Lucky To Live Here

 I count my blessings every time I walk past the Mere and see the beautiful place that we call home now. I hope I never take it for granted and lose the thrill of enjoying the ever changing views. I loved where we lived before, especially the hills, but here is just as great - just different that's all.

View down to the Mere

 A noisy pair of Herring Gulls brought my attention to a couple of their chicks looking down on me from their pseudo-cliff top nest site.

Two of three Herring Gull chicks

 This year's Teasels are getting ready to change colour into the lovely blue flowers we know so well. They don't last long in full bloom, the colour soon fades, the heads go brown and the small seeds hidden inside provide food for Goldfinches through Autumn and Winter.

Teasel flowers

 At last the warmth has brought out the butterflies. I watched a small patch of local rough land for an  hour  or  so  and  saw  Brimstone (1)  Large Skipper (1)  Large White (1)  Speckled Wood (1) Meadow Brown (4) and Ringlet (6).

Large Skipper

 Just a short distance away from the glut of butterflies I found a Pyramidal Orchid peeping through the undergrowth. First of the year for me - they are getting more and more scarce locally.

Pyramidal Orchid

I walked round the Mere for the first time since early February. What? Why has it taken so long to revisit one of my staple walks? Health has a lot to do with it unfortunately. I'm unable to walk for the distances I used to now. I am apparently older now than I used to be! My mind still feels like I'm young, only the weak flesh can't keep up 😂😂😂

In one of the field margins I got my first Ruddy Darter of the year - a female looking just fab.

Ruddy Darter - female

Also on the Mere circuit I was reminded of the past when I saw once again the old YEB logo on the wall of an electricity station.

Bygone days recalled

In the set aside the Barnacle Geese herd has arrived for their regular visit. I counted 29 with several showing leg rings, but they were too distant to get any views of the details. Hopefully they'll hang around and give opportunities for getting the letters and numbers so they can be recorded.

29 Barnacle Geese in the set aside field

The trees at the east end of Swan Island have been taken over by Black-headed Gulls. I don't remember seeing them sitting in these trees before so I wonder what the attraction is?

Branching out - Black-headed Gulls have a change of scenery

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.