Ballachurry Reserve, 8th April 2019

evening sun along  "The Ash Walk" 

On Monday afternoon I took advantage of the fine weather to return to Ballachurry to do a few minor jobs round the Reserve. One of our regular bird watcher/ photographers was there and tipped me off that we had ducklings. Unfortunately I did not manage to spot them. He also told me that he'd photographed a brown hare outside the reserve but visible from a certain location. It was a distant view so my photo is not nearly so good as his, not having a long lens, but it seems likely that this is the hare seen on the reserve from time to time recently.

Brambles snipped, tree staked, vegetation sheared back from bridge etc. I permitted myself a circuit of the Reserve to see what had changed since Saturday's visit and here's what I noted:

Birds:

SC208694 Great Tit;  2 x Chiffchaff; Blue Tit
SC209694  Willow Warbler
SC209694 ( hide) Moorhen; 4 x Mallard Drakes.

Butterflies:

SC209694  2 x Peacock;  2 x Small Tortoiseshell
SC208694  Peacock
SC209695  Peacock

Ladybirds:

SC210694 17 x 7-spot Ladybirds, including mating pair.
SC209695  7-spot Ladybird

Other:

SC210694  2 x Nursery Web Spiders
SC209695 Gorse Shieldbug
SC208694 Stitchwort starting to spread under the willows
SC210694 Spanish Bluebells ( garden escape)

Peacock Butterfly

Small Tortoiseshell

and another 

7-spot Ladybirds enjoying the warmth of the wall

this one had found a sheltered spot

this reminded me of a lucky charm I was once given in Italy
where ladybirds and 4 leaf clover are both good luck symbols
-garden escape Oxalis rather than clover and ladybird off centre
but close enough to bring back the memory!

mating 7-spots

3 x 7-spots:  one attempted to mate with another but was rebuffed.
 It retreated and the object of its attentions seemed to deliberately
seek the protection of the nearby spider.

7-spot sheltering with, I think, Nursery Web spider

Stitchwort spreading beneath the willows

Polydesmus angustus millipede ( I think) on plank of wood

very small unidentified beetle on plank of wood

unidentified  woodlice on plank of wood

absolutely no idea at present what this is

4 drake Mallards

Blue Tit

Great Tit

first glimpse of Moorhen in the reeds

Moorhen

Moorhen

Spanish Bluebells - garden escape

view from the reed bed

I deliberately took this photo of the hide from across the reserve.
I think this time next year it might not be visible any more.

Gorse Shieldbug

probably the Ballachurry Brown Hare

(clicking on photos enlarges them; clicking again moves through them as slide show)