Foggy weather could not discourage the 13 Volunteers who attended today's Work Party at Ballachurry Reserve. It
was a little damp so we decided to leave treating the noticeboard with wood preservative until a dry day. Instead we tackled clearing the stream between the two ponds and cutting back brambles which were blocking & rooting into the ditch along the boundary of the Reserve. This was our last chance to complete this job before the bird nesting season. The bramble prunings were carefully added to other brambles growing in another area of the Reserve to increase their density, hopefully making the area attractive for nesting.
Reminding ourselves that " We like brambles! We want to keep lots of brambles!" we tried to avoid pruning fever, removing no more than was necessary. The reason for this is that many Warblers seen on the Reserve favour this kind of habitat for their nests. The following information, for example, is taken from a BTO guide to nesting birds.
Chiffchaff: 10-30 cm off ground, most often in brambles, especially mixed with nettles.......
Blackcap: below 1 metre, most commonly in brambles with nettles........
Whitethroat: 30 - 50 cm, well hidden in thick brambles......
All of these birds were recorded on the Reserve during 2015.
Other Ballachurry species nest close to or even on the ground so if you visit the Reserve during the next few months please remember to keep to the paths to avoid disturbance.
Everyone worked really hard on these strenuous tasks today - a bit thank you to all concerned. And special thanks to Janet and Margaret for fortifying us with tea and home-made cakes during the break.
We did see some wildlife : Heron and Mallard flying over; Blue Tits, Chaffinch and House Sparrows keeping us company, and a Song Thrush was cheering us on while we worked! One new volunteer was even able to identify the shrimp like water creatures in the stream for us - very useful, thank you!
Here are a few photos .
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| Starting on the stream |
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| Happy in our work! |
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| Making some progress in the ditch |
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| Notice just how long the brambles are |
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| Clearing up our mess |
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| A welcome break... |
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| Time to socialise |
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| Lots of tea, coffee and cake |
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| then back to work |
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| still more brambles |
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| making progress |
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Now we can see the ditch again!
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| Job done and stream flowing well |
