Ballachurry Reserve, 24th April, 2022. Incidental report.

Sunday at Ballachurry Reserve

   Another visit to the reserve today at 10 o'clock to set up the hedgehog tunnels and check the small mammal traps had food available for any passing mice. Once this was accomplished I walked round the Reserve  for the rest of the morning enjoying the birdsong, the sunshine and the peace and quiet of a Sunday morning.  Here is what I recorded:

Birds:

SC208695 Great Tit; Chiffchaff; male Chaffinch; 2 x Blue Tit;  Goldfinch;

SC208694 Chaffinch; Blackcap heard but not seen; Willow Warbler

SC209695 Chaffinch; Willow Warbler; Wren;  Woodpigeon.

SC209694 House Sparrow; pair of Mallard on pool; Moorhen flew in; Willow Warbler from SC208694 flew on to roof of hide and was taking insects from plants; Sedge Warbler and Blackcap heard but not seen from Hide; male Blackbird; Pheasant heard but not seen; Chaffinch heard but not seen; Woodpigeon flying over; 2 x Long Tailed Tit; 2 x Chiffchaff; female Blackcap seen briefly near new pond; 5 x Goldfinch; Magpie flying over.

Butterflies:

SC210694  male Orange Tip; Peacock; Small Tortoiseshell; Holly Blue; unidentified white flying

SC209695 2 x male Orange Tip having territorial dispute;Peacock; unidentified White flying

SC209693  male Orange Tip 

SC209694 Red Admiral; Peacock; male Orange Tip; unidentified white flying.Orange Tip tried to send off  basking Peacock.

SC208695 Speckled Wood

Other:

SC209694 9 x Gorse Shieldbug; Crab spider in gorse.

SC209693 Hare's Foot Inkcap fungi

SC208694Hare's Foot Inkcap fungi

SC210694 Honey bee

SC210694 Wolf Spider

SC208694 Wolf Spider

a pair of Mallard on the pond

both feeding - heads down!

coming up for air - heads up!

Moorhen has become a regular

admiring its own reflection?

Chiffchaff near the new pond

you can see its shorter wings in this picture (Willow Warblers' are longer)

this is a Willow Warbler - having sung for a while...

it flew to the roof of the hide

where it was finding things to eat on this plant

possibly some sort of sow thistle?

House Sparrow

Woodpigeon

yet another Willow Warbler singing

Long Tailed Tit

a much quieter day than Saturday - just Church bells!

I think these are Aspens on the Church boundary

Red Campion

male Orange Tip

and another elsewhere

there were several Peacocks on the Reserve

dandelions are an important food source

this Peacock was basking on the mud of the new pond

 

 

a very ragged Small Tortoiseshell

and a rather more pristine one

Speckled Wood  - they like dappled shade

I am watching the blossom develop on this Hawthorn

view along the gorse boundary - not a cloud in sight

male crab spider in the gorse

and a Gorse Shieldbug

honey bees like dandelions too

Another Hare'sfoot Inkcap has come up near the boardwalk site

but these were at the opposite side of the Reserve

Wolf spider among the hard core for the boardwalk foundations

another on a slab propped up the wall

here is a Longworth small mammal trap

I had to check the bedding and food inside

and replenish when necessary

today I added paper and "paint" to the Hedgehog tunnel

Ginnie's Memorial Tree in flower

a final look back from near the new pond

please click on photos to enlarge them

Ballachurry reserve, 23rd April 2022 . Incidental report

 a spring  afternoon - not as peaceful as it looks!

 

 I had another commitment Saturday morning so my visit to bait the small mammal traps had to wait until 3 p.m. in the afternoon. Once this was done I wandered round the reserve in the sunshine for a couple of hours noting down the wildlife I saw:

Birds:

 SC209694 Willow Warbler heard not seen; male Pheasant; Goldfinch; male Blackbird; Chaffinch heard not seen; Chiffchaff heard not seen; 2 x Song Thrush near the new pond; Blue Tit; Mallard Drake

SC209695 Coal tit; 3 x Goldfinch

SC208694 Willow Warbler; Blackbird heard not seen;  Mallard flying over; Great Tit;

SC209693 Pheasant heard not seen;  2 x Goldfinch

SC208695 Robin

Butterflies:

SC209694 Peacock; unidentified white flying;

SC208694 2 x Peacock in territorial dispute

Other:

SC209694 2 x Gorse Shieldbug

SC208694 Wolf Spider 

 SC208694 Eudasyphora cyanella fly and probable Calliphora species fly

I often see a Blackbird searching  for food among the woodchip

Coal Tit

rare among my photos at the Reserve

Mallard flying over

Goldfinch

Moorhen

Willow Warbler

Hawthorns starting to flower

apple blossom too

Cuckoo Flowers among the Hemlock Water Dropwort leaves

caterpillar food plant for both Orange Tip and Green Veined White butterflies

looking across the meadow

view through the shutters

ever receding water

Probably a Calliphora species

Green Bottle Fly - Eudasyphora cyanella

Gorse Shieldbug

Peacock butterfly

Peacock making use of the new timber for warmth

Wolf spider

primroses on the bank of the stream

The usual look at progress on the new boardwalk

note the Peacock butterfly

a few more planks to go yet

 Saturday afternoon at the reserve was a great contrast to my morning visits earlier in the week. Far from being a haven of peace and quiet there was a great deal of noise! Shooting was going on locally for most of the afternoon - whether for rabbits or crows I don't know - but the loud cracks certainly made me jump and even put up a butterfly, let alone the birds. A mallard flying over veered off course to the right but fortunately was not the target on this occasion.  As well as the shooting there were residential sounds of garden maintenance, strimmers,  chain saws, mowers etc. Even the sound of the steam train and the barriers closing at level crossings was carried towards the reserve on the wind.  Nevertheless it was an enjoyable afternoon's wildlife watching. Perhaps Sunday will be more peaceful! 

With thanks to Steve Crellin for help with IDs.

please click on photos to enlarge them