HoverflySpotter sightings w/c 18th Jan 26

Sightings from w/c 18th Jan 2026 - York, Monk Bretton, Garden & Old Moor Nature reserve

York

The weather has not been great these last few weeks, so instead I got stuck into a few jobs done around the house. It is also that time of year when Annual General Meetings (AGM) happen for several of the organisations I belong to.

The week started with a mini break to the city of York. 

It’s one of those places where there is so much to see and do, even with an annual visit every year for many years, there is still always something to discover, I love the place. Last year I went in search of, and to spot, the rare Tansy Beetle (Chrysolina grammis) the Jewel of York. To find out how I did, read my article within the British Naturalist Country-Side magazine vol 36 No.7 Winter 2025. It was a delight and surprise to see this street art from the hotel window.

https://bna-naturalists.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Country-Side-winter-2025.pdf

View from the hotel.....

The reason for going this time was to see a performance by Geusaldo Six  a vocal consort specialising in early and medieval music – at the National Early Music Centre. What I didn’t realise at the time was how new this show was. The show only having done two nights previously in London at St Martin-in-the-Fields. Its next performance will be in New York at St. John the Divine mid-Feb. Talking to one of the singers afterwards they are hoping that other venues will pick the show up and it can successfully formulate into a grand tour like their last one. 

I thought it was fabulous, both the singing and the actors who enacted a stunning series of tableaux vivants. It’s a performance I won’t forget as singers blended with the actors in creating out these renaissance style paintings to depict the chilling story of Gesualdo’s life. I certainly would give it 5 stars and wish it all the success in getting future performances

Death of Gesualdo - The Gesualdo Six

But were there any natural history sightings – of course there was.

A churchyard called the Monks of Micklegate – provided me with a glimmer of spring.

The churchyard was covered in Snowdrops (Galanthus rivalis), Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis), Primrose (Primula vulgaris) and Daffodil (Narcissus sp). I wonder if there might be Narcissus hoverfly larvae (Merodon equestris) hibernating in those bulbs, awaiting warmer days.

Flowers in churchyard Primrose, Winter Aconite, Snowdrops and Daffodil in bud

This time of year, it's always nice to do a bit of bryophyte spotting, so I went out later in the week in search of what I might find.

Monk Bretton Priory – Lundwood

A super local site for bryophyte spotting is Monk Bretton Priory  as its full of limestone walls, which mosses can anchor to using their little rhizoids (simple, hair-like filaments that acts as anchorage to substrate, they are not true roots). In a few months I am conducting a field session for the Barnsley Nats, so this was a preliminary look. I am aware the Friends of Monk Bretton, concerned about plants growing in and on the walls, had done a day of vegetation clearance, so I was curious to what had been cleared. I wasn’t particularly bothered about the buddleia growing high atop the ruins, but I was concerned about the lower walls, particularly those at head height as this will be the focus of my session. As you can see below they hadn’t touched those walls at head height.

Species spotted: Anonmalous Bristle-Moss (Orthotrichum anomalum), Cypress Leaved Plait Moss (Hynpnum cupressiforme), Beard Moss (Didymodon sp), Hedgehog Moss (Grimmia pulvinta), Silky Wall Feather Moss (Homalothecium sericeum), Springy Turf Moss (Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus) and Wall Screw Moss (Tortula muralis). All typical wall species

Hedgehog and Wall Screw Moss

One new naturalist gift I got for Christmas was a gadget that can transform a lichen…  

Can you see the lichen?       Can you see the lichen now?

Anyone know what that gadget might be? 

Let me know in the comments below.

RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch

Onto the weekend, time to dedicate one hour to the RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch. I love doing this survey and its very simple, sit and watch your garden, count the number of birds of each species you see at any one time. What a lovely hour it can be, so the birds were fed, porridge made for breakfast, pot of hot coffee, pen and pad at the ready, off we go.

Gosh that hour went quick. 

So how did I do? In total 50 birds were spotted and counted. 

The bird seen in their greatest number were a flock of Long Tailed Tits that somehow fitted into the fat ball feeder, today it was 13. The second most prevalent bird was the Goldfinch with 11, this was aided by the 4-perched nyger feeder, some nearby bushes for birds awaiting their turn, and the rest scattered amongst the ash keys in the tree above. I love to see the Goldfinch in waiting decide it's their turn and enact this mid-air dance.

The lowest number in the count were the Coal Tits, normally we get two or three at a time, so I hope they haven’t perished and were at other local feeding stations this morning. This Coal Tit was eating rather than grabbing and flying away to cache as they normally do. There was one Collared Dove normally we see 2 so the other must have been hidden from view. The Song Thrush had been singing from first light in a tree outside my bedroom window as it had for the last few weeks, such a delightful sound to awaken to, it was amongst the Ivy this hour. The Robins have been very aggressive to each other recently with many dashes in and out of the bushes around the garden and seeing them chest out, strutting on the garden fence, but today there were just the two who seemed quite happy in each other’s company and happily sharing the food. The Blackbirds, however, had taken to being aggressive to each other with the bounty of ivy berries now available for feasting upon. I had noticed male and female together more regularly so do wonder if they were pairing up too.

What was missing today were the Squirrels. Normally there are three in the garden jumping all over the feeders but none today, all strangely absent. Maybe they just heard it was the Big Garden Bird watch not Squirrel Watch so decided to have a lay-in. Also absent were Magpies, Sparrows (not spotted any in the garden all winter), a sole Chaffinch had infrequently visited but not in this hour, no Greenfinch, Bullfinch or Wren were seen.

Here’s the full list of my results.

Did you do the Big Garden Birdwatch? – let me know in the comments below how your results compare.

RSPB Old Moor Nature Reserve – South Yorkshire

I enjoyed the garden bird watch so much that I decided to take a trip to the local RSPB Nature reserve Old Moor. Firstly, to drop off a load of books no longer required, these include garden, bird and local walking books and maps. Yeah, it’s that time of year to declutter. 

In total I saw 58 species in just a few hours, birds accounting for 41 of those sightings.

Notable species included the Goldeneye, winter visitors to this reserve, but what was nice is they were close to the hide, 1 male and 3 females, absolutely wonderful. Wigeon and Teal also winter visitors, what’s not to love about the whistling of a group of Wigeon. 

On the bird feeders around the feeding stations were Greenfinches, Chaffinches in large numbers. Even a female Bullfinch, not sure where the male Bullfinch was, but I'm sure it wasn’t far away. 

It was a wonderful day. Soup and a scone in the Old Moor café was the next stop.

One of the first aims of this year is to find 1000 species in and around my local patch this includes my garden, local brown field sites, local nature reserves, and country parks. Last year with the help of other naturalists' groups I belong to I recorded just under 900 species, so it should not be an arduous target to achieve. 

But please join me throughout the year to check in on my running total. To do this please add in your email address at the side and subscribe, so you don’t miss any posts.

This is the list of species seen at RSPB Old Moor Nature Reserve.

To date I have seen 126 species from just two natural history days so far this month, still a long, long way to go.