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Wildlife Sightings - June 2015
Sat 4th Jul, 2015
Early June continued this year’s cold summer trend with lower than average temperatures across the UK along with strong winds from the west and north. Temperatures in Leeds were down to 11° on the 1st! By the end of the month we were finally in a settled period with sun and calm conditions. Temperatures rose to 27° on the 30th in Yorkshire.
With insects suffering from the cold weather, eyes were trained on coastal watch points as a steady trickle of rare birds kept birders on their toes. It was a great start to the month in the Spurn area on the 1st with American Wigeon, Red-necked Phalarope and two Little Stint. South-westerly winds brought a splash of Mediterranean colour as a rush of Bee-eaters hit the east coast. The first at Spurn on the 5th was followed by another at Spurn and five at Flamborough on the 6th. Singles were then seen at both observatories over several days before five flew over Spurn on the 10th and a spectacular 11 flew over Bempton RSPB on the 16th! The 15th and 16th were an exciting couple of days at Flamborough with Temmincks Stint and a singing Greenish Warbler also found.
Temmincks Stint © Andy Hood
Common Crossbills breed very early in the year in the forests of the North York Moors National Park, often starting in January! By mid-summer they disperse far and wide with Scandinavian birds even turning up annually on the coast. Up to four were at Filey Bird Observatory on the 4th followed by up to two at Flamborough Bird Observatory later in the month.
Attention turned to sea mammals on the 5th as up to 25 Bottle-nosed Dolphins graced Flamborough Headland and 10 passed Filey. Photos show features indicating these individuals are part of the Scottish Moray Firth population.
Bottle-nosed Dolphins © Lee Johnson
Spurn continued to score on the rare bird front with Red-rumped Swallow and Alpine Swift on the 7th and 8th as Flamborough played host to the only Common Rosefinch of early June on the 8th. It has been a very poor spring for Shrikes so news of a male Red-backed Shrike at Flamborough on the 10th was most welcome. A Laughing Gull was a fabulous find at Spurn on the 13th, another red letter day at this site with Marsh Warbler and Bee-eater seen the same day! Willow Tits are now considered a rare breeding bird in the UK. Small numbers can be found in the Vale of Pickering but they are rare on the coast so one at Reighton on the 23rd was a surprise for coastal birders.
Laughing Gull © Tim Jones
As temperatures finally started climbing, the second half of the month proved productive for insects and emerging summer flowers. Frog Orchid is a rare plant in our region so the discovery of a small colony in the north of the Yorkshire Wolds was a lovely find. At the same site a fantastic display of scarce plants included Autumn Gentian and the scarce Heartsease a spectacular member of the Pansy family. At Thornwick Country Park Northern Marsh Orchids were showing alongside three species of Fumitory!
Heartsease © Richard Baines
Autumn Gentian © Richard Baines
A Deaths Head Hawk-moth was a great find but unfortunately dead at Kilnsea on the 22nd. This huge hawk-moth was followed by another monster at Spurn on the 30th as a Privet Hawk-moth was caught at light. Hummingbird Hawk-moths were recorded from a couple of sites including Fordon Banks on the 7th along with a Small Elephant Hawk-moth at this site. There are many amazing moths in our region and in partnership with Butterfly Conservation our YCN team have been exploring deep into the North Yorkshire Forests. A successful session on the 28th produced a lovely selection of scarce species including Birch Mocha, Welsh Wave, Nut Tree Tussock and Clouded Magpie!
Birch Mocha © Richard Baines
Small Elephant Hawk-moth © Dan Lombard
Dragonflies and damselflies were on the wing in good numbers and the sudden hot weather at the end of the month brought in migrant Red-veined Darters to Filey with three found on the 30th. Well over 200 Azure Damselflies along with large numbers of Common, Large Red, and Blue-tailed along with Emperor Dragonfly, Four-spot and Broad-bodied Chasers were all noted at Pexton Ponds on the 27th. Ladbybirds were also out in force this month: sharp eyes spotted a scarce Eyed Ladybird at Deepdale on the 21st.
Red-veined Darter © Mark Pearson
Eyed Ladybird © Dan Lombard