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| Ballachurry Wetlands! |
Tuesday's forecast did not sound ideal for a visit to the Reserve but that for the rest of the week sounded worse! So on with the extra layers and off I went. The temperature did not get above 5 C all morning, and it was "blowing a hooley", but at least it stayed dry. First stop: the hide, to drop off an updated list of all species seen at Ballachurry since 2010, which now runs to 17 pages! I carefully opened the shutters but all was quiet on the water and after a short wait I moved on to do my usual circuits of the Reserve. Here is what I recorded:Birds:
SC209693 Wren; 2 x Blackbird; 3 x Chaffinch.
SC209694 ( hide) each time I called in at the Hide I saw a Blackbird flying in the vicinity; Chaffinch heard not seen.
SC209694( elsewhere) 10 x Goldfinch flying over; male Blackbird; Buzzard; Robin, Great Tit and female Blackbird near the dragonfly pond all at the same time.
SC208694 Wren on the boardwalk.
SC208695 ( on or near the feeders) Blue Tit x 4; Great Tit x 4; Chaffinch x 2; Coal Tit x 2; Goldfinch x 4; Magpie; male Blackbird; Robin x 3 together on the ground.
SC208695 Kestrel seen hovering over corner of reserve then about an hour later it flew up from the path at the same point. No evidence of kill. No Woodpeckers seen today.
I was very surprised to see the Buzzard fly across the gorse boundary path and then follow the ditch, flying low - behaviour I associate more with a Sparrowhawk. Near Ginnie's Bench area it alighted on a tree trunk which spans the ditch. I just had time to look at it through binoculars before it flew off but even then I did not see it rise into the sky. I looked round the area near the gate but failed to see it anywhere.
Other:
With news of frogspawn just down the road in a Colby garden pond, I checked out the most likely areas on the reserve but did not manage to spot any as yet.
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| male Chaffinch near the barrow store |
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| Robin near the dragonfly pond |
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| Wren on the boardwalk |
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| Ringed Great Tit queuing for the feeders |
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| Goldfinch taking its turn |
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| the feeders were again busy this week |
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| the Tit family was the species most in evidence |
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| usual view of hide |
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| I felt I wanted to turn on the light as I headed for the Hide! |
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| I'm told the hide is down for some considerable maintenance this year |
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| view from hide ramp |
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| usual views through the shutters |
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| the meadow area |
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| foam accumulating at the dam |
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| heading for the bridge |
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| looking back from the bridge |
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| the reed bed channel flowing well |
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| usual shot of the reeds now quite different! |
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| the new dead hedge, now finished |
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| and looking the other way |
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| turning right towards the compost area |
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| I always check the firs for birds - none today |
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| then left through the willows |
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| coppiced piles much reduced by the work party volunteers |
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| towards the pond it is very wet underfoot |
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| the new view of the hide |
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| and of the pond |
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| the "unofficial pond" |
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| usual view of the boardwalk |
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| looking back towards the hide |
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| the stream where it enters the reed bed |
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| a good spot to watch bathing birds later in the year |
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| a somewhat bleak view from the boardwalk today |
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| looking back |
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| it's not all mud! |
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| the inlet stream |
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| heading along the gorse boundary |
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| the boundary near the dragonfly pond |
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| usual view of the pond |
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| there were 3 birds near the bench at the same time |
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| the new glade was quiet |
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| the path junction |
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| reeds looking distinctly end of season |
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| probably prudent to turn back here - mud is ankle deep! |
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| heading back for a final look for the Woodpeckers |
At 12 o'clock it was time to go home, but I couldn't resist a quick excursion back along the gorse boundary to the old beehive loop just to double check that the Great Spotted Woodpeckers had not appeared while my back was turned. There was no sign of them today unfortunately. Despite the gloomy, cold conditions with the camera constantly telling me to "raise the flash", I had enjoyed my visit to the reserve but fingers crossed for some sunshine next week!
please click on the photos to enlarge them
