Ballachurry Rerserve, 29th July 2020

Purple People Protector

 As many of you will know, Ballachurry Reserve is frequently used as an educational resource for Island children. Manx Wildlife Trust has a wonderful  Education Officer, Dawn Dickens, who enthuses  children about all aspects of wildlife on the Island and often takes them to Ballachurry for some amazing wildlife experiences. One such event was programmed for Thursday 30th July and local Scoutmaster, Guy Thompson, had kindly agreed to provide a Scout Marquee on site for their use. On Wednesday afternoon a small party of volunteers went down to help Guy put up this tent on the grassy area near the Private entrance. Some of us also stayed on afterwards to cut back those ever encroaching brambles.

Although this visit to the reserve was not intended as a recording visit, who can resist walking round Ballachurry on a sunny July afternoon? Here is what I noted:

Birds:

SC208694 Sedge Warbler with insect in its beak.
SC208695 Female Blackbird
SC209695 Willow Warbler heard but not seen
SC209694  5 x Mallard
SC209694  Juvenile Moorhen

Butterflies :

SC208695, SC209694, SC208694  Speckled Woods

Ladybirds:

SC209695  3 x 7-spot ladybirds
SC208694 7-spot ladybird

Other:

SC209695 Adult Gorse Shieldbug + several nymphs, various instars.
SC208694 Angelica in flower
SC208694 Unidentified fungi
SC209695 Wolf spider with egg sack
SC209695 Metallina species spider in web.

with the sun in my eyes I couldn't be certain of what I was photographing

 

I had been alerted by a call and suspected a Sedge Warbler

the photo confirmed this but I hadn't anticipated the insect in its beak!

fungi  under the willows

hopefully can be identified

different species?

active 7-spot Ladybird

inactive 7-spot Ladybird

another nearby

7-spot and some Gorse Shieldbug nymphs

Adult Gorse Shieldbug

a variety of instars for Gorse Shieldbug nymphs

Wolf Spider carrying egg sack

Speckled Wood Butterfly ( SC208695)

a large flower head on Angelica

Rowan berries on a sunny afternoon

Mallards  bathing

A very enjoyable afternoon at the Reserve.

Please click on the photos to enlarge them

Ballachurry Reserve, Interim Work Party 24th July 2020

Friday afternoon was dry and sunny so Ian and Peter, two of our regular volunteers, were back at the Reserve to add some clematis netting to the back of the gates. What might be described as a small, local,  "free range" dog has sometimes been observed leaving the reserve by coming through between the bars of the gate.  We think this dog is responsible for the dog fouling at Ballachurry. Hopefully with the spaces between the bars of the gate blocked it will no longer be able to enter the Reserve to foul the grass and disturb the wildlife. The netting extends beneath the gate too but should still leave room for any wandering hedgehogs to go on their nightly forays.

  

first the pedestrian entrance

soon finished

next the field gate - an extra batten required

checking the size of the netting

a few more staples

and job done

 Let's hope it does the trick!

The three of us then repaired to the hide for coffee and biscuits ( of course!) from where we had an excellent view of water dripping through the roof onto the floor! After a brief rest our intrepid volunteers went up to check on last week's handiwork. First the roof had to be baled out as there had been heavy rain since the turf was removed. In the course of their examination Peter and Ian did finally discover a hole in the butyl so some slight revision of plans was required. A spell of dry weather is now required before further work can go ahead.

 I meanwhile had been cutting back brambles ( again!)  and also spotted this Ladybird near where the men were working.

7-spot Ladybird

On arrival at the Reserve we had seen 3 juvenile swallows lined up on the ridge tiles of the house next door, being fed by the two parents - a lovely sight!

Fingers crossed now for some good weather later in the week so the hole can be repaired and the wet roofing timber dried out.

Grateful thanks as ever to Ian and Peter for giving up their time to get these problems solved.

( to be continued)

Ballachurry Reserve, 20th July, 2020

     

pond from the hide

  
A lovely summer morning saw me at Ballachurry on Monday for a leisurely stroll round the Reserve. From a birding point of view it was rather quiet but there was plenty to hold my interest nonetheless. Here is what I recorded:

Birds: 

SC209694 Sedge Warbler heard briefly; Woodpigeon heard but not seen.
SC208694 2 x Woodpigeon; Blackbird gave alarm call; Great Tit; Willow Warbler; Wren heard but not seen
SC209694 ( from hide) 8 Mallard ; juvenile Moorhen; adult Moorhen

Butterflies:

SC208695 Meadow Brown
SC209695 Green Veined White; Speckled Wood.
SC209694 Meadow Brown x 3; unidentified White flying
SC208694 unidentified White flying

Ladybirds:

SC208694 7-spot on bramble and 7-spot on grass seedhead
SC209694 7-spot on grass stalk

Other:

SC208695  Great Pied Hoverfly  ( Volucella pellucens)NEW RECORD
SC209694  Nursery Web Spider nest
SC209694 Enoplognatha  spider on nettles ?
SC209695 Gorse Shieldbugs + nymphs
SC210694 Grasshopper nymph
SC209694 Common Froghopper  - Philaenus spumarius
SC209694 Tephritis flies on thistles
SC209694 Green Capsid bugs on thistles
SC208695 Forest bug and several nymphs which may be Hawthorn Shieldbug rather than Forest Bug
SC208694 Helophilus pendulus  Hoverfly- male
SC208695 Epistrophe grossulariae Hoverfly - female
SC209695  Syrphus species Hoverfly - female
SC208694 female Lucillia species Greenbottle fly
SC208694 Muscid fly - probably Phaonia species
SC208694 female Melanostoma species fly
SC210694 flies on Peacock scats - a mixture of muscid and calliphorid species
SC208695 Soldier Beetle
SC208695 large unidentified fungus - Bolete species? NEW RECORD
SC209694  2 x old  wasp nests found in back of tool shed
SC209693 Marsh Woundwort  in full flower here and elsewhere
SC209694 ripening Sloes ( please don't scrump for your gin! Meant for the birds)
SC208694 Sneezewort coming into flower in meadow area
SC210694 small area of Yellow Rattle in bloom
SC210694 inidentified Sedge or Woodrush near Rattle NEW RECORD.


                

juvenile Moorhen

one of 8 Mallard

several thistles have Green Capsid bugs in residence

closer look at Green Capsid Bug

Forest Bug with nymph nearby. Nymph may be Hawthorn Shieldbug

closer look at nymph - possibly Hawthorn Shieldbug
 rather than Forest Bug

another nymph on green Rowan berries

Gorse Shieldbug

Shieldbug nymph

Froghopper - may just have emerged from spittal as adult

Great Pied Hoverfly ( Volucella pellucens)

Hoverfly -Epistrophe grossulariae

Hoverfly - Helophilus pendulus  ( male)

very small Hoverfly on dandelion - Syrphus species ( female)

Not really what you want to see! Peacock scats attract flies and you must watch where you put your feet!
A mixture of muscids and calliphorids

Greenbottle fly ( female Lucillia species ) looking more attractive
on a leaf than in earlier photo

 A muscid fly- probably Phaonia  species

 a female Melanostoma species fly

Green Veined White - a female I think

Thank you 2 year old Seren for finding this lovely butterfly
for me to photograph!

It's a Meadow Brown

7-spot among the unripe blackberries

another 7-spot elsewhere

this one was on a grass seedhead

this may be a Grasshopper nymph rather than an adult - very small

Common Soldier Beetle

Tiny but colourful spider - Enoplognatha species?

The Wildlife Trust are monitoring Hedgehogs on the Reserve

I spotted some prints -
 it turns out they are cat prints rather than hedgehog!

The diameter of this fungus cap is about 18 cm!
I think it's a Bolete species

I tried to slide my camera set to selfie under the cap - pores not gills

. I'm in the picture too!

a couple of abandoned wasp nests from the tool shed

a lovely stand of Marsh Woundwort near the reed bed

ripening sloes - please do not forage, they are for the wildlife

some Yellow Rattle in the long grass

Sedge or Woodrush species? - a new record I think

Sneezewort and Marsh Woundwort in the meadow

Sneezewort coming into flower

another view from the hide

another of the paths leading to the hide

a lovely summer day but this picture looks quite autumnal

Definitely a good day for invertebrates and at least 3 new records for the Reserve!

With thanks to Steve Crellin for fly identifications

Please click on photos to enlarge them