6th November 2015
It was
positively balmy at Ballachurry on Friday afternoon. It was an unseasonable 17
degrees, the sun broke through just as I arrived and with clear blue skies for
the rest of the afternoon it made for a very pleasant visit.
Birds:
SC209694
Grey Heron in the pond. I disturbed this by opening the shutters and again on
my "second lap".
SC209694
7 x Magpies observed on church boundary from hide ; Male pheasant flew in just
behind pond.
SC208694
2 x Great tits in the firs
SC208694 2
x Blackbirds just behind reed bed pond
SC209695
Blackbird near orchard entrance; Kestrel flew in and landed in orchard tree.
Flying
over: flock of
goldfinches flying towards churchyard; flock of unidentified thrushes flying
towards golf course. 2 x Wood pigeons; usual gulls / corvids
Heard
but not seen:
robins in several locations Water Rail squealing for a long time from
middle of reeds (SC208694) but did not emerge.
A pile of
feathers near the orchard entrance suggested a small bird had been killed
and plucked there ( by sparrowhawk perhaps?) SC209695
New
Moth Record:
SC209694 There was a very beautiful Angle Shades moth on the outside of the
Hide. (Thanks to Ian Scott for confirming the I.D.)
Other:
SC208695
and SC209694 7 x Gorse Shieldbugs along the boundary gorse.
SC208694
very small snail on leaf.
SC209694 Gorse
Shieldbug on nettles near Ginny's bench. They don't always stay on the gorse,
it would seem.
SC209695
The "spider tree" has now lost all its leaves and all its spiders.
SC208695
there are toadstools in the path round the beehive loop.
SC208695 a
few wild bees going in and out of the hole in the orchard tree.
SC208695
most of the hawthorn berries have been taken now, a few rosehips,
blackberries & elderberries remain elsewhere on the reserve.
SC210694
the ivy flowers continue to provide nectar for bees and flies etc.
Still a few
flowers about, notably lawn daisies, dandelions, red campion, gorse, bramble,
water forget-me-nots,, cushag.
Notes:
Dog fouling
again - even this was being enjoyed by two slugs ( will spare you the photo)
SC209693
Some of the
docks have produced new flowers which we might be able to remove at the next
working party. Hide door has warped and likewise will need some attention.
Water flowing under the dam rather than over, although does both in wet
weather.
10th November 2015
I went to Ballachurry this
afternoon when there was some intermittent sunshine and another beautiful
sunset.
Birds:
SC210694 New Record! Peacock!
(Well, cheating a bit here I suppose, but had it been a blackbird on the same
bit of boundary wall I would have recorded it.
SC210694 female Blackbird flew into the ivy
SC209694 Magpie behind Ginny's bench.
SC208695 3 x Magpies flew over towards beehive corner and 1
landed in the orchard tree.
SC209695 male Blackbird near orchard entrance
SC209694 female Blackbird on gorse boundary
SC208695 I put up 2 male Pheasants together near beehive
corner
SC208694 I heard what I thought might be the Water Rail
calling from the ditch behind the reed bed so waited patiently listening to it
( not the squealing pig this time, but another call from its repetoire)
Eventually the call stopped and I just caught sight of its head as it
moved away along the ditch. I double checked the call in my audio-book
when I got home and it was indeed the sound I had heard.
Heard but not seen: 2 Robins were having a
conversation about me ( she's here again.....) one each side of the path near
the reed bed pond SC208694
Flying over: male pheasant near hide SC209694
Other:
SC209693 caterpillar on cushag flower
SC210694 2 x Noon
flies on noticeboard
SC210694 first seeds visible on stinking iris near gate.
More fungi than I have seen before in previous
years - some just before the dam as you emerge from the willow path
SC20869
- some in the mown path just beyond the dam SC208694
- some in the mown area in front of the orchard bench SC209695
- some in the mown area in front of Ginny's bench SC209694
I bent one over to look at the gills ( Ginny's bench) and
discovered the gills had all but been eaten away by tiny maggots.
I think there are at least 2 different species but
"little brown jobs" are always tricky. I think they are possibly the
same ones recorded and identified a few years ago. Some had been trodden
upon and one or two looked as though they might have been picked as they were
gills uppermost.
Slug near hide ( SC209694) on
what I think is the remains of some dog mess.
Notes:
More dog mess near the entrance. I took a photo of my boot
poised over it and might pin it up on the gate !
This will be one of my shortest Ballachurry reports
ever! Other responsibilities meant I could not go down this morning while
the sun was shining and then, immediately after lunch, there was a heavy,
prolonged shower. I finally arrived at about 2.45 and although I
could still see blue skies elsewhere they never seemed to reach the
Reserve. There was very little about, just a Moorhen near the pond SC209694 and
I put up a Snipe at SC208694 near the boardwalk. Other than that, I heard a
Robin and saw the following flying over:
From hide SC209694 - 2 x
Magpies; 1 male Blackbird; 5 x Wood Pigeons and the usual corvids and a
couple of Herring Gulls.
Plants still in flower: Buttercups, daisies, dandelions,
gorse, red campion, cushag ( that's Ragwort to non-Manxies!) , some water forget-me-nots and ivy .
Notes:
Water now flowing over the dam
( and presumably under it too)
I retrieved the notice re work
parties from where it had blown into the nettles and put it back up using some drawing pins from a box
found at the base of the board. As I pushed in the pins the whole noticeboard
rocked, so recent rain has softened the ground round it .It will need some attention at the next Work Party.
Areas where more grids needed
are either side of the existing aggregate path near the hide -i.e. between the
two bridges. It's very wet here at present. There are odd spots on the gorse
boundary and at the beginning of the direct path to the hide but these
are not very serious. The existing aggregate path with the right angle
turn near the willows has a puddle overflowing onto it, but again nothing too
serious. It is passable.
I was interested to see the
area that has been cut with the band mower last week ( thanks to Tricia
Sayle,the Reserves Officer, for this) and which is to be raked off
this week-end. We need to decide on an area where the rakings can
go. I wondered about under the small sycamore tree towards the beehive corner,
as the currant bushes here might benefit from extra fertility whereas we are
trying to reduce it elsewhere.
I have been off-island for a few days so this was my
first visit for 9 days. From the noticeboard inside the hide it looks as though
things have been very quiet all week with no entries since my last visit.
21st November 2015
Despite all the disruption
caused by 14 people working on the reserve today, there was some wildlife
to be seen.
A Robin perched in a nearby tree to watch us and
soon flew down onto to the newly raked area to hunt for food once the
volunteers left. SC208694
A Wren was also in the area, as was a medium sized
frog. SC208694
There were male and female blackbirds on the gorse boundary
SC209694
Wood pigeons flying over.
The rain held off until we had finished and many hands made
light work of the task. This area will eventually be a wild flower glade
amongst the trees. It should be attractive to dragonflies and butterflies.
26th November 2015
I managed a brief walk
round Ballachurry this morning. A few birds to be seen, but not much
else.
Birds:
SC209694 ( path junction) female Blackbird
SC209694 ( from hide) Moorhen; 8 Wood pigeons on boundary
SC209693 ( Church corner) male Blackbird; Great tit;
possible Siskin? ( very small bird with yellow eye stripe and some yellow
on wings, glimpsed briefly, flew into heart of vegetation before I could get
binoculars on it)
SC208694 ( near reed bed pond) Robin
SC208695 ( beehive corner) Magpie + possible Siskin as
above. (Again vanished before I could get the binoculars on it)
SC209694 ( gorse boundary) Blue tit
Flying over: Magpie;
Kestrel; 4 x Fieldfares;about 35 Wood Pigeons leaving Firs in groups of
10 or so at short intervals and flying towards Ballakilley;
Other:
SC208694 3 x Honey bees in gorse flowers.
SC209695 Still a few small unidentified toadstools in
grass.
SC209694 Unidentified moth in hide.
SC208694 Noon Fly on hand rail near lichen
Notes:
I have pinned up the spare No
Dogs Notice on the handrail of the entrance bridge, where it is very
prominent At the work party last Saturday my husband met a woman reading the
noticeboard. She had a dog on a lead with her. She said she had not seen the
notice on the gate. There was fouling by both dogs and cats on the paths
today.
