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| the view from the bridge at Ballachurry Wetlands Reserve |
It was an impromptu visit to the Reserve on Monday afternoon. The weather was much better than predicted so I decided to make a visit straight after lunch. I arrived about 2 p.m. in sunshine and met Rushen Commissioners' contractor who had just given the path near Ginnie's Bench area its first cut of the year. However, the rest of the reserve was still too wet and he was about to move on. The sunshine came and went throughout my visit but it stayed dry and I saw quite a few birds. Here is my report:
Birds:
SC209694 (from hide) Blue Tit x 2 in willow near pond; 3 Blue Tit seen in Alder near front of hide; drake Mallard; Woodpigeon in Churchyard trees.
SC209794 (elsewhere) Woodpigeon heard not seen; Chaffinch; Robin heard not seen; Goldfinch; Blackbird flew across path close to the ground; Goldfinch x 17 flying over.
SC208694 Blackbird alarm call heard; a Wren flew up from beside the stream; Magpie heard not seen; Robin in Hawthorn near the bridge; Great Tit flying across; Blue Tit near the boardwalk.
SC208695 (on or near feeders) Magpie in tree; Long-tailed Tit; Great Tit x 3; Blue Tit x 2; Goldfinch x 3; Greenfinch x 2; Robin x 2; male & female Chaffinch; male Pheasant; Blackbird flew across.
SC209695 Goldfinch x 2; Great Spotted Woodpecker over boundary in mature trees.
SC208695 (elsewhere) 3 x Goldfinch; 2 x Chaffinch ; Blue Tit x 2; Blackbird flew across path.
Other:
SC209694 despite last year's blitz on garden escapes there are still a few Snowflakes in flower.
SC209694, similarly, there are still cultivated daffodils on the reserve making a bright splash.
The small birds were flitting about a great deal in the tree tops so it was difficult to count them. The Goldfinches would suddenly change places with the Chaffinches and the Blue Tits with the Goldfinches! So my list above may be a conservative estimate. I saw the Great Spotted Woodpecker fly in to the trees but it flew from those on the left to those on the right and back again and finally away over the Reserve towards the churchyard trees. I failed to get a good photo as invariably it landed behind a branch or there were intervening branches in the way! Good to know it is still about though.
The hill fog had come down after a couple of circuits so I didn't stay quite as long as in my morning visits but it had still been an interesting afternoon.
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| Blue Tit seen from bird hide |
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| male Chaffinch near the feeders |
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| Goldfinch near the feeders |
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| Great Tit near the feeders |
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| Robin near the Bridge |
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| it didn't fly away as I walked past |
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| a rather poor record shot of the Woodpecker |
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| Pheasant scavenging beneath the feeders |
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| Mallard drake |
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| Greenfinches |
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| Blue Tit and Goldfinch |
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| Goldfinch |
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| signs of spring: cultivated daffodils, wild Celandines and Hazel catkins |
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| garden escape Snowflakes near the entrance |
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| the puddle has gone down slightly! |
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| the reedy bend had dried out a little |
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| new glade awaiting next work party in April |
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| someone has kindly made a way round the mud |
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| usual view of the hide |
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| Blackthorn blossom near the hide |
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| through the shutters in the hide |
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| the stream is wearing a definitive route into the pond now |
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| view from the ramp - again, someone has placed timbers across the mud |
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| the meadow from the bridge |
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| the meadow from near the hide |
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| the stream through the meadow |
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| finally a drop in water level, as the mud shows |
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| the reed bed channel |
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| the willow copse is much more open now |
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| but still very muddy |
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| looking across the pond from the willows |
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| the compost area |
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| usual view of the boardwalk |
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| looking back the way I'd come |
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| notice the shadow! |
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| view from the boardwalk -the hill fog had lifted temporarily |
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| area near the Bowman Memorial Bench |
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| still plenty of water flowing into the reserve |
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| the dragonfly pond |
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| I had noticed some additional frogspawn |
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| another new nest box - I missed this one last week |
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| Hemlock Water Dropwort along the ditch |
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| I call this the direct path to the hide |
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| a small freshly mown path led me back to the gate and home |
I was so pleased that the forecast for rain and drizzle had been wrong and that I had been able to enjoy an impromptu afternoon visit to the Reserve.
please click on photos to enlarge them
