ILKLEY CAMERA CLUB NATURAL HISTORY GROUP

FIELD TRIP TO BISHOP MONKTON RAILWAY CUTTING, A YORKSHIRE WILDLIFE RESERVE - 20 AUGUST 2011

In the event most of us were busy in August so the trip was populated by Julia, Len and Doreen, (Len’s wife who was interested in the Botany)

We arrived at the Bishop Monkton Railway Cutting, a Yorkshire Wildlife Reserve at about ten in the morning. The cutting is an unused railway cutting set into chalk type soil providing for an interesting range of plants. We feared we were a bit late for the flowers but the trip did not disappoint with more than we expected and quite a wide variety in bloom with attendant insects, mainly bees, hover flies and butterflies. The latter were not in a mood to settle much but some images were captured.

	Flowers in the cutting

We soon had tripods out and mainly macro lenses on. The main attractions were the flowers of course. Meadow sweet greeted us in abundance with hover flies and a slightly tatty peacock butterfly in attendance. The orchid photographed on the previous trip was there but well over. Other flowers of interest included smooth sow thistle,  Great Willow Herb, masses of marjoram, spikes of agrimony and the semi-parasitic plant red bartsia. The reserve will be worth visiting again in the Spring.

Smooth Sow Thistle

Meadow Sweet

The weather was warm and sunny with passing clouds with a breeze that did not help as it was blowing straight down the cutting.

Len had a go at one of the many bees with mixed success and later homed in on a slug in the wet area at the end of the cutting.

The bee and the slug

© Ilkley Camera Club 2012