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at the entrance to Ballachurry Wetlands Reserve
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Positively my last visit to the Reserve in June! I was there just after 9 a.m. and delighted to see a Song Thrush sitting on the handrail of the concrete bridge. It flew off into the garden of Old School House before I had time to organise my camera but I was scarcely through the gate when it was back again down on the bridge with a large snail. It gave the snail a terrific bashing. The shell flew through the air and landed about a metre away! It ate the snail then flew off into the reserve. What a great start to my morning's recording visit!
Birds:
SC210694 Song Thrush with snail; Chiffchaff heard not seen; 3 x House Sparrows flew over head and out of the reserve; Wren. Raven flying over croaking.
SC209694 Wren heard not seen from the Church boundary; Woodpigeon flying over, also heard but not seen; 2 x Sedge Warbler together; Song Thrush; Willow Warbler; Sedge Warbler in Meadowsweet; Magpie flew up from path.
SC208694 male Chaffinch in Willow; 2 Chaffinches on the ground under Willows; female Chaffinch; 2 x Goldcrest together; Woodpigeon flying over; Willow Warbler feeding fledgling; 2 x Goldfinch together then flock of about 5 seen together; Willow Warbler on post; Willow Warbler & Chiffchaff heard not seen from tree canopy; Blackcap heard not seen; Song Thrush landed briefly ahead of me on the boardwalk
SC208695 Thrush heard not seen; female Blackbird flew across path; Chiffchaff heard not seen; Chaffinch heard not seen
SC209693 Blue Tit; 2 x Willow Warblers together.
Butterflies and Moths:
SC210694 Meadow Brown
SC209693 Meadow Brown
SC208695 Clouded Border moth and unidentified moth ( Celypha lacunana?)
Other:
SC208695 Syrphus species hoverflies ( flat bodied)
SC209694 Syrphus species hoverflies
SC209694 Gorse Shieldbug and late instar nymph
SC209694 unidentified Beetle ( possibly a weevil)
SC209694 small Spider with caught fly.
SC208694 Common Wasp collecting wood from handrail
SC208694 Noon Fly and Sarcophaga Flesh Fly fly on bridge handrail
SC208694 Wolf spiders on the new boardwalk
SC208694 numerous flies on the new boardwalk ( cannot be identified from photo)
SC208694 Depressaria daucella caterpillars on Hemlock water Dropwort
SC209694 Bindweed in flower
SC209694 Grypocorris stysi Capsid bugs
SC209694 Orange Picture Wing Tephrid fly on thistle ( Xyphosia miliaria)
SC208694 Noon flies
SC209694 Phylloneta sp. spider, probably sisyphia
SC209693 Muscid flies
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| Goldfinch |
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| Woodpigeon |
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Sedge Warbler
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Sedge Warbler seen from hide doorway
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it returned several times to this bramble
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Willow Warbler
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and another elsewhere
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juvenile Willow Warbler waiting to be fed
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the parent flew in to feed it and they flew off together
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distant view of a Song Thrush
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Video footage of Song Thrush eating snail near the entrance gate
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and a still photo of the same bird
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a tasty snail snack
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Willow Warbler sitting on the sign suggesting we listen out for Sedge Warblers!
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yet another Willow Warbler
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they seemed to be everywhere
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it was lovely to have so many views of them
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singing Wren
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hard to see the hide for the vegetation now
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Marsh Woundwort
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Great Willowherb starting to flower
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2 wings or 4 ? 4 makes it a bee.
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Muscid flies
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flies 02 - cannot be identified from the photo
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Sarcophaga species - Flesh Fly
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Noon Fly
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and another on a Hazel leaf
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Eudasyphora cyancolor
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this is the same one
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Syrphus species Hoverfly
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| Syrphus species Hoverfly |
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| Syrphus species Hoverfly |
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| Syrphus species Hoverfly |
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| Syrphus species Hoverfly |
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| Syrphus species Hoverfly |
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| Syrphus species Hoverfly |
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Marmalade fly
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this small orange fly caught my eye - Xyphosia miliaria - a Picture Wing Fly
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Xyphosia miliaria which likes thistles - another view
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wild roses across the pond
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view through the hide shutters
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and from the ramp
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the damp meadow is looking lovely
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another view of it
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distant reed bed
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Red Campion seed head ready to shed its seeds
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a sea of Marsh Woundwort near the new boardwalk
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Capsid bugs on thistles
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and grasses
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and Campion; Froghopper emerging from cuckoo spit?
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these Capsid bugs have attractive markings
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Bindweed in flower
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distant Meadow Brown
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Clouded Border moth
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possibly Celypha lacunana again?
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Depressaria daucella moth caterpillar
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a useful source of food for the birds
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the new boardwalk bridge
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Hemp Agrimony buds starting to colour up
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a delicate grass head
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the bird hide from the meadow
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close up shot of the green roof
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the new "pond"
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now just a puddle until we can install a liner
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male Poecilobothrus nobilitatus flies trying to find a mate
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view from the new pond area
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Common wasp harvesting wood for a nest
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Unidentified weevil
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Wolf spider
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Gorse Shieldbug
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and it's nymph
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quite a late instar, I think
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a tiny spider in the gorse - Phylloneta sp. probably sisyphia
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another view of the spider
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a final look at June
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What a contrast this visit was to the previous birds " heard and not seen" visits! There seemed to be Warblers everywhere! Plenty of hungry mouths to be filled, I think.
With thanks to Neil Morris at ManxBirdlife , Kate Hawkins & Steve Crellin for help with identifications.
Please click on photos to enlarge them
