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[Species lists below]
18 members and guests were present for this evening trip to Summerfield. We were delighted to welcome representatives from DEFRA and local Ornithology groups; despite the rather gloomy, humid evening it was a good turn-out – and we didn’t actually get wet. We were met at the farm by the owners Basil and Isabel Rickatson (and Ben the old sheep-dog), who showed us around their land. Basil has recently planted margins around many of his fields as a wildlife baulk. The farm is under a 10-year stewardship agreement with DEFRA covering these field margins, grassland management, and hedgerow planting and maintenance, all of which will benefit wildlife in the long term. At this early stage these margins consist mainy of mixed grasses (as sown in a special seed mixture) and some common “weeds” such as scentless mayweed, field pansy, mouse-ears, speedwell and sow-thistles; as these strips mature over the next few years one would expect to see more wild flowers moving in, which should encourage beetles and so on, and in their turn these will attract more birds.
We walked round several fields and then down to the banks of the Riccal which borders the farm. There were several species of willow growing here, which I am not sure I have managed to identify accurately! It was rather sad to see a huge swathe of invasive Himalayan balsam along the waterline and on the flood-bank – although this introduced plant has pretty pink flowers later in the summer it does tend to swamp out the native vegetation by its prolific seeding and rapid growth and should be discouraged. Basil and the neighbouring farmers are aware of the problem, and the plan is to cut the plant before it sets seed; as it is an annual it is hoped that this will control it fairly quickly. Rather more happily we saw the pond which Basil has dug in a low-lying corner of the field, which has already attracted newts, and has had geese nesting on the island in the middle of it (Greylags one year, Canadas another). There are alders surrounding the pond, and a couple of planted hornbeams.
Then we returned over the fields to the house. The field immediately behind the house is pasture, with pronounced rigg-and-furrow, and the remains of a hedge which now consists of large trees including two splendid giant limes (the small-leaved variety Tilia cordata I believe) which were just coming into flower – marvellous for bees to produce one of the most delicious of honeys. Finally in the garden we saw two bats chasing each other around the house in the dusk, and Michael Thompson identified them for us with his bat-box as Soprano Pipistrelles otherwise known as Pipistrelle 55s.
We were invited in for a most welcome cup of tea and a wonderful spread of cakes, biscuits, flapjack and cheese. To close a very successful evening Jim Pewtress gave a vote of thanks to Basil and Isabel for showing us around their farm.
Unfortunately I do not have any photos of this trip as the light was very poor. I recorded over 80 plants (not all in flower), and I am sure I will have missed some, certainly some grasses that I could not identify and several other plants that were only present as leaves.
Plants and Birds below. We also saw some rabbits and two hares.
Plants
| Alnus glutinosa | Alder |
| Fraxinus excelsior | Ash |
| Impatiens glandulifera | Balsam, Himalayan |
| Prunus spinosa | Blackthorn |
| Rubus fruticosus | Bramble |
| Bromus sterilis (Anisantha sterilis) | Brome, Barren |
| Bromus mollis (Bromus hordeaceus) | Brome, Soft |
| Arctium minus | Burdock |
| Ranunculus bulbosus | Buttercup, bulbous |
| Ranunculus repens | Buttercup, creeping |
| Ranunculus acris | Buttercup, meadow |
| Galium aparine | Cleavers |
| Trifolium pratense | Clover, red |
| Dactylis glomerata | Cocksfoot |
| Juncus conglomeratus | Compact Rush |
| Anthriscus sylvestris | Cow parsley |
| Malus sylvestris | Crab apple |
| Cynosurus cristatus | Crested Dogstail |
| Cruciata laevipes | Crosswort |
| Cardamine pratensis | Cuckoo flower or Milkmaid |
| Hesperis matronalis | Dames violet |
| Taraxacum sp. | Dandelion |
| Lamium album | Deadnettle, white |
| Rumex obtusifolius | Dock, broad leaved |
| Carex pendula | Drooping sedge (planted) |
| Sambucus nigra | Elder |
| Ulmus glabra | Elm, wych |
| Festuca rubra | Fescue, Red |
| Equisetum arvense | Field Horsetail |
| Myosotis arvensis | Forgetmenot, field |
| Alopecurus pratensis | Foxtail, Meadow |
| Senecio vulgaris | Groundsel, common |
| Crataegus monogyna | Hawthorn |
| Corylus avellana | Hazel |
| Alliaria petiolata | Hedge Garlic or Jack by the Hedge |
| Heracleum sphondylium | Hogweed |
| Ilex aquifolium | Holly |
| Carpinus betulus | Hornbeam (planted) |
| Hedera helix | Ivy |
| Centaurea nigra | Knapweed, common |
| Polygonum aviculare | Knotgrass |
| Tilia cordata | Lime, small leaved (planted) |
| Acer campestre | Maple, field |
| Triplospermum maritimum | Mayweed, scentless |
| Poa annua | Meadow Grass, Annual |
| Poa trivialis | Meadow Grass, Rough |
| Medicago lupulina | Medick, black |
| Cerastium fontanum | Mouse ear, common |
| Cerastium glomeratum | Mouse ear, sticky |
| Urtica dioica | Nettle, common |
| Quercus sp. | Oak |
| Arrhenatherum elatius | Oat, False |
| Viola arvensis | Pansy, field |
| Conopodium majus | Pignut |
| Matricaria discoidea | Pineapple weed |
| Plantago major | Plantain, greater |
| Plantago lanceolata | Plantain, ribwort |
| Populus x canadensis | Poplar, hybrid |
| Populus nigra | Poplar, black (?) |
| Allium ursinum | Ramsons |
| Persicaria maculosa | Redshank |
| Rosa canina | Rose, dog |
| Chaerophyllum temulem | Rough chervil |
| Sorbus aucuparia | Rowan (planted) |
| Anagallis arvensis | Scarlet pimpernel |
| Capsella bursa-pastoris | Shepherds purse |
| Juncus effusus | Soft Rush |
| Rumex acetosa | Sorrel, common |
| Sonchus asper | Sowthistle, rough |
| Veronica persica | Speedwell, common |
| Veronica chamaedrys | Speedwell, germander |
| Stellaria holostea | Stitchwort, greater |
| Anthoxanthum odoratum | Sweet Vernal Grass |
| Acer pseudoplatanus | Sycamore |
| Cirsium arvense | Thistle, creeping |
| Cirsium vulgare | Thistle, spear |
| Vicia sepium | Vetch, bush |
| Prunus domestica | Wild plum |
| Salix pentandra | Willow, bay (?) |
| Salix fragilis | Willow, crack |
| Salix caprea | Willow, goat |
| Salix cinerea | Willow, grey |
| Salix alba | Willow, white |
| Chamaenerion angustifolium | Willowherb, rosebay or Fireweed |
| Luzula campestris | Woodrush, field |
| Juglans regia | Walnut (planted) |
Birds
The following 17 birds were recorded (thanks to Jim Pewtress for the list):
Mallard, Pheasant, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Cuckoo, Woodpigeon, Skylark,
Swallow, Wren, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Whitethroat, Blue Tit, Crow,
Chaffinch and Yellowhammer.
Christine and Derek Jakeman from the RSPB have carried out four early morning surveys on the farm, recording a total of 58 bird species.
They visited on four occasions:
| Date | Start | Finish | Notes (weather) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th April | 6.15am | 10.30am | Dry, calm, cool, becoming breezy with showers |
| 3rd May | 5.55am | 10.30am | Cloud then sun, light breeze |
| 30th May | 5.05am | 10.30am | Clear and warm |
| 20th June | 5.15am | 9.30am | Cloudy and breezy |
The following birds were recorded:
| English Name | Latin Name | 10th April | 23rd May | 30th May | 20th June |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackbird | Turdus merula | X | X | X | |
| Blackcap | Sylvia atricapilla | X | X | ||
| Blue Tit | Parus caeruleus | X | X | X | |
| Bullfinch | Pyrrhula pyrrhula | X | |||
| Canada Goose | Branta canadensis | X | X | ||
| Carrion/Hooded Crow | Corvus corone corone/cornix | X | X | ||
| Chaffinch | Fringilla coelebs | X | X | X | |
| Chiffchaff | Phylloscopus collybita | X | X | X | |
| Coal Tit | Parus ater | X | |||
| Collared Dove | Streptopelia decaocto | X | X | X | |
| Corn Bunting | Emberiza calandra | X | |||
| Cuckoo | Cuculus canorus | X | X | ||
| Curlew | Numenius arquata | X | |||
| Dunnock | Prunella modularis | X | X | X | |
| Feral Pigeon | Columba livia | X | |||
| Fieldfare | Turdus pilaris | X | |||
| Golden Plover | Pluvialsi apricaria | X | |||
| Goldfinch | Carduelis carduelis | X | X | X | |
| Goosander | Mergus merganser | X | |||
| Great Spotted Woodpecker | Dendrocopus major | X | X | ||
| Great Tit | Parus major | X | X | ||
| Greenfinch | Carduelis chloris | X | X | ||
| Grey Heron | Ardea cinerea | X | |||
| House Martin | Delichon urbica | X | |||
| House Sparrow | Passer domesticus | X | X | X | |
| Jackdaw | Corvus monedula | X | X | ||
| Kestrel | Falco tinnunculus | X | |||
| Kingfisher | Alcedo atthis | X | X | ||
| Lapwing or Peewit | Vanellus vanellus | X | X | X | |
| Lesser Whitethroat | Sylvia curruca | X | X | ||
| Linnet | Acanthis cannabina | X | X | ||
| Long-tailed Tit | Aegithalos caudatus | X | X | ||
| Magpie | Pica pica | X | |||
| Mallard | Anas platyrhynchos | X | X | ||
| Marsh Tit | Parus palustris | X | |||
| Mistle Thrush | Turdus viscivorus | X | X | X | |
| Moorhen | Gallinula chloropus | X | X | ||
| Oystercatcher | Haemotopus ostralegus | X | X | ||
| Pheasant | Phasianus colchicus | X | X | X | |
| Pied Wagtail | Motacilla alba yarrellii | X | X | ||
| Red-legged Partridge | Alectoris rufa | X | X | X | |
| Robin | Erithacus rubecula | X | X | X | |
| Rook | Corvus frugilegus | X | X | X | |
| Skylark | Alauda arvensis | X | X | X | |
| Song Thrush | Turdus philomelos | X | X | X | |
| Sparrowhawk | Accipiter nisus | X | |||
| Starling | Sturnus vulgaris | X | |||
| Stock Dove | Columba oenas | X | |||
| Swallow | Hirundo rustica | X | X | X | |
| Swift | Apus apus | X | X | ||
| Tawny Owl | Strix aluco | X | |||
| Tree Sparrow | Passer montanus | X | X | ||
| Treecreeper | Certhia familiaris | X | X | X | |
| Whitethroat | Sylvia communis | X | X | ||
| Willow Warbler | Phylloscopus trochilus | X | X | ||
| Woodpigeon | Columba palumbus | X | X | X | |
| Wren | Troglodytes troglodytes | X | X | X | |
| Yellowhammer | Emberiza citrinella | X | X | X |
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© Ryedale Natural History Society 2003
Page last modified 13th July 2003