Great Wildlife at Hornsea Mere

 I was sorely tempted to have WILDLIFE as the heading for this entry, as that is the name of Wings' first album. A bit too obscure though, with not enough words for a decent pun.

Another breezy day with a south westerly coming in at about 20 mph, but dry and warm and sunny so no worries and another grand day for walking.

My first decent bird of the morning was very decent indeed - a Barn Owl hunting over the meadow along Southorpe.

Barn Owl with farmhouse roof as a background

Barn Owl hunting

For the second succesive day I saw 8 species of butterfly along the south side - including Large Skipper.   White butterflies are emerging again and I saw at least 5 Large Whites.

Large Skipper

Warblers are still singing with the Chiffchaff and Whitethroat being the most obvious, followed by Blackcap and Sedge Warbler.

Sedge Warbler in Heslop's

Blackcap singing

The Lapwings were in good form today, making sure nothing was posing a risk to their young and for the first time I saw them see off a Brown Hare. I watched the hare decide the area was not a safe place any more, so it ran from the bottom of the field towards the footpath at the top of the field, towards me. I reckoned it was going to cross the footpath about 50 yards from where I was, so I made my way back as fast as I could to intercept it and I got it as it jumped over the long grass and into the next field.

Brown Hare leaping over long grass

Two species of dragonfly were observed this morning, Black-tailed Skimmer and Broad-bodied Chaser. I nearly got a pic of BTS but a jogger scared it off just as I was getting in position for a photo so I made do with just BBC. 

Broad-bodied Chaser

Good Day Sunshine

 A circuit of the Mere this morning was a real pleasure in the warm June sun. I met no one at all once I got past Bewholme Lane and the next person I saw was at Wassand car park. This was fine as it was Alan :)

I decided to take my time along the north side and give it several coats of looking at, which was a worthwhile exercise as I did see a lot of wildlife over there.

I saw 5 dragonflies along the north side but I only managed to id 2 of them as they did not settle within my view. Brown Hawker was a nice find and my first Black-tailed Skimmer of the year was good too. No pics as they were camera shy.

The hedgerows were not exactly alive with birds as this just doesn't happen any more, but each section had its own bit of interest, be that Common Whitethroat (lots), Lesser Whitethroat(2), Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Yellowhammer or Linnet. A Sparrowhawk, a Kestrel and a cream crown Marsh Harrier passed through but didn't hang about.

The first bird to get into my camera view finder was a Yellow Wagtail, one of two in a patch of bare earth within a crop field. Also flushed from there was a Red-legged Partridge, one of three for the morning.

Yellow Wagtail

There aren't as many poppies in the fields as I anticipated, with just single stems every now and then.

There were quite a few butterflies along my route with Small Tortoiseshell being the most numerous. The number went down by one as I watched a Whitethroat catch one 🙂

Common Whitethroat with Small Tortoiseshell butterfly

Even though it was still early, the sun was very warm and it was good to catch a bit of shade beneath the mature trees along the way.

The few stands of mature trees held Chiffchaff and a Blackcap, more additions to the growing list of species for the morning. Good numbers of young birds were seen on the north side with Whitethroat being the most numerous. This photo is one of three juvs in a dead tree.

A young Common Whitethroat

Just 5 species of butterfly seen today - a bit of a let down but at least I saw some!

Small Tortoiseshell, Painted Lady (3), Speckled Wood (8), Meadow Brown (lots) and a few Ringlet on the south side once I got there.

Ringlet

However, I saved the best sighting until last.

As I was walking through Wassand I came across the first Stag Beetle I'd seen in Hornsea. OK, it was a Lesser Stag Beetle, and a female so it lacked the impressive antlers of a male, but it was a Stag Beetle. Very happy with that!

A female Lesser Stag Beetle

Warmest Day of The Year - 30 degrees!

 Today was a hot one - it got to 30 degrees as I walked along the Mere towards Wassand this afternoon. It was cooler this morning so I'm glad I wasn't going far in the afternoon sun.

Earlier in the week it transpired that we have 8 Lapwing chicks! At least 2 broods of differing ages. The gangs from the two fields have combined now and up to 6 adult birds are patrolling the area so could be 3 broods.

1 of 8 Lapwing chicks on the south side

More Lapwings

On Tuesday I was surprised by a Grey Heron taking off as I approached the water's edge - they don't often come down on the shoreline during office hours 😉

Grey Heron lifting off

There are more and more young birds to be seen around the Mere and it was great to watch a small family group of Wrens feeding under the willows.

Adult and juv Wren

Juvenile Wren

There are several leverets about too, I saw 4 on Thursday morning, with 3 adult Brown Hares but too distant to get a photo of them together.

Adult Brown Hare

The fields are gathering interest as summer wears on with moths and butterflies adding to the wildlife on show. Tiny black Chimney Sweeper moths are abundant now.

Chimney Sweeper moth

I also disturbed what I think is a Yellow Shell moth in second field.

Yellow Shell moth

The larger dragonflies are emerging now and it was pleasing to see a newly emerged Migrant Hawker on the south side.

Migrant Hawker

Coming up to date with a couple of images from this morning, this Sedge Warbler came so close I couldn't focus on it at times. Brilliant views of this lovely bird.

Sedge Warbler in Heslop's

Day 163 of 2022 - 44.38% through the year. Only 202 days remaining

 The year is going quickly I realised today. So much still to see, so little time remaining so I'd better get on with it! 

Only 6.2 miles walked today though as I spent a lot of time standing still seeking Lapwing chicks and dragonflies. Up to 1100 miles for the year so not too bad.

A fair number of hirundines were over the Mere this morning in blustery conditions. Swifts and House Martins mainly with a few Swallows and just one or two Sand Martins.

Common Swift over the Mere

Butterflies were showing well too, but the windy conditions kept them mostly in the lee of the wind. This Meadow Brown was tucked in the hedgerow between first and second fields.

My first Meadow Brown of the year

Male Orange Tip

Speckled Wood - not often I see the underside of a SW

The Lapwings were being particularly protective today, getting up and calling whenever anyone walked along the footpath. There are at least 2 chicks still out there and doing OK.

One of two Lapwing chicks that are still surviving

Two new Mute Swan families - six cygnets in this one

...and seven cygnets here

I have to admit that I haven't exactly been keeping a close eye on the Mute Swans that have been nesting around the Mere, but I saw 2 families of them where the cygnets looked pretty young to me.

Out there in the fields the wild flowers are coming along quicker than I can keep up with, at least there are plenty I can recognise easily without too much effort.

They seek it here, they seek it there - Scarlet Pimpernel

I saw two dragonflies today but never close enough to be sure of ID. Damselflies were numerous, as they have been for a few days, in the grassy meadows along the south side, including an Azure Damselfly among the Common Blues.

Azure Damselfly

We are well into June now and the number of young birds is thankfully growing daily. Young Long-tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Whitethroat, Chaffinch, Robin, Greylag Goose and Blackbird were seen today (as well as Lapwing and Mute Swan).

Young Coal Tit

Away Day To t'River 'Ull

 That there lockdown thing stopped many things. Primarily me getting out to different interesting places, and when I realised it's been over 2 years since I enjoyed a good walk down the Leven Canal - well, it had to remedied.

The day was 10 degrees, dry and overcast and cool with a bit of a northerly breeze when I set off early doors, so I didn't expect to see any butterflies or dragonflies, and I wasn't at all disappointed when none turned up.

8 miles walked

Bird species seen and or heard - 43

Little Grebe       Cormorant(2)         Mute Swan(4)     Mallard(30+)

Grey Heron(6)    Little Egret (12+)      Greylag Goose      Kestrel(1)

Red Kite(1)         Pheasant                 Moorhen(5)            Coot(1)

Oystercatcher    Lapwing(2)               Black-headed Gull(7)

Wood Pigeon     Barn Owl(3)        Swift(c.10)      G S Woodpecker(1)

Skylark                Pied Wagtail(2)      Wren                       Dunnock

Robin               Blackbird             Song Thrush         Cetti's Warbler(5)

Sedge Warbler   Reed Warbler         Blackcap                 Whitethroat

Lesser Whitethroat(2)    ChiffChaff    Willow Warbler       Great Tit

Magpie              Jackdaw                   Carrion Crow          Starling

House Sparrow   Yellowhammer        Reed Bunting        Chaffinch

First sight of the canal after setting off

I was expecting to see and hear lots of Sedge Warblers, Reed Warblers and Whitethroat and these birds indeed were the main backdrop to the morning, with Yellowhammer and Skylark also prominently singing along the way. Lesser Whitethroat was a good addition to my monthly list as I hadn't heard one at The Mere in June until now.

I counted 5 Cetti's Warblers on my way to the river and 4 on the way back. This is a marked increase on the one that I recorded on my last walk along the canal two years ago. Good habitat along the canal so hopefully numbers will continue upwards as breeding birds disperse further along its length.

Roe deer

1 of 6 Grey Herons

Roebuck

1 of at least 12 Little Egrets

Moorhen managing to perch on a fence post

Barn Owl

Leven Canal

Common Carpet

Yellow Flag Iris and Red Campion

Swift

Pied Wagtail with food

Panoramic view of the River Hull and the canal

A few of a Cattle Egret I also happened upon