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| a colourful corner of Ballachurry Reserve |
Not only was there still "snow" on the ground at Ballachurry Reserve on Thursday, but some of the trees appeared to have been decorated for Christmas! The "fake snow" in the Bird Cherries was, in fact, the larval webs of the Bird Cherry Ermine Moth. But given the cool temperature under the cloudy skies, I was beginning to have my doubts about the season! Here is what I recorded:
Birds:
SC209693 Chaffinch heard not seen; Robin with caterpillar in beak; Sedge Warbler heard sporadically from deep in the vegetation; Woodpigeon flying over.
SC209694 (from or near hide) Woodpigeon sitting on hide roof; Sedge Warbler singing very close to hide, another opposite hide door singing for the whole of my visit; Great Tit with food; Mallard duck with 5 ducklings; Mallard drakes x 4, one without green head appeared to be the mate of the mother duck; Magpie; 2 x Willow Warblers ( one ringed) foraging together in vegetation.
SC209694 ( elsewhere) Chiffchaff heard not seen; Chaffinch heard not seen; Wren; Woodpigeon flew off from near dragonfly pond; Buzzard overhead; Blackbird flew across near dragonfly pond; male & female blackbirds flew across together near Ginnie's Bench; Swallow flying over; 5 x Mallard flying over; male Chaffinch flying across; Blue Tit carrying food to nest box.
SC210694 male Blackbird sitting on concrete bridge handrail; Great Tit.
SC208694 2 x Magpie flying over, 1 landed in tree ; Willow Warbler heard not seen; Chaffinch in willows; Woodpigeon heard not seen; Blue Tit carrying food to nest box; Great Tit foraging for insects among Hemlock Water Dropwort.
SC208695 Blue Tit foraging for insects among brambles: 2x Blue Tits seen together later; 2 x Great Tit; Song Thrush heard not seen.
SC209695 Great Tit trilling from Birch tree; female Chaffinch.
Butterflies & Moths:
SC209693 larval webs of Bird Cherry Ermine Moth.
SC208694 larval webs of Orchard Ermine Moth.
SC209694 Silver Ground Carpet moth.
SC209694 Depressaria daucella (Water-dropwort Brown) moth larvae on Hemlock Water Dropwort.
SC209694 only remains of where last week's Small Tortoiseshell larvae were.
SC209694 Speckled Wood x 3.
SC209695 Speckled Wood x 2.
SC208695 female Wall Brown.
SC208695 Speckled Wood x 2.
Other:
SC209694 7-spot Ladybird Larvae x 5.
SC209694 parasitised Yellow Dung Fly; healthy Yellow Dung Flies throughout reserve.
SC209694 unidentified eggs on underside of sycamore leaf + black winged aphids?
SC208695 Sow Thistles have appeared.
SC209694 13 Pond Skaters on dragonfly pond
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| keeping the nest box clean and tidy |
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| off to find more insects for hungry mouths |
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| looking for insects on the old beehive loop |
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| a ringed Great Tit with food for offspring |
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| but still looking for more |
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| another Great Tit searching for insects in the Dropwort |
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| poor photo against the light but shows Willow Warbler also has young to feed |
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| there were 2 Willow Warblers hunting for insects opposite the hide |
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| another Magpie near the pond - a handsome bird |
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| a Buzzard was circling overhead |
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| Mallard duck when I entered the hide |
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| she has a family and a mate |
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| family outing |
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| the Drake is unusual as he doesn't have a green head |
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| 5 Mallard drakes were circling and eventually joined the family on the pond |
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| a female Wall Brown on the old Beehive Loop |
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| Speckled Wood - quite camouflaged on the wood chip path |
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| another on Hogweed |
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| tree festooned with "fake snow" |
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| it's the larval webs of Bird Cherry Ermine moths |
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| Orchard Ermine Moths have done something similar to the Blackthorn |
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| all that is left to show from last week's Small Tortoiseshell caterpillars |
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| Hemlock Water Dropwort showing moth caterpillar activity |
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| Depressaria daucella moth caterpillars in this case |
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| Depressaria daucella moth caterpillar |
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| a large gnat or a small Cranefly? |
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| Hairy Shieldbug -often to be found in Dandelion Clocks |
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| Noon Fly |
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a Yellow Dungfly parasitised by a fungus ( Entomophthora muscae?)
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| it is clamped by its mouthparts to a leaf |
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| on the other hand, here is a healthy Yellow Dungfly |
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| Pond Skater on the Dragonly pond |
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| I counted 13 large ones |
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| composite photo of 7-spot Ladybird larvae |
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| the interesting underside of a Sycamore leaf |
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| a Sowthistle |
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| "the reedy bend" - reeds taller each week |
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| usual view of hide now partially obscured by Hemlock Water Dropwort |
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| usual view from the hide ramp |
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| still a small amount of water left in the main pond |
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| looking left through the shutters |
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| and looking right |
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| looking back across the meadow to the hide |
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| another view of the meadow |
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| approaching the board walk |
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| usual view of the stream from the boardwalk |
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| usual view from the boardwalk |
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| Willow "snow" under the trees still |
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| general view through the Willow wood |
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| looking towards the compost area |
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| reed bed now growing fast |
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| a few photos showing the lush reserve..... |
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| there is a sea of Red Campion in the old Beehive Loop |
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| usual view of the dragonfly pond |
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| the water level is falling |
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| the liner is showing |
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| I still have not seen a damselfly here this season |
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| the new glade |
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| regrowth where coppicing took place |
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| a timely warning |
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| Stream? What stream? |
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| Hemlock Water Dropwort in full flower |
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| a sea of Buttercups |
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| but time to go home once more |
just a couple of short videos to close - the Sedge Warbler and the Ducklings
With thanks to Steve Crellin for identifying the parasitised Dung Fly.
please click on photos to enlarge them
