MNA Coach Trip to Potteric Carr, the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s flagship reserve, with a variety of habitats from open water and marsh to woodland. Although sunny when we arrived a huge thunder and lightning storm with a torrential downpour soon had us heading to hides for shelter. Voracious Mosquitoes Culicine sp. feasted on many members blood.
Mosquito feeding On Chris Derri’s hand
The Bird list included Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Mallard, Common Pochard, Common Pheasant, Common Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Wood Pigeon, Common Kingfisher, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Blackcap, Common Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Magpie, Reed Bunting Mammals included scat from a Red Fox Vulpes vulpes, a few Rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus and a young Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis that tucked into food on one of the feeders despite the rain.
Fox Scat
Chris Butterworth caught a Common Toad Bufo bufo and John Clegg & Co had glimpses of a Grass Snake Natrix natrix.
Butterfly and Moth species included mating Large Skippers Ochlodes venata, Comma Polygonia c-album, Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina, Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus, Cinnabar Moth Tyria jacobaeae and plenty of their black and yellow stripey caterpillars on Ragwort Senecio jacobaea.
Mating Large Skippers
Cinnabar Moth Caterpillars
Damselfly and Dragonfly species included a male Banded Demoiselle Calopteryx splendens, Emerald Damselfly Lestes sponsa, Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum, Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans, Emperor Dragonfly Anax imperator and Broad-bodied Chaser Libellula depressa.
Emerald Damselfly
Spider Species included Zebra Spider Salticus scenicus, Wolf Spider Pardosa sp. Common Stretch-spider Tetragnatha extensa and the tiny white sputnik egg sac from Paidiscura pallens.
Female Wolf Spider Carrying Egg Case
Common Stretch-spider
Hoverfly species included Heliophilus pendulus, Volucella pellucens and Syrphus ribesii. Chris Butterworth and Chris Derri had a couple of Long-horn Beetles Cerambycidae sp.
Longhorn Beetle Strangalia maculata. Picture by Chris Derri.
Golden-bloomed Grey Longhorn, Agapanthia villosoviridescens. Picture by Chris Derri
Picture-winged fly Urophora cardui. Picture by Chris Derri
Other Insect and Invertebrates species included Seven-spot Ladybird Coccinella septempunctata, Ten-spot ladybird Adalia 10-punctata, Red-legged Shield-bug Pentatoma rufipes, Common Green Capsid Lygocoris pabulinus, Field Grasshopper nymph Chorthippus brunneus and Kentish Snail Monacha cantiana. Galls included Nail Galls on Sycamore caused by the Mite Aceria macrorhynchus and Pea Gall on Oak caused by the Wasp Cynips divisa, the latter covered in a mould.
Field Grasshopper Nymph
With the rain of the past few weeks Fungi species included Jelly Ear Auricularia auricula-judae, Giant Puffball Calvatia gigantea, Black Witches’ Butter Exidia glandulosa, Crystal Brain Exidia nucleata, The Blusher Amanita rubescens, Sulphur Tuft Hypholoma fasciculare, Coral Spot Nectria cinnabarina, Waxcap Hygrocybe sp. and the distinctive smell of a Common Stinkhorn Phallus impudicus.
Waxcap
Black Witches Butter
Giant Puffball
Plant Species included Redshank Persicaria maculosa, Common Sorrel Rumex acetosa, Three-veined Sandwort Moerhingia trinervosa, Common Chickweed Stellaria media, White Campion Silene alba, Red Campion Silene dioica, Opium Poppy Papaver somniferum, Meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria, Wild Strawberry Fragaria vesca, Herb Bennet Geum urbanum, Bush Vetch Vicia sepium, Common Storksbill Erodium cicutarium, Fairy Flax Linum catharticum, Meadow Cranesbill Geranium pretense, Musk Mallow Malva moschata sp. Perforate St. John’s Wort Hypericum perforatum, Enchanter’s Nightshade Circaea lutetiana, Yarrow Achillea millefolium, Common Centaury Centauruim erythraea, Vipers Bugloss Echium vulgare, Selfheal Prunella vulgaris including a pink variety, Hedge Woundwort Stachys sylvatica, Woody Nightshade Solanum dulcamara, Great Mullein Verbascum thapsus, Common Toadflax Linaria vulgaris, Musk Thistle Carduus nutans, Common Knapweed Centaurea nigra, Greater Knapweed Centaurea scabiosa and Common Spotted-orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsia.
Vipers Bugloss
Selfheal – pink variety