Ilkley Moor Mipits

Meadow Pipits perched on stony outcrops above the bracken, heather and bilberry at Ilkley Moor.

A Warbler (Willow Warbler perhaps) hopped from branch to branch on a conifer gathering insects.

I spotted 20+ Small Tortoiseshell caterpillars on nettles.

Fairburn Ings

Our first damselflies of the year appeared in numbers at Fairburn Ings RSPB. This pair of Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula), an early and widespread species, settled on the roughly painted edge of the boardwalk while a dozen zipped around a bank of vegetation adjoining the stream. It provided a good opportunity to dust off my copy of the 'Field Guide to the Dragonflies and Damselflies of Great Britain and Ireland, S Brooks', where I read that the adults live on average between five and seven days, so they're unlikely to be around on my return.

Throughout our wander we heard the call of a male Cuckoo, settled just far enough away to remain out of view. At one point a blue butterfly, more Common Blue than Holly Blue darted past, the only exception to four or five Whites, the number of butterflies limited as a result of blustery winds. 

In the hedgerow surrounding the car park, we noticed hundreds of these tent making caterpillars, Spindle Ermine Moth perhaps?

We parked ourselves down by the pond for a few minutes to enjoy the view, surrounded by an abundance of fresh and vibrant, vertical green reeds, lit up by the afternoon sun. 

Kirkstall sightings

On the way to work I pass by an old stone wall, that forms part of a railway embankment overhanging with brambles, ragwort, bindweed, grasses, Ash and Sycamore. I noticed a number of caterpillars feeding on ragwort, closer inspection revealed the beasties as the caterpillars of the Cinnabar moth. Up at Druridge Bay last year we saw huge numbers of these Cinnabar caterpillars.

Here's the spot, the crevices are a haven for snails and spiders.

On the grassland beyond lots of these tiny cap and stem fungi have sprung up, ranging in size from 5p to 10p. This first one looks like its been trampled, the second two are more indicative of the fruitbodies dotted throughout the grass.

I spotted this fungi growing near the base of a hedge, possibly from the remnants of a tree stump, ochre in colour, growing in fan-like brackets and  approx 40cm in length, maybe a Giant Polypore, and there's a smaller cap and stem fungi growing to the left.

Whilst recycling my empties at the bottle bank near Morrisons in Kirkstall, I noticed a cluster of Cellar Cup fungi growing through the paving stones, sadly no camera so you'll just have to take my word for it.