You're Getting Warmer

 The gloves have well and truly been put away until Autumn now 🤞🤞

 It's amazing what you see sometimes when you come to a gap in a hedgerow

Through a hedge darkly - Roebuck

Butterflies are starting to emerge now the weather is getting warmer at last. The first Ringlet of the year was seen on Friday.

Ringlet

Other insects are getting the message that it's OK to come out now too.

Narcissus Bulb Fly

White Ermine moth along the sea front

Yellow Banded Longhorn moth on the TPT

Birds have been of more interest recently now that autumn wader migration has begun. Curlews are being seen and heard daily, a Redshank flew through this morning and Greenshank have been heard too. It remains to be seen if anything manages to land as the water level is still very high with no real shoreline.

A Mediterranean Gull arrived among the black-headeds this morning at the Mere.

Med Gull on the Mere

 Warblers are still singing but not as often now the breeding season is waning. Our 7 common warblers can still be found most days (Sedge, Reed, Willow, Chiff Chaff, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat and Blackcap).

Blackcaps are still singing

There are loads of young birds to be seen now and Reed Buntings are busy keeping their brood topped up with food.

Reed Bunting

Return Of The Giant Hogweed

 You've heard the song (if you haven't then please do check out the 1971 track by Genesis off Nursery Cryme on YouTube) now comes the reality. 

I found at least three Giant Hogweed plants pretty close together on private land here in Hornsea. They are near water so there is a risk that seeds could disperse over quite a distance if left unchecked. I'll try and find out who the land owner is and let them know that it's there.

Three Giant Hogweed plants

Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum)

It isn't dangerous per se but the sap can cause a nasty rash and/or blistering if touched. It's non-native, so it's an invasive species, from Southwest Asia. It was first brought to the UK in the 19th century as an ornamental specimen but, as these things do, it escaped and spread rapidly across the country. 

 

 This morning I came across a few young Whitethroats. I was alerted to them by the adult bird calling. I found the adult with food waiting for me to bugger off, so I left them to it.

Adult Whitethroat with food

A young Whitethroat waiting to be fed

Yesterday was notable for another close encounter with Brown Hares. I was kneeling down photographing a Barn Owl when I saw three hares heading towards me at a rate of knots. I switched focus to the lead hare and got a couple of shots before it thundered past me within touching distance. The second hare veered off and came to a stop to examine my credentails as a possible threat. This check returned a positive and it ran off followed by the third hare.

Approaching hare, number 1

Stationary hare number 2, checking me out

Receding hare line

Sedge Warblers have recommenced singing and are to be seen and heard almost everywhere it seems.

Sedge Warbler close up

Singing Sedgie

The weather in the mornings has been dire, no warmth in the sun at all and a cool wind from every quarter. Yesterday was better and I even saw two butterflies! A Speckled Wood and my first Meadow Brown of the year.

First Meadow Brown of 2024

The new garden is going to be great eventually. I put up the big new bird feeder a few days ago and already the local female Great Spotted Woodpecker has taken to it like a duck to water 😂

Over-engineered bird feeder

Female GSW

She came in to the feeder almost every half hour for a few days then she brought along a juvenile 'pecker.

Feeding time

Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker

Mother and young woodpecker

Also away from the Mere, I found a couple of Bee Orchids. Always nice to see Bee Orchids as they are scarce - not rare, but scarce.

Bee Orchids in Hornsea

Desolation Road

 It really gets to me. The way people feel the need to have a tidy countryside. I can see no other reason for destroying the wonderful verges along Southorpe Road. Instead of long grass, Red Campion, Cow Parsley, Hogweed, Great Willowherb and many other species of plant

 we have this...

Southorpe Road devoid of habitat for invertebrates

I walked along here a few days ago and the flowers and grass were showing good signs of insect life with several bee species, hoverflies and damselflies on the plants. Now, they have no where to go, so they leave for other locations (hopefully). However, many other locations do the same thing - long grass and lovely plants for insects? No - it looks untidy, how much nicer and tidier to have short grass. There is no safety hazard in many of these places so really no excuse for destroying the habitat. No wonder our insects are disappearing.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Brown Hares are showing well these recent mornings.

Brown Hares along the south side

Although the butterflies and dragonflies have been scarce due to low temperatures in the mornings, I saw two species of orchid this morning.

Orchid in second field, probably Northern Marsh (Dactylorhiza purpurella)

Common Spotted Orchid

Elders are flowering now and I spotted a single flower head from elder that had lodged on a grass stem.

Barn Owls are out and about in search of food, with luck for their young as much as for themselves. They are such magnificent birds and they are a joy to watch.

Barn Owl

The Jackdaw is also a lovely bird, especially in spring and summer when the grey plumage is much more prominent than usual.

Jackdaw

A final word, unfortunately as downbeat as my first words on this post. The smell coming from the Mere is absolutely dreadful. I went to the viewing platform this morning and was met with a wave of awfulness that was stomach turning. It smells like sewage quite frankly. The water quality has been shocking over the last couple of weeks with the outflow down Stream Dyke looking like green pea soup rather than water. What is the cause? I'll try and find out.

Ulrome-ing In The Gloaming

 I had a wonderful wander around Ulrome and Barmston Drain, edging towards Barmston this morning.

The weather was dry for the most part with a South-Westerly breeze which was a bit cool around my exposed legs (no pics thank goodness).

As usual when going to Ulrome I was hoping to see Grey Partridge, and I wasn't disappointed this time.

Lake Ulrome, as named by Mark Rf, wasn't as extensive as previously but was still a fair old size. One Dunlin and six Ringed Plover were in attendance.

Ringed Plovers

Dunlin

Dunlin

Ringed Plover

Two Ringed Plovers

A single Oystercatcher got up from about 50 yards north of the lake and flew west.

Oystercatcher

There was a smaller pond in the field next to Lake Ulrome and two Shelduck were seen there along with four Mute Swans.

Shelduck flying north

  Towards the end of the path to Barmston Drain I caught sight of a single Red-Legged Partridge running away from me along the tyre tracks through the crop field. I thought that was going to be it again, RL but GP for me this morning. I needn't have worried though as about 300 yards further on along the drain I flushed two Grey Partridge from the edge of the crop.

Walking along Barmston Drain a familiar sound alerted me to a warbler in the shrubs by the drain - a Blackcap no less.

Blackcap singing along Barmston Drain

There were plenty of Sand Martins around as they nest in small cliffs along Ulrome beach, and a few were taking the opportunity to have a rest on the wires over the fields where they were feeding over the barley.

Yellowhammers are always plentiful in the area - I saw and heard five this morning.

Yellowhammer

I scanned the sea as I reached the coast to see what was passing, the answer was "not much" apart from three juvenile Gannets heading towards Bempton.

 

On the beach by the stone pier I saw a single Sanderling which, after a few minutes, was joined by others until there were five running along the sand, all looking particularly striking in their almost summer plumage.

Sanderlings on Ulrome beach

Sanderlings flying south