Sightings (April)

Sightings

April 2009

Wednesday 1st

Early Thorn

Twenty-plume

Hebrew Character

Our warmest moth-trapping night of the year so far, with a minimum temperature of ten degrees, produced a couple of firsts (for this year) - a single Early Thorn and two Twenty-plume moths. Hebrew Characters and Common Quakers seem to be ever-present at the moment, and there was a single Early Grey.

Thursday 2nd

March Moth

March Moth (top view)

Early Thorn

Another decent trapping night due to it starting off warm, although the temperature had dropped to three degrees by morning. The March Moth was our first ever in the garden, despite being fairly common elsewhere in the county. It was joined in the trap by Early Thorns (two), Early Grey, Clouded Drab and Hebrew Characters.

Saturday 4th

Goldfinch

Pheasant (female)

Early Grey

Two Badger visits last night, possibly the same animal on both occasions, then this morning the moth trap contained an Early Thorn, an Early Grey, a Clouded Drab and a few Hebrew Characters.

Birds visiting the garden during the day included two Crows, a female Pheasant, two Goldfinch, three Bramblings, a pair of Siskins and a Yellowhammer.

Sunday 5th

Water Carpet

Peacock

Kittiwake

A single Water Carpet in the moth trap this morning was our first of the year and the earliest we've ever seen one. It was joined by the usual Early Thorn, Early Grey and Hebrew Characters.

A walk round the old Mr Marvels site produced good numbers of Small Tortoiseshells along with three Peacocks (which I managed to photograph for the first time this year).

Castle Hill was next, and again there were numerous Small Tortoiseshells but this time there were even more Peacocks - eleven were counted. Several Large and Small Whites were also seen.

Finally, on a very brief visit to the harbour we saw Kittiwakes, some of which had paired-up and were nesting on the pier.

Monday 6th

Twin-spotted Quaker

Our first Twin-spotted Quaker of the year was in the moth trap this morning, along with Early Thorn, Early Grey, Clouded Drab and Hebrew Character.

Tuesday 7th

Green-veined White

Fungus

There was a cold wind blowing on Castle Hill today, and the sun stayed hidden behind a cloud most of the time that I was there. Butterfly numbers were well down on Sundays visit, but I did get my first Green-veined White photos of this year (I only saw one, both photos are of the same butterfly). I also saw four Small Tortoiseshells, all of which were keeping low in the vegetation to stay out of the wind, but that was it for the day. The fungus (see photo above) is, I believe, Dryad's Saddle and it grows in the same place every year - today was the first time I've noticed it this year.

Friday 10th

Shoulder Stripe

Small Quaker

Red Chestnut

A warm night (minimum 12 degrees) with a fairly light wind looked good for moth trapping, with only the large and rather bright moon to put the moths off. As it turned out, we didn't catch too many moths but Shoulder Stripe and Small Quaker were both new for the year. Jax also managed to ID a Streamer before it flew away, which was our first for a few years. Other moths in the trap included Red Chestnut, Early Grey, Common Quaker and Hebrew Character.

Garden birds included singles of Brambling, Long-tailed Tit and Yellowhammer. A pair of Siskins turned up in the evening, two Starlings were visiting at the same time (we've mostly seen one at a time so far this year), and a Blackbird was gathering as much nesting material as it could fit into it's beak at one go.

Saturday 11th

Hedgehog

Double-striped Pug

A warm but rainy night gave us our first Hedgehog sighting of the year. I went out to check the moth trap and was just in time to see the Double-striped pug land on the wall half-way up the house. Not having managed a Pug photo of any kind so far this year, I was left trying to focus the camera on a small moth at quite a distance, hence the rather rubbish picture above.

It was as I set off back towards the door to go back inside, that I found the Hedgehog eating the peanuts that we'd put out for the Badger. I was able to get within about six feet of him and take photos using flash without disturbing his meal and spent a few happy minutes in his company. The Badger did turn up later, and hoovered up the peanuts that the Hedgehog hadn't eaten.

Moths in the trap this morning included Small Quaker, Common Quaker, Early Thorn, Early Grey and Hebrew Character. Birds visiting the garden were similar to yesterday and included three Bramblings, three Siskins (two males and a female), two Goldfinches, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Long-tailed Tit and two Yellowhammers. A Song Thrush was seen trying to eat something (looked like it might be a Snail out of it's shell) on our garden path before it was chased off, still carrying the food in it's beak, by a Blackbird.

Sunday 12th

Moths and birds very similar to yesterday, but two Long-tailed Tits arrived together and I had my best ever view of a Sparrowhawk in the garden - he perched on the suet-block cage and sat there for around a minute, having a good look around.

Wednesday 15th

Lady's Smock

Lady's Smock and Betsy

A couple of the Lady's Smock (aka Cuckoo Flower) plants that have grown in our garden have come into flower over the last few days. We didn't plant any of these, so they have arrived by themselves as 'weeds'. The second shot shows what happens when one of our cats, Betsy, decides to help out with the photography - you can just about see the flowers over her head. The other cat, Boris, was head-butting my elbow at the same time to demand a bit of attention for himself.

Friday 17th

Small Tortoiseshell	Green-veined White	Shield bug
Blackthorn	Snail	Tawny Mining Bee

Castle Hill was fairly cold again today, although the mist seemed to be confined to the beach today - it's been a long spell of cold and foggy weather, with little sign of the sun. It has been a while since my last visit though, and the vegetation has definitely grown in that time. Lots of Dandelions are out, some Red Valerian has started to flower, Wallflowers are doing their thing and most of the Blackthorn is now covered in blossom.

I only saw two brave butterflies, a Small Tortoiseshell that was vibrating its wings to try and get some warmth into them, and a Green-veined White that was just clinging on to a flower in the cold wind. Also out-and-about were good numbers of the rather pretty looking Bee (now identified as a Tawny Mining Bee, thanks Dean) shown above, a couple of Shield bugs and quite a few Snails sitting near the top of the vegetation (they may have been around before, but this is the first time I've noticed so many of them).

Saturday 18th

A cold night with clear skies meant that there weren't many moths in the trap this morning - a single Shoulder Stripe and a few each of Common Quaker and Hebrew Character.

We've still got three Brambling and a pair of Siskins in the garden. Have also had visits from two Long-tailed Tits, two Goldfinch and two Yellowhammers.

Sunday 19th

Adder	Adder	Common Lizard
Brimstone	Peacock	Comma
Bee-fly	Roe Deer	Rabbit
Stitchwort	Primrose	Wood Sorrel

Another cold night after another sun-less day in Scarborough meant another quiet night in the moth trap. Singles of Water Carpet, Early Grey, Clouded Drab and Common Quaker were joined by a few Hebrew Characters.

The sun finally came out at around noon and we decided to go to Deepdale in Dalby Forest. Three species of butterfly were seen - Brimstone, Comma and Peacock. A Bee-fly also decided to pose nicely for photos.

An Adder and a Common Lizard were seen during the walk, and we came across Stitchwort and Wood Sorrel in flower for the first time this year. There were also lots of Primroses and Dandelions.

As we left Deepdale, a Roe Deer appeared at the side of the track and stood still for a minute or so before crossing. This was followed by a chance to get close-up photos of a Rabbit that was really hoping we hadn't seen it and sat very still.

Monday 20th

Speckled Wood

Small Tortoiseshell

Tulips

Another sunny day in Scarborough, but there was still a cool sea breeze blowing on castle hill. Two Speckled Woods were the first I've seen there this year and there were three Small Tortoiseshells as well. Other than that, the only butterflies I saw were Whites which refused to stay still long enough for me to get a positive ID, and a single Peacock.

A bonus today was an excellent close-up view of a Kestrel as it glided in to the cliff face above Marine Drive. It was probably only ten feet or so from where I was looking over the wall, but wasn't there long enough for me to get the camera ready for a photo.

Back home, the Tulips in our garden have just come into flower.

Tuesday 21st

Peacock

Small White

Large White

No new species, but better numbers overall, in yet more sunshine on castle hill today. A single Speckled Wood was joined by three Peacocks, six Small Tortoiseshells, three Large Whites and a Small White.

Wednesday 22nd

Purple Thorn	Purple Thorn	Blackcap
Speckled Wood	Speckled Wood	Green-veined White

Purple Thorn was new for the year in the moth trap, and was joined by Hebrew Character and Clouded Drab.

On castle hill, there were four Speckled Wood, three Peacock, twelve Small Tortoiseshell and a Green-veined White. I also managed to get a (slightly distant) photo of a male Blackcap singing from the top of one of the trees.

Thursday 23rd

V-pug

Emmelina monodactyla

Early Grey

The little V-pug was our first of the year, and he was joined in the moth trap by Early Thorn, Common Quaker, Early Grey and Emmelina monodactyla.

Friday 24th

Engrailed

Water Carpet

Large White

Another new species in the moth trap last night - this time it was an Engrailed, which was our first ever, not just new for the year. The photo (see above) was taken on the dining room window, but we were able to 'assist' him into the trap afterwards. Also in the trap were Water Carpet, Early Thorn, Hebrew Character and Common Quaker.

A walk on castle hill was less successful, due to a fairly strong and cold wind along with a touch of mist from the sea. Only two Small Tortoiseshells, a Large White and a Small White were seen and even then I only found the Whites after nearly standing on them as they kept low in the vegetation.

An evening stroll along the Sea Cut gave us sightings of Comma and Green-veined White butterflies, Chiffchaffs and a pair of Long-tailed Tits.

Saturday 25th

Scalloped Hazel (melanic form)	Flame Carpet	Shoulder Stripe
Green Hairstreak	Large Red Damselfly	Canada Geese (photo by Jax)

Scalloped Hazel and Flame Carpet were firsts for this year in the moth trap. A reasonable number of moths were caught - mostly Common Quaker and Hebrew Character, but also singles of Shoulder Stripe and Clouded Drab. A Song Thrush was singing from our roof, and a Speckled Wood butterfly visited the garden.

Next, we went to Harwood Dale and as soon as we got out of the car we heard a Cuckoo - it's the first one I've heard for a few years. On the walk, there were several Peacock butterflies and our first damselfly of the year - a Large Red Damselfly.

After that, we went to the Flask Inn to meet up with John Hume who had volunteered to show us the Green Hairstreak butterflies that he had found on Brown Rigg. On getting out of the car, we saw four Swallows - also our first this year. Then, it was on to find and photograph the Green Hairstreaks. We weren't disappointed, there were maybe twenty butterflies (very difficult to get an accurate count) and a few of them posed nicely for the camera. On the pond, a pair of Canada Geese were swimming around with their four goslets in tow.

Sunday 26th

Cabbage Moth

Early Thorn

A quieter night in the moth trap, with the temperature falling to five degrees, but the Cabbage Moth was our first this year. Also in the trap were Early Thorn, Common Quaker and Hebrew Character.

Thursday 30th

Speckled Wood	Green-veined White	Large White
Bluebells	Buttercups	Flower

On castle hill today, the butterflies seen were Speckled Wood, Small Tortoiseshell, Green-veined White, Large White and Small White. Some large Buttercups had come into flower, as had the unidentified purple flower in the photo above. Bluebells were coming into flower in gardens near the castle as well as in our own garden.

About these sightings

This is a list of the wildlife I've seen recently, along with any photos I managed to take at the time. Click on the small photos on this page to open a larger version in a new window.

Any references to 'home' or 'my garden' refer to the Newby area of Scarborough, North Yorkshire.

Click on the links to see the sightings for previous months, or 'latest' to see the most recent ones -

Latest
February
March
April
May