 |
Final visit of June 2021 to Ballachurry Reserve
|
I live on a hill and we woke up in the fog on Wednesday morning! I had planned to visit Ballachurry so this presented me with something of a dilemma. By ten o'clock there were signs of it lifting and the sun started to break through so I hastily gathered together my binoculars and camera etc. and headed down there. I had not been long through the gate when I realised I needed to fetch my fleece from the car! It was only the 30th of June after all! I was glad of it for the rest of the morning even when the sun came out as a cool breeze was blowing from the north west. Here is what I recorded:
Birds:
SC210694 Wren heard but not seen
SC209694 Chiffchaff; Sedge Warbler; Willow Warbler heard but not seen; female Mallard with duckling ( possibly hybrid) Family of Long Tailed Tits ( see below)
SC209693 Blackcap & Chaffinch heard but not seen;
SC208694 Robin; Sedge Warbler with food in beak and brief sighting of two fledglings; female Blackbird.
SC208695 family of Long tailed Tits ( hard to asses numbers but about 4 juveniles) Chaffinch x 2 (male and female) Great Tit; Blue Tit juvenile. Possible Coal tit juvenile ( to be confirmed)
Butterflies , Moths & Caterpillars:
SC210694 Small Tortoiseshell ( possibly egg laying on nettles)
SC210694 Clouded Border moth ( sorry , no photo)
SC209693 Speckled Wood
SC208694 Speckled Wood; unidentified White flying; Small Tortoiseshell
SC208695 Small White; Meadow Brown; Small Tortoiseshell; Speckled Wood x 2.
SC209695 Speckled Wood x 2
SC209695 Silver Y resting in Hogweed . Very camouflaged
SC210694 4 x Orange Tip larvae on Garlic Mustard
SC209694 2 x unidentified Green caterpillars on Hemlock Water Dropwort
SC209694 Depressaria daucella caterpillars in Hemlock Water Dropwort
Ladybirds:
SC210694 1 x 7-spot; 4 x 7-spot larvae; 1 x 7-spot pupa.
SC209694 2 x 7-spot larvae on Hazel
SC209694 1 adult 7-spot, 4 x 7-spot larvae; 1 x 7-spot pupa on Greater Birdsfoot Trefoil
SC209694 7-spot larva on thistle covered with black aphids
SC209693 1 x 7-spot on Hemlock Water Dropwort
Other:
SC210694 Nursery Web Spider in nettles; 5 x Capsid bugs in nettles
SC209695 2 x Gorse Shieldbug nymphs ( different instars)
SC209694 Gorse Shieldbug nymphs ( various instars)
SC209695 Muscid fly ( Eudasyphora cyanella?) species fly on hogweed leaves
SC209695 Soldier fly Chloromyia formosa on hogweed leaves
SC208694 Syrphus species Hoverfly
SC209694 Eristalis pertinax hoverfly?
SC209695 Sarcophaga species fly and Wolf Spider carrying egg case on leaf
SC209693 Hazel nuts starting to form
 |
juvenile Blue Tit
|
 |
| Chiffchaff |
 |
one of several juvenile Long Tailed Tits
|
 |
the same one
|
 |
another member of the family
|
 |
Female Mallard and duckling hiding in the undergrowth
|
 |
very vocal Sedge Warbler
|
 |
Sedge Warbler with food
|
 |
one of the waiting hungry juvenile SedgeWarblers
|
 |
Ladybird life cycle - 7-spot larva hatched from egg
|
 |
then pupates
|
 |
emerges as adult 7-spot Ladybird
|
 |
one of several 7-spot larvae on the reserve
|
 |
another 7-spot pupa
|
 |
7-spot Ladybird
|
 |
the larvae as well as the adults eat aphids
|
 |
another 7-spot in the Hemlock Water Dropwort
|
 |
unidentified caterpillar in Hemlock Water Dropwort
|
 |
Depressaria daucella moth caterpillar in Hemlockl Water Dropwort
|
 |
a second unidentified green caterpillar
|
 |
Speckled Wood basking on the warm wood chip
|
 |
and another on the grass
|
 |
Meadow Brown
|
 |
Small Tortoiseshell in the brambles
|
 |
and another which might have been egg laying on the nettles
|
 |
I wouldn't have noticed this Silver Y had I not stopped to photograph a fly
|
 |
Eristalis pertinax Hoverfly
|
 |
Muscid fly - Eudasyphora cyanella ( probably)
|
 |
Soldier Fly Chloromyia formosa
|
 |
Syrphus species Hoverfly
|
 |
Hemlock Water Dropwort had again collapsed onto the bridge
|
 |
I cut it back to make the boardwalk passable again
|
 |
a bank of sea mist still sitting atop the hills
|
 |
previously photgraphed Gorse Shieldbug eggs now empty
|
 |
there are Gorse Shieldbug nymphs in various stages ( instars)
|
 |
Gorse Shieldbug nymph
|
 |
the gorse seed gives you an indication of size
|
 |
colours change as they go through various instars
|
 |
Capsid bug with fallen cherry - possibly Grypocoris stysi
|
 |
Hogweed is taller than me in places but it's Common Hogweed not Giant
|
 |
Purple Loosetrife coming into bloom in the meadow
|
 |
Wolf spider with egg sack disturbed by Sarcophaga fly landing beside it
|
 |
Hazel nuts starting to form
|
 |
Colourful grasses and Yellow Rattle
|
 |
Meadowsweet now in full bloom
|
 |
everything in the meadow growing taller
|
 |
heading through the gate homewards
|
It was amazing how much the vegetation had grown on the reserve in such a short time. Having completed my survey, I then removed 4 full barrow loads of Dropwort, Hogweed and Brambles etc. which had either collapsed or grown across the paths. No doubt it will all be back again before my next visit!
With thanks to Steve Crellin for fly IDs
Please click on photos to enlarge them
