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| a peaceful contrast to TT fortnight! |
Just back from holiday, I had a mountain of chores waiting for me on Wednesday morning. The sun was shining but rain was forecast from mid morning onward. I thought I might manage one circuit of the Reserve before it arrived then return to face the chores. However, the sun shone all morning and the rain never arrived! So I stayed till nearly one o'clock! Here is what I recorded: Birds:
SC210694 Chaffinch heard not seen.
SC209693 Blackcap; Willow Warbler.
SC208694 Chaffinch heard not seen; Robin; Willow Warbler; Magpie heard not seen; Goldfinch x 2; male Chaffinch.
SC208695 Great Tit x 2 ( adult feeding fledgling); Woodpigeon heard not seen.
SC209695 Willow Warbler x 2 ( adult feeding fledgling)
SC209694 Swallow flying over; Blackbird x 2; Blue Tit; Chaffinch x 2 ; Chiffchaff.
Butterflies and moths:
SC208695 Speckled Wood.
SC209694 Speckled Wood x 4.
SC209695 Speckled Wood x 2.
Sc208694 Speckled Wood.
SC209694 male Small White.
SC209695 unidentified White.
SC209693 unidentified micro moth; Clouded Border Moth.
SC208695 Silver Ground Carpet Moth.
SC209694 Silver Ground Carpet Moth.
Other:
SC209694 Blue-tailed Damselfly.
SC209694 Commonn Wasp.
SC208695 Liophloeus tessulatus Weevil on Hogweed.
SC209694 Liophloeus tessulatus Weevil on Grass blade.
SC208695 10-spot Ladybird.
SC 209694 7-spot Ladybird Pupa on buttercup leaf.
SC209694 12 x 7-spot Ladybird larvae on vegetation.
SC209694 7-spot Ladybird x 5 .
SC209694 Common Green Grasshopper in long grass.
SC209694 Thistle Tortoise Beetle larvae x 5.
SC208694 Potter wasp, Ancistrocerus trifasciatus on bridge handrail. NEW RECORD
SC209694 Grypocoris stysi Capsid Bug x 3.
SC209694 Banded Snail.
SC209694 Greater Water Boatment x 12.
SC209694 Whirlygig Beetle.
SC209694 Eristalis species Hoverfly.
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| I could hear the Blackcap singing as soon as I entered the Reserve |
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| and tracked it down to a Silver Birch tree |
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| juvenile Chaffinch waiting to be fed |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| this one was a juvenile waiting to be fed, I think |
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| whereas this Willow Warbler was singing from a tree |
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| male Small White butterfly |
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| Speckled Wood resting after altercation with another! |
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| Silver Ground Carpet Moth |
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| Unidentified moth - seeking ID |
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| Clouded Border moth |
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| 7-spot Ladybird eating aphid or similar |
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| one of several 7-spots recorded |
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| Ladybird pupa |
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| 7-spot Ladybird Larva |
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| they have voracious appetites for aphids.... |
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| so are very much the gardener's friend |
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| tiny 10-spot Ladybird with fused spots ( to be confirmed) |
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| Liophloeus tessulatus Weevil |
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| another elsewhere - its common name is Chequered Weevil |
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| larva of Thistle Tortoise Beetle |
Thistle Tortoise Beetle larvae cover themselves in frass ( that's poo to you and me!) to camouflage themselves from predators.
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| tiny wasp with a big name - Ancistrocerus trifasciatus |
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| it's one of the Potter Wasp species |
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| Eristalis Hoverfly |
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| Honey Bee on Hemlock Water Dropwort |
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| Capsid Bugs |
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| this species is Grypocoris stysi |
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| I couldn't get a good photo of this grasshopper - it jumped about too much! |
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| Cuckoo Spit containing nymphs of Froghoppers |
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| Small Banded Snail |
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| Greater Water Boatmen, also known as Backswimmers |
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| Sloes on Blackthorn |
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| Hawthorn berries starting to colour up |
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| Hogweed in full flower |
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| a beautiful wild Rose |
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| Yellow Rattle |
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| the usual "reedy bend " photo |
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| and a summer photo of the bird hide |
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| view from the ramp |
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| looking right through the hide shutters |
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| and looking left |
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| the mud is being rapidly colonised by a variety of plants |
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| the dragonfly pond |
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| the damp meadow |
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| the path leading to the boardwalk |
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| usual view from the boardwalk |
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| looking back to the meadow from the boardwalk |
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| hard to believe there is a stream here! |
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| the bridge surrounded by Dropwort |
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| the reed bed now fully green |
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| looking towards the compost area |
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| and the path through the willows |
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| the Ash Walk - sadly the trees have Ash Die-Back |
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| lush summer reserve |
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| recent wind and rain have bashed down vegetation |
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| even small branches have fallen across the paths |
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| the willow at the path junction is lower than usual |
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| a pretty area of the reserve |
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| gorse flowers now seedpods on Gorse Boundary |
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| a sea of buttercups near the entrance |
And to finish, a short video of a Ladybird larva
I was delighted that the rain held off in the South (other parts of the Island were not so lucky) but eventually I had to leave and go home to face those chores!
With thanks to Garry Curtis for the Small White butterfly identification
please click on the photos to enlarge them
