Natural History in Barnsley
Wednesday 18 May saw our annual evening visit to the Gunthwaite area, walking from Gunthwaite dam to Gunthwaite Hall Farm: ancient paved tracks, field paths, hedgerows, pastures, woodland and an impressive veteran tree.
There were lots of woodland flowering plants alongside the tracks and in the woodlands, although this year the summer migrant birds were missing.
Eight Barnsley Naturalists joined the Yorkshire Naturalists Union Botany Group exploring the flora of the springs and fens of the magnesium limestone just over the Barnsley border, near Barnburgh. An impressive area with an array of Great Horsetail described as primeval!
There was a change of plan for our field visit on Saturday 9 April. We went to Nabs Wood near Silkstone Common looking for the first woodland flowers. Nabs Wood is a Woodland Trust site. We were intending to go to Bagger Wood and the nearby Lower Lee Wood, which are Woodland Trust woods as well. However both of these have had recent work done and looked rather bare. As well as the emerging flowers, we looked for invertebrates and fungi
On Saturday morning, 12 March, we visited Carlton Marsh Nature Reserve. A mix of reedbed, fen, scrapes, marsh, meadows and wet woodland makes Carlton Marsh a great place to visit, enjoy some birding, and spot signs of Spring!
Cliff Gorman who has been involved with Carlton Marsh over many years joined us and posted this account on the Barnsley Bird Sightings blog:
The Barnsley Naturalist Society visited this morning providing the following:
4 Buzzards in the air together, 5 singing Chiffchaffs, 1 singing Cetti’s warbler, 3 singing Reed Buntings, 1 yaffling Green Woodpecker, 1 Linnet, 1 Greenfinch, a male Grey Wagtail and 6 Common Gulls.
The first flowers of Cowslip were showing in the western Meadow along with Dogs Mercury and White Dead Nettle on the embankment.
4 Smooth Newts and a Froglet from last year were found under an old sleeper and a Lemon Slug was under a rock.
A fresh dead Wood Mouse was another interesting find.
It was really good to see old friends from this group again, I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. Thank you for coming and being so enthusiastic.
Elsecar Nature Reserve
Better than the terrible forecast! An enjoyable damp walk around the reservoir and willow carr. Impressive number of goosanders on the res.
Saturday 11 December: Broomhill Flash and Wombwell Ings
Our birding visit started at the Garganey Trust hide at Broomhill Flash; we then walked down to Wombwell Ings and looked over both the Ings and the Fleet. Now part of new Dearne Valley SSSI.
Saturday 13 November: Dodworth pitstack
Our visit to Dodworth pitstack concentrated on identifying fungi in the grassland and woodland found there. A number of plants including polypody, were also recorded.
Saturday 2 October: Wortley Hall parkland and walled garden.
Doug and Barry led us on a visit last Saturday to Wortley Hall for fungi and veteran trees. A good visit made more exciting by Doug’s earlier discovery of a special rare fungus: one that parasitises and grows out of another!
The greyish parasite fungus (the Powdercap Strangler, Squamanta paradoxa) grows out of the much more common yellow host fungus (Earthy Powdercap)
Saturday 28 August: A good number of naturalists visited the Banks Renewables site with its heathland habitat, with lots of interest.
Saturday 23 July saw the Yorkshire Naturalists Union yearly meeting for south-west Yorkshire. We met near Monk Bretton Priory and walked downstream along the river Dearne. Unfortunately there was torrential rain but we made our way through the dense vegetation along one side of the river, had lunch sheltering under a viaduct, and after some botanising in a meadow made our way back along the other side.
Midsummer in a Worsbrough meadow
Our first Nats evening nature walk in 2021 was on Wednesday 23 June to Worsbrough Country Park. We used the wider paths and more open areas to help with social distancing.
We enjoyed exploring the flowering plants in a meadow and seeing chimney sweeper moths in an area with their food plant pignut
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.
Saturday 14th March
On this field visit we will be led by Doug Brown; looking at the trees in Cawthorne Park.
With the recent restoration work in the park it is expected to still be muddy in places. Please dress for the weather
The meeting point will be the main car park at Cannon Hall; SE272079, post code S754AT. Meeting for our usual 10am start. This is a pay and display car park, £1 for two hours and £3 for all day. For anybody travelling by bus you need the 94 route from Barnsley. This is a limited service on Saturdays. Please check time with the service operators; it is a approximately one hour travel time and then a walk to the meeting point.
On Saturday 8th February, we have a field visit to Rockley. Our leader for this will be Geoff Jackson. There is usually plenty to see on our, now annual, visit to Rockley. As the weather is some mild just now we could be in for some early sightings.
We will be meeting at 10:00 am at the car parking area for Rockley Furnace on Rockley Lane which is opposite to the entrance to Rockley Abbey Farm S75 3DS (Grid Ref. SE337020). Please take care not to block any of the residents access when parking. If needs be please park under the MI flyover and walk back down to the meeting point
The area is usually quite muddy; please dress for the weather; boots, hats, gloves etc…
Our field visit on the morning of 11 January is a circular walk along Barnsley Canal and Wilthorpe Marsh.
We are meeting at 10am in the car park down Smithies Lane opposite The Fleets (a former pub now a Barnsley College sports centre).
Grid Reference: SE346078. Postcode S71 1NL.
If the car park is full, there are local side streets. Bus number 12 runs regularly down Smithies Lane: the 09.37 and 09.52 buses from Barnsley Interchange get there for 10am.
Looking forward to seeing everyone
