Reports
Anne Phillips had brought along numerous newspaper clippings of wildlife interest.

Janice Morritt – on the 4th Feb. at Scalby Mills had seen widgeon, grey seal and female stonechat. On the 9th Feb she had seen a long-tailed tit without its long tail at the hospital.

Colin Stephenson commented on a specimen of white jews ear which had been found by Belinda Robson in her garden growing on a vibernum bush. This was the first time that he had seen this particular form of the Jews Ear fungus.

Chris Fairchild – during the RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch had a male blackcap in his garden. On the 3rd Feb. he had seen a pure white barn owl at Hopper Hill Road and on the 6th Feb. a kingfisher in the North Bay.

Albert Devitt – had seen 39 curlew, widgeon and teal on the cliff top at Scalby Lodge Pond.

Len Auckland commented on the fact that all the goldfish had died in his pond and on a wood pigeon with a large proportion of white feathers.

Cedric Gillings noted that spurge laurel was in flower in Peasholm Park and common whitlow grass in Maria’s Court. He asked whether anyone had seen any celandine in flower.

Mick Carroll- on the 29th Jan.-31st Jan on the floods at Low Marishes he recorded 5 hares, 5 roe deer does and 1 stag. There were plenty of tufted widgeon, pochard, mallard, 4 gadwall, black-headed gulls and common gulls. He counted 26 red-legged partridge.
There were dippers on Ellerburn Beck and little grebe at the fish farms. He saw a merlin above Lockton on the 6th Feb.

After the interval the speaker for the evening was society member, Albert Devitt, who gave a talk, entitled Mexico. This was illustrated with photographs taken on trips to the west and east coasts of the country. He described the environments and the wildlife that he encountered on these trips and contrasted the different habitats that are found on the two sides of the country. Species shown included turkey vulture, spotted wren, snowy egret, white-faced ibis, frigate bird, bare-footed boobie, red-footed boobie and brown boobie, brown pelican, bare-throated tiger heron, crested night heron, white-tailed hawk, golden-cheeked woodpecker, harris hawk, tropical mockingbird, buff-breasted flycatcher, cave swallow, red cardinal pygmy owl and eastern bluebird.

Mick Carroll proposed the vote of thanks and the meeting ended at 9.15pm

The President, Mick Carroll, was in the chair and 36 members and guests were present.

The minutes for the 23rd February 2010 were displayed and taken as read and signed.

New Members – Alastair and Irene Wilson were welcomed as new members

Announcements
Members were informed of a change in speaker dates. Ian Glaves would give his talk on the 13th April, whilst Mike Pearson would talk on the 11th May.

Correspondence
An email from YWT reserve manager, Jenny Haywood, concering a proposal to survey Ellerburn Bank, Ashberry Nature Reserve and Fen Bog for butterflies. A training day for this to be held in Pickering on the 22nd April.
BTO Conference on the 10th April at Bishop Burton College

Reports

Brian Walker – gave an update on the conditions still prevailing in the Forestry. He commented on the report in the Ryedale Mercury of a shot goshawk in Bransdale and said that a hen harrier had disappeared in the same area.

Janice Morritt – had seen a barn owl on Burniston Road near the Scalby Manor Lodge. She saw a female crossbill at Maybeck  on the 7th March along with roe deer, kestrel, sparrowhawk and merlin. She saw another sparrowhawk on Woodlands Ravine on the 9th March.

Len Auckland had brought in a dead sparrowhawk for members to look at.

Robin Hopper – 350 Widgeon at Scalby Mills
 At Harwood Dale Lake ;  60 Lapwing, 48 Common Gulls, 10 Redwing
 Wykeham; Buzzard, 25 Golden Plover, Lapwing and Fieldfare
6 Little Grebe on Hackness Lake

Chris Fairchild – reported that a blackbird was starting to gather nesting material in his garden. He had seen a heron on the island in Peasholm Park and that he had had a queen wasp in his house. He had seen a sparrow hawk in the main car park in Pickering and dead badgers at Wrelton and Ebberston.

Melanie Earle – a barn owl on North Moor Road Wykeham. 500 wigeon and 1 male eider in the North Bay.

Cedric Gillings had seen male siskin and golden plover in Bransdale and the the pair of collared doves were nesting once again in York Place.

Mr Elder had seen a barn owl between Sledmere and Wetwang.

Mick Carroll – (6th March) 300+ fieldfares on Lockton Low Moor, with redwing and starlings, 50 golden plover and that  lapwing have returned to the moors.
In the forest areas he saw crossbills, greater spotted woodepeckers, goshawk and a great
grey shrike.
In the Vale of Pickering he recorded plenty of gadwell, wigeon, pintail, teal and mallard ducks at Low Marishes along with curlew, lapwing and barn owls. At the old viaduct there were 90 fieldfare and 200+ rooks. At Friar’s Dyke 22 mute swans and 6 whooper swans and 81 greylag geese were at Craig Hole. There were lots of hares about in the fields.
In the Ellerburn Valley on the 8th March he heard green woodpecker calling and saw some lesser redpoll. There was a large flock of male and female siskin in their spring plumage and there were plenty of tits of all varieties around. On the back lane between Brompton and Snainton there was another large flock of fieldfare.

Albert Devitt showed a video of a confrontation between a pride of lions and a herd of buffalo shot in Africa.



After the break the speaker for the evening was Terry Weston, who gave an illustrated talk entitled ‘The Wildlife of the Lower Derwent Valley’. This was an extensive look at the bird life to be found through the seasons in the Lower Derwent valley south of York.
Species which he had photographed included snipe, whimbrel, curlew, lapwing, redshank, black-necked grebe, ruff, little egret, linnet, marsh harrier, gadwall, shoveller duck shelduck, tufted duck, greenshank, corn bunting, reed bunting, quail, corncrake, yellowhammer, goldfinch, barn owl peregrine falcon pintail and whooper swans. He also showed other wildlife such as dragonflies, butterflies and orchids that could be found in the area.

He was thanked by Mick Carroll and the meeting ended at 9.35pm

This page details the meetings of the Society. It includes sightings reported at the meetings that aren’t on the recent sightings page so please see that page of the site as well.

The President, Mick Carroll, was in the chair and 39 members and guests were present.

Records and reports
Frank Thompson gave an update of the Scarborough BAP (Biodiversity Action Plan) and said that it was hoped to gather public data on various species such as swifts, frogs, toads, newts, bats and tree sparrows. Questionnaires would be distributed by various means.
Cedric Gillings reported that lesser chickweed was in flower at Granville Road and Belvedere. Stinking iris had been found, which was a new record for the area.
Janice Morritt had visited Farndale and said that the daffodils were in flower. She had also seen redwings and fieldfares. At Fridaythorpe she recorded kestrels and buzzards. At Scalby Mills she had seen grey seal, common tern, 20 wigeon, turnstones, purple sandpiper and peregrine on the Castle Headland. At Langdale End there had been dipper, willow warbler, marsh marigolds, green woodpecker and tadpoles.
Melanie Earle had seen fieldfare at Wykeham and also recorded the scarlet elf cup fungus, Sarcosypha austriaca. At Howdale, Robin Hoods Bay, she found Entidoma pseudoturbidum.
Robin Hopper had recorded various migrant birds since the last meeting. Outgoing birds included whooper swans at Hutton Buscel, long-tailed ducks, goldeneye, goosander and purple sandpiper at Wykeham lakes and snow bunting at Scalby Lodge Pond.
Incoming birds included white wagtail at Scalby Lodge Pond, willow warbler on the coast, wheatears and black redstarts at the Castle along with common tern ring ouzel and swallows. Sand martins were seen at Scalby, blackcaps at Cloughton, house martins at Scalby Mills and little ringed plovers at Seamer Tip.
Chiffchaffs and willow warblers continue to be seen and heard in various places.
Mick Carroll presented his ‘Birding Ramblings’ since the last meeting. Merlins were back on the moors and mistle thrushes were establishing territories in the forest. Snipe were at RAF Fylingdales and lapwings have paired up. On the Marishes the mute swan flock had risen to 27. North Ings had flooded again and there were lapwing and curlew displaying and water pipit was also present. Large numbers of fieldfare and redwing were also still present. The first swallow was seen in Yedingham on the 29th March. Wheatears were recorded at RAF Fylingdales. Goldcrest, siskin, crossbills and flocks of linnets were all seen in forest areas. A female stonechat had been recorded on the moors on the 7th April. 50+ house martins were recorded in Pickering on the 11th.
John Hume reported seeing brimstone, peacock and small tortoiseshell butterflies in Deepdale along with bee flies and primroses.

After the interval the speaker for the evening was society member Ian Glaves who presented an illustrated talk on ‘The History of Spurn Point Bird Observatory’. He described the purpose of the Bird Observatories around the country and proceeded to give an account of the early birders of Spurn eg Thomas Nelson, John Cordeaux and W. Eagle Clarke. He described how the observatory came into being after the 2nd world war when Warren Cottage was leased from the War Department. The first bird was ringed on the 17th November 1945. In 1959 the YWT purchased Spurn Point and appointed a full time warden who in the form of Barry Spence also provided coverage for the Observatory.
Ian explained why the point is so good for observing birds and described the types of trap used to catch birds and where they were located. He explained the importance of ringing and how records of re-caught birds provided vital information on bird migration.
He showed how bird watching at Spurn had changed over the years and the accommodation available for visitors. He also showed how the Point was changing and that its future was in the hands of the sea. He said that the Observatory had received a large bequest which had enabled them to plan for the future and that bird-ringing was as important now as it had always been.

Mick Carroll proposed the vote of thanks.

The President, Mick Carroll, was in the chair and 39 members and guests were present.

The minutes for the 9th March  2010 were read and signed.


Correspondence
Yorkshire Geological Society – Pamphlets detailing upcoming events with the YGS had been received.
Gwenda Wadsworth had brought along a book ‘A birding Life’ for sale.
John Ireland reported that The Discovery Channel were showing ‘The Battle of Kruger’ which highlighted the video shown at the previous meeting.

Reports
Cedric Gillings reported that lesser celandine was seen in flower on the 4th March, spurge laurel was in flower in Peasholm near the bus stop and the primroses on Peasholm Island were also beginning to flower. There were 2 shelduck on a flooded field between Scalby and Burniston.

Janice Morritt – had seen curlew between Hawsker and Whitby, a dead badger near the Falcon Inn and her first chiffchaff. On woodland ravine on the 19th March she recorded great spotted woodpecker, wren, marsh tit, coal tit and sparrow hawk.

Robin Hopper – the first wheatears were seen on the 19th at Crook Ness, Burniston and at Scalby Lodge Pond. A male reed bunting was near the coastguard hut at Long Nab.
There was a red kite seen at the Raptor View Point in Wykeham Forest on the 21st. There were chiffchaff at Northstead Manor Gardens and 2 swallows at Long Nab.

Chris Fairchild – had frogspawn in his garden on the 14th and 7 redwing. On the 18th on the wolds a brimstone butterfly and bumble bees and a chiffchaffon the 22nd at the Sands development.

Ian Glaves reported that a tree sparrow ringed at Sawdon had been found at Ripon. On the 15th there were 2 little owls and roe deer at Sawdon. A fox on the 23rd, a weasel on the patio and 9 frogs in the garden pond.

Mick Carroll – A visit to Spurn on the 11th resulted in seeing light and dark bellied brent geese and a black brant goose. There was over 1000 geese in total. On the 12th while bird-ringing in Dalby a buzzard was seen at Pexton, with siskin, lesser redpoll and yellow hammer in the wooded valley.
On the 13th in Langdale Forest there were siskin displaying and flocks of crossbills, there were wrens and goldcrest singing. Song and mistle thrush and a great grey shrike were also seen. There were 2 little grebe on Staindale Lake.
On the 16th 5 buzzards were seen west of Langdale Rigg and 2 more over Crosscliff and a green woodpecker was heard near Birch Hall. On the 17th a goshawk was seen over the west side of Langdale. On the 18th a brimstone butterfly was seen at Snainton. The peregrine was back on the Castle Headland. On the 21st there was a tree pipit near Crosscliff.


After the break the speaker for the evening was Tom Lawson who gave an illustrated talk entitled ‘To the Tibetan Plateau’ which detailed his wandering around parts of China from the capital, Beijing, to the Tibetan Plateau. Over 200 species of birds were shown in his marvellous photographs, which highlighted the richness and variety of the avifauna in the country.


He was thanked by Mick Carroll and the meeting ended at 9.30pm

The President, Mick Carroll, was in the chair and 29 members and guests were present.

Announcements
A recorders meeting would be held on the 4th May at 7.30pm.

Correspondence
The YWT magazine was available.

Records and reports
Brian Walker had observed adders in Deepdale and said that there was a graylag goose with goslings at the ford at Langdale End.
Ian Glaves reported that on the 25th April there were ring ouzels at Ravenscar, 30 willow warblers on the Castle Hill, sandwich terns around the Marine Drive, sedge warblers at Wykeham, a male garganey at Harwood Dale and 2 common scoters in South Bay.
On the 26th there was a reed warbler at Crook Ness and on the 27th an osprey at Wykeham Lakes and the dippers were nesting at Wrench Green.
Chris Fairchild had seen swallows west of Pickering on the 20th April, a pair of pied wagtails in the North Bay on the 25th and lampsuckers on the beach.
Melanie Earle had found the fungus Phaeogalera dissimulans in Troutsdale.
Brian Cockerill had seen 3 redstarts at Wrench Green on the 10th April. On the 21st he saw lesser whitethroat and in Deepdale on the 24th he recorded adders, 4 brimstone butterflies and herb paris. At High Langdale there were a further 2 adders, a ring ouzel at Birch Hall and there were willow warblers all over the area.
Ron Lewis had observed a red kite at Hutton Buscel.
Cedric Gillings had heard a cuckoo at Cropton on the 26th. In Forge Valley he had recorded 4 species of violet, toothwort and false oxlip.
Mick Carroll had seen merlin on Fylingdales Moor on the 16th April along with a peacock butterfly. On the 18th at Jerry Noddle there had been siskins, goshawk, buzzards and crossbills. At Filey Country Park on the 19th he observed a goldfinch. On the 20th wheatears arrived in numbers at RAF Fylingdales, there was a great grey shrike on Stoney Rigg. Redstarts and ring ouzel were also recorded. At Ellerburn on the 22nd there were primroses, dog violets and cowslips, and green-veined white and peacock butterflies. At Fen Bog an emperor moth was recorded.
Sometime had been spent ringing the greenland race of northern wheatear on Fylingdale Moor. Fieldfare and redwing were also observed.
A cuckoo was heard on the 25th. A swift was seen in Pickering on the 27th at 9.00am and a hobby at 3.00pm. Swallows and house martins are nesting at RAF Fylingdales. Whimbrel are on the Carrs at Folkton and Flixton.

After the break the speaker for the evening was Dr Sue Hull of the Scarborough Campus, University of Hull who gave a talk on ‘Marine Life’. During her presentation she described the various ecosystems to be found on the shore and the differing species that inhabited each system and the factors which affected them eg temperature, desiccation and salinity changes. She described how these affected which species inhabited the differing zones on a beach.
She described in some detail the gastropod Littorina Saxatilis and why she found it so interesting and how its size and shape were governed by where it was on the beach.
Sue then gave a rundown of species which could be found on beaches and in rock pools on this coast and described the interactions that occurred between the fauna and flora within these communities.
Finally she described the effect of tourism and leisure on the seashore and the problems that this created for marine life.

Mick Carroll proposed the vote of thanks and the meeting closed at 9.20pm.

The President, Mick Carroll, was in the chair and 27 members and guests were present.


Records and reports
Julia Read said that she only had 3 house martin nests instead of the usual 13 or so.
Ian Glaves had seen elephant hawk moth, mother shipton moth and burnet companion and at Reighton Ponds he had recorded broad bodied chaser and four spotted chaser.
Janice Morritt had recorded spotted flycatcher, redstarts, tree pipits, roe deer, lesser whitethroat, cuckoo and bluebells at Sutton Bank.
Robin Hopper said that a marsh harrier had been seen at Sherburn and honey buzzard, red kite and ‘white storks’(?) at the Raptor Viewpoint.
John Hume displayed photographs of recently seen butterflies, reptiles and flowers.
Mick Carroll presented more ‘Birding Rambles’. At Humble Bee Farm, between Flixton and Folkton, corn bunting, linnet, yellowhammers and skylarks were recorded. On the moors stonechat were feeding young and hobbys were seen. At Spurn marsh harrier and purple heron were observed. Cuckoos, mistle thrush and tree pipits are all in forest areas. Moths caught recently include brimstone, buff ermine, water carpet, grey pug and garden carpet. Turtle doves were recorded at Jingleby in Dalby Forest.

After the break the speaker for the evening was Dr Phil Wheeler of the Scarborough Campus, University of Hull who gave a talk on ‘Moorland Conservation’.
Phil described the various types of upland ecosystems to be found in the UK and how they could be used to calculate an ‘Ecosystem Services’ value eg by acting as stores of carbon, water etc and providing opportunities for leisure activities, although these could also have an adverse effect on the ecosystem. He described how much of moorland was man made through the cutting of forests, animal grazing etc. and how heather had become the dominant flora. The threat to these was now afforestation, agricultural reclamation, heavy grazing, peat cutting, fires and climate change.
The continued debate concerning grouse shooting was also raised and how this is can be both good and bad for species within the moorland areas.

Mick Carroll proposed the vote of thanks and the meeting closed at 9.15pm.