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The sun came out mid morning - view from hide ramp
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I slept very well on Wednesday night! I had spent the morning at Ballachurry Reserve, the afternoon at another Manx Wildlife Trust reserve where I also do some recording and then in the evening I went on a boat trip organised by the Manx Ornithological Society round the Calf of Man, the Chicken Rock lighthouse, and the Sugar Loaf Rock to see the nesting seabirds. That was a lot of fresh air with only snatched meals in between. My morning visit started around 9.15 and I left just after midday. Here is what I recorded:
Birds:
SC209693 Willow Warbler heard not seen; Woodpigeon flying over; Song Thrush heard not seen; male Blackcap.
SC209694 Blackcap heard not seen; Willow Warbler heard not seen; Swallow flying over; female Chaffinch; Woodpigeon flying over; female Blackbird; Great Tit; Mallard flying over; Goldfinch; Sedge Warbler heard not seen; Blue Tit x 2 together and later x 4 together.
SC208694 male Blackbird; Wren; Blackcap heard not seen; juvenile Robin; Great Tit; male Chaffinch; Song Thrush heard not seen.
SC208695 female Blackbird on the path; Chaffinch heard not seen; Great Tit; Woodpigeon.
Butterflies and Moths:
SC209694 unidentified moth on nettle; Clouded Border moth.
SC209694 Speckled Wood; Meadow Brown.
SC208695 unidentified moth on Oak.
SC209695 Speckled Wood.
Sc209693 Speckled Wood.
Other:
SC208694 Click Beetle (Athous haemorrhoidalis) on Phragmites reed
SC209694 Gorse Shieldbug eggs on gorse seedpod
SC209694 caterpillar on Hogweed seedhead
SC209694 ( dragonfly pond) Blue-tailed damselfly on branch in water and quartering pondside grass;
Conjoined Common Darters "dipping" in water to lay eggs; Greater Water Boatman; small Black beetle out of the water;
SC209694 2 x Common Darter visible over main pond from hide
SC209694 Wolf Spider carrying egg sack
SC208694 Honey Bees on bramble flowers
SC208694 Numerous flies on bridge Handrails and elsewhere
SC208695 Unidentified Hoverfly
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Blue Tit
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male Chaffinch
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| Wren |
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| it sings regularly from the same spot |
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Speckled Wood
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unidentified moth
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and another elsewhere
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caterpillar in Hogweed seedhead
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Hoverfly on Hogweed
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lots of flies warming up on handrails
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there were noticeably more flies this week
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the bramble flowers are now attracting insects too
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the dragonfly pond
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Common Darters
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the male "dips" the female into the water to lay the eggs
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when they finally separated one returned to rest on a rock
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| I was pleased to see a Blue-tailed Damselfly using the branch I provided |
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Water Beetle crossing the weed
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Greater Water Boatman
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Click Beetle
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Grypocoris stysi Capsid Bug
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there were several in the ox-eye daisies too
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Gorse Shieldbug eggs
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Wolf Spider carrying her egg sack
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Cuckoo Spit containing Froghopper nymph
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It's always a pleasure to meet the little tots from Hopes and Dreams Nursery School enjoying their nature walk round the reserve. I was very impressed to hear what they had to tell me about Cuckoo Spit. We also established ( with the aid of a buttercup) that I like butter!
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start of the old beehive loop
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hard to imagine that this area once housed beehives
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usual boardwalk view
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looking back from the boardwalk towards the hide
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usual view from the boardwalk
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one of the newly chipped paths
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mini meadow near Ginnie's Bench
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main meadow near the hide
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and a last look at June sightings before I left
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My last visit of the month. I arrived under cloudy skies and left in hot sunshine! What weather and wildlife can we expect in July?
please click on photos to enlarge them
