We are coming to end of the Kittiwake nesting season here in Scarborough. There are still some chicks on the nests with their parents, but most have fledged and are learning the joys of flying! Kittiwake chicks spend about 41-42 days (average fledging period) sitting on their nests, being fed by their dutiful parents. They…
The courtship behaviour of the silver-washed fritillary, Argynnis paphia (Heliconiinae, Argynnini), is described in most books or websites about butterflies. Here’s how I described it in my book on Courtship and mating in butterflies. The male …. performs a unique pursuit flight, swooping down beneath the female, then darting up in front of her, until…
There has been no shortage of Peacock butterflies this summer! People have been commenting on social media about the large numbers of this species in many parts of the country. Given that it is, in my opinion, the most beautiful butterfly that we have in the UK, that is great news. I actually think that…
This site was created following the demolition of the old Futurist theatre on Scarborough seafront. Demolition of the building began in June 2018 and was completed in August 2018. A process called ‘slope stabilisation’ created an area of sloping ground (below) which, in this year of lockdown, has filled up with wild flowers. Some might…
I have been following Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) at a number of sites around Scarborough this summer, but one particular location offers very good views, provided you take care not to disturb the birds too much. With a long lens, you don’t have to get too close, although the birds seem to be used to people…
It’s what I call silly seabird season here in Scarborough. The time of year when seabird chicks fall off the roof! I am talking about Herring gulls of course. A Kittiwake would never fall off; they are just too clever for that! The advice from the RSPB is that if the chick is uninjured, leave…
Red admiral, Vanessa atalanta, butterflies are notoriously territorial, particularly when they occupy their favoured spots in the late afternoon. I have been photographing one particular male this month (24-26 June 2020) which has commandeered a nice little bank of wild flowers in the grounds of a local church, St Mary’s, Scarborough. The butterfly’s territory is…
Butterflies are nectar feeders and require frequent access to the sugars and amino acids that nectar provides. How do they find the flowers and inflorescences that provide them with nectar, and how do they locate the nectar once they have arrived at a flower? Butterflies may be specialists, i.e. visiting only one, or a few…
A bumblebee has to open a snapdragon flower (Antirrhinum majus) to get inside. Antirrhinum flowers have five petals arranged into an upper and lower lip that develops a convex shape, called a palate, which effectively blocks the mouth of the flower tube. This type of flower is called ‘personate’, and because the lower lip is…
Plodding a regular path near my home, I have been enjoying the emergence of buttercups over the past few weeks. Ever alert to possibility of photographing insects, I have been going around peering into their shiny yellow flowers, to see what I could find. At least I was when the sun was out! Most buttercups…
