Ballachurry Reserve, Rushen, IOM.: Ballachurry Reserve, 19th April 2019.

The damp meadow at Ballachurry Reserve

Good Friday - a lovely sunny day and a free morning. I was at the Reserve for over three hours so recorded quite a lot of interesting wildlife. There seemed to be Willow Warblers everywhere - the soundtrack to summer! Here is my report:

Birds:

SC210694 2 x Willow Warbler heard but not seen.
SC209694 Willow Warbler ; Wren; Great Tit
SC209693 Willow Warbler
SC209694 ( hide) Blue Tit; pair of Mallard; pair of Moorhen ( female nesting); Pheasant heard but not seen; Chiffchaff heard but not seen; Great Tits using nest box.
SC208694 Chaffinch; Willow Warbler ; Great Tit; Long Tailed Tit; male Reed Bunting; Robin
SC209695 2 x Chaffinch; Chiffchaff; 2 x Willow Warbler; 2 x Goldfinch
SC208695 Goldfinch; Blue Tit; Great Tit; Song Thrush; Long Tailed Tit; Chiffchaff; Chaffinch

Ladybirds:

SC210694 16 x 7-spot Ladybirds between entrance and Noticeboard
SC210694 11-spot ladybird with ringed spots
SC209694 4 x 7-spot Ladybirds near Ginnie's Bench
SC209695 7-spot Ladybird

Butterflies:

SC208694 unidentified white butterfly - no black veins or spots - ID being sought
SC209694 Speckled Wood
SC209695 Speckled Wood
SC209694 2 x Small Tortoiseshell; Peacock
SC208695 male Orange Tip; Speckled Wood
SC209693 male Orange Tip ( many sightings of male Orange Tips throughout the reserve)
SC210694 3 x Small Tortoiseshell; unidentified white flying; Green Veined White

Other:

SC210694 2 x Nursery Web Spiders (Pisaura mirabilis)
SC210694 unknown fly close to spider
SC210694 Sloe Bug
SC210694 unidentified tiny beetle in nettles
SC210694 Lygus wagneri bug near 7-spot on wall NEW RECORD
SC208695 Honey bees throughout reserve and here on dandelion
SC209694 on Hogweed: Yellow Dung Fly; Footballer Hover Fly; possibly Eristalis pertinax Hoverfly; possibly a Blowfly; very small fly or winged ant.
SC209694 Gorse Shieldbug
SC209695 c. 40 Water Crickets in stream

Willow Warbler

same bird a little closer

Willow Warbler warbling

they seemed to be everywhere

they seemed happy to pose for a photo
( SC208694)

eye contact?

then back to warbling

Willow Warbler yet again

Ah! Something different!
A Song Thrush.

A beak full of worms suggests it may be feeding young

Song Thrush

Chiffchaff

although the Goldfinch and Chiffchaff obligingly perched
close to each other, I couldn't get them both in focus so this is
two photos inexpertly stitched together - don't look too closely!

Moorhen

a second Moorhen suddenly emerged from the reeds.
The pair briefly acknowledged each other before the female
headed back to her nest

Moorhen on nest
( taken from hide on telephoto)

Mallard drake

one of the nest boxes made by children from the Buchan School
being put to good use this year by Great Tits

Apple Blossom on the Reserve

Field Maples looking attractive

close up of their blossom

Flowering currant planted originally for the bees which used to be
kept on the Reserve

Alliaria petiolata has a number of common names - Garlic Mustard,
Hedge Garlic, Jack-by-the-hedge etc.
It is the food plant for Orange Tip Butterfly caterpillars and
also those of the Green Veined White Butterfly
(neither of which will harm your cabbages!)

Hawthorn coming into flower

flower buds on the Rowan

the Oak is out before the Ash, so we'll only get a splash-
the old adage proved true last year

Red Campion now in bloom

a lovely patch of Stitchwort in the damp meadow

and another patch close to the path

7-spot Ladybird with friend ( or lunch?)
Lygus wagneri - with thanks to Dr. Joe Botting at britishbugs
for the I.D.

this 7-spot seemed to be snacking on a bird dropping -
their normal food is aphids but there are not too many
of those around just at present

2 x 7-spots in the Holly

one of many 7-spots on the Reserve on Friday

mating 7-spots

This Ladybird was tiny. At first I thought it was a 10-spot
but the enlarged photo shows a black pronotum rather than white
and rings round the spots. I am seeking help with the I.D.