Ballachurry Reserve, Rushen, IOM.: Ballachurry Reserve, 17th June 2016.

Hogweed and Red Campion

I've been off-Island on holiday, so was anxious to visit Ballachurry Reserve on Friday to see how things had changed during my absence. The fine weather had certainly brought out the flowers! Here is my report:

Birds:

SC210694 family of Great Tits moving through the willows parallel to the road. I only glimpsed one, but there were at least three from the calls.

SC209694 Reed Bunting, male.

SC208694 Goldfinch

SC208694 Sedge Warbler heard but not seen

SC208694 Willow warbler

SC209695 Jackdaws x 5

SC209694 Whitethroat

SC209693 flock of 10 Goldfinches flying over

SC209694 Whitethroat seen again in different part of Reserve, although the Grid Reference is the same.

Caterpillars:

SC210694 Although the Garlic Mustard I planted under the noticeboard has now gone to seed, it has at least 6 caterpillars feeding on it.Orange Tip butterflies-to-be.Unfortunately, Orange Tip butterfly caterpillars are cannibalistic and will devour each other if they happen to meet!

SC208694 Hemlock Water Dropwort has Depressaria daucella moth caterpillars.

SC208694 Orchard Ermine Moth caterpillar webs on Blackthorn still visible but I didn't spot any caterpillars.

SC209694 Orchard Ermine Moth caterpillar webs on Hawthorn but couldn't get close enough to look for caterpillars.

Butterflies

SC209694 Speckled Wood x 2 having a territorial dispute and nectaring on hogweed. Also, unidentified white flying

SC210694 Speckled Wood near entrance

SC208694 Unidentified White flying; Small Tortoiseshell

Shieldbugs:

SC209694 Gorse Shieldbug adults, eggs and various instars along gorse boundary.

SC208694 Gorse Shieldbug adults and early instars on gorse near the dam.

Damselflies:

SC209693 Male Common Blue damselflies x 3, together in rushes + 1 x female

SC209694 Common Blue damselflies - mating pair flying coupled

Hoverflies & other flies: (with thanks to Steve Crellin for IDs)

SC208695 Marmalade Hoverflies; unidentified fly.

SC209693 "The Batman Fly" Myathropa florea ( & other unidentified flies) on Hemlock Water Dropwort

SC210694 Various flies on Ox-eye daisies by noticeboard.

Plants:

SC210694 The Stinking Iris has fought its way through the nettles to flower; Yellow waterlily in bloom on the pond; Burdock starting to be visible near gate.Wild roses in flower throughout reserve. Tufted Vetch in flower. Hemlock Water Dropwort and Hogweed now in full flower throughout the reserve. Hedge Mustard (Sisymbrium officinale), which I noticed recently in the nettles as a new record for the Reserve, is also growing near the gate. (SC210694) Purple Loosestrife now in flower.SC208694

Other:

SC209695 The sycamore sapling I called "the spider tree" last year had one very small spider and one slightly larger one.

SC209695 There was also a small snail on one of the leaves.

SC210694 Garden snail on wall and another on stone gate post.

SC209693 Carder bee on clover

SC208694 Bees on the Hemlock Water Dropwort have pink ( rather than yellow) pollen baskets.

SC210694 Leaf Hopper (or should it be frog hopper?) on Garlic Mustard near entrance.

SC208694 Wolf Spider with egg sack on boardwalk.

Notes:

The Rushen Brownies visited the Reserve with Education Officer, Dawn Dickens, on Thursday evening. They were rather unlucky with the weather but seem to have enjoyed themselves anyway, as their notes on the blackboard show!