June is typically dominated by breeding species and
activity – and this June was no exception. As the weeks progressed it became
clear that it was going to be a successful month for many species. Good
numbers of breeding ducks had been present earlier in the season, especially
Gadwall, and as the water levels receded many broods began to appear out of the
swamp areas and back into the ditch network and onto the pool at Wheldrake
where many broods were seen including a total of 121 ducklings. A Mandarin
provided a more exotic appearance and continued the run of increasing records
over recent years. Maybe they will eventually colonise the valley as Egyptian Geese
have started to do, a pair appeared off site with a brood of six during the month. Grey
Herons also appear to have had a successful breeding season, and as young birds
fledged and left the heronry they concentrated onto the remaining few wetter
areas, with up to 36 counted between Wheldrake Ings and Bank Island on the 25th.
Recently fledged Grey Heron - '41' - T.Weston
Two adults and a juvenile Little Egret were present
in the valley towards the end of month, raising the possibility of local
breeding following up to six birds present during May. The highlight of the
month was a Purple Heron which flew over the reserve base at Bank Island on the
13th, unfortunately it couldn’t be relocated over the following
days. A Common Crane (or two) put in yet another appearance early in the month at the
southern end of the valley and also on Skipwith Common - probably the same
wandering individuals which have been appearing since late March.
Little Egret - 23/06 - Breighton
Numbers of breeding waders have shown a small
increase on recent years and breeding success appears to have been high this
year with several broods of Curlew seen during the month. An intriguing flock
of 75+ Common Snipe have also been seen at Wheldrake late in the month, which seems a
little early for passage birds but would represent an interesting record if
they relate to local breeding birds. Wader passage started with a trickle
during the month with the first returning Green Sandpiper of the autumn at Bank
Island on the 15th, followed by 15 Dunlin on the 25th, a
Black-tailed Godwit and a Little Ringed Plover on the 28th.
Curlew - Aughton - T.Weston
On the raptor front, yet another Osprey moved
northwards through the valley early in the month, first appearing on the 31st
May and lingering in the Wheldrake Ings/Bank Island area until the 4th
June. The run of Red Kite sightings through the area continued during
and several pairs of Buzzards had large young towards the end of the month.
Three pairs of Peregrines bred in the wider valley area and two or three pairs
of Hobbies were present, with Wheldrake Ings and the Pocklington Canal the best
areas to look for them. Barn Owls continued their record breaking breeding
season with 136 chicks ringed by the end of the month by which time several of
the earlier broods had fledged and some females were already incubating second
broods. The good run of Cuckoo records continued, with up to five males present
around Church Bridge near Melbourne where at least one juvenile was present
late in the month when several adults were also, and rather unusually, still
calling in what appears to have been a rather protracted season.
Barn Owl chick - 19/06 - North Duffield
On the insect front, it was a rather disappointing
month for many species following the good showing earlier in the year. There
was however a good number of Red Admirals, often the most common butterfly
during the month, until the last week when a large appearance of
Ringlets, Meadow Browns and Large Skippers took place. One of the highlights of the month included
a Marbled White which flew through the reserve base garden on the 26th,
following last year’s record numbers. On
the last day of May we recorded the first (although expected) Hairy Dragonfly
in the valley and a further handful of records continued into June suggesting
this species has or is about to colonise the valley. Although the weather wasn’t always favourable
to running the moth trap, several trapping days were logged with a good number
of new species caught for the year, including a notable one – Cream-bordered Green Pea, maintaining
a population at one of its key Yorkshire locations in the LDV.
Large Skipper - 26/06 - Bank Island
A Hummingbird Hawk-moth seen visiting a garden in
East Cottingwith on the 15th was a notable record and the first for the year. A special effort was
made to record clearwing moths around the LDV and Skipwith Common NNR which
proved successful with several new locations and good numbers of Red-tipped Clearwings
discovered, along with the continued presence of Large Red-belted and
Yellow-legged on Skipwith Common.
Red-tipped Clearwing - 26/06 - NNR Base
Many new
plant and grass species for the year were recorded throughout June such as:
Amphibious Bistort, Bittersweet, Bog Pimpernel, Common Meadow-rue, Common
Valerian, Crested Dog’s-tail, Cut-leaved Crane’s-bill, Fine-leaved
Water-dropwort, Hedge Woundwort, Marsh Stitchwort, Marsh Woundwort, Self-heal,
Timothy and Welted Thistle.
Self-heal - 16/06 - Wheldrake
Crested Dog's-tail - 16/06 - Wheldrake