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| August flowering meadow |
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I have been rather busy lately so missed visiting Ballachurry during the first week of August. However, on Thursday last week I was welcomed back at the gate by the sight of a Common Blue Butterfly on a dandelion and a Small White butterfly just behind it. The sun was shining but there was a strengthening wind and I was pretty well wrapped up for August! I stayed for three hours as there was lots to see but it had clouded over by the time I went home for lunch and by then the butterflies were sheltering rather than flying. Here is what I recorded:
Birds:
SC208694 female Chaffinch; 5 x Swallows flying over; 3 x Goldfinches flying over
SC209694 Wood Pigeon flying over; Magpie flying over; 3 x Mallard ( all female); Herring Gull flying over; Heron flying over.
Butterflies & Moths:
SC209694 Speckled Wood x 2; Unidentified White flying; Small Copper; Green Veined White; Small White; Antler Moth; Udea lutelalis Moth
SC210694 Common Blue
SC208694 Common Blue; Green Veined White; 2 x Speckled Wood together + 1 other; 2 x Small Copper; Nettle-tap Moth; unidentified moth pupae on Rush flowers.
SC208695 2 x Green Veined White; Peacock; Speckled Wood
SC209695 2 x Speckled Wood together
Odonata:
SC209694 Blue tailed damselfly;
SC208695 unidentified khaki/greenish hawker
Ladybirds:
SC209694 7-spot on thistle
Bugs:
SC208694 Gorse Shieldbug nymphs in gorse bush - various instars
SC209695 Hawthorn Shieldbug nymph
SC209694 Hawthorn Shieldbug nymph
Flies and Hoverflies:
SC209693 "Footballer" Hoverfly - Helophilus pendulus
SC208694 Flesh Fly ( Sarcophaga sp.) ;darkish Marmalade Fly ( Episyrphus balteatus); other Marmalade Flies x 2 elsewhere; 2 x Eristalis species Hoverfly;
SC209694 Eristalis pertinax x 3; Helophilus pendulus " footballer" Hoverfly
Other:
SC208694 unidentified fungus
SC209695 Harvestman in gorse
SC209694 unidentified caterpillar in Rowan tree
SC208695 2 x Froghoppers
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Looking right through the hide shutters
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and looking left
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like most adolescents, this young duck is always hungry
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it is some sort of Mallard Hybrid, like its mother
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distant Heron flying over
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controversial Cushag ( Ragwort) is brilliant for wildlife - Small Copper & Udea lutealis moth
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composite picture of Common Blue female near the entrance
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another Common Blue in the Meadow
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nectaring on Greater Birdsfoot Trefoil
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There were lots of Green Veined Whites about
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they love the Hemp Agrimony
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a good view of the Green Veins
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and another elsewhere
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and yet another, on bramble this time
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a Peacock butterfly
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and a Small White
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Small Copper on Cushag ( Ragwort) near Ginnie's bench.
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and among the grass
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and nectaring on clover in the path
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but the Cushag ( Ragwort) is definitely favourite!
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Speckled Woods were also in evidence
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they love dappled shade
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and the warmth of the wood chip
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this is a Speckled Wood too
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there is an autumnal look to the Reserve already - seeding docks
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ripening Rowan berries
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this is the short route to the hide
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and this one near the entrance
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ripening sloes - autumn food for the wildlife
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hazel nuts for Ballachurry Wood mice to enjoy later
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ripening blackberries - enjoyed by all manner of wildlife
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can you see why I took this photo? 3 x Gorse Shieldbugs
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| let's take a closer look |
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here is an adult Gorse Shieldbug on the right with one of its nymphs
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another stage of development for a Gorse Shieldbug
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once "you get your eye in" you notice them everywhere
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this was a really small, early instar ( or life stage)
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they go through various colour changes as they grow
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| check out a gorse bush by you in August.... |
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and you may well find some
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and now for something completely different -
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these are Hawthorn Shieldbug nymphs
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despite the fact that these are Rowan berries!
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they hide among the berries so are hard to see
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Caterpillar on Rowan - possibly Grey Dagger Moth
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the Rowans give an autumnal look to the hide
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a shot through the telephoto lens shows the roof greening up
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Sneezewort and Greater Birdsfoot Trefoil in the meadow
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Purple Loosestrife
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view taken from the back of the meadow
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and the usual view from the hide ramp
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Flesh fly - (Sarcophaga species)
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A darkish Marmalade Fly - Episyrphus balteatus
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"Footballer" Hoverfly in its stripey jersey - Helophilus pendulus
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Marmalade fly
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| Eristalis species |
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Eristalis species Hoverfly on Hemp Agrimony
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a great plant for wildlife -Eristalis species
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Eristalis pertinax
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Cushag attracting the hoverflies too - Eristalis pertinax
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what big eyes you've got..... Eristalis pertinax
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Marmalade fly on Loosetrife
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Noon Fly
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Nettle-tap moth
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the white "grass seeds" on the rush flowers are in fact Moth pupae
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Antler Moth ( top) Udea Lutealis moth ( bottom)
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another "footballer" - Helophilus pendulus
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7-spot Ladybird
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unidentified fungi - another sign of approaching autumn?
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very well camouflaged Harvestman
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this is what all that Cuckoo Spit turns into
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they may both be different morphs of Philaenus spumarius
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a slightly different view of the Reserve to close
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Very few birds were seen during this visit - hence the lack of bird photos.
With thanks to Steve Crellin for fly identifications
We had a work party at the reserve the following Saturday in preparation for the Open Afternoon on 22nd August. My next post will have photos of that.
please click on photos to enlarge them
