More Flowers and More from Gibraltar

Tuesday, April 11th 2023

Although the weather is not what you would call spring-like, flowers are still opening.

Dandelions are not the most welcome flower in a garden. At Foxglove some are just joining the other yellow flowers on show. They provide an important food source at this time of year. I spotted this one and as you can see there are some tiny beetles right down in amongst the petals.

Wood Anemones have shown their delicate white flowers in the usual place near the wetland. I took this photo in the morning but when I returned it had dulled in and the flowers were almost closed.

Walking along Risedale Beck something white caught my eye and on closer inspection was found to be Wood Sorrel. Just a few had opened but there will be more to come. Some of the flowers are clearly marked with purple lines. These are lines that insects can see, probably not in the same way as we can, that guide them to the nectar.

Out in Gibraltar the team continue to ring a variety of birds. These are Woodchat Shrikes, the female is on the left and male, more brightly coloured is on the right. These birds like open woodlands and feed on insects.

There are also sightings of butterflies, like this Speckled Wood. Painted Lady butterflies have also been seen.

This is a Striped Hawkmoth, which is a migrant to our shores as it is unable to survive our winters. It is recorded most years around the UK in small numbers, mainly in the south-west, southern England and southern Ireland.

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Access to the Reserve: OPEN with limited access

Monday 18th March 2024 |

The reserve is now open, although again with limited access.

Visitors will be able to access the reserve with the use of key fobs provided at the pass office upon entrance to the camp, or will be provided entrance and exit through the access gate by an officer from the camp Guard Room. In this case visitors will need a mobile phone to call the Guard Room when they wish to exit the reserve.

Please be aware that due to these circumstances, entering and leaving the reserve might take a little longer than usual.