Kirkstall canal

On Sunday we wandered down to the Leeds Liverpool Canal, joining at Wyther Lane car park near Kirkstall Brewery, it wasn't too long before the first dragonflies appeared. I'd guess they were Common Darters (12),  constantly on the wing and all managing to evade the camera. Luckily I was more successful with this Male Brown Hawker resting briefly on nettles along the canal pathway.   

A brief wander, with more pausing than wandering took us almost as far as  Forge locks before returning, enjoying numerous sightings of Common Blue and Blue Tailed damselflies along the way.

 

Rodley Nature Reserve

This weekend I took my mum and dad along to Rodley Nature Reserve where an overcast sky cleared unexpectedly to reveal glorious sunshine, and some enjoyable sightings.

Male and female Gatekeepers

A fresh looking Peacock butterfly

At the dragonfly ponds a female Brown Hawker.

A male Common Darter

Another Female Brown Hawker

 

Tim's Field is planted with a mix of cereals, quinoa, kale and sunflower to provide cover and an abundance of seeds. Here's a view of the mixed vegetation. 

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.

Brockadale Nature Reserve

We headed out to Brockadale Nature Reserve, another Yorkshire Wildlife Reserve, with the hope of catching our first ever sighting of the Marbled White. Despite pretty continuous cloud cover we were rewarded with three seperate sightings of the distinctive black and white butterfly.  

Throughout the reserve Yellowhammers could be seen and heard from the treetops.

I caught sight of a Holly Blue on a Hawthorn but only managed this record shot.

Towards the end of our wander the sun popped out and so did this Common Blue. 

Fairburn Ings

From a recent visit to Fairburn Ings RSPB, here are a few butterflies and dragonfly sightings that we enjoyed during our wander.

Thanks to Dean for confirming this pair as Common Darter Dragonflies (yellow stripes on legs and yellowish patches on the thorax).  

A Six Spot Burnet (Zygaena filipendulae) on a thistle

A Burnet with worn wing scales, thanks again to Dean for his help with this.

Small Copper on thistles.

Green Veined White