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This beautiful dainty and rare butterfly is on the wing at the moment but it won’t be for long. If you want to catch a glimpse then head up the Chevin now! The Green Hairstreak holds its wings closed, except in flight, showing only the green underside with its faint white streak. They are found in dry, scrubby habitats, including moorland and heathland, the caterpillars feed on a variety of plants, including gorse, broom and bilberry. By River Six Photo by Pixabay

This was one of those rare moments of awe in the ordinary. Whilst out for a walk I paused as I often do by the river to take in the movement and see who is darting around. As I turned around I was struck by the beauty of a natural green wall. The crumbling wall by the river at Wharfebank Mills has been colonised by a variety of wild green plants, one in particular glistened and almost glowed in the light, the opposite leaved golden-saxifrage. This is a creeping perennial of w

Not commonly seen on the wing before April, this bee was seen in mid March, another sign of the changing climate perhaps. Tawny mining bees are one of our most recognisable spring-flying solitary bees with dense gingery (orange/red) hair, although unlike birds, the males are not as striking or noticeable as the females. The Tawny mining bee is what we call a solitary bee, as they don’t live in a hive like the honey bee. They will however still nest in large groups and the vol

This fungus can be seen all year round in Otley, and its descriptive name makes it relatively easy to identify, although its colour varies from grey to black. Alternative names refer to its suitability as tinder: Tinder Polypore, Tinder Fungus, False Tinder Fungus and Tinder Conk. Otzi, the 5000 year old natural mummy found in the Alps, was carrying this fungus for tinder, and so it is also sometimes called Ice Man Fungus. It gets a foothold on tree trunks through broken bark

There are more than 30 species of rabbit around the world, the one we see in Otley is the European rabbit. Whilst not native, actually introduced by the Normans for food and fur are now widely naturalised across the UK. Now is a good time to see them as they are breeding like rabbits with the coming of spring. European rabbits have long ears without black tips and long hind legs; their colouring is sandy and less reddish than brown hare. The rabbit is smaller than the hare an

These sturdy trees with their dense foliage and heart-shaped leaves, are valuable to a range of wildlife, including invertebrates such as aphids who thrive on the sap. They in turn create a honeydew loved by bees and produced in such quantities that it drips down on to leaves and for example cars parked below. Cultures throughout Europe have long valued the tree, too. In Poland there are many villages whose name translates as “Holy Lime”, and in Germany the name Leipzig is al

Coltsfoot Spring is my favourite time of year, more and more wildflowers appear every walk I take at the moment. If every month had a colour, I think April’s would be yellow, with Daffodils, Dandelions and Coltsfoot! These bright sunshine yellow flower heads, appear one per scaly stem, before the leaves emerge. They are a member of the daisy family and the flower head is actually a collection of florets (tiny flowers), it is another early source of nectar for bees and other p

Whilst picking stinging nettles, a dark metallic blue catches the light and draws my eye. This beetle measuring around 7mm in length feeds mainly on Alder but is occasionally found on other deciduous trees such as Beech, Hazel and Hornbeam. It overwinters as adults, I have spotted one checking into my minibeast hotel for a winter stay, they emerge in the spring. Alder leaf beetles were considered extinct in Britain with almost no records of it between 1946 and 2003! But in 20

Right now distinctive little white flowers that will later become miniature, juicy red strawberries can be spotted on the edges of woodland, scrubland and along our old railway line. There are not actually the ancestor of the commercial strawberries we will all be buying in the summer, but the wild strawberry does have an excellent flavour. With long, rooting runners, it spreads quickly and low to the ground. Evidence from archaeological excavations suggests that wild strawbe

Seen in Otley: COOT: A common and often noisy presence on Otley’s ponds and lakes, Coots are omnivores yet often struggle to feed their large broods of chicks. It’s not unusual for many to die of starvation, and the parents can be quite brutal to weaker members of a brood during food-shortages, attacking them when they beg, so that they stop doing so and die. Like their close relative the Moorhen, they’re known for their prominent frontal shields, which give rise to the “bald

If you have never tried before, now is the time to pick stinging nettles, with some good gloves obviously, just pick out the tender most tips. Before eating them, cooking is essential to take out the sting, they are delicious steamed with a little butter like spinach or blended with some wild garlic to make an irresistible pesto. A patch of stinging nettles should be easy to find, it prefers damp, fertile, disturbed ground, which make it an excellent coloniser of places enric

The Wood Anemone grows in dappled shade, claiming their share of the sunlight before the trees put on their leaves and the bluebells bloom. Wood anemone are a low-growing plants, with six to seven large, white star like flowers. They grow in clusters, to make the most of a sunny patch under the canopy and because it relies on spreading through the growth of its root structure rather than the dispersal of its seed. As a species it's surprisingly slow to spread (six feet in a h

What’s that whiff, if you pick up a foul smell whilst out walking now it might be you have caught the scent of Dog’s mercury. In appearance, it’s quite unassuming, maybe 20cm tall with hairy, course leaves and in the spring clusters of small, green flowers. At first glance, this perennial plant appears innocuous, but this couldn’t be further from the truth, Dog's mercury is highly poisonous, ingestion of this plant can lead to vomiting, jaundice, coma and eventually death, so

Also known as Goosegrass or Catchweed, the Cleavers name is thanks to this sticky plant’s tendency to ‘cleave’ to human clothing or animal fur. There's an urban myth that this plant’s stickiness was what inspired the creation of velcro, but in fact it was burdock seeds, known as burrs. However they use the same method of dispersion as cleavers, both are covered with hundreds of microscopic ‘hooks’ that catch onto the natural ‘loops’ that cover fur, clothing and hair. Cleavers

Another riverside spot, a pretty parasite! This perennial completely lacks chlorophyll (the green pigment that allows plants to obtain energy from light), which gives it an intriguing washed out creamy pink look. Common toothwort spends most of its life underground, rather than make its own food it attaches pad-like suckers to the tips of roots of a host plant. Hosts are usually woody plants, its favourite host is Hazel, but will also attach to Ash, Alder, Beech, Elm and Waln

Whilst walking along the river at this time of year, look out for what looks like a dropped pom pom of some kind. This pink, tassled flower thrives on moist ground, so along the river and in damp ditches is the place to look.The flower spike is made up of lots of tightly packed small flowers (making it a prized stop for early bees) and appear before the leaves. The large round rhubarb-like leaves will be very familiar to walkers as they can be 1m wide! It gets its name Butter

The bright yellow flowers of this extremely thorny evergreen are at their best in spring, though it has a reputation for being virtually always in flower, hence the old country joke “When gorse is out of blossom, kissing’s out of fashion”. This impression is due to different species flowering at different times. Around Otley you could see some at Christmas. As well as being protective, the thorns actually do most of the plant’s photosynthesising, rather than the tiny leaves.

Not as large and loud as the Great Tit, or as colourful or cute as the Blue and Long-tailed varieties, the Coal Tit’s latin name translates as “dull black” tit, though this under-plays its subtle colouring somewhat. The brilliant white nape (back of the head) helps identification. Like Long-tailed Tits, flocks keep in touch with each other with seemingly incessant high-pitched ee-ee calls. With the advent of spring, these flocks will be breaking up as birds make nests in hole

The Song Thrush is a familiar bird, brown above, with a white belly covered in black, drop-shaped spots, they are a smaller bird than the Mistle Thrush. Until we built all our houses and gardens everywhere, song thrushes were woodland birds, relying on their song to advertise their territory occupancy and health to neighbours and potential mates. In habitats that can be dark and visually obstructive, a good song makes sense. As their name suggests, song thrushes have a very d

Its spectacular plumage can seem a bit out of place against the dark waters of the Wharfe, but even so, a Kingfisher can be tricky to spot on its fishing perch. Listen out for its high-pitched whistling for a clue as to its whereabouts. It's not just the iridescent blue of its wings and head that is gobsmacking - "an azure jewel burning" - the chestnut of its chest is beautiful, too. Incredibly, this colouring is not due to pigment in the feathers, but to their structure, whi