Ilkley Moor

On the edges of Ilkley Moor I found my first Small Heath of the year, the diminuitive butterfly featured on the Friends of Ilkley Moor banner graphic .

There was an abundance of Ringlets (30+) amongst the grasses and heather, this one perched obligingly to show off the white wing margin to best effect. And another nectaring on thistle, easily the most popular butterfly on the lower slopes of the moors.

Here's the view from the foot of Ilkley Moor near Wells Road, looking up towards White Wells.

The second most popular butterfly of the day, Small Skippers nectaring on thistles

Bolton Percy Station...but not quite

Having decided to familiarise ourselves with more of the Yorkshire Wildlife reserves, we headed for Bolton Percy Station, about three miles from Tadcaster. Having subsequently checked out the reserve online I now realise that we didn't quite hit our target and ended up on the opposite side of the railway line to our intended destination. Doh! Nevertheless we enjoyed the wander and still managed some enjoyable sightings with a couple of firsts for the year.

The first of the firsts of the year, a Small Heath.

And to add a sense of scale, the Small Heath sharing a leafy perch with a fly.

Another first of the year, this Meadow Brown. The forewing colour orange and buff with a single strong black eyespot and the brown hindwing with smaller black spots.

A dainty Common Blue feeding on Bramble flowers and Purple Vetch.

A beautiful female Small Skipper