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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

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 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

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