Until the cold snap returned, we were enjoying running
the moth trap during the mild and dry weather, allowing us to monitor the early
season species on the wing. Our catches tend to be fairly small at this time of
year with 20-30 moths expected on the average night – but over the last few
weeks we’ve been seeing catches of up to 150-200 moths. One species we have
enjoyed seeing recently is the Oak Beauty - a rather large, thick bodied and
attractive species, with alternate bands of chestnut and white with black speckles.
They are reasonably common throughout England and Wales, flying in March and
April and frequenting deciduous woodland and suburban habitats. The
caterpillars feed on a number of deciduous tree species and are not, like their
name would suggest, restricted to Oak trees.
As well as helping with the moth recording, over the last two weeks our team of staff and volunteers
have been busy on the reserve starting the first of our annual weed control.
This involves spot spraying docks on the riverbanks to help the local farmers
manage these areas more effectively, and to deliver the ideal sward for breeding
waders and wintering waterfowl. It’s great to see the improvements and how much
difference has resulted from the teams’ efforts last year, and we’re crossing
our fingers that the favourable weather continues to get the rest of the
programme completed over the coming weeks. We’ve also been spot spraying docks
on Wheldrake Ings, where the team has enjoyed seeing the Snake’s-head Fritillaries
in flower. When visiting the site please don’t trespass out into the meadows as
this causes considerable disturbance to the breeding birds and to those
enjoying the views from the hides - please respect the information provided on
the signs around the site, thank you.
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