Ballachurry Reserve, Rushen, IOM.: 01 JANUARY 2015.

2015

Happy New Year!

Welcome to my Blog for Ballachurry Reserve, Rushen, Isle of Man. It includes photos of Working Parties at the Reserve, special meetings and events, as well as wildlife reports. It is a personal Blog, not an official one for the Reserve.

3rd & 5th January 2015

The first work party of 2015 went very well despite the poor weather. We renewed the netting on the slippery timber, cleared the stream of obstructing vegetation and got the grids down on the wettest part of the path ( work still in progress). I am attaching some of the photos for you to see.

I returned on Monday 5th, hoping the sunshine might have brought out the wildlife but it was very windy at Ballachurry and apart from a few flies on the hogweed, a moorhen on the main pond and what was either a second much smaller moorhen or the water rail flying off from the reed bed, there was nothing about.

New netting for the boardwalk

newly cleared stream

stream to reed bed after clearance

Hard at work

Ramp for disabled access

All very busy

Laying grids in very wet part of path

making progress

close-up of gridded pathway

tea break!

job finished

16th January 2015

My husband was able to eat his lunch in the sunshine on a sheltered bench in the garden today, but it wasn't so warm at Ballachurry! As usual it was catching the strong wind and so, despite the sunshine, there was not a great deal to be seen.

Birds:

SC208695 ( beehives corner) 2 x Great tits

SC209694 ( Ginny's bench area) 2 x Great tits - could be the same pair. Also , Robin, Wren, and female Blackbird.

There are now berries starting to ripen on the ivy - the birds will be grateful as most other berries have now gone.

I left the plastic box of Bird Identification books in the hide ( obtained from "Harrods" but in excellent condition as previously owned by Anne Kaye) They should be useful for those of us who are less experienced bird watchers. I think I have some Wild Flower books which could also go down there - will sort them out.

Thursday's storm does not seem to have done too much damage although I think one of the trees on the church boundary may have lost a branch. The stacked grids had not blown away. The path between the hide and the dam is very wet and might also benefit from some of these grids if available.

I put 7th February on the noticeboard as the date of the next work party. If this changes I can alter it.

Ivy berries

Winter view, reed bed.

19th January 2015

I had not planned to go back to Ballachurry so soon but today the weather was sunny and still and I was driving past, so decided to stop and take a look. I had my boots and binoculars with me and my unscheduled visit was very enjoyable.

Birds:

I put up 2 x Snipe from just in front of the reeds on the Church boundary at SC209693

I put up another Snipe near the dam SC208694

Hooded Crow in the trees above the beehives SC208695

Female blackbird near beehives SC208695

2 x Great tit near beehives SC208695

Wood pigeon in firs behind second pond SC208694

Robin along field boundary SC209694

Wren seen from Hide SC209694

Great tit looking for insects on bird box and nearby hole in tree SC209695

2 x Great tits + Blue tit together in corner near orchard entrance SC209695

Blue tit on church boundary SC207694

3 x Great tits + 2 x Blue tits together in Sycamore tree between beehive corner and second pond.

Kestrel hovering over reserve.

Usual Herring gulls and corvids flying over.

There seemed to be Great tits everywhere . I may have been seeing the same ones over again in different places. I think the one on the nest box was just looking for spiders etc rather than investigating it for nesting, but who knows?

The visit was rather spoilt by the need to look where I was putting my feet. I actually took some photos of the dog fouling ( don't worry, I won't attach them here!) I might put them up on the gate with a polite reminder that dogs are not admitted!

Blue tit

Great tit

Hooded Crow

Great tit searching for insects

30th January 2015

I wasn't expecting to see very much at the reserve this afternoon as it was very windy despite the sunny weather. I wasn't disappointed!

Birds:

Blackbird flying out of the reserve just as I came in through the gate SC210694

Dunnock in the brambles near the beehives SC208695

Wood pigeon in the firs behind the reed-bed pond SC208694

Plants:

First Celandine flower of the year near Ginny's bench SC209694.

Lawn daisies in the paths elsewhere including SC209694

Ash buds very visible on saplings near beehives SC208695

Lichen:

The lichen on the handrail near the reed bed pond has spread considerably since last year.SC208694

The lichen on fallen branches near the beehives ( ash, I think) is quite different. SC208695

I may be able to have the lichen identified at a U3A talk on lichen later in February.

Other:

I always look under one or two bits of carpet now as I think this might become a habitat. For the first time I found something. Some, though not all, had small red worms ( in the carpet itself, not on the ground beneath). I'm not sure but I think these may be Brandling worms such as you find in compost bins. They are trying to compost the carpet! They are certainly different from the large earthworm I found a few years ago. There were 6 altogether. I found this on the OPAL website.

Scientific name
Eisenia fetida
Habitat
Usually found in garden compost but also occurs in wet, decaying leaf litter, organic-rich soils and manure heaps Diet Eats rotting vegetation
Size
Typical size of adult is 6cm
Characteristics

The whole body is stripy on its upper surface
The upper surface has dark red bands, with a narrower pale pink or yellowish band in between
Saddle usually a similar colour to the rest of the body
Can exude an unpleasant-smelling yellowish fluid when handled

Notes:

The far side of the dam has eroded and may need attention.