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A sunny May morning at Ballachurry Reserve
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I arrived at the Reserve at 9.15 on a bright and sunny morning. No rain was forecast until evening so I was surprised by a shower at 11 o'clock which lasted a full half hour! This I sat out in the bird hide, watching the 2 Moorhens on the water. When the rain stopped I was able to do another circuit before lunch. Here is what I recorded:Birds:
SC209693 Willow Warbler; 2 x Sedge Warblers together; Great Tit heard not seen; Blue Tit; male Chaffinch.
SC209694 ( Hide) 2 x Moorhen; Woodpigeon; Willow Warbler heard not seen; Chaffinch heard not seen; Magpie.
SC209694 ( elsewhere) Blackcap heard not seen; male Blackbird; 2 x Goldfinch on path; Woodpigeon; Mallard drake flying over; 8 x Goldfinches flying over; Robin; Willow Warbler; Song Thrush heard not seen; Blue Tit.
SC208694 2 x Blackbird; Long-tailed Tit; Wren; Willow Warbler; male Chaffinch; Blackcap heard not seen; Robin; Great Tit; Sedge Warbler heard not seen; Magpie.
SC208695 female Chaffinch; Blackcap heard not seen; Woodpigeon flying over; Goldfinch.
SC209695 Blue Tit feeding fledgling; Chaffinch heard not seen; Pheasant heard not seen; Great Tit.
Butterflies & Moths:
SC209694 male Orange Tip butterfly seen near water from hide; 2 x Green Veined White in territorial dispute; Silver Y moth; Orange Tip eggs on Cuckoo Flowers.
SC208694 Speckled Wood; male and female Orange Tip. Small White.
SC209695 Green Veined White.
SC210694 male Orange Tip.
Other:
SC210694 Oulema species beetle and unidentified ants on Garlic Mustard.
SC209693 Bird Cherry Ermine Moth larval webs on Bird Cherry trees.
SC209695 Hawthorn Shieldbug.
SC209694 Hairy Shieldbug in dandelion clock.
SC209694 Hibernating snail still in bird hide.
SC210694 Yellow Dung Fly; Hairy Shieldbug.
SC209695 Carder Bee; Crane Fly.
SC209694 Carder Bee
SC209693 Yellow Dung Fly on Rowan blossom
SC209695 Rhingia species Hoverfly on gorse
SC209694 Plum Pocket Galls forming on Blackthorn
SC209694 Herb Robert, Plantains and White Clover on hide roof.
SC208695 galls forming on oak leaves
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Goldfinch foraging on ground
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| Goldfinch |
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Blackbird near hide
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male Blackbird on reserve boundary
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Blue Tit
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| Magpie |
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Robin near the Boardwalk
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the same Robin singing
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Moorhen among the reeds
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the 2 Moorhens briefly together
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Willow Warbler
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Willow Warbler warbling
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female Orange Tip
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underwings of Orange Tips look like Q-R Codes!
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Green Veined White ( green veins are on underwings)
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Small White
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Orange Tip egg on Cuckoo Flower
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2 eggs on this one, close together
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Unfortunately, probably only one of the caterpillars from the above plant will survive. Orange Tip larvae are cannibalistic and will eat each other if they meet!
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Yellow Dung Fly and Hairy Shieldbug
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Hairy Shieldbug inside dandelion clock
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I saw this Hawthorn Shieldbug land on a leaf high above my head
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Carder Bee
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Carder Bee
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Crane Fly
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Oulema Beetle
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Rhingia Hoverfly
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orange body just about visible here
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Yellow Dung Fly on Rowan blossom
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Garden Snail still hibernating!
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Bird Cherry Ermine Moth larval webs
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This Bird Cherry has a lot of moth damage
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Pocket Plum Galls distorting Blackthorn sloes
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the sloes will elongate and form no stone
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Galls forming on Oak saplings
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and White Clover
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this is where I encountered 2 Sedge Warblers
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Oak Sapling doing well
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Ashes doing less well - Ash Die-Back disease
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the old beehives area
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the path leading to the old beehive loop
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usual view of the boardwalk
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view from the boardwalk
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the bridge across to the willow wood
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the compost area
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the view of the hide almost obscured by Hemlock Water Dropwort
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the shutters had been left open
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and graffiti left on the board
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| I had to wipe it clean to add my own sightings |
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looking left through the shutters
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and right
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there is a sea of Water Dropwort too
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view from the ramp
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looking towards the Private entrance
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the grass had been cut again recently
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the meadow
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emerging from the old beehive loop
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reed bed from the willows
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Willow seed near the hide - blows about like "snow"
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usual view of the hide
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a timely warning about the stream- no longer visible!
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the "pond" under the willows persists
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stream? what stream?
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a pretty corner
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I've never consciously tried to participate in Mindfulness, which is supposed to be so good for our health. However, it struck me that when I am at Ballachurry I am totally focused on most of my senses - watching the wildlife, listening to the birdsong or the patter of raindrops on the hide roof, smelling the Hawthorn blossom and freshly cut grass, feeling the sun on my back and the breeze on my face and sometimes touching the plants etc. etc. Taste is the one sense that is missing, but given the toxicity of many of the plants and fungi on the reserve it is safer not to indulge in that one!|
I certainly felt better in mind and body for my morning at the reserve and can certainly recommend visiting the countryside as a hobby!
please click on photos to enlarge them
