Author Archives: Roger Gaynor

Butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies at Stanley Ferry Flash

Today, Stanley Ferry Flash produced my first sightings this summer for purple hairstreak and gatekeeper butterflies. The purple hairstreak was sheltering (out of the sun?) high up in a willow bush and surprisingly some distance from the site’s main areas … Continue reading

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Field meeting at Thorpe Marsh YWT Reserve

There was a good turn out of Society members at our field meeting on Sunday 10 June at the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserve at Thorpe Marsh.  We were well rewarded with a wide variety of interesting bird, plant and insect … Continue reading

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Swan skirmish at Nostell Priory

Yesterday, Sunday 18 March, during another arctic blast I witnessed a male mute swan, known as a cob, chase off an unwelcome visitor to the lower lake at Nostell Priory.  The newcomer was no doubt seen as being too close … Continue reading

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Thornes Park in Winter

This week during the current Arctic weather I have been unable to reach my usual local wildlife watching countryside haunts. However, while travelling along Thornes Road, Wakefield I stopped briefly for a look at the lake at Thornes Park. There … Continue reading

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Autumn butterflies

Chilly evenings and shortening daylight hours remind us that summer is now slipping away and autumn is here. This is confirmed by a bounty of sloes and elderberries, together with a good crop of acorns. A further sign of the … Continue reading

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August field meeting at Nostell Priory

The Society’s final outdoor meeting of a full summer programme for this year attracted a very good attendance on 13 August 2017.  Members were greeted with a fine sunny morning and treated to some special wildlife sightings as we walked … Continue reading

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Ringlet butterflies at Nostell Priory

Last week Wakefield enjoyed a mini heat wave, which was encouraging for our local butterflies.  This week we have seen an abrupt and very wet change in our weather with any sunshine in short supply; a real dampener for any … Continue reading

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Baby bird boom

Happily, this spring appears to have been kind to many baby birds with good numbers of fledglings of various species seen during my local wanderings.  At home, noisy queues of starlings and house sparrows jostle for position at the garden … Continue reading

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Yellow is the colour at Stanley Ferry Flash

The colour yellow was certainly in fashion today during my walk around the woodland and waterside edges at Stanley Ferry Flash. Most eye-catching was a number of wandering brimstone butterflies often flying too fast to follow and to get a … Continue reading

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Butterflies at Engine Wood, Nostell Priory

On the edge of a large nettle bed close to Engine Wood I watched a male small tortoiseshell butterfly establish a courtship territory. It was basking in the morning sunshine and suddenly taking flight high into the sky to investigate … Continue reading

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