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| Ballachurry in the evening light |
I hadn't planned to go to Ballachurry Reserve on Monday but then it was such a lovely afternoon I was tempted to drop in. I'm so glad I did because just as I was leaving the Water Rail came out to feed. I was then caught in the hide during a prolonged shower during which time a second Water Rail appeared and there was a lot of aggressive chasing before each bird retreated to opposite ends of the pond. Here is the full report:
Birds:
SC209694 Water Rail x 2
SC209694 juvenile Blackbird taking Rowan berries
SC208694 Sedge Warbler ( juvenile?) near the dam
SC208694 Sedge Warbler in willows near the boardwalk
SC209694 Wren
SC209694 Chaffinch female
SC209694 Great tit x 2
SC209694 Wood pigeon
Butterflies:
SC208695 Meadow Brown
SC209695 Meadow Brown; Small White
SC209694 Small White
SC209694 Wall Brown female
Ladybirds:
SC208694 7-spot on Ash sapling
SC208694 7-spot on thistle
Shieldbugs:
SC209695 Gorse Shieldbug adults and various instars on gorse near bench
SC209695 Hawthorn Shieldbug - various instars but no adults seen
SC208694 Gorse Shieldbug adults and various instars on gorse near dam
Damselflies:
SC209694 Blue-tailed Damselfly
Plants:
Good patches of Tormentil at SC208694
Sneezewort seedlings have spread to SC208694
Tufted vetch makinag attractive splash at SC208694
Hedge garlic has made a late flowering at SC210694
Hemp Agrimony - just one out of three planst has survived at SC209695 but hopefully will seed.
Common Valerian has spread to SC208694 near the dam
Rowan berries very prominent throughout reserve
The reserve has its first ever Blackthorn sloe at SC208694 - may be some time before Ballachurry Sloe Gin hits the market!
Angelica at SC209693 attracting insects
SC209695 Sycamore keys staring to ripen
SC208694 first blackberries starting to ripen
Other:
SC208694 Leaf Hopper
SC208694 Micromoth
SC208694 Common Hairy Snail
SC208694 "Green Bottle" fly
SC208694 Blackfly aphids
SC208694 Soldier Beetle on thistle
SC208694 unidentified small fly on Tormentil
SC209694 Hoverfly on rowan
SC209695 Hoverfly on Cushag ( ragwort)
SC210694 Longtail by Ginnie's bench
SC208694 Common Capsid bug
Notes:
SC209694 Wasp nest - having been assured that this had been dealt with, I ventured to put my head round the corner of the tool shed and take a photo. Several spiders in the shot too. This needed to be dealt with before work starts on the hide roof in early September.
The Hemlock Water Dropwort is now over and tends to collapse outwards from the centre. At SC208694 one such plant seemed to have a small nest woven through one of the umbellifers.
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| Water Rail |
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| Water Rail |
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| Water Rail emerges from flag irises |
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| Water Rail |
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| 7-spot Ladybird on Ash sapling |
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| 7-spot Ladybird on thistles |
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| Adult Gorse Shield Bug |
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| Another adult Gorse Shield Bug |
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| Gorse Shieldbug instar |
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| later instars of Gorse Shield Bug |
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| another early instar of Gorse Shield Bug |
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| and another |
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| Blackberries starting to ripen |
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| Angelica attracting insects |
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| click on photo for better view of hairs on Common Hairy Snail |
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| late instar of Hawthorn Shield Bug on Rowan berries |
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| early instar of Hawthorn Shield Bug on Rowan berries |
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| Late instar of Hawthorn Shield Bug on Rowan Berries Shoulder projections starting to show |
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| Leaf hoppers |
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| Juvenile Blackbird |
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| Not such a popular resident |
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| Hoverfly on Rowan berries - to be identified |
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| This may be a nest in the Hemlock Water Dropwort |
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| Sedge Warbler - possibly a juvenile? |
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| A different view of the same bird |
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| Soldier beetle |
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| Probably a female Melanstoma species Hoverfly on Tormentil |
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| Ballachurry's only Sloe |
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| Tufted vetch |
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| Wasp nest with spiders |
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| Blackfly aphids - food for the ladybirds |
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| Unidentified fly |
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| Blue-tailed damselfly |
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| Hoverfly on Ragwort ( cushag) |
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| Peahen with fast growing chicks |
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| unidentified Micromoth |
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| Sedge Warbler in willows |
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| High Summer at Ballachurry Reserve. |
