Since our Open Afternoon at Ballachurry Reserve on 22nd August I have received the following lists of species observed by the experts during the afternoon. Some species are still under investigation and will be added later. A number of new records for the Reserve were noted and I am very grateful to everyone concerned for letting me have this information.
BUTTERFLIES - Garry Curtis, Manx Butterfly Conservation
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1 male Large White
1 male Common Blue
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2 Small Copper
6 Common Blue (including two females),
1 Wall
6 Large White
5 Small White
2 Green-veined White
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6 Green-veined White
4 Small White
2 Large White
Garry also reported seeing 4 x Buzzards and 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
BIRDS -Tim Earl, Adult Course Tutor Manx Birdlife
Great cormorant 1 flyover
Mallard 2 pond
Common buzzard 3 flyover
Peregrine falcon 2 flyover
Common pheasant heard
European water rail 1 pond
Great black-backed gull 3 flyover
Herring gull flyover
Black-headed gull flyover
Common wood pigeon 3 flyover
Eurasian collared dove 1 flyover
Common swift 1 flyover
Great spotted woodpecker
1 flyover
Barn swallow 2 flyover
Northern house martin 10 flyover
White wagtail 2 flyover
Northern wren heard
Dunnock 1
Eurasian blackbird 2
Willow warbler 2
Eurasian blackcap 1
European robin 2
Great tit 2
Blue tit 1
Eurasian magpie 1
Eurasian jackdaw 15 flyover
Rook 10 flyover
Carrion crow 1
Northern raven 1 flyover
Chaffinch 2
Eurasian siskin 8 flyover
European goldfinch 3
SPIDERS - Kate Hawkins – former Curator of Natural History, Manx Museum
SC208694 mostly immature / juveniles but in large numbers
Araneus diadematus – Garden Spider
Pisaura mirabilis – Nursery Web spider (female sitting on her nursery web)
Neriene clathrata – one of the ‘larger’ money spiders, dislodged from
blackthorn or hawthornn NEW RECORD
Enoplognatha sp. – a Candy-striped Spider
Pardosa sp. – Wolf Spiders – these were abundant and easy to see running about or basking in the sun
Xysticus sp. – Crab Spiders
Pachygnatha sp. – one of the Long-jawed Orbweb Spiders
Clubiona sp. – Sac Spiders
There were also many long-legged harvestmen which are usually adult in late summer and autumn:
Leiobunum sp. –L.rotundum
Dicranopalpus sp. – immature, but easily recognisable to genus by the
bifurcated palps. NEW RECORD
FUNGI - Liz Charter, IOM Fungus Group
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Wood Pinkgill (Entoloma rhodopolium) under willows.
Deceiver ( Laccaria laccata)
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Fairy Ring Fungus ( Marasmius oreades) NEW RECORD
Sulphur Tuft (Hypholoma fasciculare) NEW RECORD
Whitewash Fungus ( Hyphodontia sambuci) NEW RECORD
SC208694 Bonnet species (Mycena species)
INVERTEBRATES -Dawn Colley ( MWT Education Officer) / Steve Crellin ( IOM Dipterist)
SC209693 Buff-tip Caterpillars
(more to follow)
My own list during the day was as follows: -
SC208694 – 2 x Reed Warblers
SC209694 2 x Blackbird
SC209694 flock of 8 Great Tit
SC209694 2 x Mallard
SC209694 Robin
SC209694 Wren heard but not seen
SC209694 Peregrine
SC209694 Buzzard
SC209695 Small Copper Butterfly
SC208694 Common Blue Butterfly; Green Veined White; Large White;
SC208695 Speckled Wood
SC208695 Small White
SC209693 Hare’s foot Inkcap fungus
SC208694 unidentified orange fungus or slime mould on wooden signpost
SC209695 nymph of Sloe Bug ( aka Hairy Shieldbug)
SC209693 Nymph of Common Green Shieldbug
Some of the above were photographed and can be found in the previous post.
