Lower Derwent Valley NNR Sightings - May 2015
May turned out to be a rather quiet
month on the bird front, with many species busy getting on with the breeding season,
and due to a lack of standing water spring passage was limited. The last few
signs of winter included a lone Pink-footed Goose at Wheldrake Ings
until the 12th and the last lingering Pintail until the 19th,
whilst a showy drake Garganey at Bank Island early in the month gave a
more seasonal flavour. A Great White Egret (an annual visitor in recent
years) flew over Bank Island on the 15th whilst up to five Little
Egrets were present in the same area on the 14th, with one pair
lingering until the end of the month. Up to 28 pairs of Grey Herons were
nesting in the local heronry with a total of 21 chicks colour-ringed there on
the 27th.
A pair of Red Kites attempted breeding but appeared
to move on after nest building - much to the relief of the herons who had their first clutch of chicks predated on by the pair. An Osprey flew north on the 25th, the only record for the month. Surprisingly there was only one sighting of a Marsh Harrier during the
month, a single at Wheldrake Ings on the 2nd, but several Hobbies
and a single Peregrine remained throughout the month.
Last month’s Common Cranes remained in the
valley on the 1st and 2nd, while the 1st also
saw two Avocets and a Sanderling at Wheldrake Ings. Otherwise
passage waders were rather disappointing with seven Dunlin on the 6th
and a handful of Greenshank being the only highlights outside of the
usual spring roost of Whimbrel, which peaked at 123 on the 1st,
with 31 remaining on the 10th. Several roding Woodcock were
recorded on Skipwith Common (a noticeable increase in recent years) and several
broods of Lapwing, Redshank and Oystercatchers were
located during the month. Tern passage was similarly restricted with a total of
eight Arctic Terns logged on two dates, and two pairs of Common Terns
were present throughout the month on the tern rafts provided.
Arriving migrants included the first Turtle Doves
of the year on the 1st and 2nd, a Blue-headed Wagtail
at East Cottingwith with a Wheatear on the 5th, a large
arrival of Swifts between the 6th -10th, and
single Spotted Flycatchers at Melbourne on the 20th and
Skipwith Common on the 22nd. Cuckoo numbers continued to
increase during the month with another noticeable arrival late in the month
bringing the total to around 27 calling males throughout the wider valley area.
Many thanks to all the local birders and visitors who have submitted records throughout the month, and also to the local photographers who have sent in their photographs - Cuckoo (Mark Hughes), Turtle Dove (John Heaton) - all other photographs have been taken on site by the team.
BIRDS:
Mute Swan
– 37 non breeders were present at Wheldrake Ings
early in the month in addition to the two breeding pairs. The pair at the Top Pond
at North Duffield Carrs were the first to hatch with six cygnets on the 20th. The first of the two Wheldrake broods (one of
seven) appeared on the 21st with a brood of five later
appearing on the pool there on the 27th. 13 non-breeding
birds were present at North Duffield Carrs on the 28th.
Mute Swan - North Duffield Carrs - 20/05
Pink-footed Goose – A single was at Wheldrake Ings
from the 6th to 12th.
Egyptian Goose – A single was present in East
Cottingwith throughout the month.
Canada Goose – Four pairs raised broods on a
small pond in the East Cottingwith area during the month with other pairs
scattered throughout the wider area.
Greylag Goose – 8 pairs had a total of 63+
goslings at Wheldrake Ings on the 4th
when an additional 72 non-breeding birds were present. Up to 30 birds spent the
last two weeks of the month at Bank Island while other scattered pairs and
non-breeding groups were present in the wider area.
Greylag Geese - Released at NDC - 22/05
Teal – Breeding birds were scattered
throughout the valley during the month.
Wigeon – Up to eight pairs were present
throughout the valley during the month.
Pintail – Three
pairs were still present at Wheldrake Ings on the 1st with a
single pair remaining until the 15th and a lone drake on the 19th.
Garganey
– A drake was present at Wheldrake Ings on the 4th
and 5th before it moved to Bank Island on the 8th,
9th and 10th. A pair lingered at
Wheldrake from the 21st to month end.
Mallard –
Single broods (one of nine) appeared at Bank Island on the
5th, and near Melbourne on the 6th, with
broods appearing from then on throughout the remainder of the month.
Gadwall –
Breeding pairs were present throughout the valley. An adult male was caught and ringed in the swan pipe at North Duffield on the 14th.
Gadwall - North Duffield Carrs - 14/05
Tufted Duck – Up to 35 pairs were present
early in the month with Wheldrake Ings acting as the stronghold for these
birds.
Pochard – A single drake was present at
Wheldrake Ings on the 9th.
Water
Rail – Up to four calling birds were present throughout
the month at Wheldrake Ings. Another single remained near Church Bridge at
Melbourne on the 16th, suggesting breeding was possibly
taking place at this site which has held birds throughout the winter and
spring.
Little
Grebe – A single pair were present on Wheldrake Ings
throughout the month, with another pair at North Duffield Carrs and East Cottingwith, the latter appearing with four chicks on the 19th.
Cormorant – Up
to 15 non-breeding birds remained at Wheldrake Ings, with
feeding birds recorded regularly along the Pocklington Canal and River Derwent
throughout the month.
Grey Heron – Up to
28 nests were present in the heronry adjacent to Wheldrake Ings. Having failed
on the first clutches due to presumed Red Kite predation, seconds clutches fared
better with an average brood size of 2/3 chicks per each successful pair. 21
chicks were colour-ringed on the 27th when a minimum of 46
chicks were present in inspected nests. Please keep a look out for yellow
darvic’ed birds and report any sightings in the logbooks in the hides – thank
you.
Grey Heron chick - Thorganby - 27/05
Little
Egret – One or two were present daily from early on in
the month with five at Wheldrake Ings/Bank Island on the 14th,
and up to three daily thereafter until at least the 20th. Two were present on the 21st until month end. A single pair were present in
the heronry towards the end of the month.
Great
White Egret – A single flew over Bank Island towards Wheldrake
Ings on the 15th (FM).
Osprey – A
single was present near Melbourne on the 25th (CSR).
Red Kite – Singles were seen at Bank Island on the 1st, Storwood on the 3rd
and Melbourne on the 19th. A pair which had been holding territory
throughout April were found to have a completed and lined nest on the 8th.
However, they appeared to desert and move on after the 15th –
possibly a first-time breeding attempt.
Marsh
Harrier – A
single passage bird at Wheldrake Ings on the 2nd was surprisingly the only record during the month.
Peregrine – A single immature was still
present at Wheldrake Ings on the 6th
and 9th, another immature, perhaps the same bird, flew over Bank Island on the 28th.
Hobby – Singles were present at
Wheldrake Ings on the 1st
and 2nd and
North Duffield Carrs on the 6th.
One was seen between Bubwith and Holme-on-Spalding Moor on the 14th with singles at
Melbourne on the 19th and
23rd.
Kestrel – Present throughout the area with
many birds thought to be incubating clutches towards the second half of the
month.
Common Crane – The five birds from last month were
present at Ellerton on the 1st
and over North Duffield Carrs on the 2nd.
Moorhen – A pair were present with five
young at Melbourne on the 20th
with several other broods appearing towards the month end.
Avocet – A pair were at Wheldrake Ings
on the 1st before being
flushed by a Marsh Harrier and flying off to the north (DB).
Oystercatcher – A single pair were incubating
a clutch of three eggs at Thornton Ellers on the 18th, whilst a pair were feeding two young at East
Cottingwith on the 19th.
Oystercatcher chicks - East Cottingwith - 19/05
Lapwing – A brood of four newly hatched
chicks were present at Bubwith on the 4th,
along with three pairs with broods at Aughton Ings on the 4th. Further broods appeared throughout the site
thereafter.
Curlew – Breeding birds were present
throughout the valley during the month.
Common Snipe – Drumming males were present at
North Duffield Carrs on the 4th
while five were present at Aughton Ings on the 5th. Four 'drummers' were present on both North Duffield
Ings and North Duffield Carrs on the 8th.
Five drumming males were present at Ellerton Ings on the 18th.
Woodcock – Up to four roding birds were
present at Skipwith Common during the month.
Dunlin – Seven passage birds flew
through Wheldrake Ings on the 6th
with singles at Bank Island on the 10th
and 21st.
Sanderling – A single flew north over
Wheldrake Ings on the 1st.
Whimbrel – 123 roosted at Wheldrake Ings
on the 1st although
numbers declined quickly thereafter with 25+ remaining on the 6th. 31 were present at the
roost there on the 10th.
Redshank – A single pair appeared (by
their behaviour) to have chicks at North Duffield Carrs on the 16th with a brood later seen
at Aughton Ings on the 28th.
Spotted Redshank – A single flew over Bank Island
calling on the 8th (CSR,
FM, JT).
Greenshank – A single was at Bank Island on
the 8th followed by two
fly overs on the 13th. A
single was calling at Bank Island on the 20th
with one then at Wheldrake Ings on the 21st-29th.
Mediterranean Gull – A single adult in summer
plumage was present in fields between Wheldrake Ings and Elvington on the 14th.
Common Tern – A pair were present at
Wheldrake Ings on the 1st
followed by three at Canal Head on the 5th.
Two were at Bank Island on the 7th
along with birds between there and Wheldrake Ings, and a pair near Melbourne
thereafter until month end. The birds at Wheldrake Ings settled on the tern
raft from mid-month and appeared to be going to nest having made a scrape by
the 20th. They were sadly
then evicted by a pair of Black-headed Gulls that went on to build a nest by
the 24th.
Arctic Tern – Five flew north over Canal Head
at Pocklington on the 5th
with three over Bank Island on the 8th.
Barn Owl – A number of birds were present
throughout the valley although sightings declined from previous months as birds
returned to breeding sites.
Barn Owl - Melbourne - 19/05
Tawny Owl – Present throughout the area
but breeding success appeared low following the low vole numbers present early
in the year. Several pairs abandoned clutches or failed to rear broods – the
boxes then being taken over by Stock Doves or Barn Owls.
Short-eared Owl – A single pair were present in
the Melbourne and Thornton Ings area until at least the 10th but then appeared to move on.
Little Owl – A single was present at
Storwood on the 4th
whilst a pair were at Ellerton on the 15th.
A second pair were present at Storwood on the 22nd.
Green Woodpecker – One was ‘yaffling’ at the NNR
Base on the 5th and 7th, with one near Melbourne
on the 16th and Thornton
Ellers on the 20th.
Turtle Dove – The first returning birds were
‘purring’ at Foggathorpe and Skipwith on the 1st, with a
pair at Foggathorpe from the 2nd
onwards.
Turtle Dove - Foggathorpe - 02/05
Woodlark – Up to eight singing males
remained on Skipwith Common throughout the month, showing well and being particularly
vocal.
Tree Pipit – Four were at Skipwith Common
on the 14th with several
pairs present thereafter to month end.
Yellow Wagtail – A female Blue-headed bird was
present with three 'Yellows' on ploughed arable at East Cottingwith on the 5th.
Kingfisher – A single was calling behind
the NNR Base at Bank Island on the 13th
with another seen along the river bank there on the 27th.
Wheatear – Three were present on a
ploughed field near Hagg Lane at East Cottingwith on the 5th – showing characters of the Greenland race.
Swift – Two were at Wheldrake Ings on
the 1st with four there
on the 2nd. The first
widespread arrival took place on the 5th
with 30+ at Wheldrake Ings and birds scattered elsewhere throughout the site.
100+ were present in the northern half of the valley on the 6th up to 250+ by the 8th. 400+ were present at
Wheldrake Ings on the 9th
with 250+ there on the 10th. Present in good numbers thereafter.
Cuckoo – Good numbers were present
throughout the site with three by the canal at Church Bridge throughout the
month. Singles were at Bank Island on the 10th,
Wheldrake Ings, Thorganby and Skipwith Common on the 11th followed by two near Dunnington on the 12th and one at Thornton
Ellers on the 13th. Two were
at Skipwith Common and one at North Duffield Carrs on the 14th. Two were in the Allerthorpe area on the 15th with one also
at Elvington on the 18th
and two at Wheldrake Ings on the 21st.
A further small arrival took place towards the end of the month around the 23rd-25th
bringing several further birds. An estimated 27 calling birds were present throughout
the site.
Cuckoo - Melbourne - 10/05
Swallow – 250+ were at Wheldrake Ings on
the 10th.
Blackbird – A single fledged youngster at
Thorganby on the 15th was
the first of the year.
Robin – Two fledged young were present
at Melbourne on the 18th.
Common Whitethroat – Present in good numbers
throughout the site with several birds feeding on insects in the NNR base
garden.
Common Whitethroat - NNR Base - 08/05
Lesser Whitethroat – Two were present at Bank Island
on the 10th.
Spotted Flycatcher – The first of the year of this
declining species was present along the Pocklington Canal at Melbourne on the 20th (SJ). Another was at Skipwith
Common a few days later on the 22nd.
Tree Sparrow – Several pairs bred in the
boxes around the NNR base during the month with four fledging broods (15 young)
by month end.
Goldfinch – A fledged brood of two were
present at Melbourne on the 18th.
Yellowhammer – Good numbers were present in
the Thornton area during the month – a traditional stronghold in the valley.
MAMMALS:
Roe Deer – Four
bucks were present on Skipwith Common on the 14th when three
were also at Bank Island. Two were present at Elvington on the 15th.
A single female was present with a newly born fawn at Melbourne on the 16th
followed by a single female at Thornton Ellers on the 18th.
Fallow
Deer – A herd of 14 were seen at Skipwith Common on the 12th
and again on the 25th.
Weasel – One was
at North Duffield Carrs on the 1st.
Stoat – A
single was seen near Thorganby village on the 28th.
Otter – Two
were released (full story here) at North Duffield Carrs on the 4th
and were still present there on the 8th.
Otter - North Duffield Carrs - 04/05
Mink – A
single was reported by the Geoff Smith Hide at North Duffield Carrs on the 15th.
Brown Hare – Three
were at Bank Island on the 13th followed by four at North
Duffield Carrs on the 14th. Five were present at Thornton
Ellers on the 18th, with two there on the 28th.
Noctule
Bat – A single at Wheldrake Ings on the 6th
was the first of the year.
Water
Vole – Several were present along the beck at Melbourne
during the month.
AMPHIBIANS/REPTILES:
Common
Frog – Calling males were present at Melbourne Arm on the 19th
when hundreds of tadpoles were also found.
Common
Toad – A single was found under timber at Bank Island on
the 14th.
Common Toad - Bank Island - 14/05
Common
Lizard – Two were seen at Skipwith Common on the 13th.
Adder – A male
and female were present at Skipwith Common on the 4th with a
female still present there on the 7th and 20th.
Adder - Skipwith Common - 20/05
BUTTERFLIES:
Comma – A
single was seen at Bank Island on the 20th.
Brimstone
– Three at Skipwith Common on the 4th
with a single on the 7th, followed by one in the nearby
village on the 8th. Two were at Skipwith on the 22nd.
Large
White – Two at Skipwith Common and one at Thornton Ellers
on the 13th were the first of the year. A single at Bank Island
on the 20th followed by two in the base garden on the 26th.
Orange
Tip – Five at Bank Island on the 3rd
followed by five in the base garden on the 8th.
Orange Tip - Bank Island - 20/05
Speckled
Wood – One at Skipwith Common on the 4th
and one at Thorganby on the 8th.
Holly
Blue – The first of the year was present at Skipwith
Common on the 4th with another near Melbourne on the 10th.
One at Melbourne Arm on the 19th.
Holly Blue - Melbourne - 19/05
Common
Blue – The first of the year was seen at the NNR base garden,
Bank Island on the 13th.
Small
Copper – The first two of the year were present at
Skipwith Common on the 4th with another there on the 20th
and 22nd, when one was also present at North Duffield Ings.
Wall
Brown – The first of the year came from Skipwith Common
on the 26th – a typical location for this species.
DRAGONFLIES:
Large Red
Damselfly – 10+ were present on Skipwith Common on the 4th
with good numbers seen thereafter.
Large Red Damselfly - Skipwith Common - 19/05
Common
Blue Damselfly – A single at Elvington on the 8th
was the first of the year with one at Bank Island on the 22nd.
Azure Damselfly
– A single newly emerged individual was at the base pond on the 19th.
Blue-tailed
Damselfly – Two were present at Wheldrake Ings on the 26th.
Four-spotted
Chaser – A single on Skipwith Common on the 13th
was the first of the year, followed by singles there on the 15th,
20th and 22nd.
Banded
Demoiselle – Seven at Wheldrake Ings on the 26th
were the first of the year with two there on the 27th.
MOTHS:
Emperor
Moth – 20+ were day flying and attracted to pheromones
on the 20th.
Red-tipped
Clearwing – Two were present and attracted to pheromones at
Skipwith Common on the 20th.
Large
Red-belted Clearwing – A single was attracted to pheromones at Skipwith
Common on the 22nd.
Latticed
Heath – Three were day-flying at Skipwith Common on the 22nd.
Common Heath – Three
at Skipwith Common on the 25th.
Other species recorded throughout the month via the
moth trap at the base include: White Ermine, Muslin Moth, Eyed, Poplar and Elephant
Hawk-moths, Scalloped Hazel, Flame Shoulder, Clouded-bordered Brindle, Bright-line
Brown-eye, Angle Shades, Buff Tip, Spectacle, Blood-vein, Early Tooth-striped
and Small Clouded Brindle.
OTHER
INVERTS:
Hornet – A
single was seen and photographed at Thorganby on the 8th
followed by another in the hide at North Duffield Carrs on the 20th,
and one at the NNR Base on the 22nd.
Tortoise
Bug – A single was found on Knapweed at the reserve
base garden on the 8th followed by three there on the 13th
with two mating on the 15th. Four were present on the 22nd
with two there on the 28th.
Red and
Black Froghopper – The first of the year was seen at Melbourne on the 19th
with singles at Skipwith Common and Bank Island on the 20th.
Red & Black Froghopper - Melbourne - 19/05
14-spot Ladybird – The first of the year were two seen on the Common on the 4th, followed by singles on Skipwith again on the 19th and 20th.
14-spot Ladybird - Skipwith Common - 20/05
Harlequin
Ladybird – The first species of Harlequins to be found so far this year (Harmonia axyridis succinea) were two at Skipwith Common on the 20th.
Harlequin Ladybird - Skipwith Common - 20/05
Birch Shield
Bug – The first of the year was present at Skipwith
Common on the 20th.
NOTABLE
PLANTS:
Many ‘new’ plants for the year were noted throughout
the month, such as: Adder’s-tongue Fern, Mousetail, Green-winged Orchid, Ragged Robin, Bugle, Pignut, Autumn Hawkbit, Cotton Grass, Crosswort, Marsh Marigold and Narrow-leaved Water-plantain.
Adder's-tongue Fern - Newton Mask - 20/05
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