North York Moors Weekend
On Saturday morning we walked from Ellerburn Church through the edge of Dalby Forest to Ellerburn Bank nature reserve. As expected there was a wide variety of plants with Dropwort, Salad Burnet, and a selection of orchids on the reserve itself and a thriving patch of Monk's-hood in the woods above Ellerburn. The morning had started sunny, but a slow-moving shower pursued us after lunch so we stopped off for a cup of tea before continuing to Fen Bog. The highlights here were a very co-operative Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, and at least one pair of breeding whinchats. There was a range of bog plants including Common Butterwort, Bogbean, and Round-leaved Sundew. We finished the day with a very enjoyable meal in the George & Dragon in Kirkbymoorside.
On Sunday, fortified by full English breakfasts, we had a circular walk along part of Newton Dale. Again plenty of plants with some very good boggy patches in the bottom of the dale with Ragged Robin, Greater Bird's-foot-trefoil, Bog Stitchwort, Marsh Bedstraw and the very attractive Wood Club-rush.
Below is a selection of images from the weekend.
Andrew Chadwick, June 2016
See Africa Gómez's album on 
While at Kilnsea Wetlands last weekend I potted a planthopper, assuming it would be unidentifiable. It turns out it is Athysanus argentarius, which is the first record for VC61, and I believe the most northernly record in the UK at the moment.
I spotted this colony of over 40 spikes of Orobanche hederae against the ivy-covered front wall of a house on Thwaite Street while waiting for a lift to the North Cave Wetlands meeting. Andrew Ashworth dissected and photographed a floret to be sure of the identification but there was no other possible host. Are these plants somehow connected with the Ivy Broomrape known to grow in a garden beyond the railway line - could there be more plants as yet undiscovered in the area?
[Picture - flowering spike RM, dissection AA]
A female Hairy Dragonfly was observed egg laying into a floating piece of vegetation and Variable Damselflies were still flying about in tall grass at 8 pm. 
I grew Lamb's-ear for first time this year and it is being visited by this wonderful bee I hadn't seen before. The females nectar and also gather "wool" to make a felt plug for their nest holes. Males [one in flight I think] defend the plants against all intruders !
A long-distance view of the Acklam Booted Kiwi, showing well on Wooing Nab Hill. From a photograph taken by Africa Gómez on our Scrayingham-Howsham field meeting.
A long-deceased River Lamprey and Blue-eyed-Mary (Omphalodes verna)