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| Ballachurry Reserve pond |
It was snowing as I drew up outside Ballachurry Reserve on Thursday afternoon! Even lying in drifts along the wall edge and in the gutter. Deeper still in the Reserve itself under the trees. Yes, its that time of year when the willow "snow" falls, seeds blowing on the wind. By the time I left it was also stuck to my clothing, so I can probably expect a willow seedling or two in my garden next year. I spent a delightful and relaxing couple of hours on the Reserve - here is what I saw:
Birds:
SC210694 Wren; Great Tit;
SC209693 Chiffchaff heard but not seen
SC209694 ( near path junction) 2 x male Blackbird having a fight; 2 x Goldfinch; Great Tit; 2 x Sedge Warbler
SC209694 (near hide) Great Tit;
SC209694 ( gorse boundary) Heron
SC209694 ( hide) male Blackbird; Sedge Warbler heard but not seen; Wren; Moorhen + 1 chick; pair of Mallard
SC208694 ( damp meadow/ compost/ willow walk) Willow Warbler heard but not seen; Song Thrush and Blackbird both heard but not seen;
SC208695 ( old beehive loop) Chiffchaff singing from Sycamore tree but couldn't spot it. Wood Pigeon flying over.
Butterflies:
SC210694 Male and female Orange tips, courtship behaviour on Garlic Mustard ( their caterpillar food plant)
SC209693 Peacock butterfly ( very ragged) landed briefly on my binoculars! Unidentified white flying
SC208694 Common Blue on rushes; Wall Brown;
SC209694 ( gorse boundary) Green Veined White
SC209694 ( hide) Green Veined White on water Forget-me-not.
Ladybirds:
SC210694 2-spot Ladybird ( possibly two, or perhaps the first one had just moved a yard or two between sightings) 2-spots are declining, so very pleased to see this one on the reserve
SC210694 14-spot on nettles
SC210694 5 x 7-spot
Other:
SC210694 Oulema sp. beetle ( probably melanopa)
*SC210694 2 tiny flies stuck to nettles - apparently parasited and unfortunately dead
SC210694 very small dark pink Weevil - probably Apion frumentarium ( a Dock Weevil)
SC209693 very tiny beetle on Willow leaf -probably flea beetle
SC208694 2 x Pond Skater by bridge
SC208694 11 x Noon Flies on boardwalk bridge
SC209694 ( gorse boundary) 2 x Gorse Shieldbugs; 2 x Sloe Bugs
SC210694 numerous aphids on nettles
SC209694 Tortoise Beetle, Cassida family
SC210694 Green Bottle Fly - Lucillia species
SC210694 Rhingia campestris hoverfly
SC208694 male Eupeodes species Hoverfly on buttercup
SC210694 unknown pupa but probably a Hoverfly species
SC210694 Nursery Web Spider
SC209694 and throughout reserve, Wolf Spiders many carrying egg sacks
SC210694 butterfly caterpillars on nettles - Small Tortoiseshell larvae
SC208694 caterpillar on Dropwort, probably Depressaria daucella
SC210694 unidentified moth
SC210694 Honey Bees throughout reserve and here
SC210694 Puccinia urticata – Nettle Clustercup fungus
*"The 2 dead insects are dungflies killed by a
fungus called Entomophthora muscae. It turns the fly into a “zombie” and
makes it climb into a prominent position to die and thereby improve the
release
of its spores. " Thanks to Steve Crellin for this rather gruesome I.D.
Plants in flower include:
Hawthorn, Rowan, Henlock Water Dropwort, Buttercups, Daisies, Tormentil, Red Campion, Gorse, Oxalis, Yellow Flag, Purple Iris, Cuckoo Flower; Garlic Mustard, Stinking Iris.
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| 2-spot Ladybird |
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| 7-spot Ladybird |
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| 14-spot Ladybird investigating aphid |
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| not to its taste? or is it just a shed skin? |
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| plenty of aphids on the nettles |
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| I'm never quite sure if these are aphids too? |
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Puccinia
urticata – Nettle Clustercup fungus
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| Oulema species beetle |
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| extremely small Weevil - the nettle leaves give indication of size |
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| closer view of the pink weevil possibly Apion frumentarium |
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| another very small beetle - from the way it jumped it must be a flea beetle! |
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| this one is a Tortoise Beetle of the Cassida family |
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| Not a Beetle but a Bug Sloe Bug, also known as a HairytShieldbug |
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| Gorse Shieldbug |
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| Green Bottle Fly - Lucillia sp. |
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| Rhingia campestris |
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| small hoverfly on buttercup a male Eupeodes species |
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| Honey Bee enjoying the Hogweed flowers |
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| some kind of Pupa, I think probably a hoverfly species |
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| Many Wolf spiders on the reserve are carrying egg sacks |
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| quite a large Nursery Web Spider |
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| Parasitised Dungfly See details above |
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| and another one nearby |
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| First Ballachurry Common Blue of the year |
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| same one with wings closed |
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| Male and Female Orange Tips courting on their caterpillar food plant |
Orange Tip Butterfly Video
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| an alternative food plant has Orange Tip eggs Can you see them just beneath the flowers? |
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| Green Veined White |
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| caterpillars on the nettles - Small Tortoiseshell |
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| closer view |
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| unidentified moth |
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| first caterpillar I've seen on the Dropwort probably Depressaria daucella |
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| all the residents together |
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| sole remaining Moorhen chick |
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| Adult Moorhen with surviving chick |
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| The Victor of the Blackbird fight |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Origin of the "snow" |
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| which was everywhere |
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| in great drifts |
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| cultivated and wild Iris together |
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| an attractive bank of Red Campion |
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| there are cherries on the memorial tree |
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| a little Cranesbill? to be identified |
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| cheerful daisies |
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| Hemlock Water Dropwort |
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| a pink Hawthorn on the boundary |
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| a colourful corner |
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| across the damp meadow to the Hide |
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| garden escape Oxalis in full flower |
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| Rowan flowers going over |
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| Stinking Iris almost hidden by nettles now |
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| White Hawthorn on the boundary |
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| view from the hide |
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| looking along the gorse boundary |
