 |
looking along the old beehive loop from near the private entrance
|
I was at the reserve a little earlier than usual on Wednesday, arriving about 08.45. There had been heavy rain overnight and I immediately realised I should have worn my wellies and over trousers - my trainers were quickly soaked through and the bottoms of my trousers likewise! However, undeterred, I carried on and was rewarded almost immediately with a distant view of 2 Whitethroats, something I'd not seen on the Reserve in a while. Although there was only intermittent sunshine, there was plenty to see and watch and the time flew by. I didn't leave until about 1.15! It was good to see the water back in the pond and both streams again. Here is what I recorded:Birds:
SC208694 2 x Whitethroat; female Blackbird; 2 x Robin both heard and one seen;
SC209694 male Blackbird; 3 x Woodpigeon flying over ; Robin
SC209694 ( Hide) Water Rail flew from right hand side into reed bed on left making "chip chip" call; Sedge Warblers and juvenile Reed Warblers feeding in vegetation directly in front of hide ( probably two of each); Sedge warbler seen later in Rowan tree across pond; Blue Tit; female Mallard.21
SC209695 female Blackbird; Willow Warbler; Robin
SC208695 Buzzard heard but not seen ( tree canopy overhead)
SC208694 Magpie heard not seen; 2 x Goldcrest; Wren; Blue Tit; male Chaffinch; 3 Chaffinch together later; Great Tit; male and female Blackbird; Song Thrush
SC209693 Pheasant heard not seen;
Butterflies & Moths:
SC208695 Speckled Wood
SC209695 2 x Speckled Wood; unidentified white moth;
SC209694 Speckled Wood x 2 ; female Common Blue
SC208694 male Common Blue ; Speckled Wood
SC209693 3 x Speckled Wood
Other:
SC208694 Woody Nightshade in flower
SC208694 Syrphus species Hoverfly?
SC208695 Marmalade Fly; Green Bottle Fly; Scaeva pyrastri Hoverfly ?
Sc209694 Harvestman
SC209694 Hawthorn Shieldbug nymph;
SC209694 Rhingia campestris Hoverfly?
SC209693 Syrphus ? species Hoverfly on Cushag ( Ragwort) + various unidentified flies.
SC209693 Unidentified moth
Sc209693 Cranefly
SC208694 tiny wasp /bee/ sawfly?
SC208694 Inkcaps and unidentified fungi along paths
SC209695 Hawthorn Shieldbug and Green Shieldbug nymphs
SC209694 Water Crickets
 |
Willow Warbler ( I think!)
|
 |
One of two Whitethroats
|
 |
finding things to eat among the vegetation
|
 |
Young Goldfinch
|
 |
Blue tit
|
 |
early contender for Ballachurry Christmas card?
|
 |
young Blackbird looking for food in stream
|
 |
and enjoying a paddle
|
 |
another Blue tit elsewhere
|
 |
Mallard amongst the water lilies
|
 |
juvenile goldfinch
|
 |
juvenile Reed Warbler
|
 |
lovely close view
|
 |
but always obscured by some vegetation
|
 |
Sedge Warbler
|
 |
seen again later among the Rowan berries
|
 |
soon to leave us for warmer climes, no doubt.
|
 |
butterflies also like the Rowan berries - Speckled Wood
|
 |
Speckled Wood warming up on the timber
|
 |
they seemed to appear from nowhere as soon as the sun came out
|
 |
one on just about every path
|
 |
I almost missed the Common Blue
|
 |
it was a female ( unfortunately the photo of the male was blurred)
|
 |
unidentified moth
|
 |
and another waiting to be identified
|
 |
solitary bee or wasp or maybe a Sawfly?
|
 |
another view
|
 |
Crane Fly
|
 |
Green Bottles like blackberries!
|
 |
So do hoverflies - 01
|
 |
fly 02
|
 |
fly 03
|
 |
fly 04
|
 |
another Green Bottle - 06
|
 |
Scaeva pyrastri I think with reflection of camera phone on thorax!
|
 |
Great Pied Hoverfly
|
 |
an Eristalis species I think
|
 |
and another on Cushag ( Ragwort)
|
 |
Marmalade Hoverfly
|
 |
and another Marmalade Hoverfly elsewhere
|
 |
possibly a Syrphus species Hoverfly?
|
 |
and another Syrphus perhaps?
|
 |
Rhingia species Hoverfly?
|
 |
another Syrphus Hoverfly on Cushag?
|
 |
they seem to have flattened bodies
|
 |
tiny hoverfly 07
|
 |
another tiny hoverfly 08
|
 |
two views of the boardwalk
|
 |
and the view from the boardwalk
|
 |
I opened the shutters
|
 |
and saw this spider in the corner of one of them tying up it's lunch
|
 |
Wolf Spider
|
 |
spider webs in the gorse with last night's raindrops
|
 |
diamond necklace!
|
 |
Harvestmen are Arachnids too
|
 |
this one to be identified
|
 |
good to see water coming into the reserve once more
|
 |
these Water Crickets survived the drought
|
 |
Just 4 days after the work party the stream is flowing again
|
 |
bridge across to the Willows Walk
|
 |
view from the bridge
|
 |
Green Shieldbug nymph on Hogweed
|
 |
Hawthorn Shieldbug nymph on Rowan berries
|
 |
enough rain to make a small puddle once more
|
 |
we had hoped the bank might be home to solitary bees
|
 |
instead something much larger has moved in
|
 |
fungi along the paths
|
 |
decurrent gills and white spore print
|
 |
Inkcaps are short lived and collapse readily
|
 |
but this one was still standing
|
 |
Alder cones in evidence - one of last year's in the background
|
 |
new catkins on the Hazel bushes
|
 |
ripe Hazel nuts for the Wood mice
|
 |
Woody Nightshade has climbed the tree
|
 |
nice to see water in the pond once more
|
 |
usual view from the ramp on an overcast morning
|
 |
and the usual view of the hide
|
 |
Meadow is not so colourful - not too long until it is cut now
|
 |
meadow from the other direction
|
Good gracious! Is that the time? I'd better head home for lunch!
With thanks to Neil Morris for juvenile Reed Warbler ID
please click on photos to enlarge them
