Mossy

Sandwiched between a couple of bouts of marking I managed a decent excursion out to Ben Rhydding Gravel Pits and Sun Lane nature reserves.

Walking across from Ben Rhydding station to the gravel pits there's a nice patch of boggy pasture, and it was there that I found this subdued female Orange-tip, resting between sunny spells. Once into the reserve the Orange-tips were out in numbers, as were Speckled Wood and Small White. I saw my first Green-veined White of the year (extra) and single Peacock, Comma and, my highlight, a high-flying Brimstone.

There's a bench at the end of the reserve that offers a nice place to watch the Wharfe. Luckily, the bank opposite contained tens of Sand Martin burrows and they provided quite a display hawking about. This is usually a good spot for Kingfishers too, and today didn't disappoint with a couple of quick sightings while I munched my lunch.

A short walk down and across the main road in the direction of Burley in Wharfedale brought me to Sun Lane. Curlew, Redshank and Red Kite were evident, but it was getting late in the afternoon, so fewer butterflies. Still, I found a single Small Tortoiseshell for the eighth species of the day, and a further Comma and Peacock.

This time last year I'd still only seen four species of butterfly, in 2017 I'm up to twelve already. It looks like a cold snap will curtail butterfly activity over the next few days, but hopefully things will warm up again for the Bank Holiday.

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Butterfly Journal 2017

12. 23/07/17 Green-veined White. Ben Rhydding Gravel Pits NR. (VC 64)