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Freshly mown paths and open area.
Thank you, Dave! |
A lovely Friday afternoon at Ballachurry Reserve. I started by doing a few jobs ahead of Saturday's work party, notably dead-heading some of the cushag/ ragwort which was starting to go to seed. Always a controversial topic, cushag, but it supports a huge amount of wildlife ( some exclusively) so I hope my approach is an acceptable compromise. The 4 butterflies, 1 moth and countless hoverflies enjoying the remaining plants were certainly grateful that the law has changed and it had not been cut down by that old August 1st ruling. Small Copper butterflies certainly seem to love it.
I then later spent an hour recording the wildlife. Here is the full list:
Birds:
SC210694 female Blackcap taking elderberries.
SC208694 Robin; Blackbird.
Butterflies & Moths:
SC208694 2 x Small Copper & a Meadow Brown on cushag plant all at the same time. Speckled Wood x 4.
SC208695 Speckled Wood and unidentified moth on cushag at the same time. 2 more single Speckled Wood nearby. 3 x Speckled Wood flying together; Red Admiral.
SC209693 Speckled Wood
SC209694 Common Blue; Speckled Wood
SC210694 Speckled Wood; Wall Brown.
SC209695 Speckled Wood x 2
SC209694 ( along gorse boundary) 4 x Speckled Wood on bramble flowers
SC210694 small moth behind noticeboard window.
Speckled Woods certainly the most abundant butterfly here at the moment.
Other:
SC210694 Chysomelid Beetle
SC210694 2 x Field Grasshopper on carpet for work party use.
SC208694 Gorse Shieldbug nymph
SC209695 Several Hawthorn Shieldbug nymphs ( various instars) on Rowan
SC210694 Adult Sloe bug on Burdock.
SC208695 mating Harvestmen
SC208695 green bottle flies feasting on blackberries ( possibly Lucilia sericata?)
SC209695 about 50 Water Crickets near water inlet pipe
SC209695 large unidentified Hoverfly
SC208694 unidentified Hoverfly on Hemp Agrimony
SC209695 Eristalis sp.Hoverfly on Bracken
SC209695 unidentified Hoverfly on Bramble
Throughout reserve : numerous other Hoverflies, especially on cushag.
SC209695 Noon Fly
SC210694 2 x Garden Snails in wall crevices
SC209695 tiny unidentified snail on sycamore leaf
SC209695 tiny colourful fly on sycamore leaf - Sargus sp. ( Soldierfly)
SC209694 orange bodied fly - possibly Rhingia campestris.
SC208695 Moth fly on Cushag
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| 2 Small Copper butterflies on Ragwort |
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| a closer look at one of them |
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| Speckled Wood on another Ragwort plant |
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| Meadow Brown - this was with the Small Coppers |
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Rosy Rustic moth
(thanks to Ian Scott for ID) |
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| Udea lutealis |
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| Is it a moth? Is it a fly? Or is it a Moth fly? |
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| A micromoth ( Udea lutealis) enjoying the bramble nectar |
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| Moth inside the Noticeboard window |
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| another view of the same moth |
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| Common Blue |
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| One of many Speckled Woods |
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| and another |
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| this one was on the path parallel to the road |
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| are you beginning to get the picture? |
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the bramble hedge had 4 of them
this is one reason why we encourage brambles! |
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| Green and Blacks! |
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| they were enjoying the juicy blackberries |
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| another view |
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| Hoverfly on Hemp Agrimony |
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| Eristalis sp. on bracken |
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| and another on bramble |
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| Noon fly |
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These look orange when flying
Possibly Rhingia campestris? |
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| another view of one |
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tiny but beautiful colours
Sargus sp. ( Soldierfly) |
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| smaller than my little finger nail |
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| Garden Snail |
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| Garden Snail with private garden |
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| Chrysomelid Beetle |
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| Field Grasshopper |
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| Gorse Sheildbug nymph |
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| Sloe Bug - also known as Hairy Shieldbug |
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| Hawthorn Shieldbug nymph on Rowan |
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| Can you see all the Water Crickets? |
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| The Harvestmen met on the blackberries |
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| they moved to one of the leaves before mating |
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| legs everywhere |
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| time to say goodbye |
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| finally alone again |
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| lone hazelnut |
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| season of mellow fruitfulness - Sloes but no Sloe bugs |
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| meadow still looking good but that dock's days are numbered! |
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| Sneezewort |
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| Turf roof still looking wonderful on Hide |
Volunteers lead busy lives so can't always attend our scheduled work parties. Having a couple of other commitments on Saturday, regular volunteer Peter set to work on Friday afternoon instead to repair and re-felt the tool shed roof on the hide. We are really grateful to Peter for all his hard work - it's very much appreciated! And doesn't it look good now!
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| No, we haven't installed TV in the hide! |
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| toolshed roof before.... |
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....and after.
Thank you, Peter! |
And finally, first of September - time to wipe the board clean of all the summer sightings. A fresh start for the autumn.
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| Please click to enlarge & read |
