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| 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.
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| juvenile Moorhen |
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| one of 8 Mallard |
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| several thistles have Green Capsid bugs in residence |
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| closer look at Green Capsid Bug |
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| Forest Bug with nymph nearby. Nymph may be Hawthorn Shieldbug |
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| closer look at nymph - possibly Hawthorn Shieldbug rather than Forest Bug |
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| another nymph on green Rowan berries |
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| Gorse Shieldbug |
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| Shieldbug nymph |
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| Froghopper - may just have emerged from spittal as adult |
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| Great Pied Hoverfly ( Volucella pellucens) |
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| Hoverfly -Epistrophe grossulariae |
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| Hoverfly - Helophilus pendulus ( male) |
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| very small Hoverfly on dandelion - Syrphus species ( female) |
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| 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 |
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| Greenbottle fly ( female Lucillia species ) looking more attractive on a leaf than in earlier photo |
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| A muscid fly- probably Phaonia species |
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| a female Melanostoma species fly |
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| Green Veined White - a female I think |
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| Thank you 2 year old Seren for finding this lovely butterfly for me to photograph! |
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| It's a Meadow Brown |
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| 7-spot among the unripe blackberries |
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| another 7-spot elsewhere |
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| this one was on a grass seedhead |
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| this may be a Grasshopper nymph rather than an adult - very small |
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| Common Soldier Beetle |
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| Tiny but colourful spider - Enoplognatha species? |
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| The Wildlife Trust are monitoring Hedgehogs on the Reserve |
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| I spotted some prints - it turns out they are cat prints rather than hedgehog! |
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| The diameter of this fungus cap is about 18 cm! I think it's a Bolete species |
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| I tried to slide my camera set to selfie under the cap - pores not gills | . I'm in the picture too! |
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| a couple of abandoned wasp nests from the tool shed |
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| a lovely stand of Marsh Woundwort near the reed bed |
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| ripening sloes - please do not forage, they are for the wildlife |
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| some Yellow Rattle in the long grass |
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| Sedge or Woodrush species? - a new record I think |
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| Sneezewort and Marsh Woundwort in the meadow |
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| Sneezewort coming into flower |
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| another view from the hide |
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| another of the paths leading to the hide |
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| a lovely summer day but this picture looks quite autumnal |
With thanks to Steve Crellin for fly identifications
Please click on photos to enlarge them
