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| Early days for the new wild flower meadow but looking good already. |
I haven't been able to visit the reserve for a
couple of weeks, although I did hear about the "happy event" which
had taken place in my absence - two peachicks! The peahen has nested somewhere
fairly close to the entrance and I did see them near the noticeboard on my
visit last week. Here is the rest of the report:
Birds:
SC209693 Sedge Warbler
SC209694 Sedge
Warblers x 2 together
SC208694 Sedge Warbler
SC209693
Goldfinch on the wires
SC208695 juvenile Wren
SC208695 Great Tit
SC210694 Peahen and 2
chicks ( chicks are new record!)
SC210694 Willow
Warbler
SC208694 Bluetit
SC209694 female
mallard bathing in the pond
Swallows flying over
Butterflies:
SC209694 Meadow Brown
x 3
SC208694 Small
Tortoiseshell
Caterpillars:
SC208695 Depressaria
daucella caterpillars still on Hemlock Water Dropwort
SC210694 Tiny
caterpillars on the Garlic Mustard by the notice board are reducing the leaves
to paper doilies. Not sure if these are Green Veined White larvae or not.
Damselflies:
SC209694 female Common
Blue damselfly
Ladybirds and
other Beetles:
SC208694 Larch
Ladybird (NEW RECORD)
SC208694 7spot
Ladybirds x 3 on thistles.
SC208694 Black
Ladybird with yellow spots on Alder ( NEW RECORD) I would have missed this had
I not decided to check on the Alder galls recorded last time. Seeking help on
ID as doesn't quite "fit" the possibilities.
SC208694 Chrysomelid
beetle
SC210694 Soldier
beetles throughout reserve and at this location
SC208694
unidentified beetle
Flies :
SC208694 Noon Fly
SC208694 Helophilus
Hoverfly + unidentified fly
SC208695 Tachina
grossa? parasitic fly
SC208694 Leucozona
lucorum ? hoverfly
SC208694 unidentified
fly bit my hand while I was photographing the ladybirds! I was being bothered
by several more as I walked round.
Bugs etc:
SC208694 Gorse
Shieldbugs and their various instars on gorse bush. I watched one adult
walk right over a small Crab Spider without any problems
SC209695 Common Capsid
bugs on thistles here and elsewhere in reserve
SC209694 Unidentified
Capsid bug on thistle with snail
SC208694 Cuckoo
spit leaf hopper
Molluscs:
SC209694 dark lipped
snail on nettles. Not sure of ID. May just be a plain banded snail ( ie. no
bands)
Amphibians:
SC208694 Frog ( about
4" long) crossed the path in front of me and went into the long grass
Spiders:
SC208694 Small crab
spider on gorse.
SC210694 Small spider
on nettles
SC208694 Wolf spider
on boardwalk
Bees:
Honey bees throughout
reserve
SC210694 Carder bee
Other:
SC208694 unidentified
Fungus
SC208694 Horsetail (
not seen at this location before)
SC208695 Rowan berries
starting to ripen
SC208695 Cuckoo spit
leaf hoppers here and throughout reserve
 |
| Birth Announcement |
 |
| Mother and twins doing well |
 |
| Willow Warbler |
 |
| Female Mallard enjoying a bathe |
 |
| One of three 7-spot Ladybirds in the meadow |
 |
| Larch Ladybird - a new record for the reserve |
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| Another new record - seeking help on ID from an expert! |
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| Frog |
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| Female Common Blue Damselfly |
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| Chrysomelid beetle |
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| Common Capsid bugs on thistle |
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| There's a leaf hopper hidden in the cuckoo spit |
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| Depressaria daucella moth caterpillar Perhaps we'll trap it's Mum at our moth event on 22nd! |
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| Helophilus Hoverfly and unidentified friend |
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| This may be a Leucozona lucorum Hoverfly |
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| Mating soldier beetles |
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| Meadow Brown Butterfly |
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| Noon Fly |
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| Extra large parasitic fly - probably Tachina grossa |
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| Soldier beetle |
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| Unidentified fungus |
 |
| seeking ID for this extremely small beetle |
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| Unidentified snail & capsid bug |
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| I watched with bated breath as the Gorse Shieldbug approached the crab spider.... |
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| The Shieldbug touched the spider with its antennae, walked right over it..... |
 |
| ....and moved on. Absolutely no reaction from the spider! |
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| Early instar of Gorse Shieldbug |
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| Early and late instars together |
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| A couple more late instars |
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| Lovely fluffy Meadowsweet - smells of marzipan |
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| Rowan berries starting to ripen already |
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| Sneezewort with Purple Loosestrife in the meadow |
 |
| View from the bridge towards the pond |
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| View from the bridge in the opposite direction |
