Wildlife Archives - Page 3 of 7 - Friends Of Hull General Cemetery

Cemetery Wildlife – January 2023

January 29, 2023 by Helen Bovillin Wildlife1 Comment

This month has been a typical midwinter one, with a mix of weather including a week of sub-zero starts to the day. The temperature barely rose above freezing on those days but they were sunny and the frozen footpaths were a lot easier to walk on. Despite the cold temperatures and heavy frost everywhere there was still plenty of cemetery wildlife around.

Birds

A Wood Pigeon looking for berries on the Ivy — **Wood Pigeon**

At the start of the year, I decided I’d start making a list of all the different species of bird I saw within the city boundary. I’m curious to find out how many I can see in a year. At the time of writing I’ve seen a total of 40, 16 of which were in the cemetery. The cemetery ones are Wood Pigeon, Stock Dove, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Robin, Wren, Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Goldcrest and Dunnock.

Dunnock on the ground in the cemetery — **Dunnock**

One of our volunteers also saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Treecreeper, making a total of 18 bird species seen in the cemetery this year so far. I’ll add to my cemetery list any additional species I see throughout the year and publish the final results in my December 2023 report. Let’s see what rarities or unusual visitors (if any) turn up this year!

I’ve also noticed some activity around the nest boxes as the birds, especially the Tit species, start looking for nesting sites.

Plants

There are now plenty of Snowdrops flowering in clusters around the cemetery. I’ve seen two types – an elongated flower that has a single layer of petals, and a rounder one with a double layer.

A lone single Snowdrop in the sunshine — **Single Snowdrop (above)**

A cluster of double Snowdrops in the Quaker Burial Ground section of the cemetery — **Double Snowdrops**

The Celandines growing in the grass verge alongside Spring Bank West have just started to flower. I saw the first bud in mid-January and they’re almost fully open now. There are only a handful to see at the moment though, and easy to miss as you walk past. The Daffodils are starting to poke the tips of their leaves up through the grass, and a few very early buds are also visible.

Celandine growing in the grass verge on Spring Bank West alongside the cemetery — **Celandine**

Flowers are not just found growing low near to the ground. Look up and you can also see them growing high on the trees in the form of catkins.

The male and female flowers of the Hazel — **Hazel**

The long catkins on this Hazel are male. But Hazel also contains female catkins on the same tree, although the tree cannot pollinate itself. Look closely at the bottom left corner of the photo and also near the top right and you can see the female flowers. They’re just a few red tendrils at the end of a tiny bud.

There are still some berries to sustain the cemetery wildlife, including the ones on this bush, a variety of Skimmia. It looks like some have already been eaten. There are still some berries on the Holly, and the berries are now starting to form on the Ivy although they’re still green. I didn’t find any ripe black ones but I noticed the birds, especially Wood Pigeons, looking for them.

Red berries on a bush in the cemetery — **Skimmia**

I didn’t find any ripe brambles but the leaves look great when covered in frost!

Heavy frost on Bramble leaves — **Bramble**

Fungi

I’ve seen various types of fungi in the cemetery this month. Even in the depths of winter they manage to survive, especially these Velvet Shank that can withstand being frozen solid. The cemetery wildlife must have had difficulty eating them in that state, although they did still show some signs of having been pecked or nibbled.

Some frozen Velvet Shank mushrooms heavily covered in frost — **Velvet Shank frozen on a log**

And look at the thick layer of ice on top of this large, tough bracket fungus, making it difficult to say what species it is.

A bracket fungus with a layer of ice on top — **Bracket Fungus**

I also saw some Candlesnuff Fungus growing around an old tree stump. It’s also known as Stag’s Horn Fungus.

The Antler-like fruiting body of a Candlesnuf Fungus on a tree stump in the cemetery — **Candlesnuff Fungus**

Mammals

The cold weather hasn’t stopped the Squirrels from being as active as they always are. I haven’t seen any foxes but I’ve heard them whilst walking past the cemetery late at night. The females make a plaintive cry, especially at this time of year as it’s their mating season.

Conclusion

It’s been a quiet month for the cemetery wildlife but the birds are thriving. This is probably because the cemetery adjoins several houses, and some of them probably have some well-stocked feeders in their gardens. But I have seen a few tiny insects in the air which is good news for the insectivores! And although most of you will be reading this after the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch (27, 28 and 29 January) has finished you still have until 19 February to submit your results online. The link with more information is shown below. I hope you had an enjoyable hour watching the birds in your gardens!

Link to the RSPB website:-

Big Garden Birdwatch | The RSPB

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 – December 2022

December 30, 2022December 30, 2022 by Helen Bovillin Wildlife1 Comment

As I was away on holiday for most of the month, December’s column has been written by guest reporter Grace Mount, one of our local volunteers. Here is the cemetery wildlife she found, together with photographs, all taken by her. Enjoy!

December 2022

December started mild and cloudy. There were a few days that were bright and sunny but cold. There was also a far bit of precipitation. It got very cold in the second to third week of December. In places, frost did not thaw in the cemetery because of the low sun light. However, cemetery wildlife seems to have adapted to these conditions, as birds were seen tossing the leaves over to catch hidden worms and the squirrels were very active running about in the tree canopy.

December marks the end of Autumn and the beginning of Winter. The first day of Winter falling on the 21^st is known as the winter solstice which is the shortest day and the longest night.

At the beginning of the month there were still the remaining leaves on the deciduous trees, however most of these had fallen by mid December, leaving just the evergreens behind.

Flowers and Plants

Evergreen plants in the cemetery provide much needed food for the cemetery wildlife in the cold months of winter. Holly and Pyracanthas can be seen growing in the hedge row, along the edge of the cemetery on Spring Bank West. These provide small berries for the birds, such as Blackbirds and Song Thrushes.

Holly (common name) Ilex aquifolium (scientific name) has smooth glossy leaves with spiky edges. There are a handful of very beautiful Holly bushes which can be found growing along the cemetery footpaths including one which has a variegated leaf.

Holly with a variegated leaf growing in the cemetery — **Holly (Ilex aquifolium) with a variegated leaf pattern, and Holly berries (photo at beginning of report)**

Ivy (common name) or Hedera helix (scientific name) carpets the ground in places and can be seen growing up many of the trees; produces flowers in autumn which provides much needed food for Honeybees, and cover for the birds.

Ivy flowers in the cemetery — **Ivy in flower (above)**

Wildlife habitat in the form of Ivy — **Ivy climbing up a tree trunk (above and below)**

Something that was quite unusual for the time of year, which we found, was a single Snowdrop. It was growing and in flower in a spot in the Quaker burial ground. These would usually start to flower between January and March, with the daylight hours getting longer.

Snowdrop in the QBG part of the cemetery — **A single Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) in the Quaker burial ground**

Yew trees, another evergreen, can be found growing in the Quaker part of the cemetery along with laurels, again providing much needed cover for cemetery wildlife in the cold winter months.

Moss can be found growing on gravestones and fallen branches.

Moss on a fallen gravestone in the cemetery — **Some moss on a fallen grave**

Birds

For December we saw Robins pulling worms out of the ground and Blackbirds flicking leaves over in search of hidden insects. They were very active in the Quaker part of the cemetery. Magpies, Crows and Woodpigeons were also easy to spot with there being no leaves on the trees.

A Robin in the QBG — **Robin (above) and Blackbird (below)**

Mushrooms and Fungi

A selection of fungi also found in the cemetery.

Fungus — **Velvet Shank (above and both photos below)**

Conclusion

December was mild at first with a very uncomfortable cold snap in the middle becoming mild again towards the end of the month. The footpaths that had been muddy were well trodden but frozen hard on the coldest days. Despite the cold weather it seems the cemetery wildlife continues to give many delightful and unexpected surprises with beautiful fungi, traditional seasonal evergreens, out of season flowers and amusing antics from the birds and squirrels.

Grace is home educated, following her interests of nature and animal studies. She loves birds and has helped the volunteers in HGC with monitoring and recording of the nest boxes. She frequently enjoys walks through the cemetery, litter picking and taking note of the changing seasons.

Helen Bovill

Cemetery Wildlife – November 2022

November 28, 2022 by Helen Bovillin News, Volunteers, Wildlife

What a wet month this has been! It was still quite mild at the start, but it got colder towards the end and there was even a light frost on at least one of those days. Despite all the rain the volunteers still managed to set hundreds of wildflower plants in the grass verge along Spring Bank West. These were provided by the Council and some of the Council officers also helped us to plant them. This will hopefully help to increase the biodiversity of the cemetery wildlife. We are all looking forward to seeing the plants growing and flowering next year!

Birds

I’ve started this report with a Goldfinch because her bright colours were a welcome sight on a dull, wet day. The difference between the male and female of this species is very subtle – please see link at the end of this report containing more information.

I’ve seen plenty of Blue Tits, Great Tits and Chaffinches in the cemetery. These seem to be the commonest of the small birds – I see them every day without fail. Small groups of Chaffinches can often be seen feeding on the ground. The females are pale brown and at a glance can sometimes look like Sparrows.

I usually see at least one Robin although there are several of these highly territorial and inquisitive birds around. I also saw a small flock of Long-tailed Tits calling to each other as they foraged for insects in the trees.

I’m happy to report regular sightings of Coal Tits again. These are the same size, possibly slightly smaller, than Blue Tits.

As you can see it lacks the blue and yellow colours of the Blue Tit and instead has light brown sides. It has a white patch on top of its black head.

Nest Box Survey and Maintenance

Earlier this month we did our annual check of the nest boxes to see which ones had been used. To qualify as “used” the box had to contain a complete nest. Many of those nests were tightly packed into the nest boxes – note the slightly squared corners of this one.

We found a variety of materials had been used. The one above seems to have been made from a white man-made material (possibly some sort of stuffing) and the outside of a tennis ball (green material). But most were made of mainly natural materials such as moss and plant stems.

We also found a few of the boxes contained unhatched eggs – more than last year. I wonder if the hot summer weather encouraged the birds to try for a second or even a third brood? The cold weather would then have arrived before the eggs had time to hatch. One nest contained a dead chick that hadn’t managed to fledge and another nest contained the skeleton of what appeared to be a chick. We also found quite a lot of woodlice in the nests. All the old nests and nest material were removed from the boxes leaving them nice and clear for next year’s inhabitants.

Conclusion of Survey

We checked a total of 51 boxes and found that 31 of them had been used, giving an occupancy rate of 60.78%. It’s impossible to produce a completely scientific analysis of what constitutes a successful nest box because there are so many different factors involved. Design of box, size of entrance hole, position in the cemetery such as being near houses, near a road or footpath and so on all have to be considered.

Nevertheless a pattern has emerged over the 3 years we’ve been monitoring the nest boxes. It seems the boxes in the most central parts of the cemetery were least likely to be used; those near the footpaths had good occupancy rates. This includes the footpath nearest to Spring Bank West. This was a surprise considering how busy that road can often be. We also have a total of 13 boxes that have been used every year. But it does seem that we now have more than enough boxes for the existing bird population.

And the inhabitants of the boxes? Mainly Blue Tits, Great Tits and possibly Coal Tits. And Pigeons in the only one of the two Owl boxes we have that had been occupied this year. The other Owl box had not been used and still contained the nesting material we’d put there (as recommended) in the same condition that we left it in. Good proof that our boxes are nice and waterproof!

Trees and Plants

There were some lovely colours on the trees in the early and middle parts of the month.

The rain really brought out those colours, especially on the leaves of the Norway Maples.

There are still plenty of fruits on the Pyracantha and the Holly, and I even found some Brambles still ripening. But all are great sources of food for the cemetery wildlife to eat.

There were hardly any plants in flower this month. I did manage to find some Red Campion though.

I can usually rely on the grass verge along Spring Bank West to provide some flowers, but this month I only found a couple of Dandelions and a bit of Groundsel. The flowers of the Groundsel never open fully – instead they stay compacted in a tubular shape that’s slightly wider at the top.

But because we set so many new plants along the grass verge it should look even better than usual next Spring and Summer. I’ll be able to tell you which have flourished because I’ve been monitoring the verge for a few years now and I know what’s usually there.

Insects and Other Small Creatures

I saw one butterfly right at the start of the month, this female Large White. She looked a bit faded and her two black spots were only just visible. The male has no spots.

I still keep seeing Ladybirds in various places around the cemetery, and hoverflies and bees feeding on the Ivy flowers. Then I found these on a fallen log a few days ago and wondered what they could be.

It turns out they’re either snail or slug eggs. I think they’re most likely to be slug eggs because I couldn’t see any shell markings on their insides. I will keep checking them though, provided they don’t get eaten by the cemetery wildlife!

Mushrooms

November has been a good month for mushrooms and fungi, including Velvet Shank and Jelly Ear. But as usual I haven’t been able to identify all of them for certain. I also noticed some Silverleaf Fungus starting to appear again on the same fallen log as in previous years.

Conclusion

November has been a very wet month but it hasn’t prevented the volunteers from carrying out the jobs we usually do at this time of the year. This includes placing poppies on the headstones of the war dead. And for the first time, both of our commemorative bird boxes (one for WW1 and the other for WW2) have been occupied. But both of them by birds I hasten to add. It is very rewarding to see human-related objects being used by the cemetery wildlife!

Link to more information on those commemorated on the nest boxes:- https://friendsofhullgeneralcemetery.com/history/war-dead/

Link to information on the differences between male and female Goldfinches:- https://birdfact.com/articles/female-european-goldfinches

Helen Bovill

Cemetery Wildlife October 2022

October 29, 2022October 29, 2022 by Helen Bovillin Wildlife2 Comments

October has been a typical mid-Autumn month, with a mixture of rain, cool dull days and warmer than average sunny days. The cemetery and grass verge are green and healthy, and there are plenty of berries and fungi to provide sustenance for the cemetery wildlife. The Summer drought seems to be a distant memory.

Trees and Shrubs

Many of the trees and shrubs are now bearing fruit.

There is plenty of Pyracantha growing along the back of the grass verge. It looks particularly vibrant at the moment and makes up for the lack of colourful flowers elsewhere.

Pyracantha on edge of cemetery — **Pyracantha**

There are some fruits on one of the Yew trees growing at the front of the grass verge. But these fruits are actually known as arils rather than berries because the seed is not fully enclosed. Were you to look inside the red casing you would see the seed at the back of it. My description of them in last month’s report is therefore incorrect!

I’ve also seen berries on some of the Holly bushes growing in various places inside the cemetery and a few of the bramble bushes still have fruit ripening on them.

The ground is becoming covered in the fruits of many of the cemetery’s trees, including the Lime. This particular one caught my attention because of the large knobbly growths on its trunk. These are known as burrs. I’ve inserted a link at the end of this report containing more information about what causes them.

The trees and shrubs are also starting to show some lovely autumnal colours, including this Forsythia growing at the side of the entrance gates. This is the shrub that provides a glorious array of yellow flowers in the springtime.

Forsythia at the cemetery gates — **Forsythia with Greenbottle and Ladybird**

Flowers

I didn’t find many flowers this month. Not the traditional-looking ones anyway. There is still some Ragwort growing on the grass verge, together with a few Dandelions and some Smooth Sow-thistle.

Ragwort on the grass verge beside the cemetery — **Ragwort (above)**

Smooth Sow-thistle growing near the cemetery — **Smooth Sow-thistle (above)**

However, there is an abundance of flowers on the Ivy plants that are growing skywards all around the cemetery. They provide a great source of food for the insect branch of the cemetery wildlife. On a sunny day they are abuzz with the sound of Bees and other small insects.

Dronefly on Ivy Flower — **Ivy Flower with European Dronefly**

Insects

There are still plenty of Ladybirds around – native ones as well as Harlequins. I’m still seeing Hoverflies and I even saw a few Butterflies earlier in the month.

Small White Butterfly (male) — **Small White (male) (above)**

Speckled Wood Butterfly — **Speckled Wood (above)**

Mushrooms

Remember the one I told you about last month that had fungi growing on it? This is what it looked like a couple of weeks ago!

I found a lot of small mushrooms of various types, including these Velvet Shank, some partially eaten by the cemetery wildlife.

Velvet Shank Mushrooms growing on a log in the cemetery — **Velvet Shank**

Mushrooms can be hard to identify due to their often rapidly changing appearance. I’ve therefore just summarised what I found this month without giving definitive identifications. In any case there’s always the danger of giving an identification as an edible one and then it turns out to be poisonous. However, I would not advocate any form of foraging in the cemetery – it’s only a relatively small site and the fungi should be left for the cemetery wildlife to eat. Most of these mushrooms are tiny anyway.

Birds

I have no unusual avian visitors to report this month. I’ve seen just the usual Blackbirds, Robins, Wood Pigeons, Crows and Magpies. I regularly see Goldfinches and Coal Tits now, plus the occasional Dunnock and Thrush. But the small birds that seem to be the most abundant are Chaffinches, Blue Tits and Great Tits. They’ve had a very successful year.

Conclusion

The cemetery is looking good at the moment and is always an excellent place for a leisurely stroll. But the month ended on a very wet note with lots of heavy showers and the footpaths are rather waterlogged at the moment. The best path to walk on at the moment is the southern one – that’s the one that is nearest to Spring Bank West.

And now for a question – do you prefer to see the names of the plants and animals ON the photos or UNDERNEATH them? I started showing them underneath the photos last month and just wondered what you thought of the change. I can easily revert back to putting the names on the photos if necessary!

Useful link:-

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2019/06/what-is-growing-on-my-tree/

Helen Bovill

Cemetery Wildlife – September 2022

September 29, 2022October 3, 2022 by Helen Bovillin Wildlife1 Comment

The first week of September started well, with a few heavy though not prolonged showers providing some much-needed moisture to sustain the cemetery wildlife.

September contains the first day of Autumn, regardless of what day Autumn begins, be it the 1^st (meteorological) or the 23^rd (astronomical). There were already plenty of fallen leaves carpeting the ground at the start of the month – these had already started to fall in August due to the hot dry weather of that month. This is known as a “False Autumn”, where the trees relinquish their leaves early in order to save water.

Flowers and Plants

That rain arrived not a moment too soon, and the grass verge alongside the cemetery on Spring Bank West is green again. Dandelions have reappeared together with some similar looking but smaller yellow flowers – Autumn Hawkbit and Cats-ear.

Autumn Hawkbit on the grass verge alongside the cemetery — ***Autumn Hawkbit (above)***

Cat's-ear - flower and leaf — **Cat’s-ear (above)**

The two plants look very similar, but the Hawkbit has red markings under the petals and smooth leaves. Cat’s-ear has hairy leaves. The Ragwort is also flowering again, and I found some Hedge Mustard and Wood Avens – both have tiny yellow flowers.

I didn’t find many plants in flower this month. Most of the ones I found have yellow flowers but I did find some Common Hogweed and Daisies (white flowers) and some Cyclamen.

Cyclamen growing inside the cemetery — ***Cyclamen***

I also found some Oxalis on one of the footpaths in the cemetery, but just a few leaves and no flowers.

Oxalis leaves in the cemetery — ***Oxalis***

Lots of the trees and shrubs in the cemetery now have berries on them – a great source of food for the cemetery wildlife. In the Quaker Burial Ground the Yew trees have produced lots of berries.

Walking past there towards Western Cemetery, the Broad-leaved Whitebeam at the end of the path has lots of orange berries on it.

The orange berries of the Whitebeam — **Broad-leaved Whitebeam**

The naturalised Rose bushes inside the Cemetery have some fruits or hips on them.

Rose hips - perfect for the cemetery wildlife — **Rose Hips**

The Blackthorn has some berries too, although I only found them as either singles or growing in groups of two or three.

Blackthorn or Sloe Berries in the cemetery — **Blackthorn or Sloe Berries**

Many of the Bramble plants fruited quite early but there are still some fruits at all stages of ripening on the plants, including some uneaten fruits. The seeds inside those fruits are still very useful to birds such as Bullfinches. The Dogwood bushes have plenty of black berries on them – a particular favourite of Wood Pigeons and Blackbirds it seems.

Birds

This month I’m going to feature those members of the Corvid family that can be found in the Cemetery, namely Carrion Crows and Magpies. There are several of each to be seen. Both make a particularly loud cawing noise, sometimes an indication of a predator lurking nearby.

A Carrion Crow on a branch high up in the cemetery — ***Carrion Crow (above)***

A Magpie in the cemetery — **Magpie (above)**

The Corvid family also includes Rooks, Ravens and Jays. I’ve never seen any of these in the Cemetery but a couple of Jays have been seen in the adjoining Western Cemetery by a visitor a few months ago.

The usual smaller birds are around in good numbers – Blackbirds, Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Robins and Wrens. I also saw a Coal tit – usually I see a couple of them most days but I haven’t seen any for a few weeks, so it was nice to finally see one again. I also caught brief glimpses of a Blackcap and a Treecreeper.

Insects

And now a first for the Cemetery – a Southern Oak Bush-cricket. These are relatively new arrivals to the UK, the first records being in the south of the country in 2001. They’re expanding northwards, and this could be one of the most northerly sightings so far. They’re usually found high up in the tree canopy but also appear in lower shrubs. This one is a female.

Southern Oak Bush-cricket on a headstone in the cemetery — **Southern Oak Bush-cricket**

There are still a few Butterflies around – I saw a Red Admiral near the Cholera Monument, and a Small White along the grass verge. The species I’ve seen most often though is the Speckled Wood, often flying high up in the trees and then coming to rest on the ground.

Speckled Wood inside the cemetery — **Speckled Wood**

There are still plenty of Ladybirds around, both native and Harlequin. I found quite a lot on the sunny sides of headstones as well as on the vegetation. This 7-Spot is one of our native species.

7-Spot Ladybird on an Oak leaf in tjee cemetery — **7-Spot Ladybird on Turkey Oak Leaf**

I’m also still seeing hoverflies, including this Common Banded one.

**Common Banded Hoverfly on Autumn Hawkbit**

Mushrooms

I found this interesting mushroom growing on a grave – it’s a type of Bolete. It started off larger and paler than in the photo and now it’s shrivelled to a much smaller size. Parts have been eaten by the cemetery wildlife too.

A mushroom growing out of a grave in the cemetery — **Bolete Mushroom – side and top views**

There are quite a number of mushrooms in the cemetery at the moment. They can be quite difficult to identify accurately as their appearance can change quite quickly. This one started off smooth on top, and now it has its own fungus on it!

Mushroom with its own fungus in the cemetery — **Mushroom with fungus**

There are some tiny Inkcaps growing along some of the paths, and jelly-like fungus on some fallen trees.

Inkcap mushroom in the cemetery

Jelly-type fungus on a fallen tree in the cemetery

Conclusion

The only significant rainfall was early in the month. Since then, it has been cool and the footpaths are dry again, making an early Autumn stroll around the cemetery easy. Do pop in there and look at the cemetery wildlife – you might spot something I haven’t noticed yet!

Robin on a headstone in the cemetery

Link to further information about fungi –

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/fungi-and-lichens/

Helen Bovill

Cemetery Wildlife – August 2022

August 28, 2022August 29, 2022 by Helen Bovillin Wildlife1 Comment

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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/

Helen Bovill

Cemetery Wildlife – July 2022

July 28, 2022 by Helen Bovillin General, News, Volunteers, Wildlife1 Comment

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Helen Bovill

Cemetery Wildlife – June 2022

June 27, 2022 by Helen Bovillin News, Volunteers, Wildlife1 Comment

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Cemetery wildlife – May 2022

Helen Bovill

Cemetery wildlife – May 2022

May 24, 2022 by Helen Bovillin Volunteers, Wildlife1 Comment

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 –

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.

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!

Helen Bovill

The Sycamore

May 21, 2022 by Pete Lowdenin Volunteers, Wildlife

A few years ago I found this article about Sycamores. I remembered it when there was some argument about the balance between environmental concerns and heritage aspects of the site. I was constantly being told that only native plants should be in the cemetery. Non-native species would harm the delicate eco-balance.

When I pointed out to those people that the Sycamore was not a native tree, was a poor habitat for insects and birds and was effectively smothering out the remaining native trees I was met with silence and dismissed. Par for the course I suppose. It was probably deemed ‘Fake News’ in the parlance of today. Anyway I let it pass but the information in the article is too relevant to the present state of the cemetery to forget about so here’s the piece. See what you think.

Council recognition of the problem

When discussing this issue with the Council officers I said that 85% of the trees on the site were Sycamore to which they agreed and they also thought it was a problem. I asked whether a ‘cut and replace’ system could be instigated. This would be that a sycamore could be cut down and replaced with a native tree. They were honest and said the Council could not afford it and they were glad that the FOHGC were doing what they could in this area.

‘Controlling the Invader’

CONTROLLING THE INVADER by Pierre Binggeli published in Tree News Autumn 1994, 14-15.

In Britain sycamore has been the source of much debate based chiefly on people’s personal biases for or against the species rather than on factual evidence. This is not restricted to sycamore but applies to many invasive plant species (e.g. rhododendron) and often result from a poor understanding of ecology and more importantly, from the transfer of human values to plants (Binggeli 1994). In Tree News (summer 1993) Morton Boyd wrote about the pros and cons of sycamore in nature conservation and, having investigated the biology and ecology of sycamore over the past 15 years, I have reached similar conclusions (Binggeli 1992, 1993a). However, my own research and an extensive literature search has brought to light many references and relevant information not available to Morton Boyd.

Origin

Although some people believe sycamore to be native (eg, Harris 1987), both ecological and historical evidence support the view that the species was introduced around the fifteenth century, although a Roman introduction cannot be excluded (wood said to be sycamore has been found at Langton Villa). The native range of sycamore does not extend as far as the Channel, the North Sea or Atlantic coast, but its introduction and spread has been recorded throughout the coastal areas from Brittany to Norway.

The first British records of sycamore originate from Scotland. In 1842 a tree near Dunblane was described as 440 years old. In The Protocol Book of James Young a reference is made to a plane tree growing in the Garden of Sir Andrew Wood of Largo in 1497. Although the tree could have been an Oriental Plane, there is strong circumstantial evidence to suggest that it was a sycamore. Trees called Siccamour or sicamour, which can be seen in illustrations to be sycamore, grew near Paris. Sir Andrew Wood, who was an important Leith sea captain, frequently traded along the same estuary near Paris and it would have been easy for him to bring a siccamour home to Leith. (S. Mowat 1993, pers. comm.).

PERCEPTION

In Britain people’s attitude towards sycamore has always been ambivalent. In the fifteenth century Evelyn (in Johns 1847) stated that sycamore should be banished from gardens and avenues because its honeydew-coated leaves which, after their fall, turned to mucilage and putrefied, whereas Johns (1847) considered sycamore to be “somewhat of a favourite”. In the late nineteenth century sycamore, because of its non-durable wood, was “often regarded as a weed among forest-trees and rigorously cut down” although its timber was highly valued (Simpson 1905). The prevalence of sycamore around farmsteads in the western parts of the British Isles indicate that during the nineteenth century farmers favoured the species, which is poorly recorded in the literature, but a certain amount of plant lore has been documented (Binggeli 1993b).

During the present century sycamore drew little attention until around the 1960s when the people’s attitude became at first negative, and more recently positive. Its low associated insect species-richness, invasive potential, prolific regeneration in urban areas and heavy honeydew production gave sycamore a poor reputation. Lately, sycamore has been extensively praised.

FORESTRY

In forestry sycamore will probably become an important timber tree in lowland Britain as agricultural land is converted to timber production. Trials are presently being carried out to assess sycamore in agroforestry systems. The Forestry Authority is currently selecting and propagating sycamore but their selection procedure is mainly based on general tree morphology, particularly of the trunk and large branches.

Because variation in sycamore is extensive the potential for selection and breeding is very high but not fully appreciated by researchers. The following traits are known to be very variable: budding time, age of first flowering, sex expression, seed production, susceptibility to aphids, and wood quality (eg, wavy-grain), all of which significantly affect tree morphology and/or growth rates. By carefully selecting these variable it should be possible to produce clones of fast growing and high quality timber sycamore.

INVASIVENESS

Sycamore invades different types of woodlands in the British Isles including birch, ash, alder and oak woods and many disturbed sites. However, the speed of invasion is usually slow because the conditions suitable for sycamore regeneration only occur at irregular intervals despite a regular seed production. Rootlet penetration following germination is prevented by compacted and dry soils. Young individuals are intolerant of grass competition and are susceptible to fungal attack and to grazing either by slugs and/or small rodents, whilst saplings are grazed by large herbivores.

The respective importance of these controlling factors is affected by light availability, soil nutrients and weather (chiefly rainfall). In fact, sycamore can be described as a gap species, which becomes established in treefall gaps, heavily disturbed areas, or under the canopy of low shade-casting species such as birch, sea buckthorn and alder.

CONSERVATION VALUE

Sycamore is known to have few associated insect species and an average number of epiphytic lichens. For short periods of time it is an important food source for some species of invertebrates (eg, bees) and vertebrates (eg, rodents). Observations by Frankis (1993 pers. comm.) suggest that insects in the flaking bark of old sycamore on the eastern coast of England are an important source of food for some migrating birds.

A high number of breeding birds are found in sycamore stands as long as the stand consist of a mosaic of isolated trees and shrubs but not of a continuous canopy. A complete sycamore canopy markedly reduces light levels and ground species-richness in the woodlands it invades. There is no substantiated evidence that sycamore improves the soil. In case of climate warming the sooty bark disease could become a health hazard to humans. People object to their honeydew-covered cars or park benches, as well as to weeding seedlings from their gardens.

In terms of the number of animal and plant species which are known to be associated with sycamore it can be concluded that sycamore is typical of most native trees. However, to evaluate the conservation value of sycamore or of any invasive species it is essential to answer the following questions. Are any of the animal and plant species associated with it not found on any other tree species? Would species associated with sycamore become extinct, or at least their populations decrease to dangerously low levels, if sycamore was eradicated from a particular site?

If the answers to one of these questions is a clear yes then sycamore must be conserved. Otherwise, from a conservation value point of view, it can be said that sycamore merely displaces native tree species or increases productivity. For instance, aphids falling into streams from overhanging trees are important food source for young salmon and trout (Gray 1993), but obviously not essential to their survival since these fish have thrived in British waters long before the introduction of sycamore and are presently found in rivers not lined with sycamore.

Since the amount of work, manpower and money necessary to remove sycamore and carry out detailed scientific surveys of sites or regions to determine the conservation value of sycamore is too great, an alternative management strategy must be sought. This strategy entails the careful management of the countryside including selective planting and eradication of seed producing trees from conservation and amenity areas.

THE FUTURE

Using the reproductive behaviour of sycamore it is possible to devise a management strategy which can accommodate the different, if not opposite, interests of conservation, horticulture and forestry. The reason why an exotic becomes the subject of much debate is because the species becomes invasive. Invasiveness results chiefly from a prolific and regular production of viable seeds. Although in plants most species are hermaphrodite, not all individuals will carry viable seeds because of the wide spectrum of sex expressions observed. As a result of careful observations it is possible to identify individuals which do not set viable seeds. This is the case in sycamore where about one percent of the trees are male flowering and another 20-50 per cent of the hermaphrodite individuals do not set viable seeds, although they do produce fruits (samaras). These individuals, which function as males, can be identified in the field by the distinctively empty nutlets (see Binggeli 1990 for methodology).

In areas where the regeneration of sycamore is unwelcome, as in nature reserves, parks and residential areas, its control can be achieved by removal of seed producers. Planting of sycamore need not be banned as the establishment of male flowering trees will not create any problem of natural regeneration. In nature reserves where sycamore is thought to be provide an important source of food or substrate for a particular group of animals or plants, male flowering individuals may be retained.

In forestry and agroforestry the planting of male individuals only has two advantages. Firstly it removes the problem of seed production and unwanted natural regeneration, and secondly, more important from a timber point of view, male flowering trees grow faster (as much as 10 per cent) than seed producing individuals.

The selection and propagation of male flowering individuals is essential to the successful implementation of such a strategy. Propagation must be vegetative as we do not (yet?) have a method to identify male flowering individuals at the seedling stage. The propagation of hardwood cuttings has been achieved with a reasonable degree of success (eg, Williams et al. 1991). Although vegetative propagation is more expensive than direct sowing, this should be clearly offset by the reduction in the costs of control and weeding, and by the benefits from higher growth rates and timber quality.

For sycamore, as opposed to most other invasive species, we do have a solution which can control its invasiveness as well as enhance its commercial and amenity values. The development and implementation of a management plan based on our detailed knowledge of the biology and ecology of sycamore should see the end of the controversy usually associated it. If a consensus arises in Britain among all interested parties, Reverend Johns’ (1847) statement that sycamore “will continue to sow its own seeds and nurse its own offspring, as long as England exists” may be proved wrong.

References

Binggeli, P. (1990) Detection of protandry and protogyny in sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) from infructescences. Watsonia 18, 17-20.

Binggeli, P. (1992) Patterns of invasion of sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) in relation to species and ecosystem attributes. D.Phil. thesis, The University of Ulster.

Binggeli, P. (1993a) Conservation value of sycamore. Quarterly Journal of Forestry 87, 143-146.

Binggeli, P. (1993b) Sycamore lore. Plant-Lore Notes & News 29, 131-133.

Binggeli, P. (1994) The misuse of terminology and anthropomorphic concepts in the description of introduced species. The Bulletin of the British Ecological Society 25, 10-13.

Gray, C. (1993) The conservation value of sycamore. Quarterly Journal of Forestry 87, 235.

Harris, E. (1987) The case for sycamore. Quarterly Journal of Forestry 81, 32-36.

Johns, C.A. (1847) The forest trees of Britain. Vol 1. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London.

Simpson, J. (1905) The great trees of the northern forest. No 28. The sycamore maple (Acer pseudo-platanus). Flora Silva 3, 178-183.

Williams, A., Mayhead, G.J. and Good, J.E.G. (1991) Vegetative propagation of sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus L.). Quarterly Journal of Forestry 85, 179-182.

Pete Lowden

Pete Lowden is a member of the Friends of Hull General Cemetery committee which is committed to reclaiming the cemetery and returning it back to a community resource.

petelowden.co.uk