Sightings:23rd May 2026. North Cave Wetlands. @northcavewet.bsky.social

Saturday, A Glossy ibis flew south over Crossland's lake in the morning, The drake Red crested pochard & 6 Whooper swans were on West Holm, 5+ Avocet chicks & 20+ Common terns, 4+ Little ringed plovers & 4 Ringed plovers were on East Holm, Bearded tits (5 juveniles) & 2 Bitterns on the Reed-bed,

Pale-bellied Brent Goose on West Holm, North Cave Wetlands today, the first record of this 'race' for the reserve, with all previous Brent Goose records having been of the more expected Dark-bellied form. @northcavewet.bsky.social

Sightings:22nd May 2026. North Cave Wetlands. @northcavewet.bsky.social

Friday, A Pale-bellied Brent goose was on West Holm, On East Holm there was 6 Ringed plovers, 5+ Little ringed plovers & 7+ pairs of Common terns, The family of 3 Eygptian geese goslings & 3 & 2 Oystercatcher chicks were present, Also seen was 2+ Bitterns, Bearded tits (3+ juveniles - Reed-bed)

Cuck-oo! Cuck-oo! 🐦 One of spring’s most iconic sounds, yet rarely seen. Our blogger @rodshelf.bsky.social set out in search of this elusive visitor… but did he manage to spot one? 👀 Read the blog to find out: www.ywt.org.uk/blog/rod-jones/cuckoo-west 🎥 Paul Wray - @northcavewet.bsky.social

Thursday, 2 Dunlins, 10 Ringed plovers & the 3 Oystercatcher chicks were on East Holm, Crossland's lake had the Eygptian goose family(still 3 goslings), plus 2 Barnacle geese, Also seen, another pair of Eygptian geese (Village lake), 2+ Bitterns about the reserve

Wednesday, The drake Red-crested pochard seen firstly on the Island lake & then back on East Holm, with yesterday's 2 6 Ringed plovers & Dunlins also there, Oystercatcher & Eygptian goose families were still around, with another pair of the later on the Village lake, Bittern & Marsh harrier Cell 'C'

Tuesday, On East Holm today, there was 6 Ringed plovers, 2 Dunlins, 3 Oystercatcher chicks & the drake Red-crested pochard, A Sanderling was on Crossland's causeway, In the morning, a Barn owl was hunting in Cell 'C', Also seen was Bittern (Cell 'C') & Marsh harrier

Insect of the day, was this Bramble sawfly, which given all the bramble that is about, will be common on the reserve. It is the larvae that are associated with brambles, the adults feeding on nectar & pollen from such plants as Hogweed

An Avocet family of 3 Chicks on East Holm this morning. There been 17 pairs sitting, these look a couple of days old, so are one of the 2 already hatched (the 1st of 4, have not been seen for a while, so my have been taken elsewhere). Probably when they are a little larger the same will happen

Brief Spoonbill on Cell 'A' this morning. Looks like it may be the same bird as seen last week. Flew off to the west, so I wonder if it was returning to a nearby colony?

Monday, A Spoonbill was briefly on Cell 'A' in the morning, before flying off west, The drake Red-crested pochard was on West Holm, 3 Avocet & 2 Oystercatcher chicks were on East Holm Also seen was Barn owl (morning in the New workings), a Whooper swan was with the swans on fields at West End,

Lots of damselflies @northcavewet.bsky.social today, putting my field guide to good use and gradually learning. Great when they stay put! This male Azure damselfly (Coenagrion puella) was thankfully very obliging.

‘Hazel and Brimstone’, great title for the next primetime cosy-crime duo 😂. A good day for insects @northcavewet.bsky.social between the showers @bcyorkshire.bsky.social. Elsewhere: cuckoos and roe deer

Hoping the inter-ocular bar and amount of blue on the abdomen enough to make this female my first Variable Damselfly (Coenagrion pulchellum) @northcavewet.bsky.social 🤞 @britishdragonflies.bsky.social

A not-yet-blue Common Blue Damselfly with prey this afternoon @northcavewet.bsky.social. Elsewhere: my first Hairy Dragonfly of the year

Sightings:17th May 2026. Inc WeBS Count Totals. North Cave Wetlands. @northcavewet.bsky.social

The 8 Shelduck ducklings on East Holm this morning, 3 days old & doing well, there is another family of 8 on the reserve, but they have not been seen recently, so may be in the New workings. Usually only 2 pairs breed, maybe more will do this year

Insect of the day, was this Common Mourning bee by the Carp lake. A solitary cuckoo bee, which is a cleptoparasite of Hairy footed flower bees (which shows that we also have this species on the reserve)

Variable damselflies are back, with a female today by the Carp lake. A few individuals were seen in 2024, with none being seen in 2025. Given the recent northerly winds, it is unlikely to have comme from the nearest colony on the Humber, so may indicate that we have a small population on the reserve

Just now there are quite a few Red-eyed damselflies in the brambles by the Carp lake seat. This is the time to see them as soon they will be spending most of their life in the centre of the lakes Female with prey this morning

Sunday, A Turnstone briefly on East Holm in the morning, the Temminck's stint, Dunlin, a stooping Peregrine & Shelduck family (8 ducklings) also there, Also Barn owl (morning in the New workings) & an Oystercatcher chick on Crossland's lake (this was hatched on the Main lake about 2 weeks ago)

Had a quick drive out to the fab @northcavewet.bsky.social @northcavebirds.bsky.social this morning to get the Temminck’s Stint as none can be bothered to drop into Swinemoor! Ha! Nice County tick. #eastyorksbirding

Another insect of the day, a female Platycheirus peltatus (Meadow Boxer) in flight this morning

Insect of the day, is I think Eupeodes luniger from the New workings. A migrant species so I wonder where it has come from?

Some butterflies from this morning, with 12 Orange tips & 9 Painte dladies seen. When the sun comes out, so will the Butterflies!

Saturday, Just the Temminck's stint on East Holm was present today, A Common sandpiper & the Eygptian goose family were on Crossland's lake, Also seen was Marsh harrier, Cuckoo & Yellowhammer (New workings) Bumblebees - Common carder, Garden & Tree bumblebees,

Insect of a dull day was this Helophilius pendulas, 'The Footballer' due to it's stripy thorax, or sometimes the 'Sunfly' (but not so much today!)

Friday, The 2 Temminck's stints were still separately on East Holm & Crossland's causeway, 2 Common sandpipers were on Crossland's lake, A brood of 8 Shelducks on East Holm, now 2 Avocet families hatched (3 & 4 chicks), Also seen Bittern (Village lake), Yellow wagtail & Yellowhammer (New workings)

Sightings:14th May 2026. North Cave Wetlands. @northcavewet.bsky.social

Temminck's Stint on East Holm, North Cave Wetlands this morning, one of two birds present today with a second bird found on Crosslands Lake Causeway this afternoon. @northcavewet.bsky.social

Insect of the day, is the common Cercopis vulnerata, a species of Froghopper. The nymphs are rarely seen as they spend their time underground

For the last week 4 Whooper swans have roosted on East Holm & then spent the day with Mute swans in fields by the West End. Will they summer with us, or continue their journey to Iceland (but probably not be able to breed?)

Thursday, A Temminck's stint was on East Holm in the late morning. in the afternoon a 2nd individual wason Crossland's causeway, 4 Whooper swans & 2 Dunlin were on East Holm in the early morning, A female Shelduck with at least 6 ducklings was seen walking down the East path in the early morning,

It's been a good spring for Large red damselflies with 7 or 8 individuals seen This one was by the Butterfly path & given the state of today's weather was reluctant to move from it's sheltered spot Never realised the subtle colouring of the thorax before

Todays' insect (one of the few that did not take cover under dome of the heavy showers) Tipula luna, quite a common cranefly here, also known as the Moon cranefly

Wednesday, 4 Whooper swans roosted on East Holm, flying out to the West End to feed, An Oystercatcher & 3 chicks were on the East Holm shore, On Crossland's causeway, there were 2 Ringed plovers & a Common sandpiper, Also seen was Red kite, Cuckoo & single Eygptian goose on the Village lake

Despite the conditions, this Red-eyed damselfly showed well on a leaf. They have been around for about a week & will soon transfer themselves to the pond weed on the Carp lake

Insect of a chilly & showery day, was this Scorpion fly (Panorpa communis). The 1st of many that I will see this year, an unmistakeable part of our insect fauna

Tuesday, 4 Whooper swans again roosted on East Holm & fed in fields by the West End, The drake Red-crested pochard appeared on East Holm again, Also seen, several Cuckoos, Tawny owl, Dryham farm & 3 Hobbies,

Two flies from this morning, Empis tessellata - The largest of the 'Dagger' flies, quite common on the reserve, feeding on smaller flies, Yellow dung fly - Again a common fly on the reserve feeding on the feces of large animals (so they probably feed on those of the Hebridean sheep)

Not a good photo, but a good sign was that the Crosslands Island Oystercatcher pair have 3 youngsters (who obviously swam across the lake) to be fed on the East Holm shore

Monday, Pair of Eygptian geese on West Holm, with the 'family' on Crossland's lake, Singing Corn bunting, Tawny owl & Yellow wagtail in the New workings, A Redshank, at least 7 pairs of Common tern, a 1st year Mediterranean gull (with the other gulls) & 3 Oystercatcher chicks, all on East Holm,

A blustery day @northcavewet.bsky.social and damselflies were being quite discreet 🐉. A number of young female Red-eyed Damselflies visible in the morning. @britishdragonflies.bsky.social

A chunky bristle fly 🪰 @northcavewet.bsky.social today. Tachina fera showing off its hair style.

End of Day 3 and the final total of the Big Weekend Bird Count at North Cave Wetlands is 105 species. Just 2 new species added on today's last day shown in Blue were Treecreeper and Lesser Whitethroat. @northcavewet.bsky.social

Male & female Azure damselflies @northcavewet.bsky.social today. @britishdragonflies.bsky.social

Fab day with @yorkbirding.bsky.social At Spurn, Sammy's point and @northcavewet.bsky.social Lots of Great birds, and Whimbrels turned up everywhere DB Brent geese B Brant Cuckoo Tawny Owl R+LR Plovers Knot Bar-tailed godwits Med Gulls Yellow wagtails Avocets C Terns Wheatear

Insect of the day, was this Red-headed Cardinal beetle by the Carp lake seat. A colourful sight to the walk, this one was sun-bathing on a nearby leaf