Author: Helen Bovill

Helen is a keen photographer and nature lover. She spent a large part of her working life at the Land Registry. She is a member of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and various other similar organisations.  Living close to the Cemetery for over 30 years she has seen the fortunes of the site fluctuate and has joined the FOHGC to make a positive difference.

Cemetery Wildlife – August 2022

by Helen Bovillin Wildlife1 Comment on Cemetery Wildlife – August 2022

The very warm dry weather of the last month continued throughout the first half of August and this included another heatwave.  The temperatures didn’t quite reach the record ones set in July but it was still very hot and dry.  As a result, the grass verge alongside Spring Bank West is looking parched and dry and not ideal for the cemetery wildlife.  I found very few wildflowers growing there as most of the plants have died and no fresh ones have sprouted up to replace them. 

Mushrooms

I’m starting this month’s report with fungi for a change, because on the very first day of the month I saw a small group of Hare’s foot Inkcaps (pictured above).  These delicate little beauties last for less than 48 hours, so I was very lucky to catch them when I did.  The ones in the photo have just started to decay, hence their curling up at the edges and starting to turn inky black.  At the bottom of the photo are some new mushrooms just starting to emerge.  This is how they get their name, because these new “buds” are said to resemble a hare’s foot.

I also spotted a much more robust species – the Dryad’s Saddle – earlier in the month.  Its condition has now deteriorated, having been partially eaten by the cemetery wildlife.  But in its prime I watched it releasing some tiny spores, like very faint smoke drifting in the air. This is the underside of one of those deteriorating mushrooms.

Dryad's Saddle mushroom in the centre of the cemetery

Butterflies and Insects

I noticed quite a few dragonflies in the air over various parts of the cemetery and also over the planted areas behind Thoresby Street school.  However they were quite high up and none of them landed so I’m unable to say which species they were.

I saw several white butterflies in flight, and managed to identify at least some of them as Green-veined Whites.  But the commonest and easiest to identify at this time of the year is the Speckled Wood.  I saw several of these throughout the month.

A Speckled Wood Butterfly in the cemetery

 

I also caught brief glimpses of lots of newly-emerged Holly Blue butterflies this month.  These will most probably be the second brood of the year. They fly quite high in the air, looking for a mate.  Once mated they will then lay their eggs on Ivy flower buds.  I also saw some Bees, Hoverflies and Ladybirds in and around the Cemetery.

Birds

I caught a couple of brief glimpses of some Bullfinches – a male and a female – but unfortunately I didn’t manage to get any photos.  But a Goldfinch pair I’ve been watching throughout the month have successfully raised two young.

Adult and juvenile Goldfinch in Hull General Cemetery

A Sparrowhawk was seen by one of the volunteers, and I’ve also heard at least one Tawny Owl calling on a number of occasions.

I’ve seen good numbers of Blue Tits and Great Tits, both adults and fledglings. The most common finch in the Cemetery is the Chaffinch and there are several pairs and youngsters around.  There are always several Robins around, and I’ve seen young of theirs as well.  There are several pairs of Blackbirds in the cemetery, also with fledglings.  It’s been a good year for all these species.

Juvenile Blackbird looking out over the cemetery

Trees and Flowers

Back in March last year the volunteers planted three Silver Birch trees at the eastern end of the cemetery.  I’m pleased to report two of the trees are thriving and have catkins on them. This is a monoecious species, meaning the tree contains both male and female catkins and can therefore produce its own seeds without the need for cross-pollination with another tree.

Silver Birch at the eastern end of the cemetery

The hot dry weather has meant some of the trees have started to lose their leaves earlier than usual.  Some of the medium sized trees are already bearing ripe fruit, such as the Elderberry and Dogwood.  Both these types of berry are an important source of food for the cemetery wildlife, especially the birds.

Dogwood with berries along one of the cemetery's footpaths

 

As already mentioned, there are hardly any flowers growing on the grass verge other than a few Dandelions.  A few plants inside the cemetery are still flowering, with the Great Willowherb adding a splash of welcome colour in the centre of the cemetery.

Great Willowherb in the centre of the cemetery

I also managed to find a few plants with clusters of small white flowers on them.  They can be difficult to identify, all looking very similar at first glance.  However, one should never assume they are just Cow Parsley, by far the most prolific of the white-flowering plants in and around the Cemetery!  In any case their flowering season ended in July.  This month I found Upright Hedge-parsley, Wild Carrot and Common Hogweed growing in various places.

Upright Hedge-parsley

 

Wild Carrot

Common Hogweed

 

Conclusion

August started off hot, dry and sunny with a heatwave in the middle of the month.  Then it got cooler and there were a few days with intermittent rain showers.  The heaviest of the rain fell in the last week but at best it simply left the footpaths rather damp. The Cemetery was not affected by the flooding that other parts of the country suffered.  It’s too early to say whether or not the rainfall was sufficient to enable fresh growth, especially along the grass verge.  The rain was certainly good for the cemetery wildlife though!

Snail on Headstone at the Prim Corner end of the cemetery

Snail and headstone on a rare rainy day!

An interesting article about trees:-

https://friendsofhullgeneralcemetery.com/tree-hugging/

And a useful site for wildflower identification:-

https://wildflowerfinder.org.uk/

 

An Interesting Find

by Helen Bovillin History, Volunteers1 Comment on An Interesting Find

And Now For Something Completely Different

And on a subject that hasn’t been covered here before as far as I know.

Earlier this year the volunteers were working in an area near the Quaker Burial Ground where several headstones still remain in place, and they found some interestingly shaped pieces of pottery just beneath the surface of the soil.  I could see they came from a pointed shaped vase so I took them home to clean them up.  I was hoping I had enough pieces to make a whole vase. Unfortunately, this was not the case so the photo shows the pieces just laid in place, not glued or attached at all.  The vase is 9” high.

I’ve now placed the pieces inside a padded bag with a label saying where they were found. They are now stored in a safe place inside the volunteers’ cabin in the cemetery so that if anyone should wish to look at them in the future then they can do so.

I was intrigued by the word “Portovase” on one of the pieces and wondered if this was short for “portable vase”. I found out that the “Porto” part is actually short for Portobello in Edinburgh, where there had been a pottery works since well before 1867.

 

Vase Logo

 

The company at the site in 1867 was bought by Alexander Willison Buchan and Thomas Murray that year and they traded as Murray & Buchan until Murray left and then the company became A W Buchan & Co in 1882.

The company’s main products were utilitarian items such as stoneware storage containers, whisky jars and flagons, and in 1926 they patented a graveside vase designed to screw into the ground. The name “Portovase” became one of their trademarks in 1949.

 

Set of different vases

 

As can be seen, it was made in a few different sizes and designs although I am not sure if the vase the volunteers found is one of the smaller or larger ones.

So the vase was made in Edinburgh sometime after 1949. They were mass-produced from two-part plaster of Paris moulds and the general appearance and quality of the glaze in all the photos suggests it was a relatively inexpensive item.  There are blemishes on most of the vases shown in the photos, including on the one the volunteers found.  In the second photo there is a circular mark on the green part of the glaze where a bubble has popped out early in the firing process and the repair has not been done very well.  It is still an interesting piece of social history though, and there is even one in the Museum of Edinburgh.

 

Vase with screw base in Museum

I wonder if this is an earlier model?  It’s certainly more ornate yet still has some flaws in the glaze.  I wonder if the screw design was replaced by the simpler, smooth design of the one the volunteers found?  But despite the flaws, these are still really nice vases in both design and colour.

Early in the 20th century the company also started making some more decorative homewares such as mugs, plates and dishes, many of which can still be found on eBay at quite reasonable prices.  The company moved to Crieff in Perthshire in 1972 but ceased trading in 2000.

Many thanks to Andy Lister for some invaluable insights into the manufacturing processes used in the production of these vases.  And my thanks to @museumofsteve on Instagram for the photo of the vase in the museum.  My thanks also to The Pottery Studio, The Scottish Pottery Society and the-saleroom.com for the information I found on their websites that helped me to piece together the fascinating history of this vase.

And finally, by way of a footnote, I liked the look and colour of the vase so much that I searched online to see if I could find one for sale.  I wasn’t successful but I did manage to find an original Whisky jug in the same colours so I bought it.  My work in the cemetery seems to have a way of leading me down some unexpected paths!

Jug

Bottom of vase showing company logo

 

Cemetery Wildlife – July 2022

by Helen Bovillin General, News, Volunteers, Wildlife1 Comment on Cemetery Wildlife – July 2022

July has been another dry month, with hardly any rain.  In the middle of the month there were some extremely high temperatures, reaching the mid-30s on some days and breaking the record set in 1990 for the hottest ever day in Hull. Potentially challenging conditions for the cemetery wildlife!

Plants

As a result of the hot and dry conditions some of the plants, especially along the grass verge, are not looking very good.  I hope at least some of the new ones the volunteers planted last month will survive, but it has been an uphill struggle trying to keep them watered.  There is no running water supply in this cemetery – the nearest supply is in the adjoining Western Cemetery but at the Chanterlands Avenue end.

Some of the trees are looking slightly autumnal as a result of this weather.

Horse Chestnut

 

But there is some traditional summer colour in the Quaker Burial Ground, such as the Meadow Cranesbill at the start of this report, and some Crocosmia. I realise this isn’t a wild flower, but it has been there for many years and deserves a mention. Even flowers and shrubs that are not native wild ones still have value to the cemetery wildlife.

Crocosmia

Birds

An evening walk in the cemetery just before sunset is a great place to cool down and enjoy nature. The birds are still singing including this Song Thrush perched right at the top of its tree.  A regular visitor to the cemetery has seen Tawny Owls and an Owlet on several occasions. It’s very reassuring to know that although the nest box had not been used by the Owls this year, they are still visiting the cemetery.

Song Thrush

Blackbirds are another species that sing loudly in the evening.  Quite often the evening chorus is just as loud and beautiful as the dawn chorus.

Blackbird

There are lots of the smaller birds around, including plenty of fledgelings.  Blue Tits, Great Tits and Robins all have successfully raised their young.  Wood Pigeons are still mating high up in the trees. They nest until October and can have young in the nest a lot longer than the smaller birds because they are not dependent on insects as a food supply.  They make their own type of “milk” in their crop to feed their young.

Wood Pigeon Egg

Other birds seen regularly this month were Goldfinches, Chaffinches, Dunnocks and Stock Doves.

Butterflies

I’ve seen plenty of white butterflies in the cemetery, flying fast and quite low to the ground as they look for suitable places to lay their eggs.  This Large White stopped just long enough to lay a couple of eggs and then she was off in search of other suitable sites to lay the rest of them.

Large White

I also saw a Meadow Brown flying along the grass verge, stopping just long enough for me to confirm what it was.  This is the first time I’ve seen one in this location, but it doesn’t mean this species has never been seen in the cemetery.

I’ve also seen Speckled Woods this month but generally it has been rather quiet for butterflies.

Conclusion

This is a shorter report than usual because the lack of rain has meant less growth of new plants and less species of insect around.  Let’s hope August sees a decent amount of rain to stir the dormant seeds in the ground and produce fresh growth for the late summer cemetery wildlife! Cemetery Wildlife – June 2022

Cemetery Wildlife – June 2022

by Helen Bovillin News, Volunteers, Wildlife1 Comment on Cemetery Wildlife – June 2022

There has been some fine sunny weather this month.  Whilst not quite hot enough to describe as a heatwave, the temperature did reach over 25 degrees on a few days.  This has left the footpaths and the grass verge very dry as there has not been any significant rainfall this month.  Many of the Spring plants have now stopped flowering, leaving lots of seeds for the cemetery wildlife to eat.

Insects

I saw my first Red Admirals of the season in the cemetery.  The one above was in a sunny area near the volunteers’ cabin.  There were also some Speckled Woods around, and I saw a Large White on the Spring Bank West grass verge. Speckled Wood

Large White Male

June can be rather a quiet month for Butterflies.  The ones that emerged earlier in the year will have mated, laid their eggs and then died.  The period between that and the emergence of the next generation from July onwards is known as the ‘’June gap’’.  I’ve certainly found this to be the case, not just in the Cemetery but in other areas as well.

However, there were still plenty of other flying insects around.

White-tailed Bumblebee

I also found an insect I hadn’t seen before – a Plant Bug, which is the size of a Ladybird.  It doesn’t seem to have a specific common name, so I’ve included its scientific name on the photo.  This one is a female – the males are usually a lot darker.  They’re fairly new to this country, being first identified in 1996.

Plant Bug

I also found a different type of Ladybird – this Cream-spot one.  It’s a native British species, identified by its maroon-brown colour and the 14 cream spots on it.

Cream-Spot Ladybird

Plants

Some Poppies are now flowering in the grassy area in the centre of the Cemetery. Alongside the Red Campions and Buttercups, they add a nice splash of colour to all the lush greenery.

Poppy

The cemetery can sometimes look a bit tired at this time of year.  This is because the Spring flowering plants have now started to die back and in particular the Wild Garlic, Cow Parsley and Hogweed.  The grass verge can also look a little tired too.  But other plants have now started to flower such as the Creeping Thistle you can see on the White Butterfly and the Bee photos.  There is also White Clover, Common Mallow and Ragwort growing in this area.

Common Mallow

Ragwort

To give this area a boost, the Council provided the volunteers with a good selection of native wildflowers to set along here and this has now been done.  Due to the lack of rain I’ve had to go back and water them a few times on each of the hotter days.  I hope we get a decent amount of rainfall sooner rather than later!

Birds

The birds have been very active this month.  I’ve seen them gathering nesting material and also collecting food for their hungry chicks.  Some of the birds are very vocal too, especially the Song Thrushes, Blackcaps, Wrens and Robins.  An early morning walk is highly recommended – go nice and early and you can often have the whole place to yourself, with just the birds and other cemetery wildlife for company.

The dense foliage on all the trees makes the birds rather difficult to photograph.  They are very much a case of heard but not seen.  Well, maybe just a brief glimpse!

I haven’t seen any unusual birds this month, just the regular Blue Tits, Great Tits, Dunnocks, Blackbirds, Crows, Magpies, Wood Pigeons and Stock Doves in addition to the ones mentioned earlier.  Chaffinches are another common species in the cemetery.

Male Chaffinch

Fungi

There hasn’t been much to report recently, but I did find a Dryad’s Saddle later on in the month.  It wasn’t as large as some of the specimens I saw last year but it was still a nice surprise to see it.  Note the hole – obviously this is a good source of food for the cemetery wildlife, although I’m not sure which species.

Dryad's Saddle

Conclusion

June has been a warm, dry and sunny month, creating the perfect conditions for the flora and fauna in the cemetery.  The birds are around in good numbers, and I’ve seen some fledglings exploring the world outside their nests.

And finally, it’s nice to see one of the fallen logs being used by creatures that won’t leave any litter scattered around it!

Squirrels

 Cemetery wildlife – May 2022

Cemetery wildlife – May 2022

by Helen Bovillin Volunteers, Wildlife1 Comment on Cemetery wildlife – May 2022

CEMETERY WILDLIFE – MAY 2022

Weather-wise May has been a month of contrasts, with plenty of warm sunny days and some cooler days too.  But in the last half of the month, we had quite a few rainy days.  The rain wasn’t particularly heavy or persistent but there was enough of it to leave a few small puddles behind.  This will have been a most welcome sight to the cemetery wildlife, especially the birds and mammals.

Cemetery Wildlife April 2022

Trees and Plants

The leaves on the trees are now fully open.  The last to undergo this process is the Ash – at the beginning of the month the flowers appeared and the leaves started to open.  The leaves are now fully open and those flowers have started to develop into seeds, known as keys.

Ash

The above photo was taken at the beginning of the month.

The Laburnum the volunteers planted in the Quaker Burial Ground last year is thriving, and it produced lots of flowers, starting at the beginning of the month.

Laburnum

May is the best month to see the swathes of Wild Garlic growing throughout the cemetery.  It is also known as Ramsons and looks and smells wonderful!

wild garlic

The Bluebells looked at their best this month.  The vast majority of them are the non-native, Spanish variety planted many years ago and appear in pink and white varieties too.

Bluebells

There is also lots of Cow Parsley growing in the cemetery and on the grass verge.  Some Hogweed has started to appear too.  I was surprised to find an Oilseed Rape plant growing next to a tree on the grass verge!

Oil-Seed Rape

I’ve noticed plenty of Garlic Mustard growing in the cemetery and on the grass verge – a lot more than last year.  This is good news for the Orange-tip butterfly as this is one of its main larval food plants.

The Red Campion is now flowering – there is more of it than last year, on the grass verge and inside the cemetery in the grassy central area.  Herb Robert is in flower too along the southern footpath.

Red Campion

 

Herb Robert

There are not so many Dandelions in flower at the moment but there are plenty of other yellow wildflowers to be seen, including Buttercups, Smooth Sow-thistle, Hawks-beard, Wood Avens and Hedge Mustard.

Insects

It’s nice to be writing about something different because here’s an insect I saw for the first time ever, and it was the cemetery too!  It’s a Scarce Fungus Weevil or Cramp-ball Fungus Weevil and I saw four of them.

Scarce Fungus Weevil

You might recall back in December last year I wrote about this strange-looking fungus, called King Alfred’s Cakes or Cramp Balls, which at the time were quite solid.  The Weevil lays its eggs inside the fungus and some of the fungi are now quite hollow from having been eaten by the larvae.

There are lots of Ladybirds around – native species and Harlequins too.  There are plenty of Bees around, and hoverflies.  I also saw another Bee-fly.

Harlequin Ladybird

There are still Orange-tip butterflies in flight along the grass verge and inside the cemetery.  It’s been a very good year for these butterflies, not just here but in other parts of the county according to other people I’ve spoken to.

Orange-Tip (male)

I’ve also seen Holly Blues, Speckled Woods, Green-veined Whites and Small Whites. The white butterflies are very difficult to identify in flight but when they come to rest it’s much easier to confirm what they are.

Green-Veined Male and Female

Birds

Staying with the cemetery wildlife of the air, I got up very early on the first Sunday of the month for International Dawn Chorus Day.  There were so many birds singing, including Robins, Chaffinches, Blackbirds, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Thrushes, Wrens, Dunnocks and Blackcaps.  But as the leaves on the trees were almost fully open by then, it was very much a case of heard but (rarely) seen!  These are the best photos I could manage –

Wren

Dunnock (2)

Male Blackcap

I also caught a brief glimpse of a Fox during my Dawn Chorus walk – it darted across the footpath ahead of me but was gone before I could get my camera out.

Later in the month I saw a female Blackcap in the same area as a male I saw a couple of times.  I hope they’re a pair and will successfully raise some young.

The Chiffchaffs were still singing during the first half of the month but I haven’t heard any recently. I’ve also seen Long-tailed Tits and Goldfinches, and I caught a very brief glimpse of a Goldcrest.

There are plenty of the larger birds around, such as Carrion Crows, Magpies and Wood Pigeons.  I’ve seen four Stock Doves now – this is a species that used to be a rare sight in the cemetery a few years ago but now I see them every day.

Stock Doves on Turkey Oak

Conclusion

Just like last month, May has also been a month of abundance in terms of plant growth.  The leaves on the trees are fully open, providing a cool canopy to walk under on a hot sunny day.  And despite the rain the footpaths are still easy to walk on, but are a lot softer as I write this.  The perfect conditions for a relaxing stroll to admire our wonderful cemetery wildlife!

 

Cemetery Wildlife April 2022

by Helen Bovillin Volunteers3 Comments on Cemetery Wildlife April 2022

CEMETERY WILDLIFE APRIL 2022

We have not had many of those famous April showers!  The total rainfall has been much lower than average for the month and the footpaths are therefore dry and easy to walk on.  There have been plenty of warm sunny days and the leaves on the trees have started to open.  That fresh, bright pale green so characteristic of Spring is everywhere now.

Trees and Plants

The English Oak trees planted by the volunteers last year are doing well, especially the larger of the two.

English Oak (2)

Alongside the green foliage of most of the trees is the copper colouring of the new leaves on the large Beech tree in the centre of the cemetery.  This tree is also known locally as the “Money Tree” and can be seen in my first photo.

Lower down, the Quince is flowering and nearby is some Yellow Archangel, which seems to do quite well in the shade.

Quince

Yellow Archangel

The Lesser Celandines growing on the grass verge have almost finished flowering but they are still going strong inside the cemetery.  The tiny blue flowers of the Forget-me-nots and Speedwell can now be seen if you look carefully amongst the other foliage.

Forget-me-not

Speedwell

Along the grass verge there is an abundance of Dandelions providing nectar for the Bees, Butterflies and other small insects.  The similar-looking Hawks-beard can also be seen.

Hawksbeard

I also found some Ribwort Plantain – the first time I’d noticed any along here.

Ribwort Plaintain

The Bluebells are now starting to flower but I will say more about them next month.  It was good to see plenty of Garlic Mustard in flower – another valuable food source for Butterflies, especially the Orange-tip.

Garlic mustard

Butterflies and insects

This month I saw quite a few Small and Large White butterflies, and also Comma and Brimstone.  I saw my first Orange-tips of the year this month.  I also caught a few brief glimpses of my first Green-veined White of the year.

Orange Tip

Male Orange Tip

The underside of the Orange-tip’s wings looks green but this is an optical illusion caused by the black and yellow patterning.

This month also saw the first Holly Blues and Speckled Woods of the year appearing in good numbers along the verge and also inside the cemetery.

Speckled Wood (2)

Holly Blues

Holly Blues usually rest with their wings not fully open.  These photos don’t really do them justice as they’re a much brighter blue than this but blink and you’ll miss them because they’re tiny and fast-flying.  Males and females have similar underwings.

Other insects in abundance were Bees, Ladybirds and various flies including the Bee-fly.

Bee-Fly

Birds

There are still some berries on the Ivy, providing food for Wood Pigeons, Blackcaps and Blackbirds.

Male Blackbird

The birds are still busy gathering nesting material.  I’ve seen quite a bit of activity around some of the bird boxes with Blue Tits in particular flying in and out of them. The larger birds will make nests of their own in the trees and bushes.

Female Blackbird

The Chiffchaffs have now arrived but are usually high up in the trees and not very easy to photograph.  Their call is loud and distinctive though!

Chiffchaff

Conclusion

April has been a month of abundance, with an explosion of colour and growth in most of the plants. The number and variety of Butterflies I’ve seen is very encouraging – I’ve seen a total of 10 different species so far this year.   Now is the perfect time for a stroll in the cemetery to enjoy the sights and sounds of the cemetery wildlife.  You might also enjoy the many monuments too – it seems like the wildlife does! Cemetery Wildlife March 2022

Stock Dove

 

 

Cemetery Wildlife March 2022

by Helen Bovillin General, Volunteers, Wildlife2 Comments on Cemetery Wildlife March 2022

Where do I begin? March has been a great month for the many and varied members of the cemetery wildlife family!

This first month of the new season started off with a few rainy days but then the sun came out.  Most of the days have been very sunny with the occasionally frosty start, but daytime temperatures have been higher than average for this time of year.

This warm sunshine is just what the hibernating cemetery wildlife needed and I saw the first butterfly of the year – the above Small Tortoiseshell – on 10 March.

Insects

It’s nice to be writing about insects again!  A week after I saw the Small Tortoiseshell, I saw Commas and Brimstones and I got a brief glimpse of a Peacock. These were on the grass verge alongside the cemetery, but I also saw some of them inside the main part of the cemetery.

These four species of butterfly spend Winter as adults and can sometimes have slightly damaged wings by the time they emerge. This isn’t surprising considering the number of storms they’ve had to survive this year.  But I did also see some very smart, new-looking individuals too.

Commas

I saw two Brimstones and both were males.  Their wings are bright yellow but they always rest with their wings closed so you only see that bright yellow in flight.  The females emerge slightly later than the males and are a pale green, almost white.

During the last weekend I saw my first white butterflies of the season.  I saw a very active Small White on the grass verge.  It only stopped very briefly and when I studied my photo, I found it was a male.

Small White

Then in the edible garden area behind Thoresby Primary School I saw a Large White.  I realise this isn’t a part of the cemetery but think for the purposes of this report it can be included.  After all, if your main entry into the cemetery takes you past this area then your cemetery wildlife experience begins here.

Both these species spend their winters as a pupa – a good indication that the weather is now warm enough for the butterflies to complete their final transition into full adults.

Large White

So that’s six different species of butterfly in just one month and in a relatively small area.  Quite impressive!

There have been plenty of Bees around.  The queens have emerged from their Winter hibernation and are starting to look for places to start a new colony.

These are the main species I’ve seen so far – Buff-tailed, White-tailed and Red-tailed Bumblebees, and Common Carder Bees.  I also saw a Tawny Mining Bee towards the end of the month.

Bees

I also saw some Bee-flies.  Their fluffy little bodies make them look remarkably like small bees.  If you’re lucky to see one of these flies resting on a flower or a leaf look at the wings, held open at right angles to the body.  Bees rest with their wings over their bodies.

Bee-Fly

Another insect I was delighted to see was this Hawthorn Shield Bug, on a Common Dog Violet leaf.

Hawthorn Shield Bug

There are lots of Ladybirds of various kinds around too.  Note the 7-Spot one on the right of the Commas photo for example.  This is one of the twelve species native to the UK, and there are also Harlequin Ladybirds around too.

Plants and Flowers

After a slow start the Lesser Celandines are now flowering in abundance and the grass verge at the side of the cemetery is looking beautiful.  They are also flowering inside the cemetery.  These small yellow flowers can have between 8 and 13 petals, and they feature on several of the photos in this report.  The other yellow flowers in the photos are Dandelions.

The Blackthorn trees around the cemetery are now in full flower and some of the leaf buds have started to open.  Fresh green shoots are starting to appear on some of the other trees as well.

But when you look at the ground the signs of Spring are all around in the smaller flowers now starting to open.  Red Dead-nettle and Wood Anemones are currently in flower on the grass verge.

Red Dead-nettle

Wood Anemone

Inside the cemetery small patches of Common Dog Violets can now be seen, and I even found a few Periwinkles in flower.

Common Dog-Violet

Periwinkle

Birds

The birds are in full song at the moment, with the Robins being one of the loudest.

Robin

The gathering of nest material has begun in earnest and I’ve seen several Blue Tits exploring the nest boxes.

Last year the volunteers sunk a shallow dish into the ground in the Quaker Burial Ground as there is no natural supply of water in the cemetery.  Other than the pools that form in wet weather of course!  The Blackbirds seem especially fond of it.  It’s topped up regularly in dry weather but is kept shallow for the safety of all visitors.

Blackbird bathing

As far as the larger birds are concerned, there are Magpies, Carrion Crows, Stock Doves and Wood Pigeons in the cemetery.  They can be seen foraging among the many ground covering plants including Wild Garlic, the leaves of which are shown here.

Wood Pigeon

Some of the volunteers had a close encounter with a Sparrowhawk, flying close over their heads and into the far corner of the cemetery.  It was too fast for a photo though! I also caught a brief glimpse of a female Blackcap earlier in the month.  There are also Goldfinches, Chaffinches, Great Tits, Coal Tits, Long-tailed Tits and Dunnocks around.

Conclusion

March has been a great month for the cemetery wildlife, with lots of sunshine and warmth.  But I couldn’t end this report without mentioning the Daffodils which are now open throughout the cemetery.  They are looking particularly spectacular along the grass verge, and should continue to look good well into April.

Cemetery Wildlife February 2022

Daffodils

 

 

 

Cemetery Wildlife February 2022

by Helen Bovillin General, Volunteers, Wildlife4 Comments on Cemetery Wildlife February 2022

Cemetery Wildlife February 2022

This is my 12th report for the newsletter.  My first one was in March 2021 and I have therefore spent this last 12-month period observing the flora and fauna of the cemetery in much greater detail than ever before.  The time has simply flown by!

February started with plenty of very cold but sunny days.  Then from mid-month onwards three named storms – Dudley, Eunice and Franklin – hit the UK.  Hull was not as severely affected as other parts of the country and the cemetery suffered no major damage.  A large branch came off a tree near the western boundary but no headstones were damaged.

Fallen branch

Unfortunately, the heavy rainfall has left some of the footpaths in a very muddy condition.  There was even a brief snowfall but it only gave a thin covering that soon melted away.  The rain, sleet and snow didn’t seem to adversely affect the cemetery wildlife though, and the birds were around as usual.

Chaffinch in snow

Birds

The birds have started to sing and were in fine voice all around the cemetery. The singing serves to mark out their territories and attract mates.  You can often hear them before you see them!  This Song Thrush was particularly loud and apart from its song, it can also be distinguished from the larger Mistle Thrush by the markings on its chest.  The Song Thrush has regular shaped markings akin to an arrowhead or a heart, whereas the markings on the Mistle Thrush are more irregular.

Song Thrush

Robins and Wrens also have fine singing voices and I saw and heard several of them in the cemetery this month.  The Dunnock also has a fine and melodious song.

Dunnock

The nesting process seems to have started already, as I saw a pair of Long-tailed Tits flying in and out of a dense patch of Brambles – and ideal nesting site for this species. I also observed this Great Tit gathering moss – an ideal nesting material which is in abundance throughout the cemetery.

Great Tit

Also seen this month – Coal Tits, Wood Pigeons, Stock Doves, Carrion Crows, Magpies, Blackbirds and Goldfinches.  And you can also hear, and then see, Greylag and Canada Geese flying overhead, most likely on their way to Pearson Park.

In October last year the volunteers carried out a check of the nest boxes and found an occupancy rate of 63.41%.  Since then, a few more have been located and checked.  Only one further box was found to have been used, giving an occupancy rate of 61.36%.  One box was found to be damaged and was replaced earlier this month.

Plants

The bulbs planted by the volunteers in the Quaker Burial Ground in Autumn have now started to flower, creating some nice splashes of colour in there.  The Crocus plants even attracted a visiting Hoverfly!

Crocus and hoverfly

The miniature Tete-a-Tete Daffodils are starting to create a nice border around the feature stones.

Daffodils

The main focus of my reports will always be the cemetery wildlife.  But I’ll also include the plants that the volunteers have set because these have such a beneficial effect on both residents and visitors alike.

It is now peak Snowdrop time and there are lots of them all over the cemetery – some single varieties, some double.  There are around 20 different species native to Europe and the Middle East, although they might not actually be native to the UK.  But they have been recorded as growing wild here since the late 18th century.

Snowdrops

Tiny green shoots are now visible on some of the trees and shrubs.  Flowers have just started to open on the Forsythia near the cemetery gates but I’ll talk about that next month. The Blackthorn is now in flower – the flowers appear on the plant before the leaves do.

Blackthorn

The Lesser Celandines I mentioned last month have not increased in significant numbers like I expected.  Looking back on this time last year the grass verge along Spring Bank West was covered in them.  There were even some Butterflies around during the last few days of that February.  The wet weather and lack of sunshine in the middle of the month has obviously affected their flowering.

Mushrooms

Even in the middle of Winter there are still some mushrooms to be found, including this Jelly Ear on a fallen branch.  I was lucky to find them when I did. A few days later they had started to shrivel and the plants around it had started to grow over what remained of them.

Jelly Ear

Conclusion

Weather-wise February has been a month of contrasts. Some of the plants are a little behind in their development compared to last year.  But the month ended with some fine sunny days.  I now have a whole year’s-worth of data, mainly in photographic form, for comparison.  It will be interesting to see how March this year compares to March last year. Wonderful Wildlife

 

Cemetery Wildlife January 2022

by Helen Bovillin Volunteers3 Comments on Cemetery Wildlife January 2022

Cemetery Wildlife January 2022 Cemetery Wildlife December

The year started with a very mild and sunny New Year’s Day – quite possibly the warmest on record for Hull.  There was only a small amount of rain and some fog at the start of the month.  It turned colder in the middle of the month and there was some frost, but it was generally very sunny and dry during the middle two weeks.  The month ended on a duller but still dry note, helping the footpaths to become easier to walk on.

I noticed how the sunlight was able to penetrate right into the heart of the cemetery.  It was actually getting more sunlight than the grass verge due to the position of the sun in the sky, having to rise above the tops of the houses on Spring Bank West.

Plants

I found a Lesser Celandine in flower on New Year’s Day, plus a few Brambles with flowers on them!  Later in the month a few more Lesser Celandines were in flower, and I also found a Dandelion and some Groundsel on the grass verge.

Lesser Celadine

There are lots of Snowdrops now starting to appear, helped no doubt by the fine sunshine, and they seem to be about a week earlier than last year.  Very tiny buds are starting to appear on some of the trees, and there are a few catkins on one of the Hazels.

Hazel Catkins

Insects

I noticed a few small insects in the air, and I also saw a Marmalade Hoverfly. Not surprisingly I didn’t see any butterflies, but I did see a report (from a reliable source) of a Small Tortoiseshell being seen in another part of Hull.

Dandelion with Marmalade Hoverfly  

Birds

It’s been a quiet month for bird sightings in that there have not been any unusual or rare visitors to report.  There are still plenty of the regular resident species around, such as Blue Tits, Great Tits and the much less abundant Coal Tit.

Coal Tit

I managed to catch a glimpse of a Treecreeper.  It started low down on the trunk of the tree and then quickly worked its way upwards, circling around the tree as it climbed.  They feed on insects found under the bark.

Tree Creeper

A walk through the cemetery wouldn’t be complete without seeing one of our most easily recognised birds, the Blackbird.  There are several of them around, raking through the leaves looking for food.  The females are dark brown with a darker bill.

Blackbird

Much of the cemetery wildlife can be seen on the ground, including Wood Pigeons. There are lots of them searching for food amongst the leaves and shrubs.  They can also be seen in the trees, eating Ivy berries.

The resident Robins are now in full song, marking out their territories and trying to attract a mate.  They’re very early risers, often starting to sing a couple of hours before sunrise.

Robin

Also seen this month – Chaffinches, Dunnocks, Stock Doves and Wrens.

Fungi

There are still fungi to be found in the Cemetery even in January.  The small and colourful Velvet Shank can even withstand freezing temperatures.

Velvet Shank

I also found some similar sized mushrooms growing on a fallen log and I believe these are known as Turkey Tail.  Mushrooms can often be quite difficult to identify as their appearance can vary enormously over their sometimes quite short life spans.

Turkey Tail fungus

When we look at mushrooms we only see the fruiting body of the organism.  The rest is hidden below the surface of whatever it’s growing on.  Some are so small it’s easy to miss them.  The Coral Spot is tiny but its bright colour makes it easy to see.

Coral Spot fungus

From the tiny to the large, I found a mushroom the size of the palm of my hand mid-January.  This is a type of Blewit.

Large Blewitt

I can’t say for definite if it was a Field Blewit or a Wood Blewit due to its poor condition but it was still a nice find.

Conclusion

January was a dry month with extremes of temperature ranging from extremely mild to the frosts you’d expect at this time of year.  There was plenty of cemetery wildlife around as usual of course.  But I couldn’t help but look back to this time last year though, when many of the volunteers and visitors to the cemetery enjoyed some excellent views of a Buzzard.  I wonder what our surprise wildlife of 2022 will be? Will it be a bird or an animal or even an insect? We have another 11 months to find out!

 

 

 

Cemetery Wildlife December

by Helen Bovillin General, Volunteers, Wildlife4 Comments on Cemetery Wildlife December

Cemetery Wildlife December

A few days after going to press last month, storm Arwen hit us.  I’m happy to report that none of the cemetery’s trees suffered any major damage during that storm.  A few branches broke loose but none of them were large enough to cause any damage.  But at the beginning of December storm Barra arrived and this caused some more significant damage to one of the trees near the main gates.  A large branch the size of a small tree broke off a Sycamore, blocking one of the footpaths.  Luckily it didn’t damage any of the headstones although it did fall quite close to them.  The volunteers quickly got it cleared it away.

December got off to a very cold, wet and windy start and there was even a slight dusting of snow in the first week.  It remained wet for most of the month and the footpaths are still very soft and muddy.  The fallen branches were put to good use by the volunteers, turning them into chippings which were used to repair the worst affected parts of the footpaths. Before the chippings were laid, some of the deepest mud was removed and put to one side, revealing many worms in the process.  The Robins were quick to notice this – it is always nice to see the cemetery wildlife benefiting from human activity!

Trees and Plants

Most of the trees are now bare, but a few pockets of leaves are still clinging on to some of them – for example, on this Norway Maple.

Norway Maple

I was surprised to see some flowers on one of the Pyracantha bushes growing along the grass verge on Spring Bank West, especially considering that it still had a few berries on it last month.  It is in a sunny location though.

Pyracantha in flower

There are still some berries on the Rowan – a good source of food for the birds.  Over the course of the next few years, it is hoped we can plant some new native trees and shrubs of the kind that have plenty of berries on them.  This will provide food for the current cemetery wildlife and hopefully attract new species, increasing the site’s biodiversity.

Rowan

Very few plants are in flower at the moment.  I noticed a Dandelion and some Smooth Sow-thistle along the grass verge, and also some Hogweed, although it was a much smaller plant than usual, being less than a foot tall.

Hogweed (2)

Birds

The highlight of this month was seeing three Bullfinches in a wild area towards the eastern side of the cemetery – please see lead photo at the start of this report.  This is the first time I’ve seen Bullfinches in the cemetery this year – they seem to be only occasional visitors at the moment.  But they do appear to like feeding on the seeds found in old Brambles and there are plenty of these in the cemetery.  Several areas, where there are no headstones, are deliberately left untouched for the benefit of the cemetery wildlife.

There are lots of Wood Pigeons around, and I’ve also seen a pair of Stock Doves in amongst them.  The Wood Pigeons are the larger of the two species.  I mentioned them in my first report back in March – these more detailed photos illustrate the different plumage and eye colours much better.

Wood Pigeon

The volunteers put up some more bird boxes a few weeks ago.  I noticed a Blue Tit checking one out only last week.  It seems quite early to be starting the nesting process, but it might just have been looking for somewhere to shelter from the cold.

Blue Tit (2)

Fungi

Last month I mentioned the intriguingly named King Alfred’s Cakes that one of the volunteers had found, and I managed to find quite a few of them too.  I wouldn’t normally do this, but I removed one from the tree and sliced through it to see what it looked like inside.  One of my reference books describes it as “Inedible. A folk remedy to relieve night cramp and it is called Cramp Balls for this reason”.

King Alred's Cakes

I also found a few very small mushrooms on the ground, some of which were growing out of the wood chippings laid earlier on in the year. Fallen branches can be good places for mushrooms to grow, and some of the larger branches have been deliberately left where they fell to encourage this.  Fungi, plus the tiny insects that can sometimes be seen on them, are another good food source for the cemetery wildlife.

Conclusion

It has been a very cold, wet and dull month but there is still plenty of wildlife around. As I write this it is nearly Christmas; by the time you read this Christmas will be over.  I hope yours was a happy Christmas and that the coming year will be a good one for you!

Robin fake snow