Birds, Butterflies and Orchids: June around Beverley · Birds, Butterflies and Orchids: June around...
Transcript of Birds, Butterflies and Orchids: June around Beverley · Birds, Butterflies and Orchids: June around...
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Birds, Butterflies and Orchids: June around Beverley
Wet, cool, a bit miserable, but it’s summer, and the wildlife is happy.
Well, maybe not this bedraggled Wood Pigeon fledgling that landed on our garden feeder.
Too big to be prey for this Greater
Spotted Woodpecker that’s been feeding
regularly. I was surprised to read that a
quarter of blue tit nest boxes were
predated by woodies in a recent study
(cited by Richard Shillaker’s posting on
the Hull Nats website news page). They
just drill holes through the front door,
but this can be prevented with wire
netting.
I’ve been seizing every sunny day to
search for butterflies. Skippers can be a
challenge (large, small or even Essex?)
but there are marvellous websites and
helpful groups on Facebook.
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This one above is, I believe, a Small
Skipper, with fairly plain under wings. I
could see the male sex brand on the
upper wing, a fine line at a slight angle to
the edge of the wing. The ones on the
next page are Large Skippers, with more
mottled wings and the male (top) has a
bigger, smudgier sex brand. The female
has none, and also has black antennae.
The antennae on the Large Skippers have
a pronounced hook on the end.
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Above: male Large
Skipper. The sex brands
produce scent
pheromones to attract
the female.
Below: female Large
Skipper.
These Skipper butterflies
feed on the nectar of
many plants but lay their
eggs on grasses. The
favourite larval grasses of
the Small Skippers are
Yorkshire Fog, and of
Large Skippers Cock’s-
foot.
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Chalk Grasslands are great for butterflies. The Marbled White can be seen in large numbers in chalk
quarries like Kiplingcotes Chalk Pit and Wharram Quarry. This one is feeding on an early-flowering
Greater Knapweed which grows at Kiplingcotes. The underwings are also beautifully marked.
The Marbled Whites
love to nectar on purple
flowers so can be found
on scabious and
thistles. They are more
site-specific than most
of our commoner
butterflies so it’s worth
seeking out wildflower-
rich chalk quarries or
wildlife corridors like
the Hudson Way to find
them.
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This is a day-flying
Companion Burnet Moth
which is common in
unimproved chalk grasslands
in early June.
Below is a common Cinnabar
Moth which I also found at
Kiplingcotes, although its
main food larval plant is
Ragwort. The poison ingested
from Ragwort protects the
caterpillars but also the
emergent adults. The bright
colours are warning signs to
hungry birds.
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Also common in these
chalk grasslands is the
Common Blue.
I found the mating ritual
of these two at
Kiplingcotes fascinating.
In the top picture the
male (below) is stroking
the wing of the female
(above). In the bottom
picture they have moved
onto a Bladder Campion
where the mating is
taking place. This time
the female is below.
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This Willow Warbler was singing on a Hawthorn at Kiplingcotes. I also saw these birds feeding on
Cow Parsley by the roadsides before flying back up into the trees.
This tiny Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis
arvensis) likes dry and stony
conditions like those at Kiplingcotes.
Its flowers only open as the sun
comes out.
Also appearing in the quarries are the
Common-spotted and Pyramidal
Orchids (Dactylorhiza fuschii and
Anacamptis pyramidalis), a lovely
sight every year.
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Above: Common
Spotted Orchid at
Wharram Quarry,
with its
characteristic
leaves. It’s growing
with Rattle
(Rhinanthus minor),
an annual hemi-
parasitic plant that
obtains part of its
food from the roots
of grasses, which
allows wildflowers
space to grow.
Left: Pyramidal
Orchid at
Kiplingcotes Chalk
Pit.
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This orchid I saw on Mappleton Cliffs, with a Six-spot Burnet moth on it. Like the Cinnabars, these
moths use chemical weaponry, hydrogen cyanide in this case, which the caterpillars metabolise from
their main food plant, Bird’s-foot Trefoil.
As for the orchid I would say it’s Northern Marsh (Dactylorhiza purpurella), but the Dactylorhiza
species hybridise freely among themselves, and this region is the boundary between the Southern
(Dactylorhiza praetermissa) and Northern Marsh territories. The Dactylorhiza orchids are deceivers.
They attract pollinating insects with their lurid colours but carry no nectar. It’s thought that the
range of colours and marking of this genus of the orchid family are part of their armoury to trick
pollinators into visiting several non-productive plants before they learn they’re wasting energy.
Here on the cliffs at Mappleton in mid-June I saw this summer’s first Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera). It
demonstrates an extraordinary sexual mimicry and deceptiveness. Despite its sophisticated ability
to look like a bee and thus attract pollinators, in fact it’s believed that in our latitudes, bee orchids
have lost their bee partners and are all self-pollinated clones. This would explain why there is so
little variety in patterning among our native bee orchid population compared to that of southern
Europe.
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These cliffs of glacial till
have sported many
Opium Poppies (Papaver
somnifera) this year,
which have appeared
almost everywhere, in
pavement cracks all over
Beverley. I suspect the
hot May was responsible
for this, as it’s originally a
native of the
Mediterranean. These
poppies are the source of
edible seeds, and the
latex in the unripe seed
heads gives us opium.
Below: Bee Orchid
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On Mappleton Cliffs I also saw my first Painted Lady of the summer, probably at least a second-
generation born during the great migration from North Africa. Like all good nomads, the Painted
Lady butterflies leave no trace when they disappear in the autumn. It was only in the late 90s that
researchers realised that they did not die off but made the return journey to North Africa on high-
altitude air currents. So, a generation or two further on, the descendants of this creature might
make that journey.
We don’t know why they make this migration. One theory is around the prevalence of a predatory
wasp in North Africa that attacks the larvae. 2019 was a very good year for these migrants, but I
haven’t seen many this year to date. This Red Clover is one their preferred food plants.
The chalk cliffs of the Flamborough area, the most northerly in the UK, are also rich in wildflowers as
well as their world-famous seabird colonies and glorious scenery.
Here on p. 12 is part of a swarm of Northern Marsh Orchids, possibly hybrids, on the cliffs around
Thornwick Bay, and below, Sea Mayweed (Tripleurospermum maritimum) grows on the clifftop
looking north to Bempton.
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The chalk cliffs here are heavily
faulted, which makes for some
magnificent cave and inlet
formations with a variety of life.
Great fun to be had at low tide.
This is the area where you’ll see
most of the chalk buildings in
East Yorkshire, including what’s
left of Flamborough Castle and
the old lighthouse.
On page 14 , the eroded clifftops
of glacial till above the hard
chalk looking south.
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At the southern end of the chalk is Welton, where quarrying of the clays has left Welton Water as an
amenity. Nearby, on ‘wasteland’ is a lovely wildflower meadow rich in Hedge and Lady’s Bedstraw
(Gallium verum and mollugo), where butterflies romp.
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Above are a pair of mating Meadow
Browns, our commonest butterfly.
The duller male is below.
Left are a pair of Ringlets, both seen
near Welton Water. It’s harder to tell
the sexes apart.
Always look for courting butterflies as
their preoccupation makes them easy
to photograph.
Helen Kitson June 2020