"A beautiful blue sky day at the Reserve "
A beautiful blue sky day at the Reserve on Thursday but very strong winds too. These eased slightly as the morning went on allowing the butterflies to make an appearance. The birds too, although vocal, were mostly keeping hidden in the vegetation at first but I did finally see a few and was able to take some photographs. Here is my list:
Birds:
SC209694 House Sparrow, female; Blackcap and Robin heard not seen; Sedge Warbler; Moorhen; 2 x female Mallard, one with 4 quite large ducklings; 2 x Woodpigeon; Chaffinch heard not seen; Song Thrush heard not seen;
SC209693 Chaffinch heard not seen; Woodpigeon x 2; male Blackbird; Blackcap heard not seen.
SC208694 Chaffinch, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff heard not seen; Sedge Warbler; 4 x Woodpigeon flying over; Great Tit.
SC208695 Chiffchaff heard not seen.
SC209695 Willow Warbler heard not seen; Blue Tit going in and out of nest box; Swallow flying over; Buzzard flying over; Jackdaw flying over; Robin.
SC210694 Goldfinch.
Butterflies & Moths:
SC209694 Holly Blue on Holly; Green Veined White; unidentified white flying; male Orange Tip; Small White;
SC208694 male Orange Tip; Common Blue.
SC209695 Unidentified Micro Moth.
Spiders:
SC209694 Nursery Web Spider x 3 close together; Very small Cucumber Spider on Sycamore leaf; small Crab Spider in gorse.
SC210694 Jumping Zebra Spider on wall.
Other:
SC210694 2-Spot Ladybird.
SC208694 Eristalis species Hoverfly.
SC208695 Weevil on Hogweed (Liophloeus tessulatus suggested by iRecord).
SC209695 Weevil on Hogweed (Liophloeus tessulatus suggested by iRecord).
SC208695 numerous unidentified flies along this path, especially on Hogweed.
SC209694 "Footballer" Hoverfly ; unidentified Hoverfly.
SC209694 2 x Hairy Shieldbug ( aka Sloe Bugs) inside separate dandelion clocks.
SC209695 Gorse Shieldbug adults x 3 + first instar nymphs and eggs.
SC209693 Green Shieldbug x 5 including mating pair.
SC210694 very large green Caterpillar in nettles.
SC209694 Pond Skater x 2; unidentified diving beetle; hedgehog footprints in pond mud.
always a pleasure to arrive at the reserve
 |
| female Sparrow near the Notice Board |
 |
| Moorhen in background, Mallard with ducklings in foreground |
 |
| difficult to catch all 5 with their heads up at the same time! |
 |
| Moorhen |
 |
| Sedge Warbler in the reed bed near the boardwalk |
 |
| it called "Tch tch" as it moved through the reeds feeding |
 |
| sunbathing male Blackbird |
 |
| Blue Tit entering the nest box |
 |
| and making a quick exit - can you spot it? |
 |
| Goldfinch |
 |
| a Buzzard suddenly appeared above me |
 |
| I was lucky to get these shots before it disappeared |
 |
| from the hide: could that be a Sedge Warbler? |
 |
| Yes! Collecting insects from the Hemlock Water Dropwort |
 |
| a lovely ( if raucous) bird |
 |
| I was delighted to find a 2-spot Ladybird near the gate |
 |
| Green Veined White ( the green veins are on the underwings) |
 |
| Common Blue |
 |
| male Orange Tip |
 |
| Small White |
 |
| Holly Blue on Holly, its caterpillar food plant. |
Patience rewarded! It's taken three visits to get a shot of this butterfly since I first saw it!
 |
| unidentified caterpillar on the nettles |
 |
| will it escape the notice of the birds desperate to feed their young? |
 |
| unidentified tiny micro moth in the gorse |
 |
| three Nursery Web Spiders together - I have numbered them |
 |
| 2 were this dark colour |
 |
| this one was lighter |
 |
| a small, well camouflaged Crab spider in the gorse |
 |
| not well camouflaged at all except by size - a tiny Cucumber spider |
 |
| very well camouflaged indeed - a jumping spider on the wall |
 |
| I would have missed it had I not been particularly looking for one |
 |
| here is the uncropped photo - they are tiny spiders |
 |
| Crane fly - food for fledglings at the moment |
 |
| unidentified fly with red eyes |
 |
| there were lots of flies on the Hogweed |
 |
| they flew up everywhere as I walked along the path |
 |
| "Green Bottle" |
 |
| "Blue Bottle" |
 |
| Eristalis species Hoverfly |
 |
| and another Eristalis elsewhere |
 |
| A "Footballer" Hoverfly - but do footballers still wear striped jerseys? |
 |
| Gorse Shieldbug |
 |
| previously reported Gorse Shieldbug eggs - no change |
 |
| however elsewhere some have hatched - tiny red nymphs |
 |
| easier to spot here? |
 |
| this one is a Green Shieldbug |
 |
| a mating pair of them nearby |
 |
| this one is a Sloe / Hairy Shieldbug |
 |
| they seem to love Dandelion clocks - not just at Ballachurry |
 |
| the drought and hot weather are causing evaporation |
 |
| the water level has gone down since last weeek |
 |
| and the liner is showing |
 |
| footprints in the pond mud suggest a Hedgehog has visited |
 |
| there are Pond Skaters in the water |
 |
| there are still Weevils in the Hogweed |
 |
| iRecord suggests they are Liophloeus tessulatus |
 |
| they are a lot smaller than they look in these photos! |
 |
| every May Ballachurry is covered in "snow" |
 |
| this is the cause - willow seed dispersing |
 |
| looking back to the hide |
 |
| young oak leaves backlit against the blue sky |
 |
| this is the "Lichen Tree" near the hide - still flowering well despite the lichen |
 |
| usual view of the meadow |
 |
| the Flag Iris are pretty at the moment |
 |
| a bright splash of yellow |
 |
| usuial view from the hide ramp |
 |
| Rowans are in full flower |
 |
| there is a veritable sea of Hemlock Water Dropwort throughout the Reserve |
 |
| Ox-eye daisy in flower at the path junction |
 |
| Hawthorn or "May flowers" everywhere |
 |
| the boardwalk stream has disappeared into the H.W. Dropwort |
 |
| boardwalk or catwalk? |
 |
| usual view from the boardwalk |
 |
| through the hide shutter |
 |
| a shady walk under the Ashes |
 |
| view of the meadow from the bridge |
 |
| a final look at the pond before heading home for lunch |
My final visit for the month of May. I am looking forward to June and seeing the Reserve in mid-summer.
