 |
a sunny spring morning at Ballachurry Reserve
|
There was an excellent weather forecast for Tuesday, so how very frustrating not to be able to go to the Reserve straight after breakfast and spend the morning there! I had a 10.30 appointment elsewhere but managed to visit Ballachurry about an hour later. Here is what I recorded: Birds:
SC209693 Wren; Great Tit; female Blackbird; Robin; Woodpigeon flying over.
SC209694 ( hide) Heron standing at side of pond; Pheasant; 2 x Moorhen; drake Mallard flew in with a splash; Chaffinch heard not seen; Chiffchaff; female Blackbird; Woodpigeon in churchyard trees.
SC209694 ( elsewhere)Robin heard not seen; Song Thrush; female Blackbird; Wren; Chiffchaff; Hooded Crow flying over; male Chaffinch.
SC208694 2 x Great Tit; Buzzard; Robin; Wren; Chiffchaff in willow near boardwalk; 2 x Goldfinch flying over.
SC208695 ( feeders empty, no birds) female Chaffinch; Blue Tit; Wren heard not seen.
SC209695 male and female Chaffinch; Great Tit; Blue Tit heard not seen.
SC210694 10 Jackdaw flying over; 3 x Jackdaw on roof of Old School House.
Other:
SC209694 Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly on dandelion flowers.
SC209694 ( dragonfly pond) 2 x Pond Skater; numerous Pond Snails; Marsh marigold in flower; 2 tadpoles seen.
SC208695 2 x 7-spot Ladybird.
SC209695 7 x 7-spot Ladybird ( all in the same gorse bush).
SC209695 2 x Gorse Shieldbug & 1 Green Shieldbug.
SC209694 7-spot Ladybird near stream inlet on gorse flowers; 3 x 7-spot Ladybird on nettles near the noticeboard.
SC210694 Nursery Web spider x 3; Jumping Spider; Wolf Spider.
SC210694 on wood chip pile:dead mouse ( tail missing, decomposing so hard to identify) + rabbit paw ? Predator unknown.
SC209694 Yellow Dung Flies + other unidentified flies.
SC209694 Eristalis species Hoverflies in 3 locations.
SC208694 Eristalis species Hoverfly near Boardwalk.
SC209694 Honey Bees in Blackthorn.
SC209694 Unidentified Bumble Bee on daffodil flower.
SC209694 small crab spider on Noticeboard.
SC209694 tiny Grass fly ( Chloropidae species) on noticeboard - probably Thaumatomyia notata - NEW RECORD
SC208694 Herb Robert in flower under willows.
SC209694 numerous spider nests in hide.
SC210694 Ivy-leaved Speedwell in flower near gate. Also Garden escape Grape Hyacinth (Muscari).
 |
Robin near the boardwalk
|
 |
and Robin near the road
|
 |
Chiffchaff feeding in the willows
|
 |
I heard it singing too
|
 |
we had one over-wintering on the reserve
|
 |
but this may be an spring immigrant
|
 |
they are being reported across the Island
|
 |
female Chaffinch
|
 |
Jackdaw Nextdaw! (next door at Old School House)
|
|
 |
one of two Moorhens
|
 |
I don't often see the Pheasant by the pond
|
 |
Pheasant and Moorhen together
|
 |
the Mallard drake came splashing in
|
 |
Grey Heron at the pond side
|
 |
Song Thrush provided the musical soundtrack all morning
|
 |
the smaller pond is starting to wake up
|
 |
first pond skaters of the year
|
 |
Pond Snails and a tadpole
|
 |
another tadpole elsewhere in the pond
|
 |
Marsh Marigold
|
 |
hopefully they will clump up & seed in future years
|
 |
the sunshine had tempted the Ladybirds out of hibernation
|
 |
I counted 13 x 7-spot Ladybirds on the reserve
|
 |
this one had company - an Eristalis species Hoverfly
|
 |
another on the Celandines
|
 |
and this one was warming up near the board walk
|
 |
Another Eristalis Hoverfly in the gorse flowers
|
 |
I noticed there was a Gorse Shieldbug close by on the right
|
 |
here is a closer view of it
|
 |
there were others elsewhere
|
 |
this one is a Green Shieldbug
|
 |
very camouflaged in the gorse - a Nursery Web spider
|
 |
another Nursery Web Spider near the gate
|
 |
I counted three at this location
|
 |
on the wall behind them I looked for Jumping Spiders
|
 |
and found this tiny individual
|
 |
they are very camouflaged and hard to spot
|
 |
can you see it on this uncropped photo?
|
 |
also on the wall - a Wolf Spider
|
 |
and there were some on the boardwalk too
|
 |
this Spider was on the Noticebaord
|
 |
spider nests inside the hide + 1 small spider
|
 |
there were Honey Bees in the Blackthron blossom
|
 |
and Bumble bees visiting the Daffodils
|
 |
possibly a White-tailed Bumble Bee?
|
 |
but I need to look it up!
|
 |
suddenly lots of flies about
|
 |
probably Thaumatomyia notata Grass fly (only a couple of mm. long)
|
 |
the Hogweed continues to attract flies
|
 |
Yellow Dung Flies + others to be identified
|
 |
I was really pleased to see a Small Tortoiseshell on the dandelions
|
 |
Herb Robert is also coming into flower under the Willows
|
 |
easy to miss the tiny Ivy-leaved Speedwell flowers by the gate
|
 |
a woodland corner
|
 |
looking towards the Boardwalk
|
 |
and the usual Boardwalk view
|
 |
the hide - to be painted at the next work party
|
 |
usual view of the meadow
|
 |
and from a slightly different angle
|
 |
usual view from the ramp - lovely blue sky!
|
 |
through the hide shutters
|
 |
and looking the other way
|
 |
the stream still gushing
|
 |
the reed bed near the bridge
|
 |
no sign of the water receding under the willows
|
 |
time to head home for a late lunch
|
The sunshine had brought out not only the insects but also visitors to the reserve, some to just sit on the benches, others to stroll round and visit the hide. One gentleman commented to me that he had walked to the reserve from the nearby housing estate which apparently has little in the way of wildlife as yet. He said " As you walk towards the Reserve you can hear the biodiversity, can't you?" I thought this was a real compliment for the Reserve - it shows it is doing its job on oh so many levels.
With thanks to Andree Dubbeldam for identifying Ivy-leaved Speedwell for me and Steve Crellin for the Grass Fly.
please click on photos to enlarge them
