Ballachurry Reserve, 9th October 2019.

 Sunny Autumn day at Ballachury Reserve

A sunny morning but very windy and according to the gizmo in my car only 12 degrees - just a bit too cold for butterflies, I thought. However as the morning wore on it warmed up a bit and despite the wind I did see some Red Admirals.  Here is the complete list:

Birds:

SC210694 male Blackbird
SC208694 Great Tit; Blue Tit; Robin; female Chaffinch.
SC209694 Wood Pigeon flying over; Wren; female Blackbird; Song Thrush; Robin;  2 x male Chaffinch together; male Pheasant.

Butterflies:

SC209694 Red Admiral flying past pond, seen from hide
SC208694 Red Admiral flying at tree top height near compost heap
SC210694 2 x Red Admiral on ivy flowers.

Other:

SC208694: Common Wasp in the gorse
SC208694  4 x Gorse Shieldbugs
SC208694 several Hoverflies among brambles inluding Syrphus and Helophilus species.
SC208694 Calliphorid flies in reeds
SC208695 Green Shieldbug + nymph
SC209694  Sloe Bug with Gorse Shieldbugs x 4
SC208694 Still plenty of Brown Rollrim fungi ( with thanks to Liz Charter for ID)  + Inocybe species ( Fibrecap) near compost heap.
SC208695 Cortinarius species fungi ( Webcap) along the path
SC210694 on noticeboard and in nettles - numerous flies including Noon Flies
SC208 694 numerous flies on tree stakes and hand rails
SC208695 numerous flies on tree trunks

always a sense of anticipation as I go through the gate

Greeen Shieldbug on bracken

and another

Green Shieldbug nymph on bracken

Green Shieldbug on brambles

Green Shieldbug nymph on brambles

Gorse Shieldbug in the gorse

and another elsewhere

Hawthorn Shieldbug on thistle 

Sloe Shieldbug with a couple of Gorse Shieldbugs

and yet another Gorse Shieldbug

autumn view  from the hide

the reed bed seen from the hide

wasp on oak leaf ( sorry it's a bit out of focus) 

very small  moth

one of several Hoverflies - this one is a male Syrphus species

Footballer Hoverfly in striped jersey! (Helophilus species?)

Noon Fly

lots of flies in the reeds - a mixture of Calliphorids

a sunny gorse boundary

very small spider in the nettles - possibly a young
Nursery Web Spider

more fungus from the compost heap
 kindly identified as an  Inocybe ( Fibrecap)
  species by IOM Fungus Group

and a different sort  from the old beehive loop

a closer view
kindly identified as a Cortinarious ( Webcap)
Species by IOM Fungus Goup

Des res? For a rabbit perhaps? 

Hide has retained its green roof,
 regardless of weather conditions.

Red Admirals on Ivy flowers, spotted just as I was leaving.

Not the best of visits birdwise, but invertebrates kept me interested and 4 species of Shieldbug  in one morning isn't bad going.

Please click on photos to enlarge them

With thanks to Steve Crellin for fly identification.