Yorkshire Status: Scarce and local resident.

This reed-feeding species was unknown to Porritt and since our first record at Spurn in 1988 has spread rapidly north and west, reaching VC62 in 1995, VC63 in 1996, VC64 in 1997 and VC65 in 2012. It is now regular on low ground in the eastern half of the county but is unlikely to expand much further due to a lack of reed beds on the higher ground. Numbers vary a lot from year to year but it seems to be doing well. It has a tendency to wander and can turn up in places away from common reed such as gardens.

Sutton & Beaumont, 1989: A colony of this south-eastern species has existed in south Lincolnshire for some years (Duddington & Johnson, 1983). The record below is the first specimen to be recorded in Yorkshire and it is the most northerly in Britain so far (MBGBI 10 map 140). A single specimen on 8.9.1988 at Spurn (B. R. Spence).

Recorded in 69 (35%) of 200 10k Squares.
First Recorded in 1988.
Last Recorded in 2024.
Additional Stats