and two of the youngsters clambered onto its back. The third one swam around a bit longer and then lifted up and down, very quickly. I love it when they do this. Since their wings aren't very big yet, they don't have the power to control the movement for very long, like the adults can.

This third chick then decided it wanted to join the others, but it had a little difficulty clambering onto the adult's back. You can see it's not that easy! Thankfully, with a little perseverance and several attempts, it finally managed it.

It was so wonderful to watch their behaviour. In fact, it was great to be somewhere else that day, away from the coast and seeing something a little different.

Overall, the holiday in Yorkshire was perfect, with plenty of time for relaxing as well as wildlife watching. We also had a fabulous follow-up week as we gradually worked our way back home via Norfolk, Suffolk and Kent, revisiting some of our favourite nature reserves in the area.

Read the final post from this trip: Heading Home from Yorkshire.