Ballachurry Reserve, 30th May 2020.

Billows of white Hemlock Water Dropwort round the Hide

 It was a warm sunny day at Ballachurry Reserve on Saturday. Breezy in some areas, sheltered in others but surprisingly little about in the way of either insects or birds. This was something I'd noticed while walking my butterfly transect in the hills earlier in the week too. Was spring simply too hot, too dry or had the winter been too wet and stormy? Or perhaps I was imagining it? I went home and looked back on the Blog for May/June 2019 and 2018 - Ballachurry had been awash with all manner of insects and of course it's the insects that bring in the birds, especially when they have hungry nestlings to feed. Here's what I did see but it will be interesting to record how the season progresses:

Birds:

SC209694  male Chaffinch; Willow Warbler heard not seen
SC208694 Chiffchaff  & Woodpigion heard not seen; Chaffinch;
SC208695 Robin heard not seen
SC208695 female Chaffinch
SC209694 Moorhen + one chick

Butterflies & Moths:

SC210694 Speckled Wood
SC208694 unidentified White flying
SC208695 Speckled Wood
SC208695 Silver Ground Carpet Moth
SC209695 Red Admiral
SC209694 Green Veined White; unidentified White flying

Other:

SC209694 a few tiny Depressaria daucella caterpillars on Hemlock Water Dropwort
SC209694 beginnings of Wasp nest in hide. No one in residence so removed for safety reasons
SC208695 Marmalade Hoverfly
SC209694 Oxeye daisies in flower
SC208694 "Footballer" Hoverfly; Unidentified fly.
SC209694 " Cuckoo Spit" Froghoppers
SC209694 Sloes starting to form on the Blackthorn

SC209693 Honey bees on Hemlock Water Dropwort here and throughout reserve

Start of a wasp nest - delicate & rather beautiful

Police now checking routinely since anti social behaviour reported

Hemlock Water Dropwort in every view at present

Moorhen with one chick. Suspect there were others but have been predated.

"oh what big eyes you've got..."  - Honey Bee

Meadow looking lush despite dry weather

tiny caterpillars of Depressaria daucella moth

their food plant is the Dropwort but also Hogweed

Starting to be Cuckoo Spit froghopper nymphs

unidentified fly

"Footballer" Hoverfly

taken from the bridge

The Hemlock Water Dropwort is starting to encroach into the meadow

Speckled Wood butterfly

taken from  near the hide

Sloes on the Blackthorn

Oxeye daisies

about half of a large flattened area near the private entrance

Red Campion and the Dropwort making a pretty corner

Hogweed along the gorse boundary

I was a little concerned to see the large area of flattened grass near the private entrance. Was this the result of the wind or had a group of people been sitting/ standing there? Hopefully just the former as we do ask people to keep to the paths during the bird nesting season.

An enjoyable morning spent at the Reserve even if  it did not quite live up to expectations on this occasion.

Please click on photos to enlarge

If you want to compare with previous years, click on the appropriate year and then month on the right hand side of the Blog beneath my profile