fungi Archives - Friends Of Hull General Cemetery

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

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 – 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 – January 2024

January 29, 2024 by Helen Bovillin Wildlife1 Comment

The year started off with a beautifully sunny day and temperatures of just a few degrees. Then there was a day of heavy rain. Then we had some dry, cool days, allowing the footpaths around the cemetery to slowly begin to dry out. In the middle of the month Hull had about a week of very cold, frosty days with sub-zero temperatures. This was followed by two named storms in quick succession. I’m happy to report the high winds didn’t cause any major damage to any of the trees in the cemetery. But generally, it has been quite a dry January. The cemetery wildlife has been as active as ever with good numbers of birds around.

Birds

Small Birds

The featured photo this month shows two Robins that I saw on one of my many walks around the cemetery. They’re very territorial birds but these two seemed to be tolerant of each other. This suggests they’re probably a couple, paired up and looking for a suitable nesting site.

I was delighted to get a few brief glimpses of a Goldcrest, searching for tiny insects in the Ivy. The cemetery provides excellent habitat for them, but they’re very difficult to see.

A Goldcrest amongst the Ivy — **Goldcrest (male)**

They’re very similar to the much rarer Firecrest – please see the link at the end of the report for more information.

I saw the 3 Bullfinches I mentioned last month on numerous occasions. I still find it a delight to see that distinctive shade of salmon pink up in the trees.

Two male bullfinches high up in the trees in the cemetery — **Bullfinches (both male)**

I’ve also seen lots of Chaffinches in the cemetery, and Goldfinches too, often in small, highly vocal flocks.

A back view of a Goldfinch perched on a branch in the cemetery — **Goldfinch**

I saw a Dunnock, and plenty of Great Tits and Blue Tits this month. Blue Tits seem to be the most numerous of the cemetery’s bird species. And high up in the trees I sometimes caught brief glimpses of a fast-moving flock of Long-tailed Tits. One day some of them came lower down and one landed in a tree quite close to where I was standing.

A Long-tailed tit perched on a branch in the sunshine — **Long-tailed Tit**

The avian branch of the cemetery wildlife seems to be thriving at the moment and I’m sure the close proximity to houses on the northern boundary has helped them. Several of their gardens, I’m sure, will have bird feeders and sources of water in them. Shelter too. The RSPB’s “Big Garden Birdwatch” took place during the last weekend of the month and this might well have motivated people to put out food and water to attract them.

Larger Birds

I saw Blackbirds, Carrion Crows and Magpies as usual this month, and caught a brief glimpse of a thrush. It was too quick for me to tell which species it was – Song or Mistle – though. I saw two Stock Doves this month.

Stock Dove in a tree in the cemetery — **Stock Dove – one of a pair seen regularly in the area near the Cholera Monument**

However, they’re not an abundant species – the main species of larger bird is the Wood Pigeon and I saw several of these all over the cemetery. They’re bigger than Stock Doves and have a white patch at each side of the neck and different coloured eyes.

A wood pigeon on a gravestone in the cemetery — **Wood Pigeon**

I often see them on the ground and perching on the headstones. But if you hear a loud flapping noise high up in the trees, look up and you’ll probably see one, reaching for the berries of the most abundant plant in the cemetery.

Plants

Plants – fruit

That most abundant plant is Ivy and its berries are now ripe and ready for the cemetery wildlife to eat! This plant is very beneficial to wildlife, providing food and shelter. Where it acts as ground cover it helps keep the area free of frost, making foraging easier.

I noticed some of the Pyracantha bushes still had berries on them, and the Holly and Berberis too. In addition I found a Rowan (also known as Mountain Ash) with some berries on it.

One of the rowan trees in the cemetery, with red berries on it — **Rowan or Mountain Ash**

Plants – flowering

The council finally cut the grass verge along Spring Bank West during the first part of the month. This took place just in time to avoid damaging any of the newly emerging plants. It looks like it was given a high cut, leaving some of the lower greenery intact.

Frosty leaves on the grass verge — **Three seasons in one – autumn decay, spring growth and winter frost**

Soon after the cut, I couldn’t find any flowers along the verge so I ventured inside the cemetery to see what I could find. There was nothing lower down, and it was too early for Blackthorn, but I found some catkins on one of the cemetery’s hazel trees.

Catkins - the flowers of the hazel tree — **Hazel**

Then towards the end of the month clusters of snowdrops started to emerge and flower all over the cemetery. I found at least two different types this month. Note how both have been nibbled by the cemetery wildlife.

A group of snowdrops with single petals — **Snowdrops – single petals (above)**

A group of snowdrops with double petals — **Snowdrops – double petals**

I walked past the grass verge most days, but it wasn’t until the last weekend of the month that I found some flowers growing again, a couple of weeks after it had been cut.

A dandelion growing low amongst the grass — **Dandelion, with a very short stem**

I was also delighted to see my first fully-opened Lesser Celandines of the year, and my first Marmalade Hoverfly of the year on one of the flowers!

A Marmalade Hoverfly on the yellow flower of a Lesser celandine — **Lesser Celandine with Marmalade Hoverfly (female)**

Then back inside the cemetery, I found a common dog-violet in flower. I don’t recall seeing one flowering so early in previous years.

The small purple flower of the common dog-violet growing near a gravestone in the cemetery — **Common dog-violet**

Conclusion

January has been quite a varied month, weather-wise. Even after a day of persistent rain at the end of the month, the footpaths are still easier to walk on than they were last month. The Council provided us with some chippings from some branches they removed from one of the trees overhanging the footpath and road on Spring Bank West. We used these to repair a small area of the southern footpath.

I found a few types of fungi in the cemetery but nothing I hadn’t seen in previous months. Early in the month I was delighted to catch a brief glimpse of a fox one morning. But I’ll end this report, as usual, with the main representative of the mammalian branch of the cemetery wildlife.

Three squirrels sitting on some of the flat headstones in the cemetery — **On the headstones near the northern path to Western cemetery. See you next time!**

The difference between Goldcrest and Firecrest –

British Garden Birds – Goldcrest (garden-birds.co.uk)

Helen Bovill

Cemetery Wildlife – December 2023

December 31, 2023December 31, 2023 by Helen Bovillin Wildlife1 Comment

The month started off very cold and frosty, and there was even a light dusting of snow one day. The cemetery always looks lovely when covered in snow, but it wasn’t deep enough for the spectacular look that used to be a regular sight every winter. Nevertheless I managed a quick visit before the snow thawed, and found some fox footprints at the eastern end. Proper cemetery wildlife rather than just that of a dog, although the two can look similar!

Fox footprints in the cemetery snow — **Fox footprints**

It was also a very wet month, with some heavy rainfall leaving wet puddles everywhere. After one night of particularly heavy rain a hole opened up in the ground near one of the graves, exposing some of its foundations. The month ended with some mild but very windy weather, bringing down plenty of small branches and also a couple of larger ones.

Birds

It’s a lot easier to spot the avian branch of the cemetery wildlife at this time of the year, with many of the trees being bereft of their leaves. I was delighted to see bullfinches on a number of occasions and counted a total of three – two males and one female. I watched one of the males flying down low, grabbing something in his beak and then flying back up to a higher branch. It turned out he was eating wood avens seeds, a small plant that grows all over the cemetery and has tiny yellow flowers in the spring. After a few hours of working in the cemetery or just walking around with my camera, I always end up with some of these seeds attached to my clothes. But they are obviously appreciated by these stunning birds!

Two photos, one showing a male bullfinch and the other showing a female bullfinch, in the cemetery trees — **Bullfinches – male (left) and female (right)**

There are three different species in the cemetery that have large areas of feathers in shades of pink/red – bullfinch, chaffinch and robin. But as you can see there are subtle differences to those shades.

A male chaffinch on a branch in the cemetery — **Chaffinch (male, above)**

A robin on a headstone in the Quaker Burial Ground — **Robin in the Quaker Burial Ground**

Goldfinches also have red feathers, albeit just a small area around the face, and which is absent in juvenile birds.

A goldfinch on a branch in the cemetery — **Goldfinch**

I see these most days now, and counted a small flock of six at one point. The collective name for goldfinches is a charm, and they certainly are charming little birds.

I also saw a slightly larger flock of long-tailed tits, high up in the trees.

A long-tailed tit perched high up in a tree in the cemetery — **Long-tailed tit**

Nest box survey

The volunteers did this during the middle of the month – a little later than usual due to the wet weather. It’s a job best done when it isn’t raining. This is the fourth year we’ve been doing these surveys.

We should have a total of 57 boxes in the cemetery but we were only able to locate and check 50 of them. 26 of them showed signs of having been used at some point during the year. This gave us an occupancy rate of 52%. I’ve counted the two owl boxes at the western end of the cemetery as having been used due to them containing nest material, although there was no evidence to suggest they’d been used by owls. They had most probably been used by either wood pigeons or stock doves. And as we were checking one of the boxes, a squirrel shot out of it, followed by another one and then at least two more! None were babies but were probably juveniles born in the summer. I’m sure our activities hadn’t adversely affected them – just look at my last photo!

A collection of leaves and twigs removed from one of the owl nest boxes — **The contents of one of the owl boxes**

This occupancy rate is lower than the 61% of last year’s survey. I noticed in last year’s survey that several of the original boxes had been used every year but this year 5 of those boxes had not been used for the first time. The majority of our boxes have been in place since 2019 and are now around 5 years old, so it could be that they’re starting to deteriorate and are less attractive to the birds. However, the main species that use the boxes are blue tits and great tits, yet I haven’t noticed a decline in their numbers.

Plants

I don’t have much to report this month as very few of our plants are in flower. The musk mallow, one of the wildflowers we planted in November 2022, and which started flowering in June this year, is still flowering. I had feared it might have been killed by last month’s frost but it survived. It’s a welcome addition to the Spring Bank West grass verge and it will be interesting to see how much longer it continues to produce flowers.

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

I saw a few dandelions flowering in the grass verge alongside Spring Bank West. At the end of the month I noticed that the lesser celandines had started to grow. I even found a few buds on some of them, and an almost-open flower.

An almost-open lesser celandine flower — **Lesser celandine**

There is a large Forsythia growing at the side of the main entrance, and I found buds on that too.

A small yellow forsythia flower and buds near the cemetery gates — **Forsythia flower. The green shoots are also flower buds – the leaves appear after the plant has flowered**

One of the snowdrops the volunteers planted in the Quaker Burial Ground a couple of years ago is now in flower. But last year they had started flowering well before Christmas.

A lone snowdrop in the Quaker burial ground section of the cemetery, with the houses on Spring Bank West in the background — **Snowdrop (photo taken 30 December)**

Elsewhere in and around the cemetery there are still plenty of berries for the cemetery wildlife to eat. The lead photo shows a male blackbird eating some of the berries on a variegated holly tree. That tree is in the central part of the cemetery. I took this next photo on a frosty morning at the start of the month.

The red berries of the pyracantha with a light covering of frost — **Pyracantha berries**

Fungi and Lichen

I found a few types of fungi including some jelly ones, and this large bracket earlier in the month. I checked it a couple of weeks later and it hadn’t been affected by the snow.

A large bracket fungus growing on a tree in the cemetery, with a light dusting of snow — **Bracket Fungus**

I also found a nice example of turkey tail fungus on a tree near the centre of the cemetery. Parts of it showed evidence of having been nibbled by the cemetery wildlife.

Turkey tail fungus growing on a tree branch in the cemetery — **Turkey tail**

December’s high winds left the ground littered with fallen branches. This gave me the opportunity to examine, close-up, the lichen covering many of those small and medium-sized branches. I don’t think I’ve mentioned lichen before, which is the result of a partnership between fungus and algae. The most common one in the cemetery is this – the common orange or yellow scale lichen. Please see the link at the end of this report for more information on this fascinating organism.

Yellow lichen on a fallen branch in the cemetery — **Common orange or yellow scale lichen**

Conclusion

Winter has now arrived, but there are many signs of autumn still present. On one of the milder days I noticed the sunlight catching a cluster of small insects in flight, probably flies of some sort. At the end of the month some of the late winter flowers had already started to appear, and the month ended on a mild rainy note. The ground is still very wet and the footpaths muddy, making the conditions less than ideal for humans. However, the cemetery wildlife has not been affected, and there is plenty of food and water to sustain it as we head into January.

Two squirrels at the entrance to one of the cemetery's owl nest boxes — **Two squirrels for you this month, at the entrance to the owl nest box I mentioned earlier. See you in 2024!**

Some more information on lichen –

What is Lichen? 7 Lichens Found on Trees – Woodland Trust

Helen Bovill

Cemetery Wildlife – November 2023

November 30, 2023 by Helen Bovillin Wildlife4 Comments

November was very wet and windy, with so much rain that the footpaths throughout the cemetery have remained muddy all month. A lot of the time it was quite mild, but the month ended with two cold, sub-zero frosty days. One of those might have included a light dusting of snow overnight, but the next morning it just looked like a very heavy frost. On the final day of the month there were some light falls of hail and snow. The ground didn’t freeze though, so the cemetery wildlife had no trouble finding food and water.

Birds

There were decent numbers of the regular small birds around. It seems to have been a good year for them, especially the chaffinches, great tits and blue tits.

A great tit looking for insects on the bark of a tree branch — **Great tit looking for insects behind the bark. Note the jelly fungi towards the bottom of the branch.**

I also started seeing a pair of coal tits almost every day. It’s great to see them back in the cemetery. They’re just slightly smaller than blue tits.

Two photos, one showing a blue tit and the other showing a coal tit — **Blue tit (left) and coal tit**

I’ve also seen Goldfinches regularly too. This is a bird than can occur in large flocks, but the most I’ve seen together in the cemetery has been four or five.

A goldfinch perched on a branch in the cemetery — **Goldfinch. The males and females are difficult to tell apart – the difference lies in the amount of red above the eye. As the red extends a way back, this is probably a male.**

I’ve also seen quite a few wrens in the cemetery. These tiny birds move so quickly, and usually disappear into the ivy on the trees, that they can be quite a challenge to photograph. And sometimes I only hear them, as they have quite a loud and distinctive call.

A wren on a log — **Wren in the Quaker Burial Ground**

An even louder bird is the carrion crow. But they’re usually very easy to spot!

A carrion crow high up in the branches — **Carrion Crow**

Whilst I don’t have anything rare or unusual to report, I did catch a very brief glimpse of a pair of bullfinches. I also caught a quick glimpse of a goldcrest.

Plants

There were very few plants in flower this month. The most distinctive of those in flower was the musk mallow, growing on the grass verge alongside Spring Bank West. New flowers were still opening late in the month, although the frost might now have finished them off.

Two photos showing the pink flowers of the musk mallow - one before the frost and the other after it — **Musk mallow before and after a heavy frost**

A few dandelions were in flower but they might fare a bit better in the frost.

A frost-covered partially opened dandelion — **Dandelion after a heavy frost**

Trees

It has been quite windy this month and a number of branches, some of them quite large, have fallen from the trees. But no significant trees were damaged. Most of the deciduous trees are starting to look very bare now. However, the leaves that have managed to cling on despite those high winds have now turned to lovely autumnal shades of yellow and orange.

The autumn colours of a beech sapling in the cemetery — **Beech sapling (above)**

The bright autumn colours of an ash tree in the cemetery — **Ash**

Fungi

I didn’t find much in the way of mushrooms and other fungi this month which was a bit surprising when I look back on what I saw in the November of previous years. I didn’t see any of the velvet shank I normally see growing on a particular fallen log. But I saw some candlesnuff and some coral spot, both growing on rotting wood.

Candlesnuff fungus growing on a rotting log — **Candlesnuff fungus (above)**

Coral spot fungus on a fallen branch in the cemetery — **Coral spot**

Insects

The smallest branch of the cemetery wildlife has been very quiet this month. I’ve seen a few flies, hoverflies and ladybirds, but no butterflies.

Conclusion

The last full month of autumn has been a very wet one. As we head into winter there is still plenty of autumnal colour left, but plenty of greenery too. We are hoping the Council will give the grass verge alongside Spring Bank West one last cut for the season. This is because lots of new thistles have already started to grow there and these could stifle the growth of the spring flowers that are essential sources of nectar for early insects such as butterflies, some of which can appear as early as February.

A squirrel in a tree, looking directly at the camera — **Your squirrel of the month. See you next time!**

Helen Bovill

Cemetery Wildlife – October 2023

October 31, 2023 by Helen Bovillin Wildlife2 Comments

October was a typically autumnal month, with some misty mornings leading to sunny days. It was quite mild at times, but it was rain that dominated the month with some quite heavy and prolonged showers, especially towards the end of the month. As a result of this higher than average rainfall, all the footpaths in the cemetery are very muddy. At least the cemetery wildlife wasn’t short of drinking water!

Plants

Small Flowering

Many of the cemetery’s plants have now died back, including the Hogweed shown above. It’s good that some of the seed heads remain upright even after all the seeds have been eaten because they make a great focal point for us photographers! However, I also found one still in flower.

The white flowers of Hogweed inside the cemetery — **Hogweed**

Elsewhere in the cemetery I found lots of Ivy still in flower and attracting plenty of small bees and hoverflies.

The main place for flowering plants is the grass verge along Spring Bank West. As I mentioned in last month’s report, the Council cut part of it during the hot weather early in September. Then we had lots of rain and the verge looks green and lush as a result. Unfortunately this has allowed lots of thistles to start regrowing, but the verge is due for one final cut of the season, hopefully soon.

Despite this I found several plants still flowering, including Tansy, Feverfew and Smooth Sow-thistle.

Bright yellow Tansy flowers on the grass verge alongside the cemetery — **Tansy (above)**

The daisy-like flowers of Feverfew — **Feverfew (above)**

Freshly opened Smooth Sow-thistle flowers — **Smooth Sow-thistle**

That small patch of Ragwort I mentioned last month is still in flower. I’ve also found White Campion, Wild Basil, Toadflax, Dandelions and Musk Mallow still flowering.

An opening bud of a pink Musk Mallow flower — **Musk Mallow**

Trees and larger shrubs

The heavy rainfall on the trees has saturated the bark, making it appear very dark.

An old Horse Chestnut tree in the cemetery, with bark darkened by heavy rainfall — **Horse Chestnut**

It isn’t just the flowers that add colour to the cemetery – the leaves on the trees look equally colourful, especially on the Forsythia growing near the cemetery gates. It gives us masses of bright yellow flowers in the Spring, and then this in the Autumn.

The bright autumnal colours of Forsythia leaves — **Forsythia**

The Dogwood growing inside the cemetery is very colourful too.

The autumnal colours of Dogwood, with raindrops — **Dogwood**

The leaves on some of the trees have started to turn autumnal, but it looks like their main colour will come through in November.

The berries on the trees also add splashes of colour all over the site, and provide food for the cemetery wildlife, especially the birds.

The bright red berries of Pyracantha near one of the cemetery monuments — **Pyracantha**

Birds

The usual small birds were around in good numbers, including Blue Tits, Coal Tits, Chaffinches, Blackbirds, Robins, Wrens, Great Tits and Goldfinches.

A Great Tit in the cemetery — **Great Tit (above)**

Goldfinch perched on a branch — **Goldfinch**

Walking through the cemetery one day, I heard a cooing sound that differed from the Wood Pigeon and Stock Dove ones I usually hear. When I looked up I saw a pair of Collared Doves perched on the roof of a nearby house. Unfortunately they were not in the cemetery itself so don’t count towards this year’s list of bird species seen in the cemetery. I’m hoping to see them again, but inside the cemetery.

Insects

I saw plenty of small bees and hoverflies this month. One sunny day I was walking along the grass verge and noticed that practically all of the Dandelions and other similar yellow flowers had a small insect on them. This includes Ladybirds, both Harlequin and native.

A Marmalade Hoverfly on a Dandelion — **Marmalade Hoverfly (above)**

Ladybird on a bright yellow flower — **Harlequin Ladybird**

I didn’t see any butterflies in October, and neither did any of the other volunteers. This is unusual, because I’ve seen at least one Speckled Wood in the previous two Octobers.

Fungi

Just a couple to record this time – a Jelly Ear and one that looks very like the Dryad’s Saddle ones I’ve seen on a few occasions in the past.

Jelly Ear Fungus growing on a rotting fallen branch — **Jelly Ear (above)**

A partially eaten large brown fungus - Dryad's Saddle — **Dryad’s Saddle**

Conclusion

October was a very wet month. The muddy conditions have made walking in certain parts of the cemetery quite a challenge, especially where people have ridden bikes along the paths, exacerbating the problems. With rain forecast for the start of November, the paths aren’t going to be drying out anytime soon. Despite all this, the cemetery wildlife seems to be thriving.

But I’d like to end this report with an appeal to all the animal lovers out there – once Halloween is over, please don’t leave your leftover pumpkins in the cemetery. They’re not good for wildlife to eat, especially hedgehogs. Whilst some animals may have a quick nibble of the pumpkin, the majority of it will remain, turning into a rotting mess that the litter picking volunteers then have to remove. The link below gives more information about what to do with your unwanted pumpkins.

Thank you on behalf of the cemetery wildlife, and I’ll be back next month!

https://www.forestryengland.uk/news/dumping-pumpkins-the-woods-bad-wildlife-says-forestry-england-expert

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

Cemetery Wildlife – July 2023

July 30, 2023 by Helen Bovillin Wildlife

While parts of mainland Europe sweltered under record breaking heat, it has been a rather cool month here, with a higher than usual rainfall too. This caused some of the footpaths to become muddy again. There have been some warm sunny days though, and the cemetery wildlife is still thriving. This is particularly noticeable with the birds, as I’ve seen lots of fledglings around.

Birds

I started this report with a young Robin. It is probably less than a month old as it was flying, but doesn’t yet have its red breast. This will develop in late summer when the bird is between two and three months old. Once the young bird has its red breast it will be chased out of the area by the very territorial males. The initial lack of a red breast prevents this from happening and gives it time to learn to fly and feed itself.

I’ve seen lots of young Great and Blue Tits around the cemetery too.

Two photos showing an adult Blue Tit and a juvenile Blue Tit — **Blue Tits – adult (left); juvenile (right)**

I was delighted to see a Coal Tit this month. It was high up in a tree so I couldn’t get a particularly good photo of it, but I could clearly see the distinctive white patch towards the back of its head. That and the beige coloured chest meant it couldn’t be any other bird.

A Coal Tit high up in a tree in the cemetery — **Coal Tit**

I regularly heard and saw Goldfinches this month. There were lots of Chaffinches around, including young ones, and I still got occasional glimpses of the two Bullfinches I mentioned last month. I’m sure it’s the same pair as they’re not a common or numerous species here.

Two photos - one showing a male Chaffinch and the other showing a male Bullfinch — **Chaffinch (left) and Bullfinch (right) illustrating their different colouring and beak size. Both are male.**

I also saw young Blackbirds foraging on the ground, but begging for food whenever a parent was nearby. I also saw several Carrion Crows, Magpies, Wood Pigeons, Wrens and this Song Thrush.

A Song Thrush foraging on the ground — **Song Thrush**

Insects

There were lots of Ladybirds around this month, and lots of Hoverflies too. When I use my phone to take close-up photos of flowers with Hoverflies on them, it’s always amusing to see another one trying to land on the flower on my phone screen!

A Marmalade Hoverfly on a yellow flower — **Marmalade Hoverfly**

I kept seeing Thick-legged Flower Beetles too, a species I hadn’t seen in previous years in the cemetery.

The yellow flower of the Tansy plant, with a Thick-legged Flower Beetle resting on it — **Thick-legged Flower Beetle on Tansy. It lacks the thick thighs, meaning this one is a female.**

I see lots of flies too, but tend not to mention them as they’re so commonplace and often quite small and difficult to photograph. But this Flesh Fly stood out, being larger than most.

A Flesh Fly resting on a leaf. — **Flesh Fly**

Butterflies

Last month I told you the story of a Large White Butterfly from egg to larva/caterpillar. But I also noticed something unusual about a week after I saw the caterpillar on the plant stem. I saw another Large White caterpillar in that same area (or maybe it was the same one?) on a cluster of what looked like oval shaped eggs. I knew these weren’t the butterfly’s eggs, so I did a bit of research and discovered a rather gruesome story.

It seems the “eggs” you can see in the photos below are actually the pupae of a Braconid, a type of tiny parasitic wasp. It lays its eggs inside other insects, including caterpillars. The eggs hatch and the larvae eat the host insect without its knowledge, whilst leaving the vital organs intact so the host doesn’t die. They then hatch out through a hole in the skin of the still-living caterpillar, and pupate near to it.

The caterpillar is then somehow persuaded to spin a web of silk around all the Braconid pupae to protect them. (This is the material it would normally use to make a cocoon inside which it would turn into a butterfly). And still, barely alive, the caterpillar keeps watch over them. I assume this is what we can see in the photo on the left, although the caterpillar still looks quite rounded rather than an eaten-out husk. A week later there was no caterpillar but the web with the pupae in them was still there.

I wasn’t able to observe what happened next due to the rather heavy rain from the middle to the end of the month and I lost track of the plant in the photos. Of course, these photos might not illustrate any or even part of the process I’ve described, but it did seem to make sense.

I didn’t see any more caterpillars, nor did I see a lot of butterflies until towards the end of the month, when there were a number of white ones around – Small White, Large White and Green-Veined White.

A Green-veined White Butterfly on a Wild Carrot flowerhead — **Green-veined White Butterfly on Wild Carrot. Note the tiny beetles on the left, possibly a type of Jewel Beetle.**

I also saw a few Holly Blues, several Speckled Wood, a Comma and a Red Admiral.

A Red Admiral Butterfly high up on some white Bramble flowers. Brambles are great food for the cemetery wildlife. — **Red Admiral on Bramble flowers**

Plants and Flowers

The Brambles in the cemetery and along the grass verge are currently at all stages of development. Some have buds on them, some are in flower, as seen in the photo above, and some have fully ripe fruits on them. All good news for the cemetery wildlife!

Some more of the wildflower plants set by the volunteers last year are now flowering. This includes the Tansy on a previous photo, and the yellow flower the Hoverfly is resting on. These yellow flowers that look similar to Dandelions can be quite difficult to identify and they include Hawkbit, Hawk’s-Beard, Goatsbeard and Cat’s Ear.

Mallow is still in flower along the grass verge – Common and Musk.

Common Mallow growing in the cemetery — **Common Mallow (above)**

The pink flowers of the Musk mallow, with two Marmalade Hoverflies — **Musk Mallow with visiting Marmalade Hoverflies**

The Wild Basil is also starting to flower.

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

There are Privet bushes in various places in the cemetery, and these were in flower in July. The white flowers are rather small, but they do have a very nice fragrance.

The white flowers of the Privet growing in the cemetery — **Privet**

There is also some Hedge Woundwort growing in the cemetery. It appears in the same place each year but doesn’t seem to have spread anywhere else.

The tall pink flower stems of Hedge Woundwort — **Hedge Woundwort**

I also found some Wall Lettuce – it seems to tolerate shade and adds a bit of colour to a dark area.

The small yellow flowers of the Wall Lettuce, growing near a headstone in the cemetery — **Wall Lettuce**

Fungi

Not much to report, except for this small cluster of Fairy Inkcaps underneath an old bracket fungus. There are a few tough old bracket fungi still around, but I haven’t seen any other new mushrooms.

A large bracket fungus attached to a tree, with some smaller Fairy Inkcap mushrooms growing underneath it - food for the cemetery wildlife — **Bracket Fungus and Fairy Inkcaps**

Conclusion

A cooler and wetter month than June. The vast majority of the Hogweed and Cow Parlsey has finished for the season, so anything you see from now on that looks similar is probably Wild Carrot. The die-back has left the cemetery looking a little battered, and the heavy showers have caused the taller plants such as the Thistles to bend over. But fresh plants are starting to grow and flower, and there is abundant cemetery wildlife wherever you look.

A squirrel in a tree looking direct to the camera — **See you next month!**

Helen Bovill

Cemetery Wildlife – April 2023

April 30, 2023April 30, 2023 by Helen Bovillin Wildlife5 Comments

April was generally another cool and wet month, with a higher than average total rainfall meaning the footpaths in the cemetery are still a bit softer than usual. I noticed a huge amount of growth in and around the cemetery, with flowers blooming everywhere. However, there were plenty of warmer, sunny days too, and that was how the month ended. The cemetery wildlife is thriving, and many people have told me and the other volunteers how good everything looks.

Insects

Butterflies

I was delighted to see my first Peacock of the year this month (above). I kept seeing at least one on several of those sunny days. April also saw my first yearly sightings of Speckled Wood, Small White, Large White, Orange-tip, Holly Blue and Green-veined White. This makes a total of 11 different species this year, 10 seen on the grass verge alongside the cemetery, one seen inside the cemetery and some seen in both locations. From my own observations over the past three years these are all the species one can expect to see in the cemetery every year. However I have occasionally seen other species, so I’ll keep looking out for them.

A Speckled Wood butterfly on a branch with green leaves on it — **Speckled Wood in the Quaker Burial Ground**

The differences between Small and Large Whites can sometimes be hard to see at this time of year because the markings on the Spring brood can be quite faint. The male Small White has one black spot on each upper wing and the female has two. I’ve noticed that the innermost of those two spots can look like it’s divided into two, but all the reference material I’ve seen regards it as just one spot.

The male Large White has no spots and again the female has two. Whilst it’s therefore easy to tell male Small and Large Whites apart, it’s harder in the females because both have two spots. The dark band on the edge of the wings is a good indicator of which species you’re looking at. It doesn’t extend as far along the edge of the Small White’s outer wing as on the Large White, where the band extends further around and is shaped rather like a boomerang.

Another butterfly where the males and females are different (known as sexual dimorphism) is the Orange-tip. This is a male – the females lack the orange tips. And when I checked the photo, I saw the tops of his legs are covered in fine hairs, something I hadn’t noticed before.

Orange-tip butterfly (male) on a green leaf — **Orange-tip (male)**

Sexual dimorphism also occurs in the beautiful little Holly Blue.

It also occurs in the Brimstone. Those differences are most noticeable when the butterfly is flying, because the males look bright yellow whereas the females are almost white. At rest, and especially in bright sunshine, it can be hard to tell them apart because both have quite colourful underwings. But generally the female is a pale shade of green and the male is a slightly darker, yellower shade of green.

The last species of Butterfly I saw for the first time this year was a Green-veined White. It was in the central part of the cemetery near the new Larkin commemorative bench. This is another species that shows sexual dimorphism – the males have either one spot or none.

A female Green-veined White butterfly on a leaf in the cemetery. — **Green-veined White (female) showing two black spots on each upper wing**

I’ve made several wildlife posts on our Facebook page recently and it might therefore seem that the cemetery is teeming with butterflies! I do usually see at least three different species on each sunny day but usually only in ones and twos. Nevertheless, it is still a real joy to see them, feeding on all the flowers. Interestingly I looked back on my report for April last year, and although it had been a much drier month, I’d still managed to see 10 different species of butterfly by then.

Bees and other insects

I’ve seen plenty of Bees of various kinds this month including Red, White and Buff-tailed Bumblebees, Honeybees, Hairy-footed Flower Bees and lots of Tawny Mining Bees. The first photo shows one that’s emerged from its burrow. The next photos show one making a burrow underground in which to lay its eggs. This is one of our native species of solitary Bee.

I’ve seen plenty of Bee-flies this month. Interestingly they’re a parasite of Tawny Mining Bees, laying their eggs in the Bee’s open burrow so that when they hatch the larvae can feed on the bee’s food and offspring.

I’ve also seen Wasps, Hoverflies, flies and lots of other very small insects. I also caught a brief glimpse of a Hummingbird Hawk-moth on two occasions this month, the first one I’ve ever seen in the Cemetery! It’s a day-flying month and although this is a migrant species, we also have several native species of day-flying moths. It’s a fact that in the UK there are more species of day-flying moths than there are species of butterfly!

I also saw lots of Ladybirds this month. Most of them were our native Seven-spot ones but I also saw some non-native Harlequins.

Plants and Flowers

Smaller ones

March has been an excellent month for wildflowers. The ones planted by the volunteers on the grass verge last year are now starting to flower, such as this Cowslip.

Cowslips growing in the grass verge alongside the cemetery — **Cowslip**

Inside the cemetery, especially in the darker shaded areas, Hogweed is now starting to flower. Note how the buds are a dark pink colour before opening up to reveal their characteristic white flowers.

Two photos showing Hogweed Buds and in full flower in the cemetery — **Hogweed**

Yellow is still the dominant flower colour in the cemetery. There are still some Celandines to be seen, especially in the cemetery, but the Dandelions are in full bloom now as you can see from some of the above photos. I also found this unusual double Dandelion.

A double Dandelion surrounded by Celandines — **Dandelion and Celandines**

These are all an excellent source of food for the insect branch of the cemetery wildlife. I also found a small patch of Yellow Archangel, and plenty of Wood Avens and Common Chickweed.

Yellow Archangel growing in the cemetery — **Yellow Archangel (above)**

The tiny flower of the Wood Avens — **Wood Avens (above)**

The tiny white flower of the Common Chickweed — **Common Chickweed**

The Bluebells have now started to flower but their peak time is in May so I’ll talk about them a bit more next month.

Trees

When we think of flowers, we usually think of the ones that look like those in my previous photos. But trees also have flowers although they look quite different in appearance and colour. During the recent windy weather a lot of the tree flowers had fallen onto the ground, including several clusters of flowers from a Norway Maple.

Fallen Norway Maple flowers resting on top of a headstone in the cemetery — **Norway Maple**

The flowers of some trees are known as catkins. The Hornbeam is monoecious, meaning it has male and female catkins on the same tree. The male catkins are the largest – I’ve marked one of the smaller female ones with an arrow.

The male and female catkins of the Hornbeam tree — **Hornbeam**

You can also see the flowers of the Spotted Laurel on the white butterfly photo – bottom left.

Birds

I haven’t seen anything unusual this month. The regular species are busy gathering nest material and marking out their territories – the Great Tits are particularly loud at the moment.

Another bird with a very distinctive call is the Chiffchaff, which I always hear before I see it, singing from very high up in the trees and from quite early in the morning too.

A Chiffchaff on a branch — **Chiffchaff**

Other small birds around in good numbers are Blue Tits, Chaffinches, Robins, Blackbirds and Long-tailed Tits. I’ve also seen Wrens, Goldfinches, Dunnocks and I also caught a quick glimpse of two Treecreepers. I haven’t seen any Coal Tits this month though.

Of the larger birds, I’ve seen Wood Pigeons, Stock Doves, Carrion Crows and Magpies.

Cemetery wildlife - a Magpie on the grassy area in the middle of the cemetery — **Magpie**

Fungi

Not much to report this month, apart from some Jelly Ear growing on an old fallen branch and a bracket of some type growing high up in a tree. The Velvet Shank that I used to see every day has all but disappeared, probably eaten by the cemetery wildlife!

A Jelly fungus growing on a fallen branch - food for the cemetery wildlife — **Jelly Ear (above)**

A bracket fungus growing on a tree trunk — **Bracket fungus**

Conclusion

April has been a great month for the cemetery wildlife, with lots of colour and activity to be seen. I managed to spend plenty of time walking in the cemetery and along the grass verge, especially on sunny days – here’s a collection of some of the photos I took on just one of those morning walks.

And finally, there’s still time to take part in the City Nature Challenge 2023 – details below – for you to record not just the cemetery wildlife but any you see in your gardens in Hull!

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2023-hull

Helen Bovill

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