 |
| view through the hide shutters |
Birds:
SC209694 corvid flying over with nest material
SC209693 male Blackbird
SC209693 ( hide) female Blackbird; 2 x drake Mallard
SC208694 Chiffchaff; 2 x Great Tit; Woodpigeon heard but not seen; Pheasant heard but not seen; 2 x Lesser Redpolls in willows; Goldfinch in firs; female Reed Bunting; female Blackbird; Blue Tit; Chaffinch heard but not seen.
SC208694 male Blackbird
SC209695 3 birds landed together in Sycamore, one of which was male Reed Bunting, did not get chance to identify others.
SC209695 2 x Robin together; Goldfinch
SC209694 2 x Great Tit; female Blackbird; Robin heard not seen;
SC208695 pair of Chaffinch
Ladybirds:
SC210694 6 x 7-spot ladybirds
SC209694 pair of mating 7-spot ladybirds + 2 more nearby
SC208694 5 x 7-spot in gorse; 7-spot on Buttercup foliage;
SC208695 7-spot on Hogweed
SC209695 2 x 7-spot near private entrance + 2 more in gorse near bench + another near stream inlet pipe
SC209694 5 x 7-spot Ladybirds along gorse boundary
( Total 27)
Other:
SC209695 dandelions in flower
SC209695 unidentified fungi in grass
SC209695 just 1 Water Cricket seen
SC209694 3 x Gorse Shieldbugs
SC208694 Gorse Shieldbug
SC208694 Honey Bees on gorse
SC210694 Unidentified fungi in grass
SC209693 Unidentified fungi on path
 |
| lovely bright Celandines but can you spot the Ladybird top right? |
 |
| here it is, one of many 7-spots on the reserve today |
 |
| mating 7-spots near Ginnie's bench |
You may need to click on the PLAY button twice to view the video of mating Ladybirds or on the full screen icon bottom right.
 |
| I actually photographed all 27 ladybirds seen but here and below are just a representative sample. |
 |
| male Reed Bunting |
 |
| taking a look around |
 |
| Lesser Redpoll |
 |
| I'm always pleased to see Dandelions in spring as they are excellent nectar plants - this one is just waiting for the butterflies to appear. |
 |
| Blowflies ( Calliphora species) on the dead stems of Hemlock Water Dropwort ( thanks to Steve Crellin for I.D.) |
 |
| Honey bee busy in the gorse |
 |
| Syrphus species Hoverfly on Willow flowers ( thanks to Steve Crellin for I.D.) |
 |
| pleased to see our little jumping spider back for another year |
 |
| here it is in close-up |
 |
| Marsh Marigolds coming into flower now |
 |
| once it was hard to find moss at Ballachurry but these days I am noticing more and more - this is under the ash trees |
 |
| unidentified fungus |
 |
| a good view of the gills before the grass is mown on Saturday and they are lost |
 |
| more fungi on the wood chip path |
 |
| and something different again near the gate |
 |
| blackthorn attracting insects |
 |
| many young nettles already full of holes something has clearly been eating them |
 |
| view along the gorse boundary- home to many Ladybirds and Shieldbugs.... |
 |
| such as these two Gorse Shieldbugs |
 |
| this one was on the gorse elsewhere |
 |
| heading for the gate after an interesting morning at the reserve |
