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| A lovely spring day Primroses in the foreground too |
Another sunny Monday! Perfect for a recording visit at Ballachurry Reserve. Even as I walked through the gate I could see the bright red splash of a Ladybird on a nettle and a little investigation found 3 more close by. In fact I found 9 during the course of my walk. In 2014 Ballachurry was a Ladybird Hotspot; unfortunately 2015 and 2016 were very indifferent years. So I am hoping that numbers will be up again during 2017. So far the omens are very good this spring. Here is the full recording list:
Birds:
SC210694 Dunnock singing its heart out just inside the gate; Wren; Swallow overhead.
SC209694 ( hide) Drake Mallard; Willow Warbler; Grey Heron flying over.
SC208694 (Willows/ Compost area) male Blackbird; Dunnock; Great Tit; female Chaffinch; Chiffchaff both seen and heard in firs.
SC209695 ( near orchard entrance) Great Tit; Chaffinch; Magpie ( possibly one from gorse boundary, see below)
SC209694 ( gorse boundary) Magpie on path.
SC209694 ( path junction) Willow Warbler preening and singing alternately.
Ladybirds:
SC210694 ( near entrance) 4 x 7-spot
SC208694 ( willows) 7-spot
SC208695 ( old beehive loop & nearby) 3 x 7-spot , including 2 close together.
SC209694 ( near Ginnie's bench) 7-spot
Butterflies:
SC209694 ( near Ginnie's bench) Small Tortoiseshell
SC210694 ( near noticeboard) 2 x Small Tortoiseshell in nettles
Shieldbugs:
SC208694 5 x Gorse Shieldbugs in the gorse bush by the dam.
SC209695 pair of mating Gorse Shieldbugs - conjoined for over an hour. Also several singles.
SC209694 Thirteen Gorse Shieldbugs along the boundary including 3 more mating pairs.
Other:
SC208695 (old beehive loop) Common Wasp; Rowan leaf burst and flowers buds; flowering currant bushes.
SC209694 Bumble bees in willow here and elsewhere
SC209695 ( overhanging sycamores) Sycamore leaf burst and flowers; Hoverfly;
SC209695 ( near stream) Unidentified Weevil in Hemlock Water Dropwort
SC209695 ( in stream) Water Crickets and Water Shrimps.
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| Water Crickets - I love their shadows too! |
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| Unidentified Weevil |
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| This Willow Warbler was doing the equivalent of singing in the bath, preening and singing alternately. |
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| Small Tortoiseshell Dandelions are a wonderful source of nectar - leave some in your garden, if you can. A Peacock butterfly in my own garden scorned 55 other species of nectar and chose the dandelions! |
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| Small Tortoiseshell |
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| 7-spot Ladybird - the first one I noticed. |
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| 7-spot Ladybird |
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| 7-spot Ladybird The paler, more orange, colour than those above shows it has more recently emerged from the pupa. They darken with age. |
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| 7-spot Ladybird |
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| 2 x 7-spot ladybirds in the brambles |
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| Mallard Drake |
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| Common Wasp |
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| Bumble bee on willow |
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| Hoverfly on Sycamore |
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| Rowan coming into flower |
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| Flowering currant in flower, planted originally for the bees before Ballachurry became a Reserve. |
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| Sycamore leaf and flower bud burst |
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| Great Tit |
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| Gorse Shieldbug |
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| Mating Gorse Shieldbugs. I also took some video which I'll try to upload in due course. There was a lot of leg waving going on! |
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| Rowan now in leaf |
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| Dunnocks have lovely voices |
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| and this one was singing its heart out. |
