Ballachurry Reserve, Rushen, IOM.: Ballachurry Reserve, 3rd June, 2019.

set in a sea of Hemlock Water Dropwort,
the Ballachurry Bird Hide

Scarcely through the gate on Monday, I could already hear a Sedge Warbler and quickly spotted it singing from a nearby bush. As I started taking photos the low battery symbol came on in the viewfinder. Photos taken, I switched off the camera to change the battery but the lens would not retract and I got a "lens error" message. The lens eventually did retract but I'm afraid even with a new battery the camera will no longer operate. Sheila without her favourite camera is like a bike without wheels😞 I took the camera back to my car to put it away and such was my consternation I managed to lock my car keys in the boot ( the rest of the car was already locked) so had to SOS my husband to bring me the spare key to retrieve them! Not a good start to my visit! Fortunately I did have my little Ixus camera with me so could take macro photos of insects etc. but its zoom is just not up to bird photos etc. So apologies if the photography isn't quite up to scratch this time. Here is what I recorded:

Birds:

SC210694 Wren; 5 x Goldfinch;
SC209693 Sedge Warbler; Great Tit; Chaffinch heard but not seen;
SC209694 Wren; Thrush heard but not seen
SC208694 Willow Warbler heard but not seen; Chaffinch heard but not seen; Chiffchaff heard but not seen; Blackbird heard but not seen.
SC208695 Chaffinch heard but not seen
SC209694 ( gorse boundary) Sedge Warbler heard but not seen
SC209694 ( hide) Sedge Warbler; Moorhen ( no chick); Swallow.

Butterflies & Moths

SC208694 Small Heath; Wall Brown; unidentified White flying
SC209694 Small Heath; unidentified White flying
SC209693 2 x Green Veined White
SC209694 Clouded Border moth
SC209694 Small Tortoiseshell larvae
SC209693 signs of Orchard Ermine Moth caterpillars on Blackthorn

Ladybirds:

SC210694 2-spot Ladybird; mating pair 7-spots; 2 further 7-spot ladybirds.
also, several 7-spot ladybird larvae
SC209694 7-spot ladybird

Other:

SC210694 Sloe bug
SC209694 Hare'sfoot Incap fungus ( Coprinopsis lagopus) New Record.
SC209695 Tiny blue flowers in unmown grass - Speedwell species perhaps?
SC210694 unidentified bronze bugs/aphids on nettle
SC210694 small Crab Spider on nettles Xysticus species.
SC209693 and throughout reserve - Honey bees on Hemlock Water Dropwort
SC208694 Flag iris in flower
SC209694 Gorse Shieldbug
SC209695 clumps of Dandelion family flowers - Cat's Ear perhaps?
SC210694 Hawthorn Shieldbug
SC209694 unidentified Hoverfly on Hemlock Water Dropwort
SC210694 Sawfly - possibly Strongylogaster multifasciata ( feeds on Bracken and ferns)
SC210694 unidentified pupa/ larva - possibly Hoverfly species
SC209693 tiny unidentified red beetle - possibly flea beetle
SC210694 unidentified spider on nettles - probably Tetragnatha species