Brown Shrike


The Brown Shrike is a very rare visitor to our shores from Eastern Europe and most of the few records are on the east coast of Great Britain. So when one turned up in West Yorkshire (so near to Barnsley) this was a major bird watching event. This was a first ever record for West Yorkshire.

The bird was discovered on Sunday 18th October and stayed until Thursday 22nd October. In that time most Barnsley birdwatchers made the short journey to South Kirby to see the bird, many wishing that the bird could fly another couple of miles into the Barnsley recording area.
Keep safe and hope to see you all soon. Ron and Joyce

Scilly Isles’ Stick Insects

On Colin and Linda’s visit to the Scilly Isles they too saw many birds but also spotted … stick insects!

Amazingly Linda says that there are four stick insect species on the Isles of Scilly and this species was from New Zealand originally, 150 years ago. They were accidentally brought in with plants for Tresco Abbey Gardens and have survived in the milder climate on the Scillies.

Galls at Worsbrough

On September 1st , Pat and I found a gall at Worsbrough near Barnsley, which an I-spot user has since identified as the mite Aceria fraxinivora. We have never observed this gall previously, anywhere.

On the same occasion, we spotted a leaf on a Rosa shrub which was infected with either orange galls or a rust fungus. I would be interested for any comments on the cause of this. Arthur

Boylins – July 2020

Some Barnsley Nats members gathered on Wednesday evening at the Strafford mine water treatment scheme near Stainborough for a socially-distanced field visit. Mainly looking at and admiring the matrix of flowering plants in this former industrial site. Images to follow.

A Broad Leaved Helleborine SE 321039 found by Kent and Doug that Wednesday in a wooded area near Boylins.

White-letter Hairstreaks and other butterflies

Yesterday I spotted two White-letter Hairsteak butterflies between Silkstone and Barnsley when on our dog walk from home yesterday. There were nine different species of butterfly on one tiny clump of thistles. The photo with the Ringlet shows their different sizes. Julia

Cardinal in Ardsley

Cardinal beetle on ox eye daisies at Ardsley -I saw it and then of course managed to knock it off into the undergrowth before photographing it.

After 10 mins or so I fortunately managed to relocate it due to it being roughly the same colour and size as a ferrari amongst the green-ness. I hope you like the “dreamlike” effect I created by the soft focus! Pete W.

Great Yorkshire Creature Count

The Great Yorkshire Creature Count: 24 hours in search of the wildlife on our doorsteps took place on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st June.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is on a mission to count all the plants and animals that are hiding in our gardens, yards and window boxes in just 24 hours – and they need our help! https://www.ywt.org.uk/great-yorkshire-creature-count

A number of Barnsley naturalists took up this worthwhile challenge.