Ballachurry Reserve, 23rd February, 2016.

A beautiful sunny day but with a chilly wind.

 I headed down to Ballachurry Reserve yesterday straight after lunch. How nice to be greeted by smiling, sunny celandines! Here's the list of what I saw.

Birds:

SC210694 Song Thrush flew away from hedge as I entered reserve.

SC209694 Song Thrush ( probably the same one) sitting in hedge behind Ginny's Bench later.

SC208695 Song Thrush flew up from ground level and into hedge, old beehive corner. 

SC209695 Great Tit in hawthorn.

SC208694 2 x Great Tits near boundary firs

SC209694 2 x Great Tits on Gorse Boundary

SC208694  2 x Mallard ( pair) reed bed pond

Shieldbugs:

SC209695 2 x Gorse Shieldbugs near orchard bench

SC209694 39 Gorse Shieldbugs spread along gorse boundary, some singletons, some in groups. One gorse bush had 20 in close proximity. 2 were on a tree guard.

SC210694  1 Gorse Shieldbug on Stinking Iris ( at first sight I thought this must be a Green Shieldbug but closer examination showed it to be Gorse Shieldbug)

  

Other:

SC209695  Honey Bees - several in gorse flowers behind new bench.

SC208695  Wild Honey Bees appeared active round tree hole in orchard

SC209694   Copious amounts of frogspawn but no frogs seen this year ( NB. Frogs and frogspawn are protected in the IOM - you need a licence to handle or collect)

SC210694  2 x large Longtails under boundary wall with Old School House.

SC209694  Algae is growing in the puddles on the aggregate path

SC208694  The Hogweed flower photographed in bud last week is now fully open.

Celandines near the entrance.

Honey Bee in the gorse.

Song Thrush - I heard him before I saw him

Song Thrush

Gorse Shieldbug enjoying the sunshine

I counted 20 Gorse Shieldbugs in this gorse bush.

Gorse Shieldbugs are not always on gorse.

Thick, gloopy algae in the puddles.

Frogspawn appeared a few days earlier than last year.

Close-up of the frogspawn

Hogweed in  full flower

The reed bed pond with a backdrop of Bradda's hills.

Working Party, Ballachurry Reserve 20th February 2016.

Despite some light rain at times, today's Work Party at Ballachurry went ahead as planned. Once the nesting season is underway we shall have to cease work in  many areas to avoid disturbance, so today's priority was to give the saplings in the central area some T.L.C. We cut back the vegetation round the young  trees and put down squares of old carpet to suppress the grass, docks and brambles. Some of the party cleared the stream of fallen vegetation to ensure a clear flow of  water into the reed bed pond.

Many thanks to Janet, Ian and Carrie for collecting both carpet and additional plastic grids earlier in the week. The grids will be used for path work later in the season.

Thanks too to Janet and Sheila S. for the very welcome refreshments and to Tony for donating a sickle.

And, of course, a very big thank you to everyone for all their hard work during the morning.

Raking back the vegetation round a sapling.

Carpet square ready to go round a sapling

Working on the stream

stream nearly done

a welcome tea break

 before...

......and after.
The bright green leaves are Hemlock Water Dropwort.

Moving the grids for future use.

No wildlife photos, I'm afraid, but I did see a very small snail, a caterpillar, lots of earthworms, and a blackbird. No frogspawn as yet, that I could see.

Work Party: Saturday, 20th February, 2016.

We are hoping tomorrow's Work Party at Ballachurry Reserve can go ahead. The weather could go either way - cloudy but dry at times or damp and drizzly. Tasks are to clear some vegetation from the ditches and cutting back brambles/ long grass round  saplings before laying squares of carpet to suppress the weeds. Something for all tastes (if only during the tea break!) Do join us if you can. 10 a.m. till 1 p.m  Meet at SC210694.

Ballachurry Reserve, 10th February, 2016.

A sunny afternoon at Ballachurry yesterday but an icy wind too. 

Birds:

SC209694 2 x Mallard on pond. 5 x Wood Pigeons in Church boundary trees;

SC208694 Male Blackbird

SC209695 Great Tit

SC208695 Song Thrush

Wood Pigeons flying over + usual Herring Gulls

SC209694 large interesting footprint in mud.

Shieldbugs:

SC208694 8 x Gorse Shieldbugs  on Gorse bush where stream joins reed bed

SC209694 6 x Gorse Shieldbugs  along gorse boundary

Plants:

SC208694  Hogweed flower

SC209694  & SC209695 Lesser Celandines in flower

SC209694 and elsewhere  Hawthorn in leaf

SC208694  the Blackthorns attacked by Orchard Ermine Moth caterpillars last year are in healthy bud

SC209694  the cultivated daffodils are in bud

SC209694  the coppiced willows are beginning to bud

SC209694  attractive peeling bark on Birches

Moss & Lichen:

SC210694  moss on  stone gatepost has fruiting bodies

SC209695  several types of lichen on Ginny's memorial tree, some with fruiting bodies

Other:

SC209694 Under carpet - several worms, 2 x white legged snake millepedes, small black slug, 2 x very small snails

SC209694 in boundary ditch - large Longtail ( that's a R-A-T )sunbathing.-

Carpet Life - at first I just saw the worm and 2 millepedes

,,,,,,but take a closer look

worms under the carpet

female Mallard

large footprint - heron perhaps?

Hawthorns now in leaf

close up of the Hawthorn leaves

this Blackthorn tree was attacked by Orchard Ermine Moth caterpillars last year

Lesser Celandine

Cultivated daffs from before Ballachurry was a reserve

First Hogweed flower of the year

Sun catching the moss near the gate

Gorse Shieldbugs enjoying the sun

Gorse Shieldbugs again

3 of the Wood Pigeons on the church boundary

These willows were coppiced last year. Sprouting again now.

Lichen with fruiting bodies

Another lichen with fruiting bodies on the same tree

The tree is becoming encrusted with lichen

Same tree, yet another lichen.

Yet more lichen

The peeling bark looked golden when backlit by sunshine

Close- up of the peeling bark

Can't resist photographing the reeds when they are back-lit

Lovely to see Ballachurry looking so colourful in February.

I checked for Frogspawn - none yet. It was 26th February last year.

Urgent - Work Party Postponed

Please note that in view of the poor weather forecast for Saturday, 6th February the work party at Ballachurry Reserve has been cancelled. The next Work Party will now be held ( hopefully!) on Saturday, 20th February between 10a.m. and 1p.m.

Ballachurry Wetlands Reserve, 3rd February 2016.

A cold but sunny day at Ballachurry Reserve.

I visited the Reserve this morning about 10.30. Lovely to see it in the sunshine, but the wind was icy. The ivy berries are now ripening and providing food for the birds, as are the seeds in the Alder cones. Here is the full report:

Birds: 

SC210694 Female  Blackbird flew into the ivy hedge just as I arrived.

SC209694 Bluetit in the Willow by the gridded pathway

SC208694 2 x Goldfinches taking seeds from alder cones

SC208694 Great Tit also in  Alder & 2 x Chaffinches in the Willows & Alders

SC209694 female Blackbird on the Gorse boundary, also Great Tit and Goldcrest ( lovely to see this tiny bird) 

SC209694 Wood Pigeon eating ivy berries on boundary with Church ( seen from the HIde) 

Large flock of Goldfinches ( 30+) flying round the Reserve at intervals and coming down in firs near Churchyard

Magpie flying over.

Gorse Shieldbugs:

These are easy to spot, even from a distance, on sunny days as they catch the light and shine out. 

SC208694  ( gorse bush where stream enters reed bed) 17 Gorse Shieldbugs

SC209694 ( along Gorse Boundary) 9 Gorse Shieldbugs

Other:

SC209693 2 x Earthworms, one very long. These were under the carpet round a sapling. You can also see other burrows in the photo.

SC210694 ivy berries now ripening to black

SC210694  Stinking Iris seed pods now fully open and dropping the seeds.

SC210694  Jelly Ear fungus photographed last week now going over. 

SC208694  Blackthorn in flower near the dam.

Blackthorn starting to flower

There were 2 Chaffinches in the Alder

Wood Pigeon taking ivy berries, Photographed from Hide.

Ivy berries turning black - blackbirds love them.

Earthworms under the carpet square round a sapling.

Gorse Shieldbugs enjoying the sunshine

More Gorse Shieldbugs

The bramble leaf amongst the gorse made a good sunbed

Close up of Gorse Shieldbugs -they have red antennae

Compare the Jelly Ear fungus with last week's photo

Stinking Iris seed pod.