butterflies Archives - Friends Of Hull General Cemetery

Cemetery Wildlife – October 2024

October 31, 2024 by Helen Bovillin Wildlife2 Comments

The first full month of autumn contained some mild sunny weather, with temperatures reaching the high teens on several days. October is the month of Hull Fair, and anyone who has lived in Hull for most of their lives will be familiar with the term “Hull Fair weather”. This dates back many years and refers to the cold, wet and windy weather that often used to affect the week of the fair. Nowadays more and more Hull Fair weeks are mild and sunny. Many fairgoers use the Cemetery as a short cut from the Dukeries to Spring Bank West and then to the fair. I hope they appreciate the beauty of the cemetery wildlife on their way there.

Insects

I was hoping to see some butterflies, and saw a Speckled Wood at the beginning of the month. Then much later in the month I saw two of them, plus one Comma. These are pictured above – the Comma is on the left. Both these species overwinter as adults, and the mild sunny days seem to have kept them active.

I saw lots of Ladybirds this month, all of them Harlequins as far as I could tell. Several of them landed on my clothes and in my hair while I was trying to photograph just one of them!

A harlequin ladybird on a holly leaf in the cemetery — **Harlequin Ladybird on Holly**

The rest of the insects I saw in October were mainly wasps, a few hoverflies and several flies of various types.

Bluebottle fly on the leaf of a Lime tree inside the cemetery — **Bluebottle on Lime**

Birds

It was a quiet month for the avian branch of the cemetery wildlife. I saw most of the expected small birds but in ones and twos rather than in larger numbers. These were Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits, Long-tailed Tits, Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Robins, Wrens, Dunnocks and Blackbirds. There was still no sign of the Bullfinches that were a regular sight in the spring and early summer.

A male Blackbird foraging on the ground in the Quaker Burial Ground — **Blackbird (male)**

Of the larger birds, I saw just Wood Pigeons, Carrion Crows and Magpies. I didn’t see any Stock Doves this month.

A Carrion Crow perched in a tree in the western end of the cemetery — **Carrion Crow**

Plants and Trees

I spent a considerable amount of time looking for flowers this month, but found much less than I did this time last year. The most flowers I found were on the Ivy. The flowers and fruits of this widespread plant provide food for much of the cemetery wildlife.

Ivy flowers on a plant growing upwards — **Ivy**

I managed to find a few Dandelions in flower, and also one White Campion.

A Dandelion growing on the verge alongside the cemetery — **Dandelion (above)**

Wood Avens is a plant that can be found just about everywhere in the cemetery. It spreads with ease by its seeds, which can easily get stuck on clothing and animal fur. I managed to find one plant still in flower.

Tiny yellow Wood Avens flowers — **Wood Avens**

As you can see, it appears to have been nibbled by the cemetery wildlife.

The trees continue to look very autumnal, including this Rowan and a large Beech tree in the centre of the cemetery. But I’ll say more about the different trees and their autumn leaves in next month’s report.

The orange and yellow colours of autumn on Rowan leaves — **Rowan (above)**

A large Beech Tree in the centre of the cemetery, with some of its fallen leaves on top of a nearby gravestone — **Beech – this one is also known locally as the “Money Tree” due to the lines of coins embedded in its trunk. The leaves at the bottom of the photo have landed on a nearby gravestone.**

Fungi

I found a species I’d never seen before – the Flame Shield. They were growing inside the trunk of an old but still living Horse Chestnut tree.

Two orange Flame Shield mushrooms growing inside the exposed, rotting trunk of a tree — **Flame Shield**

I also found some Candlesnuff fungus, growing on a tree stump, and some Coral Spot on a nearby fallen branch.

The small white upright strands of Candlesnuff fungus growing on a rotting tree stump — **Candlesnuff fungus (above)**

Tiny orange dots of Coral Spot fungus growing on a fallen branch in the cemetery — **Coral Spot fungus**

I also found a group of small mushrooms. They were larger than the Fairy Inkcaps I occasionally see, so these are possibly Common Inkcaps.

A small cluster of inkcap mushrooms on the ground in the cemetery — **Inkcap mushrooms**

Conclusion

In addition to the weather already mentioned, there was some rain in the last half of the month. This has left some parts of the footpaths muddy with small puddles in them, but nowhere near as bad as it was last October. The month ended with a week of dry, mild and sometimes sunny weather, so the footpaths have started to dry out and are now easy to walk on again.

A squirrel pauses at the foot of a tree, near a large bracket fungus — **Your squirrel of the month. These furry little acrobats are certainly the “fun guys” of the cemetery!**

And Finally …..

I’m delighted to say that Hull General Cemetery now has its own dedicated page or project on the iNaturalist website. It was kindly set up for me by Andy Steele of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. Whenever anyone adds anything they’ve seen in the cemetery to iNaturalist, either from their smartphones or computers, it’s automatically added to the cemetery page. I’ve added a link below – as you might have guessed, I’m helenbhull. You can now see not just the cemetery wildlife I’ve found but what other people have found too. Please enjoy looking at this fascinating site!

Search Projects · iNaturalist United Kingdom

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 – September 2024

September 29, 2024 by Helen Bovillin Volunteers

Autumn Fruits Special

This month marked the end of summer and the start of autumn. The weather was very mild, dry and sunny for the first three weeks of the month. Many of the shrubs and trees are now bearing fruit and providing plenty of food for the cemetery wildlife. To mark such abundance, this month’s report is an autumn fruits special.

Plants, Trees and Shrubs

Fruit

The Dog Rose near the Cholera Monument is now bearing fruit, known as hips (pictured above).

I found a small group of European Barberry plants not far from the main gates. Their small red berries add a nice splash of colour to the greenery. I found lots of orange and red berries on the Firethorn bushes growing along the south path and also at the back of the Spring Bank West verge. Firethorn is also known as Pyracantha.

The Japanese Skimmia now has a few red berries on it. I noticed that some had already been eaten by the cemetery wildlife. The Yew tree in the Quaker Burial Ground has berries on it, many of which had fallen to the ground. I couldn’t see any on the tree because of the darkness of the leaves and the lack of light.

The majority of the fruits in the cemetery fall into two colour sets – red/orange, and black/purple. Here is a selection of fruits from the latter category:-

Brambles and Elder grow throughout the cemetery and are a particularly good source of food for the cemetery wildlife. I noticed Blackbirds in particular eating the elderberries.

There is a patch of Cuckoopint or Lords-and-Ladies growing in a central part of the cemetery. I’ve never seen the plants reach their fruiting stage in an upright position though. They usually seem to wither and end up flat on the ground. I don’t know if this is because they get trampled by visitors to the cemetery or if they’re just not strong enough to remain upright.

Orange and green berries on cuckoopint or Lords-and-Ladies — **Cuckoopint or Lords-and-Ladies**

I found lots of acorns on the ground from one of the Turkey Oaks along the south path. They seem to have fallen prematurely in the recent high winds, as none of them looked ripe.

An unripe Turkey Oak Acorn on a a headstone in the cemetery — **Turkey Oak**

Flowers

A small patch of Feverfew is still in flower on the Spring Bank West Verge.

But in general, I didn’t find many plants in flower this month. I found a few flowers on some of the brambles, and the Ivy is now in flower. It’s easy to walk past without seeing their flowers because they look so different to other flowers. At the moment they’re providing food for insects; later their berries will feed a lot of the cemetery’s birds.

An Ivy flower with a Marmalade hoverfly feeding on it — **Ivy flower with Marmalade Hoverfly**

The Red Campion and Creeping Thistle is still flowering. The only new flower I found this month was Ivy-leaved Cyclamen.

Fungi

Continuing with the fruity theme, whenever you see any type of fungi what you’re looking at is the organism’s fruiting body. The main part of a fungus is made up of lots of fine threads, growing under the surface and therefore hidden from view. Please see the link at the end of this report for more information.

The largest fungus I found was one I wasn’t able to identify for certain. It could be either a Birch Polypore or a Dryad’s saddle.

It looks like the cemetery wildlife found it before I did!

Quite a lot of the fallen logs have smaller fungi and lichens growing on them which can also be difficult to identify. But one I was able to identify was Witches’ Butter.

Witches' butter fungus growing on a fallen log in the cemetery — **Witches’ butter**

Birds

I noticed quite a few fledglings in the cemetery this month – Robins, Goldfinches, Blue and Great Tits, and Chaffinches. Some of these were towards the end of the month. It looks like the generally warmer weather has allowed some of the cemetery’s birds to raise a second brood later in the season.

Two young Chaffinches — **Young Chaffinches. (Young Goldfinches look very similar, but have distinctive yellow wing feathers.)**

I was hoping I might see some baby Bullfinches, but I haven’t seen any Bullfinches this month. The adult birds that I used to see regularly just don’t seem to be around anymore.

Insects

There were still some bees, hoverflies, ladybirds and other small insects around. I saw dragonflies on a couple of occasions.

Common Darter dragonfly on dried Dock seeds — **Common Darter on the seed head of a Dock plant (above)**

An orange and black spotted Harlequin Ladybird — **Harlequin Ladybird**

I started to notice wasps in and around the cemetery this month. It occurred to me that I never stop to look at this common species so this time I did!

I don’t often see moths in the cemetery, but this month I saw a tiny Plume moth of some sort. It didn’t stay still for very long though, and landed amongst some nettles.

Butterflies

I saw at least five different species of butterfly this month, but in singles rather than in any sort of numbers. There are 3 species of white butterfly I’d expect to see in the cemetery at this time of the year – Small White, Large White and Green-veined White. I caught occasional glances of a white butterfly or two but I wasn’t able to confirm the species. I did see Comma, Speckled Wood, Red Admiral and Holly Blue though.

Conclusion

After a mild and dry start, September ended with some colder weather, and a couple of wet and very windy days. Fortunately, the rain wasn’t heavy and prolonged enough to turn the footpaths muddy. The avian branch of the cemetery wildlife seemed to cope with the wind, and I watched as the smaller birds seemed to time their short flights to fit in with the lulls between gusts. However, the wind brought down a medium sized tree at the western end of the cemetery, blocking the northern footpath leading into Western Cemetery.

And finally ……

A squirrel with a horse chestnut fruit in its mouth — **A perfect (albeit blurry) example of how there is food for everyone in Hull General Cemetery. See you next month!**

Link to Fungi information –

How are fruit bodies made :: British Mycological Society (britmycolsoc.org.uk)

Helen Bovill

Cemetery Wildlife – August 2024

August 31, 2024 by Helen Bovillin Wildlife4 Comments

August has been the driest month of the year so far. Our part of the country had only around 20% of its expected rainfall, leaving the footpaths dry all month. This meant less available water for the cemetery wildlife, as there is no water supply on site. In the absence of puddles, I’ve been maintaining a small shallow dish of water in the Quaker Burial Ground. As the cemetery has several houses that back onto it, I hope they contain bird baths and other water features to supplement this. There were plenty of warm sunny days in August, but no heatwave.

Insects

I had a few brief glimpses of dragonflies in the first part of the month. I finally managed to photograph them one sunny afternoon later in the month. I was delighted to see two different species – firstly a Common Darter, pictured above. At the same time and in the same part of the cemetery I also saw some Migrant Hawkers. I saw one land on a high, dead branch, then noticed some more on that same branch. At one point I counted a total of five of them, wings open, catching the sun, together with a second Common Darter.

It’s great to be able to add these to the insect branch of the cemetery wildlife. For more information about dragonflies, please see the link at the end of this report.

I saw another butterfly species this month – the Gatekeeper. I actually saw two, both female, on Ragwort on the grass verge alongside the cemetery. This is the second year I’ve seen them here, and it brings the yearly butterfly species total to twelve.

Two photos of an orange and brown female Gatekeeper butterfly, one showing the wings open and the other showing the wings closed — **Gatekeeper (female) – one of two I saw on the grass verge one morning**

The only other butterflies I saw this month were Holly Blue, Large White and Speckled Wood. The Speckled Woods were the most abundant, but it shows what a quiet summer it’s been for butterflies when seeing four of them at once counts as a high amount.

Holly Blue butterfly on yellow Ragwort flowers — **Holly Blue butterfly on Ragwort (above)**

A Large White Butterfly on a leaf — **Large White (male) (above)**

A Speckled Wood butterfly on a leaf in the Quaker Burial Ground part of the cemetery — **Speckled Wood, one of four I saw in the Quaker Burial Ground**

I saw plenty of small bees and other tiny insects this month (several of which bit me during my days working in the cemetery!). I didn’t see many hoverflies or ladybirds this month.

A 7-spot Ladybird on a leaf in the cemetery — **7-Spot Ladybird with irregular markings**

Birds

Many of the birds have been busy raising their young, and I saw a number of fresh eggshells on the ground in the cemetery.

Whilst I can’t say for definite which bird laid this particular egg, the colour and size would suggest a Wood Pigeon or possibly a Stock Dove. Both species live in the cemetery.

I also found a feather on the ground.

I’ve been unable to find out which bird it belonged to. My guess is possibly either a Tawny Owl or a Sparrowhawk, both of which have been seen in the cemetery. However, it could also be from a Buzzard – this species was a spectacular visitor to the cemetery a few years ago. I hope this is just the result of preening rather than an attack of some sort.

The smallest avian branch of the cemetery wildlife has proved rather difficult to photograph this month. There have been plenty of Chaffinches, Blue Tits, Great Tits and Robins around, but I did manage this quick snap of a Coal Tit.

I also saw Wrens, Goldfinches and Blackbirds but I didn’t see any Bullfinches in August. It’s the first month this year when I haven’t seen any.

Plants

I didn’t find many plants in flower this month and the dry weather hasn’t helped them.

There is a lot of dry and dead vegetation in and around the cemetery. However, the Tansy and Musk Mallow growing on the grass verge is still in flower.

The pink flowers of Musk Mallow — **Musk Mallow**

I also found this small yellow flower growing on the verge. It is possibly Smooth Hawksbeard, although there are so many very similar looking plants that it is difficult to say for certain.

There was not therefore much pollen and nectar for the cemetery wildlife that relies on it for food. But for the other cemetery wildlife there is plenty of fruit available in the form of brambles and elderberries.

There have been a few windy days this month, and some of the horse chestnut trees have lost their fruit prematurely.

A spider's web, shining in the sun, on a Horse Chestnut Tree — **Mature Horse Chestnut tree (above) and fallen fruit (below). Note that most of the seed, commonly known as a conker, is yet to ripen.**

Conclusion

August was a typical summer month, with lots of dry and fine weather. But dare I say that the cemetery is already starting to look rather autumnal, with light falls of brown and orange leaves now carpeting the floor? Plus of course the fruits I mentioned earlier, but I’ll say more about them next month.

A Squirrel high up in a tree in the cemetery — Your Squirrel of the month. See you next time!

Link to more information about dragonflies :-

British Dragonflies: Larvae, Wings and Lifecycle – Woodland Trust

Helen Bovill

Cemetery Wildlife – July 2024

July 25, 2024 by Helen Bovillin Wildlife1 Comment

Considering July is in the middle of summer, the weather has not fully reflected that. There have been several cool, dull and rainy days, especially at the start of the month. So we still had some muddy footpaths, even in July. Only a few odd days here and there were hot and sunny, and the insect branch of the cemetery wildlife has not been as abundant as expected.

Insects

Butterflies

I saw worryingly few butterflies this month, so I was very happy to see a Comma (pictured above) on one of those hot sunny days. I also saw Speckled Woods in several different places in the cemetery. This one was in the Quaker Burial Ground. This is the only species where I saw more than one at the same time – I counted four of them that day.

A brown Speckled Wood butterfly on the thin green leaves of Crocosmia — **Speckled Wood**

The only other butterflies I saw in July were Large White and Holly Blue. This makes a total of four different species, compared to the seven different species I saw in July 2023. Members of other butterfly watching forums around the country have reported a similar lack of butterflies in general, so it isn’t just the cemetery that’s affected.

Butterfly Conservation is currently carrying out its annual Big Butterfly Count. It ends on 4 August so if you’d like to take part, there’s a link at the end of this report.

Other Insects

I saw this hoverfly – a Globetail of some sort. This one is a female, as there’s a gap between the eyes at the top of the head. Only the male has the distinctive globular tail. I’d never noticed these before, but they are rather small and easy to miss.

A Small Globetail hoverfly on a yellow flower in the cemetery — **Globetail hoverfly (female)**

I actually saw more different species of hoverflies than butterflies this month.

Four photos showing different species of hoverfly in the cemetery — **Top – Marmalade Hoverfly (left); Common Flower Fly (right). Bottom – Sun Fly (also known as the Footballer Hoverfly, left); Hornet Mimic Hoverfly (right).**

The Tansy is now in flower on the grass verge alongside the cemetery on Spring Bank West, and on it I saw this tiny bee. It could be a type of cellophane bee – they’re very difficult to identify.

I also saw a dragonfly in the cemetery one morning. It was quite distant and didn’t stop for me to identify it properly or get a photo. It looked quite large though.

A small bee on some yellow Tansy flowers — **Cellophane Bee on Tansy**

But generally I saw very few bees this month and very few ladybirds and other small insects.

Plants

Small

As is typical in Summer, a lot of the taller spring plants such as Hogweed and Cow Parsley have now died back. The cemetery can look rather tired in places, but this is quite normal. It has generated plenty of seeds for the cemetery wildlife to eat, so there is always a positive way of looking at this! The dried stems, left untouched on the ground, make excellent nest material too, forming the basis of many of the nests we check during our annual bird box survey.

Dried up Hogweed seed head in the cemetery — **Hogweed**

I noticed a few more Ragwort plants in flower on the verge alongside the cemetery. It’s a very good food source for the tiny branch of the cemetery wildlife – I found several Thick-legged flower beetles on this plant. The Wild Basil is also in flower on the verge.

The yellow flowers of the Ragwort — **Ragwort (above)**

The pink flowers of Wild Basil — **Wild Basil**

I’m always looking for plants I haven’t noticed before, and I found some Figwort at the eastern end of the cemetery.

Figwort growing at the eastern end of the cemetery — **Figwort**

Growing nearby was Enchanter’s-Nightshade – I saw quite a lot of this throughout the cemetery. It’s a plant that grows well in shade.

The tiny white flowers of Enchanter's-Nightshade — **Enchanter’s-Nightshade**

Willowherb is a very common species of wildflower and will grow just about anywhere. I found two species in the cemetery this month – Broad-leaved Willowherb and Great Willowherb.

Two photos showing Broad-leaved Willowherb and Great Willowherb — **Broad-leaved Willowherb (left) and Great Willowherb (right)**

There’s a patch of Cuckoo-Pint in the cemetery, and I found most of the leaves had died back, leaving these unripe berries. They should turn orange or red eventually. This plant has many common names, such as Lords-and-Ladies.

The green, unripe seeds of the Cuckoo-pint plant growing in the cemetery — **Cuckoo-pint or Lords and Ladies**

Trees

I also noticed two of the cemetery’s Horse Chestnut trees have some unripe fruits on them. This doesn’t seem to happen every year, so hopefully they will ripen and we’ll have some “conkers” in autumn!

Two Horse Chestnut fruits, or "conkers" — **Horse Chestnut**

And at the bottom of one of the other trees in the cemetery, I found this small cluster of Fairy Inkcap mushrooms. Another source of food for the cemetery wildlife.

A cluster of tiny Fairy Inkcap mushrooms at the base of a tree in the cemetery — **Fairy Inkcaps**

Birds

I don’t have anything unusual to report – all the regulars were present such as Blue Tits, Great Tits, a couple of Coal Tits, Robins, Wrens, Goldfinches, Blackbirds, Crows and Magpies. I also got a few quick glimpses of a male and a female Bullfinch. There’s a good population of Chaffinches spread throughout the cemetery. I also heard a Tawny Owl calling on several occasions.

A male Chaffinch in a tree in the cemetery — **Chaffinch (male)**

I also saw a Dunnock – I don’t see them every month as they blend in so well with their surroundings.

A Dunnock (similar to a Sparrow) in the cemetery — **Dunnock**

A Blackcap kept me entertained for a few minutes one morning – they have a beautiful (and loud) song.

A male Blackcap singing in a tree in the cemetery — **Blackcap (male)**

Wood Pigeons are the commonest of the larger birds. They can be heard noisily crashing through the branches high up in the trees.

A Wood Pigeon in a tree in the cemetery — **Wood Pigeon**

Mammals

I don’t often mention the mammalian branch of the cemetery wildlife simply because, with the exception of the squirrels, I don’t usually see it. So I’m happy to share these photos of a beautiful fox, courtesy of fellow volunteer Karen Towner.

This is a female, or vixen, and from the first photo it looks like she’s recently given birth. These photos actually date back to March but I decided not to share them at the time in order to give her the chance to raise her cubs without being disturbed. I think it’s fantastic that foxes find the cemetery a safe place to live. We always aim to manage the cemetery for wildlife as well as heritage and this is a good indication that we are managing to do just that.

Conclusion

July was a quiet month in terms of the overall amount of cemetery wildlife that I saw. It started off cool and wet. But the month ended with some warmer, sunnier days and some almost dry footpaths. Let’s hope this continues into August.

A squirrel in a tree — **Your squirrel of the month. See you next time!**

Link to Butterfly count:

Big Butterfly Count (butterfly-conservation.org)

Helen Bovill

CEMETERY WILDLIFE – MAY 2024

May 31, 2024 by Helen Bovillin Wildlife

There was a real mixed bag of weather for the cemetery wildlife to contend with in May. And whilst I wouldn’t count myself as wildlife, the warm weather in the middle of the month resulted in my having to deal with dozens of biting insects as I worked in the cemetery! Puddles and fallen branches were common sights as the month ended on a very wet and windy note.

Birds

Large Birds

The highlight of the month was the return of Tawny owls to one of the owl boxes at the western end of the cemetery. I saw two different adult birds – I only realised this when I studied my photos and noticed subtle differences between owls I saw at different times. And then a couple of weeks later I saw two large fluffy chicks (also known as owlets) perched outside the box (see photo above).

A tawny owl sitting at the entrance to a nest box in the cemetery — **Tawny Owl**

The last time I saw Owls and owlets was in May 2021, but that year I saw the owlets in the first week of the month. This year I saw them in the last week of the month. I’ve put a link to my 2021 report at the end of this report.

I saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker on a couple of occasions. I saw plenty of Wood Pigeons, and amongst them a pair of Stock Doves.

A wood pigeon on the ground with the sun shining on it — **Wood Pigeon (above)**

Two stock doves feeding on the ground in the cemetery — **Stock Doves**

Small birds

I saw a male Bullfinch on several occasions and a female one just a couple of times. However, as all the trees now have fully opened leaves it’s harder to get photos of the smaller birds.

A male bullfinch sitting in a tree in the cemetery — **Bullfinch (male)**

I was also delighted to see a pair of Blackcaps.

A Blackcap perched on the stem of a hogweed plant — **Blackcap (male)**

Some of the early nesting birds have now successfully raised some youngsters, and I saw fledgling Robins, Blackbirds and Chaffinches.

A young blackbird perched on a branch — **Blackbird (above). It looks very similar to a young Robin, but due to its size I can confirm it’s definitely a Blackbird.**

A young chaffinch calling for its parents to feed it — **Young Chaffinch begging for food**

I also saw a very active pair of Coal Tits several times during my walks around the Cemetery, plus plenty of Great Tits and Blue Tits. I think it’s safe to say that the avian branch of the cemetery wildlife is having a good year so far.

Insects

Butterflies

I saw my first Red Admiral of the year, in the Quaker Burial Ground. It’s the only one I’ve seen so far this year.

Red Admiral butterfly resting on a leaf — **Red Admiral**

This brought the cemetery total to 11 different species of butterfly, which is what I expected based on previous years. However, this month has not been a very good one for them, and I only saw butterflies in ones and twos. The other species I saw this month were Brimstone, Orange Tip, Green-veined White, Small White, Large White, Speckled Wood and Holly Blue.

A Large White butterfly feeding on cow parsley — **Large White (male) (above)**

A Speckled Wood butterfly perched high on a leaf in the Quaker Burial Ground — **Speckled Wood (above). Note the damaged wing.**

A Holly Blue Butterfly resting on a nettle leaf in the cemetery — **Holly Blue (male) seen near the Cholera Monument.**

Other Insects

I saw lots of ladybirds of various species, and plenty of bees, flies and hoverflies. I saw this Narcissus Bulb fly on the grass verge alongside the cemetery – the first one I’d seen.

A Narcissus Bulb fly, looking like a small bee, sitting on a leaf — **Narcissus bulb fly**

The insect branch of the cemetery wildlife is always surprising me. When I was taking part in the City Nature Challenge for iNaturalist last month, I looked at what other people had found in Hull. I came across the very interestingly-named Batman hoverfly on the list. Then a few days ago I saw one for myself, feeding on Hogweed on the grass verge. Unfortunately, the Batman logo-shaped mark at the top of the thorax that gives the hoverfly its common name isn’t very clear. I’ve added a link at the end of this report to a site that gives more information about hoverflies.

A Batman Hoverfly feeding on hogweed flowers — **Batman Hoverfly. The eyes are close together, indicating this is a male.**

But an insect I often see is the Thick-legged flower beetle and these colourful little insects are a favourite of mine. And unmistakable once you’ve seen one!

Thick-legged flower beetle on a buttercup — **Thick-legged Flower Beetle. Only the male has those large thighs.**

Flowers

I was very happy to see a few flowers on the old Horse Chestnut tree. This is probably one of the original trees planted when the cemetery was being laid out prior to its opening in 1847. As far as tree flowers go, I think this is one of the prettiest to be found on our native trees.

I saw carpets of Wild Garlic, also known as Ramsons, throughout the cemetery although they reached their peak early in the month. The rain and wind has flattened most of them now.

A carpet of white Wild Garlic flowers in the cemetery sunshine — **Wild Garlic**

There are plenty of Oxeye daisies growing on the grass verge alongside the cemetery. They seem very attractive to the smallest branch of the cemetery wildlife, including this tiny fly. I haven’t been able to precisely identify it, other than it being a Phania of some sort.

An Oxeye daisy with a tiny fly on it — **Oxeye Daisy and fly**

Other white flowers I saw this month were Common Chickweed, clover and Campion. I also saw several Red Campion plants growing along the grass verge, and some Knapweed. There are also some Dog-roses growing in the cemetery itself.

The pink flowers of the Red Campion — **Red Campion (above)**

The pink flowers of the Knapweed plant — **Knapweed (above)**

A pale pink Dog-rose with raindrops on it in the cemetery — **Dog-rose**

The thistles all over the grass verge have grown rather tall during the month, and a few are now in flower. But not all of them are pink. I noticed one with yellow flowers, and this is a Prickly Sowthistle. I also saw some Smooth Sowthistle growing in the same area.

Two photos showing the yellow flowers of the Prickly Sowthistle and the Smooth Sowthistle — **Prickly Sowthistle (left) and Smooth Sowthistle (right)**

Conclusion

The cemetery wildlife continues to thrive. New life is all around, including this squirrel. It seems to be a youngster as I’d never seen it before this month. Its extra red hairs, especially on its tail, makes it stand out from the rest of the cemetery’s squirrel population. The photo doesn’t quite do it justice, however, as that red colouration is much more noticeable in real life!

A grey squirrel with extra red coloration sitting in a tree — **Your Squirrel of the month. See you same time next month!**

Wonderful Wildlife – Friends Of Hull General Cemetery

ID Guide Hoverflies – British Naturalists’ Association (bna-naturalists.org)

Helen Bovill

Cemetery Wildlife – April 2024

April 30, 2024 by Helen Bovillin Wildlife2 Comments

It might seem strange to be starting this report with a photo that was so obviously NOT taken in the cemetery. After all, this is about the cemetery wildlife! However, I’m pretty certain that this Mallard and her nine ducklings had just come out of the cemetery and were heading down Princes Avenue and towards Pearson Park, which is less than half a mile from the cemetery. There was no doubt in my mind that this was where she was heading.

If I’d been at that point on Spring Bank West just a minute earlier then I’m sure I would have seen them coming out of the cemetery. One of our volunteers told me he’s occasionally seen a Mallard in there. Also, a few years ago a regular cemetery user showed me some footage he’d taken of a Mallard leading some ducklings through the cemetery. I knew this was genuine because I recognised one of the headstones in the video.

Obviously I wasn’t going to just walk past – I decided to escort them to the park, making sure I kept a respectful distance to avoid scaring them.

3 photos of a mallard walking up the street with 9 ducklings — **Heading up the road – along Princes Avenue and then crossing Welbeck Street.**

I kept them on the footpath until she decided to cross the road. I held up the traffic on one side of the road; a kind passer-by held up the traffic on the other side. Both the drivers that had to stop were smiling and one had his phone out, recording the event.

I followed her into Pearson Park – she seemed to know the way.

3 photos of a mallard and her 9 ducklings in the park — **The Mallard family reaches Pearson Park. She seems to know the way to the pond.**

I then watched as she coaxed all nine ducklings into the water.

A mallard and her 9 ducklings entering a pond — **Made it!**

Birds

After this unexpected encounter I decided to find out a bit more about Mallards, this common duck most of us see in our local parks and take very much for granted. Although they occasionally nest in trees, they usually nest on the ground, in dense foliage to keep hidden from predators. She would have laid her eggs over a period of a few days, and then once she’d finished, she would then have started to incubate them. Incubation takes around 4 weeks, so she could have been there in the cemetery for well over a month, quietly concealed from predators who could have taken her eggs.

The ducklings all hatch within a few minutes of each other and are mobile within a few hours of hatching. These would have been less than 24 hours old, and ready to take to the water. But the cemetery has no natural source of water so they couldn’t stay there any longer.

I saw plenty of our usual birds in the cemetery in April – Blue, Great and Coal tits, Bullfinches, Chaffinches and Goldfinches, Robins, Wrens, Dunnocks, Blackbirds, Carrion Crows, Wood Pigeons and Stock Doves. Our seasonal visitors, the Chiffchaffs, were in fine and distinctive voice all month. I was very pleased to see a Mistle Thrush – I usually just see Song Thrushes in the cemetery.

Here are just a few members of the avian branch of the cemetery wildlife as they go about their daily lives.

A mistle thrush high up in a tree — **Mistle Thrush (above)**

I saw several of them gathering nesting material, and I noticed some of the smaller birds checking out the nest boxes. I haven’t seen any fledgelings yet.

Insects

Butterflies

April was a very good month for butterflies, provided the days were sunny, reasonably warm and not too windy. I saw my first Speckled Woods, Large Whites, Small Whites and Green-veined Whites of the year – it’s always a delight to see this most colourful branch of the cemetery wildlife. Last to make an appearance, on the last day of the month, were the Orange Tips.

A speckled wood butterfly in the cemetery — **Speckled wood (above)**

The Small White is slightly smaller and has less black markings on the edge of the upper wings. The male has one spot on each wing.

Two Green-veined White butterflies mating on a cow parsley leaf — **Green-veined Whites mating (above). The male is at the top.**

An Orange Tip butterfly on a garlic mustard flower in the cemetery — Orange Tip (female) on a garlic mustard flower, their favoured food plant. The alternating black and white bars along the edge of the wings, and the distinctive mottled effect underneath the wings, set this apart from other white butterflies. Only the male has orange wing tips.

All the butterflies I’d seen for the first time in February and March also made several appearances during the month. One thing I found most surprising was the fact that although I saw my first male Brimstone of the year in mid-March, it wasn’t until mid-April that I saw my first female. However, females do emerge slightly later than the males but not usually that much later. I saw a total of ten different species of butterfly in the cemetery or on the Spring Bank West verge this month.

Two brimstone butterflies in flight — **Brimstones (above). The female is on the left and the male on the right.**

Bees, Flies and Bugs

I took part in the iNaturalist City Nature Challenge this month. Running for 4 days from 26 to 29 April, its aim was to encourage the observing and recording of nature throughout the UK. Hull took part for the first time last year and it was such a success that the city took part again this year.

Although I visited several parts of the city to see and record as many species as possible, the vast majority of my observations were of the Hull General cemetery wildlife. It made me look even more closely at all our insects, and I saw my first-ever Sun fly.

That distinctive striped head made it stand out from all the other hoverflies I saw in April. I also saw several types of bee including Red, Buff and White-tailed Bumblebees, Mining Bees and Honey Bees.

Tawny Mining bee on a leaf — **Tawny Mining Bee (above)**

A honey bee on a dandelion in the cemetery — **Western Honey Bee**

I also saw an abundance of Ladybirds – native British ones as well as Harlequins.

7-spot ladybirds mating — **7-spot Ladybirds**

I also saw a Green Shield Bug.

A Green Shield bug on a leaf — **Green Shield Bug**

Plants

The iNaturalist challenge also included plants, and I enjoyed looking more closely at some of the many plants, large and small, that we have in the cemetery. Here are some of them – the Bluebells are at their peak just now.

Dove's-foot Crane's-bill growing near a headstone in the cemetery — **Dove’s-foot Crane’s-bill (above)**

Quince growing in the cemetery — **Quince (above)**

Bluebells growing near a grave in the cemetery — **Bluebells (above). These are Spanish ones rather than the native British ones.**

Cowslips growing near the entrance to the cemetery — **Cowslips growing just inside the cemetery gates.**

During the 4 days of the iNaturalist challenge, I saw nearly 100 different species of flora and fauna in the cemetery, and it could easily have been more as I missed some obvious ones. Everything was eligible, even the humble dandelion! And Hull as a city did extremely well in the overall scores at the end of the event. Please see the link at the end of my report for more information.

Conclusion

April was a month of mixed fortunes, weather-wise. There were some warm, sunny days but a much colder than average spell at the end of the month. There were rainy days and some extremely windy ones, resulting in some large branches falling across the footpaths. But the cemetery wildlife was thriving this month, and the very last day was very warm – warmer than average for the month.

A squirrel perched on a headstone in the cemetery — **Squirrel of the month. See you next time!**

Link to iNaturalist’s City Nature Challenge –

City Nature Challenge 2024: UK Leaderboard · iNaturalist United Kingdom

Helen Bovill

Cemetery Wildlife – March 2024

March 30, 2024 by Helen Bovillin Wildlife2 Comments

For me, nothing signals the start of spring more than the sound of a Chiffchaff singing, so let’s start this month with a song! There’s a link at the end of this report with some more information and a sample of one singing. The cemetery wildlife had a mixed bag of weather to contend with in March, but when the sun came out there was plenty to sing about. There was rain on quite a few days, but no really heavy showers. However, even a modest fall was enough to create puddles on and around the footpaths due to the ground still being saturated from all the winter rain.

Birds

I watched the above Chiffchaff high up in the trees. Occasionally it would swoop lower, catch something in mid-air, and then fly back up. They do eat flies, but whatever it was catching was far too small for me to see at such a distance.

I noticed one of the local Chaffinches making good use of one of those muddy puddles.

A male chaffinch bathing in a puddle in the cemetery — **Chaffinch (male)**

I kept regularly seeing male and female Bullfinches in the cemetery this month. This is not something I would have expected to be saying a year ago, when they were quite a rare sight here.

I regularly see small groups of Goldfinches and hear them chattering to each other as they flit from tree to tree.

A goldfinch high in a tree in the cemetery — **Goldfinch, fluffed up to keep warm on a cold windy day!**

I saw plenty of members of the tit family in the cemetery including Great Tits, a couple of Coal Tits, Long-tailed Tits and Blue Tits.

Wrens and Robins were in fine voice as the breeding season got underway.

A wren singing in a tree in the cemetery — **Wren (above)**

A singing robin perched on a fence post — **Robin in the Quaker Burial Ground. The pastel colours in the background are a mural on a wall near Thoresby Street school.**

I also caught a brief glimpse of a Treecreeper, quickly winding its way up a tree. And I had some distant views of a Great Spotted Woodpecker. But the most surprising sight this month was a Siskin. They’re the same size as Goldfinches, and it was with a small group of them. They’re normally seen in small flocks, making me think it might have got separated from its own flock and ended up with some Goldfinches.

Insects

Butterflies

The most colourful branch of the cemetery wildlife kept me delighted every sunny day this month. I saw my first Peacock of the year, mid-month, on the verge alongside the cemetery on Spring Bank West.

Peacocks spend winter as adults, so they can sometimes be a little battered when they first venture out. In the first photo you can see the edges of the lower wings have parts missing. For comparison, the one on the right, which I saw at the end of the month, is in much better condition.

I also saw my first Brimstone of the year, again on the verge alongside the cemetery. This was also during the middle of the month. I saw them a few times after that. They also spend winter as adults.

A male Brimstone butterfly on a daffodil — **Brimstone (male)**

The biggest surprise was seeing my first Holly Blue of the year, again on the Spring Bank West verge. This was on 26th March, the earliest one I’ve ever seen. These butterflies spend winter as pupae.

Two photos of a Holly Blue butterfly - one with wings open, the other with wings closed, feeding on acelandine — **The same Holly Blue (male) showing wings open and closed**

I also saw a lone Small Tortoiseshell on a few days.

A small tortoiseshell butterfly resting on a spotted laurel leaf — **Small Tortoiseshell on Spotted Laurel**

But the species I saw most often in March was the Comma. I saw at least one, sometimes two or three, every sunny day I walked past the verge.

An orange Comma butterfly on dandelion — **Comma**

Other insects

I saw my first Bee-fly of the year on the Spring Bank West verge. I watched it feeding on a daffodil before coming to a rest on a dead leaf. Although the daffodils here are cultivated flowers, planted several years ago by volunteers, they still provide a good source of food for the cemetery wildlife.

A Bee-fly on a dead leaf — **Bee-fly. Note the pollen on the lower part of its front legs.**

I also saw a Birch shield bug, this time inside the cemetery. This species is noticeably smaller than the similar-looking Hawthorn shield bug.

Birch Shield bug on a freshly opened leaf — **Birch Shield Bug**

I saw lots of other flies, hoverflies and bumblebees on the wing along the verge, including these Buff-tailed bumblebees.

Two buff-tailed bumblebees - one on a dandelion, the other in flight — **Buff-tailed bumblebees. Note the mites on the side of the head of the one on the dandelion.**

There was an abundance of ladybirds everywhere I looked – native ones such as the Seven-spot, plus harlequin ones. Look out for some of them on this next set of photos!

Plants

There was an explosion of colour in March. The verge really came into its own with a carpet of bright yellow celandines and dandelions for the early insects to feed upon. Yellow was still the predominant flower colour, especially true of the Forsythia growing near the cemetery gates. I saw how it changed from a mass of just yellow flowers at the start of the month to a mixture of flowers and fresh, bright green leaves at the end of the month. Berberis and Mahonia are now starting to flower.

I was pleased to see the first Cowslips of the year, and also Yellow Archangel. And so often overlooked is Groundsel, its flowers looking more like buds than fully developed blooms.

I was relieved the Wood Anemones had survived the wet winter. I don’t recall seeing their buds – only the fully opened flowers. And the Cow Parsley is just starting to flower – another source of nectar for the cemetery wildlife.

After all this yellow and white, it was nice to find some other coloured flowers. The first ones I saw were on some Pulmonaria growing in the Quaker Burial Ground. This is a cultivated plant rather than a wild one, but it still provides a good source of nectar, especially for bees. I found Periwinkle in several places throughout the cemetery, just starting to flower.

But the plant I was most surprised to find was Greek Anemone. It’s not native to the UK but can become naturalised. This is what must have happened here, as I found it in two random, partially shaded places.

I found some Red Dead-nettle growing on the verge, and some Herb Robert inside the cemetery.

Conclusion

The transition from winter to spring saw a real growth spurt in the cemetery’s flora, helped no doubt by the mix of rain and warm sunshine. I saw lots of green shoots and buds on many of the trees. This has provided some fresh greens for the cemetery wildlife to eat.

A Horse chestnut leaf bud against a blue sky — **Horse Chestnut**

I didn’t find any fungus of note this month. I heard a fox on a couple of evenings but didn’t manage to see one – they are very elusive as they go about their daily (and nightly) business. So it’s down to the Squirrels to represent the cemetery’s mammals this month as usual.

A squirrel sitting on a graveside kerb in the cemetery — **Squirrel of the month. See you next time!**

Link to Chiffchaff information –

Chiffchaff Bird Facts | Phylloscopus Collybita (rspb.org.uk)

Helen Bovill

Cemetery Wildlife – February 2024

February 29, 2024 by Helen Bovillin Wildlife2 Comments

It might seem odd to start the report for a winter month with a butterfly, but this is indicative of the variety of weather we had in February. There were a few days of heavy rain and the ground soon became saturated again. Then there were some milder, sunny days towards the end of the month and this is when I saw my first butterfly of the year – the above Comma, on the grass verge alongside the cemetery on Spring Bank West. I saw it on 20 February. The insect branch of the cemetery wildlife has now started to wake up.

Insects

That was one of two Commas I saw that day, together with this Small Tortoiseshell.

An orange and black Small Tortoiseshell butterfly on a dock leaf — **Small Tortoiseshell**

Both species spend winter in their adult form, hibernating in various places. The UK has five species of butterfly that hibernate in their adult form, the other three being Brimstone, Peacock and Red Admiral. I’ve seen all those species in and alongside the cemetery and will report on them as soon as I see them.

As a result of overwintering in this form for several months, the first butterflies that emerge can sometimes look a bit faded or battered. Both have small sections missing from their wings, and some scratch marks on them. But overwintering in this form gives them a flying start over other species when it comes to getting on with the serious business of eating and then mating.

Please see the link at the end of my report for more information on butterfly hibernation.

I also saw my first bumblebee of the year, again on the grass verge. It was too quick for me to get a photo, but it looked like a buff-tailed one. I saw several ladybirds – native 7-spot ones and some harlequin ones. I also saw various types of hoverflies including Marmalade hoverflies and this Common drone fly.

A drone fly on a dandelion in the cemetery — **Common drone fly**

Plants

Daffodils are now starting to flower all around the cemetery. Although these were planted by volunteers several years ago and are not wildflowers, they’re still worthy of a mention because they provide a good source of nectar for pollinating insects. They seem to flower earlier each year – this photo was taken on 2 February.

Two daffodils in the cemetery, with a small marmalade hoverfly just showing inside one of the flowers — **Daffodils**

As you can see, there is a small hoverfly just visible in the one on the left, although both flowers had a hoverfly inside them.

But the wildflower I’m always happiest to see is the Lesser Celandine and after a slow start in January, they are now in flower all over the cemetery and along the grass verge. They look simply glorious and provide an important source of nectar for those early butterflies.

Two photos, each showing two bright yellow lesser celandine flowers — **Lesser Celandines in 3D. The leaf with the hole in it is Garlic Mustard**

The number of petals varies from flower to flower. When researching how many they should have, a figure of 8-12 seemed to be the consensus. But the flower at the top has 13 petals and the one below has 15!

I’ve presented this photo in 3D because it makes it a lot easier for me to count petals and identify which flower belongs to which leaf and so on. If you’re one of those people that managed to master the art of viewing those “Magic Eye” pictures that were popular in the 1990s then you should be able to see the 3D effect too.

I was also very happy to see buds on one of the small Quince bushes inside the cemetery.

The pale red flowers of the quince with droplets of rainwater on them — **Quince**

The Forsythia growing at the side of the cemetery gates is now in flower, but this is just the beginning. It will look even better by mid-March when all the flowers are open but just before the leaves have started to emerge.

The bright yellow flowers of the Forsythia with a small 7-spot ladybird on the branch — **Forsythia with 7-spot ladybird**

Another shrub where the flowers appear before the leaves is Blackthorn. I was away on holiday for a week in mid-February, and was amazed to see how many flowers were open when I checked on my return. There hadn’t been any open at the start of the month. May used to be the month when I’d notice a big difference after a week away; this seems to be happening earlier now.

The white flowers of the blackthorn tree inside the cemetery — **Blackthorn growing alongside the north path**

The Common Dog-violets that had just started to flower in January are now in full bloom.

Tiny purple common dog-violets growing on a grave in the cemetery — **Common Dog-violets**

There are still plenty of snowdrops of various types in flower, but I noticed that most are past their best now. Many had been nibbled by the cemetery wildlife.

Double snowdrops on a grass verge — **Double snowdrops**

Birds

The avian branch of the cemetery wildlife is flourishing, and all my walks around the cemetery were accompanied by birdsong. The birds I saw most often were Blue Tits – they seem to be the commonest species in the cemetery.

Two blue tits in a tree in the cemetery — **Blue Tits**

I also saw plenty of Great Tits and Long-tailed Tits, but only a couple of Coal Tits.

I caught several glimpses of Bullfinches in the cemetery and at one point saw two females. Added to the two males I saw in January that makes four different birds in total.

A female Bullfinch perched in a tree in the cemetery — **Bullfinch (female)**

I saw small flocks of Goldfinches in the cemetery, and plenty of Chaffinches too.

Female Chaffinch perched on a branch — **Chaffinch (female)**

I was delighted to see a Great Spotted Woodpecker high up in the trees. I’ve only ever managed to catch the occasional glimpse of one over many years, so this was a rare treat.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker perched up high in a tree — **Great Spotted Woodpecker – the red on top of the head is just visible, indicating that this is a male**

I saw lots of Wood Pigeons and a few Stock Doves, Blackbirds, Carrion Crows and Magpies. I also saw a Song Thrush, foraging for berries amongst the ivy.

The back view of a Song Thrush perched amongst some ivy — **Song Thrush**

So far this year I’ve seen a total of 18 different species of bird in the cemetery, and I have high hopes that this will have risen to well over 20 by the end of the year.

Fungi

Just a quick mention of the most mysterious branch of the cemetery wildlife. At the start of the year, and before the nesting season begins, the volunteers clear ivy and other plants from the headstones and a small area around them. They found several fallen branches with jelly fungus on them including this fine specimen, yet to be eaten by the cemetery wildlife. I must add that these branches were either left in situ or carefully moved to a safe place nearby.

A jelly fungus on a rotting branch inside the cemetery — **Jelly Fungus**

This is the general type I saw most often in February – I didn’t notice any of the upright ones such as Inkcaps.

Conclusion

February was a month of mixed weather but nothing too extreme, and this allowed the cemetery wildlife to flourish. With lots of bright yellow flowers everywhere and the occasional burst of warm sunshine to awaken early butterflies, it felt more like spring than winter.

A grey squirrel in a tree, with blue sky in the background — **Squirrel of the month. See you next time!**

How to spot hibernating butterflies | National Trust

Helen Bovill

Cemetery Wildlife – September 2023

September 29, 2023 by Helen Bovillin Wildlife

September started off unusually hot. Temperatures reached the high 20s, possibly even 30, in the first week, qualifying as a heatwave. An unexpected end to the summer here! The trees still had all their leaves though, giving plenty of shade to cool down the cemetery wildlife. As a result, the ground remained damp throughout this period. Autumn officially started in the last half of the month, and it started with quite a few rainy days. Some of the rainfall was quite heavy and the paths are rather muddy again. High winds brought down a few medium-sized branches but no major damage was caused.

Birds

I started this report with one of the two Coal Tits I’ve been seeing regularly this month. These little birds are very slightly smaller than Blue Tits but their colouring is quite different.

Blue Tit on Elderberries, with one in its beak — **Blue Tit and Elderberries**

There is plenty of food for the birds now because of the berries on many of the trees and shrubs. The Elderberry bushes with their fruitful abundance are particularly popular as you can see from the photo above. I saw other species that are light enough to perch on their thin stems too, such as Chaffinches and Blackcaps.

A female Blackcap and a male Chaffinch perched in an Elderberry tree — **Blackcap (female, left) and Chaffinch (male, right)**

Blackbirds like the Elderberries too!

A Blackbird perched in an Elderberry tree — **Blackbird – the brown head indicates this is a young male, still to get his full Winter plumage**

Other birds I’ve seen this month are Goldfinches, Wrens, Great Tits, Robins, Wood Pigeons, Crows, Magpies and Dunnocks. I haven’t had any more sightings of the Bullfinches I saw a couple of months ago. A visitor to the cemetery told me he’d heard a Tawny Owl calling in the area near the Owl boxes. Our end of year survey of the bird boxes should reveal whether or not they’ve nested in the cemetery this year.

Plants

The Pyracantha bushes are now laden with berries, adding some welcome colour and providing food for the cemetery wildlife.

Red Pyracantha berries on the verge alongside the cemetery — **Pyracantha**

A one metre strip of grass along the verge on Spring Bank West was cut by the Council earlier in the month during the hot weather. The rain that arrived mid-month helped the regrowth, and there are now a few Dandelions flowering. The Musk Mallow has survived the cut, and a small clump of Ragwort is still in flower.

The yellow flowers of the Ragwort, on the grass verge alongside the cemetery — **Ragwort**

The Ivy is now in flower, but generally there were not many flowers to be seen in September. I did see a few flowers on one of the bramble bushes, and on this Ribwort Plantain.

The white flowers of the Ribwort Plantain on the grass verge alongside the cemetery — **Ribwort Plantain**

It’s easy to miss these flowers, which look quite different to other more traditionally shaped ones. I also found some Cyclamen growing in the cemetery near the Cholera Monument.

Pink flowers of Cyclamen, growing in the cemetery — **Cyclamen**

The main things to be found on the plants at the moment are berries as already mentioned, and seeds such as on this Dock.

The dried brown seeds of the Dock plant — **Dock seeds**

Insects and other small creatures

I’ll start with Butterflies, as they’re still around in September but in much smaller numbers. I’ve seen Small White, Large White, Red Admiral and Speckled Wood. I can always rely on the latter for a photo, and they often fly on overcast days as well as sunny ones.

A Speckled Wood butterfly on a Hogweed seed head — **Speckled Wood on a Hogweed seed head**

I’ve also caught brief glimpses of the occasional Dragonfly around the cemetery, but none have landed anywhere so identification wasn’t possible. It’s surprising to see them here, especially as there is no pond or other source of water in the cemetery. The abundance of vegetation and damp areas most probably explains their presence.

There are still plenty of hoverflies and bees around, making the most of the flowers on the Ivy. Large queen bees are feeding up on the nectar to sustain themselves during their winter hibernation.

A Queen Buff-Tailed Bumblebee nectaring on Ivy flowers — **Queen Buff-Tailed Bumblebee nectaring on Ivy flowers**

Snails are not insects of course – they’re molluscs – but I thought this White-lipped one was worthy of inclusion because of its attractive shell. It seems to be one of our regular species and stands out nicely on dried plant stems.

A White-lipped Snail crawling up a dried plant stem — **White-lipped Snail**

Conclusion

It’s been a quiet month, with nothing unusual to report as far as the cemetery wildlife is concerned. I occasionally hear a fox calling later in the evenings, and they do live in the cemetery. They seem very wary and secretive though. However, a regular volunteer had a good view of a fox early one evening.

When you spend a lot of the time in the cemetery, either volunteering or just enjoying a leisurely stroll, you get to see certain individual animals that stand out from the rest. Here’s one such animal – I call this squirrel Nick because of those distinctive tears or nicks in both ears. Whether these were present at birth or if they’re the result of a disagreement with another squirrel I don’t know. But here he (or she) is!

A Grey Squirrel climbing up a tree in the cemetery — **That’s all folks. See you next month!**

Helen Bovill

Cemetery Wildlife – August 2023

August 31, 2023 by Helen Bovillin Wildlife1 Comment

August was a cool and wet month with lots of rain, some of it very heavy, in the first week. There were some warm sunny days too, but nothing even remotely resembling a heatwave. Some of the paths inside the cemetery are therefore still muddy. It was very windy on several days, resulting in some fallen branches although none had caused any damage. With no extremes of temperature to adversely affect the cemetery wildlife, it continues to thrive.

Insects

Butterflies

The good news is that I observed butterfly species number 12 in the cemetery this month – a Gatekeeper. I’ve never seen one in the cemetery before. This one was on the grass verge along Spring Bank West, and is pictured above, on Ragwort. They can be seen in the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s wildlife garden in Pearson Park, which is less than half a mile away from the cemetery, so that could be where it came from.

It has been a very quiet month for butterflies. The only other ones I’ve seen are Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, Small White, Green-veined White and Holly Blue. I didn’t see any of them in large numbers, just singly or in twos or threes.

A female small white butterfly resting on a dandelion — **Small White (female) (above)**

Two Green-veined White butterflies on green foliage — Green-veined White Butterflies. Note how the female (resting on the leaf) has her abdomen raised – this is to warn the approaching male that she does not want to mate. In fact it looks like she was in the process of egg laying before the male approached her.

Holly Blue butterfly laying eggs on an Ivy flower bud — **Holly Blue laying eggs on an Ivy flower bud**

Other Insects

The main types I’ve seen this month have been Ladybirds, Bees and Hoverflies. The most striking of them was this Hornet-mimic Hoverfly. It’s noticeably larger than the other ones that are around at the moment, and is harmless to humans. The yellow band between the eyes indicates that this one is female.

Hornet-mimic Hoverfly on a Dandelion — **Hornet-mimic Hoverfly (female)**

Plants

Small

Most of the Thistles that had taken hold of the grass verge have now died back, so it looks a bit tired at the moment. However some Dandelions and other similar yellow flowers, often difficult to identify with certainty, have now started to come through. There is still some Knapweed for the cemetery wildlife to feed on, including this White-tailed Bumblebee.

White-tailed Bumblebee on Knapweed in the cemetery — **Knapweed and White-tailed Bumblebee**

The Teasels planted in various locations in the cemetery have now started to flower. However, they can sometimes be difficult to spot because the wind and wet weather has caused them to lean over. But again, they are great for the cemetery wildlife and there was also a small bug of some sort on this one which I didn’t get time to identify. This is because a Bee landed on the flower, thus displacing it.

A Buff-tailed Bumblebee on a Teasel flowerhead in the cemetery — **Teasel and Buff-tailed Bumblebee**

I’ve been keeping an eye on the Toadflax that was planted on the grass verge last year. It started to flower last month but is looking at its best this month. I was delighted to find this Sloe Bug, also known as a Hairy Shield Bug, on the flowerhead.

Toadflax with a Hairy Shield Bug on the flowerhead — **Toadflax and Sloe Bug or Hairy Shield Bug**

Elsewhere along the Spring Bank West verge I found White Campions, Feverfew and a new one I hadn’t noticed before – Black Medick.

A white campion flower on the grass verge alongside the cemetery — **White Campion (above)**

The Daisy-like flowers of Feverfew growing in the cemetery — **Feverfew (above)**

The tiny yellow flower of the Black Medick, with clover-like green leaves — **Black Medick**

The Crocosmia growing in the Quaker Burial Ground was looking at its best earlier in August, adding some welcome colour to that rather dark part of the cemetery.

In another dark part of the cemetery, away from the footpaths, I found some Cuckoopint, also known as Lords-and-Ladies. The seeds should end up red, but this small group of plants never seems to thrive and they usually die off before the seeds reach maturity.

The seeds of the Cuckoopint plant, with a few of the top ones just starting to ripen — **Cuckoopint or Lords-and-Ladies**

Trees and Fungi

The windy weather has dislodged a lot of the fruits from the cemetery’s trees and they make for a lush green carpet on the ground.

Hornbeam tree and fruit in the cemetery — **Hornbeam and fruit (inset)**

Whilst not being plants of course, I’ve included fungi under this heading because many of them grow on trees, both living and dead. I didn’t find much in the way of fungi in the cemetery this month but I did find this small group of what appears to be some sort of Honey fungus.

Honey Fungus growing on a fallen log in the cemetery — **Honey Fungus**

Birds

Young birds are still fledging, including this Goldfinch, pictured with one of its parents.

Two photos showing a young Goldfinch and an adult Goldfinch on a tree in the cemetery — **Goldfinches – fledgling (left); adult (right)**

The Chaffinches, Blue Tits and Great Tits seem to have had a very successful year with lots of youngsters around. The adults are looking a little worse for wear, so it was nice to see a smart-looking Great Tit in full breeding plumage.

An adult Great Tit in full breeding plumage — **Great Tit**

When I’m walking in the cemetery I often hear loud crashing noises coming from high up in the trees. I look up and see these – Wood Pigeons.

Wood Pigeon high up in a tree in the cemetery — **Wood Pigeon**

Early in the month I heard the sound of at least two Sparrowhawks calling in the trees, but I wasn’t able to get a photo of them. As birds of prey are usually silent, I assume these were youngsters, calling to a parent for food. Other birds I’ve seen this month include Coal Tit, Wren, Robin, Stock Dove, Crow, Magpie and Blackbird. I didn’t see any Dunnocks or Long-tailed Tits though, or any sign of the Bullfinches I saw regularly earlier in the summer.

A young Blackbird on a branch — **Young Blackbird**

Conclusion

Another great month for the cemetery wildlife with plenty to see all around the site. Some of the bramble bushes around the cemetery are already bearing lots of ripe fruits, signaling that Autumn is not too far away.

A Squirrel feeding in the cemetery — **Your Squirrel for August. See you next month!**

Helen Bovill