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| mid summer, Ballachurry Reserve |
What a sizzler! Temperatures were predicted to reach 28C. in places on Thursday. Ballachurry Reserve was a good option for such a hot day, having plenty of shade and benefiting from the breeze too. Suitably sun-creamed and sun-hatted I arrived at the reserve just after 9.a.m. and took my usual route to the Hide where I found the door and shutters all left open. Here is what I recorded:
Birds:
SC210694 Wren heard not seen.
SC209694 ( hide) Moorhen x 2 ; Blackcap heard not seen.
SC209694 ( elsewhere) 2 x Goldfinch flying across; Long-tailed Tit x 3; Willow Warbler; Wren; Blackcap near the dragonfly pond; female Blackbird flew up near path junction; later a female Blackbird flew up from drinking at the dragonfly pond and the male Blackbird flew off with her from nearby tree; Dunnock; Woodpigeon flying over; Goldfinch heard not seen; Magpie.
SC209693 Long-Tailed Tit; Willow Warbler; Blue Tit; Goldfinches flying over.
SC208694 Blue Tit contact call heard but not seen; Buzzard seen flying up from low position in reserve; Song Thrush with beak full of worms; 2 x Great Tit; Blackbird flying across; Chaffinch heard not seen; Blackcap heard not seen; Long-tailed tit x 3 in willows.
SC208695 ( feeders) Blue Tit; Great Tit; female Chaffinch; Greenfinch.
SC208695 ( elsewhere) Wren heard not seen; Blackcap heard not seen.
Butterflies and Moths:
SC209694 Red Admiral sighted 4 times in different locations around reserve.
SC208694 a Meadow Brown was making a hasty retreat from the meadow where it was being mobbed by 2 Common Blues much smaller than itself. I was reminded of the way Buzzards are hassled by smaller Corvids! Speckled Wood x 2.
Sc209694 Speckled Wood.
SC209695 Speckled Wood.
SC208695 Speckled Wood.
SC208695 Meadow Brown.
SC209694 Large unidentified moth flew up into tree from near dragonfly pond.
SC208694 Silver Ground Carpet Moth.
SC209694 Silver Y Moth.
Sc209694 Depressaria daucella caterpillars on Hemlock Water Dropwort.
Other:
I was not surprised to see the bench had been moved back into the shade at the dragonfly pond, given this week's heat wave. As predicted, the branch had been removed from the pond but I found it in the grass and put it back for the damselflies to perch on . I found an extra large piece of woodchip on the path and wrote a plea on it in biro to leave the branch in place, but whether this will do the trick I don't know.
SC209694 Large Red Damselfly; Blue Tailed Damselfly, Common Darter did a very quick fly-over twice but did not stop.
SC210695 female Common Blue Damselfly.
SC209694 several large, undeveloped tadpoles ( Peter Pan syndrome?)
SC209694 Whirlygig beetle; Greater Water Boatman.
SC209693 Great Pied Hoverfly.
SC209694 Great Pied Hoverfly.
SC209694 Viper's Bugloss ( Echium vulgare) flowering on hide roof
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| Blackbird |
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| Dunnock |
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| Great Tit |
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| Blue Tit |
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| Feeder station |
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| an observation hole has been cut in the dead hedge |
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| juvenile Long-tailed tit in Hawthorn |
Notice the foliage on this Hawthorn tree where the Long-tailed Tit was photographed. Several Hawthorns on the Reserve look like this with scorched leaves. I am a bit concerned that they may have Fireblight, a fungal disease.
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| Long-tailed Tit another juvenile I think. |
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| adult Moorhen |
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| I think this was a juvenile Moorhen |
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| parent Song Thrush |
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| Speckled Wood |
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| Red Admiral |
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| Possibly a large Yellow Underwing Moth - to be identified |
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| Depressaria daucella caterpillars - tiny black head top left, much bigger larva bottom right |
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| Blue-tailed damselfly |
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| Large Red Damselfly |
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| female Common Blue damselfly |
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| another view of it near the gate |
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| Water Boatman |
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| these Tadpoles seem reluctant to grow up into Frogs |
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| Great Pied Hoverfly |
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| a very warm morning |
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the first part of my walk was mostly sunny.... |
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| and warm |
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| but other areas had more shade and a cooling breeze |
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| looking towards the path junction |
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| heading for the hide |
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| earlier visitors had left the door and shutters open |
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| a Vipers' Bugloss plant has seeded onto the hide roof - much loved by bees |
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| usual views through the shutters |
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| but not much to be seen on the water |
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| the main reed bed |
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| always pleased to see what others have seen |
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| just a pity the same people left graffiti on the elbow rest |
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| view from the ramp - a cloudless sky |
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| over the bridge into.... |
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| blisfull shade! |
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| I lingered here |
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| listening to the birdsong |
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| the end of the willow walk |
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| Meadowsweet in full flower near the boardwalk |
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| Looking back across the meadow from the boardwalk |
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| Boardwalk view to the hills |
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| another shady area - under the ashes |
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| looking back the other way |
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| heading along the gorse boundary |
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| to the dragonfly pond |
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| the bench is back in the shade |
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| I put the "dragonfly branch" back in place |
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| with a plea to leave it there |
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| thinking of "mad dogs & English (wo)men out in the midday sun" I decided to go home at 12 p.m. but it had been a "cool" place to spend the morning. |
please click on photos to enlarge them
Year of the Manx Language Blein ny Gaelgey 2026
By special request of an anonymous fan of the Blog, I am now listing the Manx names separately rather than after each bird or butterfly. Here is what was seen today:
Birds Ushagyn 🐦
Wren Drean; Moorhen Kiark Ushtey ; Blackcap Bayrn Dhoo; Goldfinch Lossey ny Keylley;
Long-tailed Tit Caillagh Veg Yn Arble; Willow Warbler Drean Vane; Blackbird Lhon Doo;
Dunnock Drean Mollagh; Woodpigeon Calmane Keylley; Magpie Piannad; Blue Tit Drean Gorrym;
Buzzard Shirragh; Song Thrush Threshlan; Great Tit Drean Mooar; Greenfinch Corkan Keylley. Glass
Butterflies and Moths Foillycanyn as Lhemeenyn🦋
Red Admiral Ard-marragh Jiarg; Meadow Brown Donnag yn Aiyr;
Speckled Wood Breck ny Keylley; Common Blue Gorrymag Chadjin..
