{"id":15798,"date":"2026-07-06T16:30:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T15:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marfell.me.uk\/wordpress\/?p=15798"},"modified":"2026-07-06T16:30:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T15:30:18","slug":"northcliffe-wood-ben-rhydding-gravel-pits-28-march-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marfell.me.uk\/wordpress\/northcliffe-wood-ben-rhydding-gravel-pits-28-march-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Northcliffe Wood & Ben Rhydding Gravel Pits. 28 March 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n

Some photos from a couple of places I visited on 28 March 2026, Northcliffe Wood and Ben Rhydding Gravel Pits Local Nature Reserve – one of the Wharfedale Naturalists Nature Reserves<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The header image is a head-on view of a male Broad Bodied Chaser dragonfly resting at the new small pond at Ben Rhydding Gravel Pits. You can see more related posts here – Ben Rhydding Gravel Pits LNR<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As usual you can tap\/touch\/click on an image to see it in better quality in the carousel gallery with an i<\/em> for more information. And if you like what you see please click on one or more of the Share <\/em>buttons at the bottom.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Northcliffe Wood<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\"Treecreeper\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"Great<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

On this visit I only had time to walk up into the wood, look around for a few minutes, then set off back. But I did manage to spot a Treecreeper and get a photo of one of several Great Spotted Woodpecker that were around. There were also Jays, Blackbirds, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Ring Necked Parakeets, and several others around.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Ben Rhydding Gravel Pits Local Nature Reserve<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

These photos from Ben Rhydding Gravel Pits Local Nature Reserve are, apart from one photo of the Broad Bodies Chaser, all in the order in which they were taken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The things I found most interesting were:-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • The Mayfly looking as though it was being eaten by the Spider.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The pair of Brimstone butterflies flitting about with the female sticking her body up in the air.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The mass of flying insects in various levels of focus in the same frame as the Mayflies in flight. Given that there would only a few centimetres over which the insects would be visible before being too out of focus the numbers of them must be phenomenal.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The empty gall of the Bramble-stem Gall Wasp, Diastrophus rubi<\/em>. I have not seen one before.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
    \n
    \"Red<\/figure><\/div>
    \"Large<\/figure>
    \"Common<\/figure><\/div><\/div>
    \"Azure<\/figure><\/div>
    \"Singing<\/figure>
    \"Mayfly<\/figure>
    \"Chiffchaff\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div>
    \"Orchid\"<\/figure><\/div>
    \"Flower<\/figure><\/div><\/div>
    \"Brimstone<\/figure><\/div>
    \"Brimstone<\/figure><\/div><\/div>
    \"Azure<\/figure><\/div>
    \"Gall\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div>
    \"Dragonfly\"<\/figure><\/div>
    \"Dragonfly\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div>
    \"Dragonfly\"<\/figure><\/div>
    \"Banded<\/figure><\/div>
    \"Shieldbug\"<\/figure><\/div>
    \"Mayflies\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
    \n

    Track<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    The squiggles show where I wandered taking the photos. You can move around the map by dragging, you can also zoom in or out, or make the map full screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n