Ballachurry Reserve, 1st May 2017. Bank Holiday Monday

Looking back along the boardwalk

A very long delay posting this report from Ballachurry as I have been away on holiday. I went AWOL from the holiday packing on 1st May, tempted by the lovely sunny weather, and found a couple of other birder friends there at the gate too. "Sedge Warblers are back" I was told, "Been here a couple of days". This was  great news. Their raucous calls may not be very melodious but are always music to my ears. I was one of the first people to realise we had Sedge Warblers at Ballachurry so feel very proprietorial about them, waiting anxiously for their return every year (think sleepless parent listening for teenager to return late at night!) Getting a photo took a bit of patience but one eventually posed for me, flying between Hawthorn and Alder. Then it was back home to the holiday preparations. I even took my pencil notes with me to write up on the ferry as I knew I wouldn't be able to make sense of them a fortnight later. So here at last is the list for May Bank Holiday Monday.

Birds:

SC209694 ( from Hide) Male Mallard. Song Thrush  & Willow Warbler heard but not seen.
SC208694 ( willows/ compost area) Blackbird & Pheasant heard but not seen. Willow Warbler; 2 x Goldfinch; 2 x Magpie; Ringtail Hen Harrier flying low and calling.
SC208694 ( near reeds) 2 x Sedge Warbler; 2 x Swallows flying over;
SC209695 ( near orchard entrance ) Great Tit; Robin; Willow Warbler; Blue Tit.
SC209695 ( gorse boundary) pair of Chaffinch; Robin; 3 x Swallows chasing each other & swooping.

Butterflies:

SC210694 male Orange Tip; 2 x Small Tortoiseshell
SC209694 ( seen from hide) male Orange Tip
SC208694 ( near compost area) male Orange Tip x 2; Speckled Wood x 2
SC208694 ( near boardwalk) Small White; male Orange Tip;
SC208695( old beehive loop)  male Orange Tip
SC209695 unidentified White flying
SC209694 ( near Ginnie's bench) Small Tortoiseshell; Peacock. male Orange Tip
SC209693 Peacock
SC208694 ( near the dam) Holly Blue NEW RECORD flying high through the nearby tree tops. Unfortunataly I was unable to get a photo.
SC210694 Some of the Garlic Mustard has Orange Tip Butterfly eggs.

Ladybirds:

SC210694 Parisitised 7-spot still there.   2 x 2-spot Ladybird; 11-spot Ladybird ( I would have missed this had I not stopped to photograph the Small Tortoiseshell butterfly)
SC208694 3 x 7-spot Ladybird.

Shieldbugs:

SC 210694 Sloe bug
SC209695 3 x Gorse Shieldbugs + numerous eggs
SC209694 Gorse Shieldbug seen laying eggs
SC209695 1 Gorse Shieldbug not on gorse + 5 on gorse.

Spiders:

SC208694 2 x Wolf Spiders; tiny unidentified spider on gorse
SC208695 Pisaura mirabilis spider ( Nursery Web spider)
SC210694 Pisaura mirabilis spider ( Nursery Web spider)
SC209695 Wolf Spider
SC209694 Unidentified Crab Spider; small unidentified spider on gorse
SC210694 Wolf Spider

Other:

SC209694 Hedgehog scat
SC208694 2 x Water Cricket
SC209695 10+ Water Cricket
SC208694 Unidentified Bumble Bee
SC208695 Noon flies ( several)
SC208695 Unidentified Hover fly
SC209695 Rhingia Campestris Hoverfly
 SC208695 "Footballer"  Helophilus Hoverfly
SC208694 Small unidentified flies on Buttercup
SC209695 Small unidentified beetle landed on my sleeve
SC208694 Unidentified fly on grass
SC208694 A number of Blackthorn bushes have leaf galls, including this location.

I first spotted  this Sedge Warbler in a Hawthorn bush
near the reed bed.

and I think it spotted me too!

it moved to one of the Alders

and began its raucous song

Robin

Mallard Drake

2 views of the same bee

buttercup attracting tiny flies

Nicknamed "The Footballer" because of its stripey jersey

Noon Fly

Unidentified fly

Can you see the tiny orange egg? Laid by an Orange Tip butterfly.

Here is a close-up

Small Tortoiseshell

and another

Speckled Wood

Peacock

Wolf spiders

Unidentified Crab spider

unidentified spider

Nursery Web spider

and another

tiny unidentified spider on gorse petal

unidentified beetle landed on my sleeve

egg laying Gorse Shield Bug

The final white egg soon coloured up to match the others

"here's some I laid earlier" ( Blue Peter Style!)

Close-up of Gorse Shieldbug eggs

Gorse Shieldbug

Another, though not on gorse

Water crickets

7-spot Ladybird

2-spot Ladybird

11-spot Ladybird

Parasitised and paralysed though not necessarily dead!
7-spot

Sloe bug

I am still trying to find out what sort of leaf galls
these are on Blackthorn

I went back to the Reserve on my return from holiday to see if much had changed - but you'll have to wait a little longer for that report!