Wildlife in Stevenston

Show the photographs you've taken in this album.
Forum rules
Here you can show the photographs you've taken. Use a storage agent such as https://www.imgur.com - our forum attachment system has limited storage and therefore reserved for photos in our Threetowners' Photo Album.
5siamese7
Mega Heid Poster
Mega Heid Poster
Posts: 1719
Joined: Mon May 11, 2015 7:18 pm

Re: Wildlife in Stevenston

Post by 5siamese7 »

morag wrote: Fri Nov 24, 2017 3:15 pm
5siamese7 wrote: Thu Nov 23, 2017 3:37 pm Morag please remember that bluebottles are looking for decomposing creatures in which to lay their eggs. Its not healthy to have these blighters in the house.
Well, thankfully, so far( :shock: ) there are no decomposing bodies in my house or garden, if there are beasties in the house I release them outside. Freakiest ever was a wee bird got in my bedroom, my daughter and I finally caught it, worried sick it would die of shock, managed to throw a towel over it and get it outside, nerveracking!
But Morag the blue bottles that enter your house were born in dead flesh and please kill them as they are germ carriers.
User avatar
morag
Mega Heid Poster
Mega Heid Poster
Posts: 11337
Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2005 12:29 am
Location: Stevenston. now in S. Cal

Re: Wildlife in Stevenston

Post by morag »

Well, I don't have them here, but wouldn't kill them anyway, only things I kill are ants, can't pick them up one by one and release! They come in after the cat food mostly but some weather seems to make them more active, Been hot here but supposed to get cooler soon, even a chance of rain soon! :)
"You don't have a Soul. You are a Soul. You have a body."
C.S.Lewis
michaelm
Mega Heid Poster
Mega Heid Poster
Posts: 1623
Joined: Tue May 06, 2014 7:55 pm

Re: Wildlife in Stevenston

Post by michaelm »

5siamese7 wrote: Sat Nov 25, 2017 12:35 pm Yes Michael that's the wee fellow and its a bit of mystery where he came from. However another ornamental duck appeared on the quarry at the same time and she successfully bred with the mallards. Somebody must have got fed up with them and put them on the Quarry. I can't see someone going to the bother of catching this duck and taking it to the White Wife so I guess it can fly. If so it would just follow the other ducks that regularly move between the two ponds
Bill, I'm pretty sure the first photo below is of the other ornamental Duck that made the Rec Quarry pond it's home.
The second pic is of the mallard drake she paired with.

April 2015.
Image

Image

As a footnote, another poster "ebbe_skovdahl" also spoke earlier in the topic about these duck's.
Last edited by michaelm on Mon Nov 27, 2017 9:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
5siamese7
Mega Heid Poster
Mega Heid Poster
Posts: 1719
Joined: Mon May 11, 2015 7:18 pm

Re: Wildlife in Stevenston

Post by 5siamese7 »

Yep that's her and she produced a few broods.
iain
leading Poster
leading Poster
Posts: 607
Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2007 1:03 pm

Re: Wildlife in Stevenston

Post by iain »

A Sparrowhawk in a tree at the edge of Ardeer Quarry Local Nature Reserve. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my DSLR with me, but my compact camera did an OK job of capturing it. Sparrowhawks were regular breeders on the reserve until recently. The reserve's woods have become more popular with dog walkers and, more worryingly, large groups of teenagers who descend on the site from across North Ayrshire to socialise, valdalise and get drunk. This seems to have driven the breeding Sparrowhawks away.

Image
User avatar
madge
Frequent Poster
Frequent Poster
Posts: 207
Joined: Thu Nov 07, 2013 10:53 pm
Location: Stevenston now Saltcoats

Re: Wildlife in Stevenston

Post by madge »

Amazing picture.


Madge
Trust in God but row away from the rocks
iain
leading Poster
leading Poster
Posts: 607
Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2007 1:03 pm

Re: Wildlife in Stevenston

Post by iain »

A Cereal Leaf Beetle I found at Ardeer Quarry Local Nature Reserve a week or two ago. Leaf beetles are often colourful, metallic species, and this one is no exception. As its name suggests, it’s particularly fond of eating cereal crops, such as barley and wheat, and it’s a common agricultural pest throughout much of the world.

Image
iain
leading Poster
leading Poster
Posts: 607
Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2007 1:03 pm

Re: Wildlife in Stevenston

Post by iain »

Pseudomalus auratus, a species of ‘ruby-tailed’ wasp, from Stevenston Beach Local Nature Reserve. Ruby-tailed wasps are cuckoos of other solitary wasps. Pseudomalus auratus is a cuckoo of stem-nesting wasps – i.e. wasps that make nest tunnels length-wise in the soft pith at the core of dead bramble stems. This one was found in brambles on the reserve, where its species lays its eggs in the nests of Pemphredon lethifer, a small, black solitary wasp.

Image
5siamese7
Mega Heid Poster
Mega Heid Poster
Posts: 1719
Joined: Mon May 11, 2015 7:18 pm

Re: Wildlife in Stevenston

Post by 5siamese7 »

A highly coloured person probably indicating that I don't taste too nice so leave me alone. Regarding the "scaup" pond they the scaups didn't return this year and I wonder why? Some Canada geese are now resident there but there is a lack of nesting sites so I guess most of them will soon clear off.
iain
leading Poster
leading Poster
Posts: 607
Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2007 1:03 pm

Re: Wildlife in Stevenston

Post by iain »

A female Andrena scotica, photographed today on a Dandelion growing on a patio in Stevenston. This is a large, common solitary bee that can be found in pretty much any open, flowery habitat, including gardens. It's one of the earliest solitary bees on the wing: May is its peak flight season.

Image

Image
Vivc113
Mega Heid Poster
Mega Heid Poster
Posts: 3446
Joined: Sat Jul 09, 2011 10:21 am
Location: The Super Moon

Re: Wildlife in Stevenston

Post by Vivc113 »

Gah. Close up these are beyond scary !!!!
"Words are very.... unnecessary... they can only do harm".
iain
leading Poster
leading Poster
Posts: 607
Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2007 1:03 pm

Re: Wildlife in Stevenston

Post by iain »

Three species of moth from the family Orthosia caught at Ardeer Quarry Local Nature Reserve a week ago. From left to right: Clouded Drab, Common Quaker and Hebrew Character. During spring, moth diversity is rather poor; most of the larger moths one encounters are of these three species. Their caterpillars feed on a wide variety of trees and shrubs, while the adults themselves are particularly fond of feeding on the nectar from Willow catkins.

Image
Post Reply