Saturday 21 April 2018

Ballachurry Reserv 21st April 2018

Another evening stroll...........

an inviting bench in the evening sun
I had to drive past the reserve at 5 o'clock this evening and  stopped to take another walk around for an hour. This time I was lucky and heard  at least one Sedge Warbler from the reed bed near the hide. Here is the complete list:

Birds: 

SC209693 Sedge Warbler heard but not seen; Wren; Robin; male Blackcap
SC209694 female Blackcap
SC210694 male Blackcap sitting on bridge hand rail; 2 x Blue Tit
SC208694 male Blackcap
SC 209695 Willow Warbler
SC208695 2 x Chaffinch ( pair)

Other:

SC209694 5 x Small Tortoiseshell butterflies together having territorial dispute
SC209694 Peacock butterfly basking on concrete below Ginnie's bench

this should have been a perfect shot but I think I was too excited!
Black cap

not much better!
composite shot of male Blackcap in   willow tree

female Blackcap

years ago I watched Ginnie's family lay this slab to put the
memorial bench on and predicted  that the butterflies would love it!

one of 5 Small Tortoiseshell

noisy Wren landed nearby while I was listening to Sedge Warbler

I think this one is a Willow Warbler

again a cloudless April sky

we hope this area might be a  damp flower meadow one day
A lovely evening stroll round a beautiful reserve.




Ballachurry Reserve 20th April, 2018.


late afternoon stroll at Ballachurry

About half past ten on Friday morning I received a text message from my husband saying he had heard both  Sedge Warblers and a Grasshopper Warbler at Ballachurry Reserve. How annoying!  I couldn't go down there to join him and it was 4 p.m. before I managed to walk round the reserve. I did hear a brief snatch of Grasshopper Warbler, but no sounds from the Sedge Warblers. Nevertheless it was lovely to walk round in the late afternoon sunshine and I recorded the following birds:

Birds:

SC208694 Swift over head - first I've seen this year; male Blackcap in the willows; Willow Warbler seen singing
SC208694  ( near boardwalk) 2 x Long Tailed Tits; Wren. Grasshopper Warbler heard.
SC209694 3 x Swallows came down and dipped into the pond + Wren  ( seen from hide)  Willow Warbler seen  singing; Chiffchaff?
SC209693 Robin; pair of Blackcap
SC208695  Dunnock?

Other:

SC 209694  Peacock Butterfly; Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly
SC209695 Water Crickets


Chiffchaff ?

Dunnock, I think, but the angle is a bit odd and not the best light

female Blackcap

several shots follow of a Long Tailed Tit
It was ringed








Swift

Peacock Butterfly

Small Tortoiseshell

Water Crickets

not a cloud in the sky






Ballachurry Reserve, 18th April 2018.

my first Ballachurry butterfly sighting of 2018
Peacock
Once the thick mist lifted on Wednesday we were treated to a sunny afternoon and I was off down to Ballachurry Reserve to see what was about. Not just birds either - I was hoping for a butterfly as they have been in short supply this spring. Here is what I recorded:

Birds:

 SC209693  2 x Willow Warbler/ Chiffchaff; Robin; Great Tit; Wren; female Blackcap; Blackbird heard but not seen
SC209694 ( path junction) Willow Warbler/ Chiffchaff
SC208694 ( Willows/ compost area) Willow Warbler singing; Chiffchaff singing; Robin
SC209695 ( near private entrance)  Willow Warbler/ Chiffchaff ( probably CC) ; Great Tit; male Chaffinch
SC208694 ( boardwalk) female Reed Bunting ( flew down and perched near me while I was taking a photo of insects on Marsh Marigolds nearby!) Chiffchaff/ Willow Warbler; Great Tit; 3 x Mallard flying over;
SC208695 ( old beehive loop) Great Tit; 9 x Wood Pigeon; 3 x Long Tail Tit; female Chaffinch; Jackdaw
SC209694 ( hide)  3 x Mallard; Blue Tit; 2 x Magpie; 2 x Goldfinch; Willow Warbler/Chiffchaff;  Pheasant heard but not seen.

Ladybirds:

SC209695 "Old Faithful" 7 spot still in the gorse bush by the Bowman Memorial Bench  and another in the gorse bush near the stream.

Butterfly:

SC209694  A friend entered the reserve just as I reached the area near Ginnie's Bench and I explained that I was also hoping to see butterflies on such a lovely warm afternoon. As I said the word "butterflies"  a Peacock Butterfly flew up right under my nose! Uncanny. It went to sunbathe on the wood chip, which is nice and warm. Later I saw either another or more likely the same one, a little further down the path on the gorse boundary,  nectaring on a dandelion.

Other:

SC209693 Common Green Shieldbug in Hemlock Water Dropwort. I would not have seen this had I not taken a closer look at what I though was a caterpillar on the plant (turned out to be a hazel catkin but the Shieldbug was nearby!)  Dung fly on Hemlock Water Dropwort.

SC208694 Unidentified bee on Marsh Marigold; Eristalis pertinax Hoverfly on Marsh Marigold; unidentified bumble bee on the ground.
SC209693 Willows are full of honey bees and Bumble Bees. Eristalis pertinax Hoverfly on Daffodil. Yellow Dung fly ( Scathophaga stercoraria?)  on Hemlock Water Dropwort.
SC209695 Unidentified fly on Dandelion
SC209695 a couple of Water Crickets in the stream; unidentified fly on celandine; Eristalis pertinax Hoverfly on gorse; unidentified small black fly on gorse; unidentified  fly on daffodil
SC208695 tiny unidentified fly on ash tree trunk; unidentified fly on dandelion;  unidentified fly on another dandelion;pair of mating Yellow Dung flies ( Scathophaga stercoraria?) on Hogweed; unidentified bug on nettles
SC208694 Eristalis pertinax Hoverfly on Dock leaf

willow flowers are full of  bees

bumble bee and honey bee

Bumble Bee

Quite a few Bumble bees on the ground

unidentified fly on Celandine

unidentified fly on daffodill

unidentified fly on Dandelion

and another

Dung fly on Hemlock Water Dropwort

unidentified fly on gorse

Common Green Shieldbug on Hemlock Water Dropwort

Eristalis pertinax Hoverfly on gorse

another view

this one was on a dock leaf

and this one on a daffoldil

Carder bee?

mating Yellow Dungflies

unidentified fly on Ash trunk

uncropped photo to show how small it was
Robin rather against the light

Singing Wren

female Reed Bunting

7-spot Ladybird in gorse near stream

"Old Faithful" 7-spot Ladybird
 in gorse near Bowman Memorial Bench

I think this was a Chiffchaff

another view of the same bird

and again

same bird again

warming up on the wood chip
Peacock Butterfly

it moved to the grass 

another or possibly the same on a Dandelion

another view

does this remind you of an Owl?
Would it put you off if you were a predator? 

Chirpy Chaffinch

one of three Long Tail Tits


Liocoris tripustulatus Bug ( I think!)
They feed on nettles