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| the water fowl were hiding in the reeds at first |
A beautiful afternoon for my first June visit to the reserve. The sun was shining, it was 18C. with a light breeze. As I opened the gate a male Blackbird hurriedly scurried into the undergrowth from where it had been foraging on the bare area left by the wood chip. Here is what else I saw ( Manx names in brackets where known):
Birds: (Ushagyn)
SC210694 male Blackbird (Lhon Doo) .
SC209694 ( Hide) Mallard (Thunnagh Feie) duck with 1 duckling; Moorhen (Kiark Ushtey); Chaffinch (Ushag y Cloau) heard not seen; Magpie (Pieanat); Woodpigeon (Calmane Keylley).
SC209694 (elsewhere) Woodpigeon (Calmane Keylley); Song Thrush (Threshlen) heard not seen; Goldfinch (Lossey ny Keylley); Great Tit (Drean Mooar); Chaffinch (Ushag y Cloau).
SC208694 Chiffchaff (Beealerey) heard not seen; male & female Chaffinch (Ushag y Cloau) seen separately; Great Tit (Drean Mooar); Blackcap (Bayrn Dhoo) heard not seen; male Blackbird (Lhon Doo) on gorse near boardwalk; female Pheasant (Kiark Cheylley) with 1 chick.
SC208695 Blue Tit (Drean Gorrym)and Great Tit (Drean Mooar) on feeders.
SC208695 (elsewhere) Blackcap (Bayrn Dhoo)flew down from tree into heart of brambles; male Blackbird (Lhon doo) in tree; Blue Tit (Drean Gorrym) going in and out of nest box; Great tit (Drean in tree.
Butterflies & Moths : (Foillycanyn as Lhemeenyn)
SC208694 Painted Lady (Foillycan yn Onnane); Speckled Wood (Breck ny Keylley); Meadow Brown (Donnag yn Aiyr); Common Blue (Gorrymag Chadjin); unidentified White (Baneag).
SC209694 Painted Lady(Foillycan yn Onnane); Small Copper (Cobbyrag Veg); Unidentified Whites (Baneagyn)x 3.
SC208695 Speckled Wood (Breck ny Keylley).
SC209695 Speckled Wood (Breck ny Keylley).
SC209694 Light Brown Apple Moth (Manx unknown).
Other: (Reddyn Elley)
SC209694 large Tegenaria Spider species in hide.
SC209694 Caddisfly on exterior hide door frame.
SC209693 Water-dropwort Brown, Depressaria daucella, Larvae on Hemlock Water Dropwort flowers.
SC209694 Nettle Tap Moth.
SC209693 here and throughout reserve Honey Bees on Hemlock Water Dropwort
SC209693 unidentified Hoverflies on Hemlock Water Dropwort.
SC208695 nymphs of Grypocoris stysi bugs on Hogweed buds
Although the pond looked deserted when I opened the shutters, I suddenly heard a great commotion and it seemed that the mother duck had lead her surviving duckling right past the Moorhen through the reeds. The Moorhen objected with a loud squawk and the Mallard made a hasty exit onto the water. The noticeboard ( see A last look at May post) suggested that a Heron had almost got a duckling and this perhaps explains why both the Mallard and Moorhen seem to have lost their young.
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| the Mallard Duck and duckling quickly resumed feeding |
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| three of the ducklings were sadly absent |
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| an indignant Moorhen in the reeds |
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| it too came out later..... |
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| to swim and feed |
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| Blue Tits are being kept busy feeding nestlings |
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| Great Tit |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Blackbird near the bridge |
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| Speckled Wood |
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| Painted Lady - there are lots of these immigrants this year |
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| the first Meadow Brown I have seen this year |
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| Small Copper |
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| Nettle Tap Moth |
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| Light Brown Apple Moth |
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| Larval Web of Bird Cherry Ermine Moth |
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| you can see the Bird Cherry fruit developing |
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| Depressaria daucella caterpillar ( Water-dropwort Brown) |
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| Caddisfly species |
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| Hogweed attracting Hoverfies |
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| at first sight I thought these were aphids |
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| but on closer inspection they proved to be bug nymphs |
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| Tegenaria species spider in the hide |
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| Ox-eye daisies near the path junction |
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| bare area left by wood chip pile - Blackbird was foraging here |
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| Hemlock Water Dropwort flowers near the entrance |
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| "usual view" of hide! |
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| a sunlit glade |
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| woodchip paths following the recent work party |
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| a new "usual view" perhaps? |
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| view from the hide ramp |
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| a peaceful sunny afternoon |
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| looking through the shutters |
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| everything in luxurious growth |
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| the meadow |
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| a different area of the meadow |
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| looking back across the meadow from the boardwalk |
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| no difficulty finding the bridge this week! |
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| there was plenty of birdsong in the willow copse.... |
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| but it was hard to spot any birds in the canopy! |
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| looking towards the compost area |
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| heading for the boardwalk |
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| usual view from the boardwalk |
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| underneath the ashes |
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| usual views of the dragonfly pond |
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| I saw no Dragonflies or Damselflies this week |
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| leaving the gorse boundary path behind me |
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| emerging from the gorse boundary path..... |
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| and heading back to the hide briefly before going home |
And to finish, a brief video of a Depressaria daucella caterpillar weaving it's cocoon in which to pupate. The breeze was making the Hemlock Water Dropwort sway a lot, so I hope it doesn't make you feel seasick!
An enjoyable start to the month at Ballachurry. With many thanks to Steve Crellin, Kate Hawkins and Ian Scott for help with invertebrate identifications.
please click on photos to enlarge them
