LOST & FOUND - BALLACHURRY RESERVE

If you think you may have lost something at the Reserve in the last couple of days  please email ballachurryreports@gmail.com  saying what it was and we'll try to return it to you.

Ballachurry Reserve, Open Afternoon, 31st August 2019.

Here is a great event being organised by the Southern Group of the Manx Wildlife Trust.  A chance to meet the various groups  & individuals involved with wildlife on the Island. Come along and learn about Bat Detecting;  identifying Fungi; our beautiful Island Butterflies;  looking after those important pollinators, the Bees; how to trap and identify Moths; Wild Flowers; Spiders; how to help our Swifts; more on Birds generally; even Alien Species!  And much more! Join in a Bug Hunt or one of the Wildlife Tours and visit the Exhibition of Wildlife Photos taken on the reserve. The photographers will be there to talk about  photographic equipment and techniques too. Who will win the Children's Photo Competition, also on display?

Hopefully a lovely summer's afternoon outdoors but we'll be under cover if wet, so please do try to visit us on 31st.

                                Admission is free but donations are always welcome.

click to enlarge

Ballachurry Reserve, 13th August 2019.

Sneezewort in the damp meadow area

A morning visit to Ballachurry on Tuesday for a change. I was actually there by 9.30, which is early for me. The weather was lovely, sunny but not too hot, and I was soon making notes about the butterflies which seemed to be everywhere. Here is what I saw:

 Birds:

SC209694 female Blackbird; Wren with several insects in beak.
SC209693  male Sparrowhawk flew in from the direction of the church boundary and along the path ahead of me about 2 feet from the ground. I lost sight of it as it went round a bend. Chiffchaff call heard but not seen.
SC208694  2 x Woodpigeon flying over; Wren in reeds.
SC208695  Blackbird in heart of tree heard but only seen in silhouette so gender unknown; Wren.

Butterflies and Moths:

SC208694 Red Admiral x 2; Painted Lady x 3 in damp meadow & 4 more on the Hemp Agrimony; Green Veined White; Common Blue 1 female, 3 male; Speckled Wood by compost/ willows.
SC210694 Painted Lady
Sc209693 Painted Lady
SC208695 Speckled Wood x 3 ; Meadow Brown.
Sc209695 Painted Lady
SC210694  Unidentified  moth x 2 inside noticeboard
SC208694  Unknown Moth


Other:

SC209694 7-spot Ladybird
SC209694 Haresfoot Inkcap fungus
Sc210694 Forest Bug
SC209693  Green  Shieldbug nymphs, various instars on Rowan berries.
SC209695 Gorse Shieldbug adult + nymphs ( various instars)
SC208694 Gorse Shieldbug
SC209694  Unidentified  Harvestman
SC208694 Sphaeroderma  species beetle ( jumping leaf beetle) - possibly testaceum
SC208694 Common Wasp
SC208694  Ichneumon sarcitorius parasitoid wasp NEW RECORD
SC208694 Syrphus species Hoverflies
SC209695 Eristalis species Hoverflies
SC208694 various bumble bees

Female Common Blue

the same female Common Blue

Male Common Blue

another male Common Blue

Green Veined White

another Green Veined White

Painted Lady on Purple Loosestrife

Painted Lady on Hemp Agrimony

Red Admiral on Hemp Agrimony

Speckled Wood in a shaft of sunlight
 - notice the blue tint near body

Haresfoot Inkcap fungus

Unidentified Harvestman

Sphaeroderma species ( Jumping leaf beetle)
probably testaceum

Common Wasp

I think this is Ichneumon sarcitorius - a parisoid wasp whose
"host" is often the Turnip Moth

Green Shieldbug nymph

and a later instar

Gorse Shieldbug with late instar progeny

Forest Bug

blackberries starting to ripen - welcome food for wildlife
 on the reserve

good to see that not all the sloes succumbed to the
fungus gall pathogen

a fuzzy photo of a fuzzy bee - very white impression all over

wildlife on a Knapweed flower -
 Volucella bombylans Hoverfly and capsid bug

Common Green Capsid bug

Docks starting to colour up - welcome food for birds this winter

good to see Knapweed gaining ground in  the meadow area

 I think this is a Common Wave moth - to be confirmed

unidentified moth

Syrphus species Hoverfly

female Eristalis species Hoverfly ( probably tenax)

Male Eristalis species Hoverfly  ( possibly pertinax)

Syrphus species Hoverfly 

I would have missed this Speckled Wood had I not been
looking for Shieldbugs on the Rowan berries

A lovely morning's walk!

Click on photos to enlarge them.

Ballachurry Reserve, 1st August 2019.

Apologies for this late posting - busy, busy, busy!

a beautiful day at Ballachurry Reserve

Did I dream it or did we have a work party only a short while ago to cut back the brambles from the paths? When I visited the Reserve on the afternoon of August 1st I couldn't believe how much they'd grown back in such a short time! Recent heavy rain had also flattened much of the vegetation including  Meadowsweet which was lying across the paths in places. Fortunately the wildlife seemed happy enough in the chaos. Here is what I recorded:

Birds:

SC208694 2 x Goldfinch flying over;  Goldcrest near compost heap; Song Thrush; probable Sedge Warbler heard from Reed Bed.
SC209695 Blue Tit in Sycamore
SC209694 Great Tit heard but not seen
SC208695 Great Tit; male Blackbird taking Rowan berries
SC209694 ( from hide) female Blackcap taking rowan berries
SC209694 ( near path junction) single mournful "weep" of Willow Warbler heard, but not seen.

Butterflies & Moths: The IOM and many parts of the UK have seen an immigration of Painted Lady butterflies recently. Gardens are full of them as they regain energy on Buddleia & other nectar rich flowers after their long journeys from Southern Europe and North Africa. So I was anticipating seeing them at Ballachurry on Thursday too. If you missed the documentary about them on BBC TV recently it may still be available on the iPlayer. (The Big Butterfly Adventure) or for a local take on the subject listen to Manx Butterfly Conservation on the Manx Radio website  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfUw2o0FpZY&feature=share

SC210694 Unidentified White flying;
SC209693 Silver Y Moth ( another immigrant)  Red Admiral
SC209694 ( from Hide) 2 x Painted Lady on Loosestrife near the water; Meadow Brown; unidentified White flying. Small Tortoiseshell flew into hide , then out again.
SC208694 3 x Painted Lady on Hemp Agrimony; unidentified White flying; Speckled Wood near the compost and another  among the willows. Speckled Wood near the boardwalk and another unidentified White flying
SC208695 Speckled Wood
SC209695  2 x Speckled Wood; mating Green Veined Whites with Large White fluttering round them;
 Large White; Meadow Brown; 3 x Painted Lady; unidentified White flying
SC209694 Red Admiral; numerous grass moths;  3 x Painted Lady on brambles; 2 x Meadow Brown on brambles. Speckled Wood on brambles; Unidentified White flying; Silver Y moth.
SC209694 ( direct path to hide) Small Copper; Unidentified White flying; 2 x Speckled Wood  at path junction; Meadow Brown; very small Green Veined White.

Totals: Painted Lady 11; Meadow Brown 5; Speckled Wood 9; Red Admiral 2; Green Veined White 4; Small Tortoiseshell 1; Unidentified Whites  7; Small  Copper 1; Silver Y moth 2. = 41

Ladybirds: 

Just one 7-spot on thistle SC209694.  I decided to report this one in real time using the European Ladybird  Smartphone App.  for the first time.  See european-ladybirds.brc.ac.uk  These records also find their way back to the IOM recording scheme too eventually.
It made the job very easy, putting in the grid reference for me and  I was able to attach a photo then and there. There's a handy ID guide to help you too. Why not  download the app and give it a try next time you see a Ladybird? 

Other:

SC209695 about 15 Water Crickets in the stream; three Harvestmen in  gorse bush
SC209693 unidentified Solitary Bee; Scaeva pyrastri Hoverfly; Eupeodes species Hoverfly  corollae?)Honey Bees. Common Green Capsids. Lucilia species fly
SC209693 Shieldbug nymphs on Rowan berries
SC208694 Bee mimic Hoverfly  ( Eristalis sp.) near boardwalk
SC208695 Shieldbug nymphs on Rowan berries + 1 x Hawthorn Shieldbug
SC209695 Gorse Shieldbug nymph; Forest Bug on Rowan berries;
SC209694 Eristalis sp.Hoverfly
SC209694  Nursery Web spider "tents"

Blue Tit on Sycamore keys

distant view across pond of Blackcap taking Rowan berries

7-spot Ladybird on thistle

my first view of a Painted Lady from the hide

beautifully backlit on Loosestrife

on Purple Loosestrife by the pond

yet another

here on bramble flowers

they seemed to be everywhere

including the Hemp Agrimony

Speckled Woods too

and Red Admirals

not to mention the Meadow Browns

mating Green Veined Whites with a Large White fluttering
round them

mating Green Veined Whites

Honey Bee at the back,
 Eristalis species Hoverfly mimicking a bee at the front

Scaeva pyrastri Hoverfly 

Eupeodes species Hoverfly ( possibly corollae)

Eristalis species Hoverfly 

Scaeva pyrasri male  Hoverfly  

 Lucilia species fly

the gorse is full of Harvestmen

quite hard to photograph as they are in the depth of the bush

will try to identifiy tham

first hint of Autumn colours?

Nursery Web spider "tent"  for spiderlings

Common Green Capsid Bug on thistle

and another on a seedpod of Hemlock Water Dropwort

tiny Shieldbug nymph among the Hawthorn Berries

and another

this one is a Gorse Shieldbug nymph

as is this one

this is an adult Forest Bug

a glance back before heading home again

Remember you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.