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| A cold November day at Ballachurry Reserve. |
Not ideal weather
today for my visit to the Reserve. The sun failed to come out for more than a couple of
minutes at a time and, given the cold wind, I was glad to shelter in the hide
to keep warm. Not a great deal about but I did see some birds:
Birds:
SC209693 2 x Choughs
flying over calling
SC209693 6 x Pheasants
1 male and 5 females flying in from over the road.
SC209693 2 x Robins
heard but not seen
SC209693 Water Rail
heard from reed bed but not seen ( report of Water Rail seen earlier today on
the hide noticeboard)
SC209693 2 x Wood
pigeons flying over
SC209694 Seen from
Hide: Robin, Male & Female Blackbirds, Great Tit, Magpie, 2 x Male
Moorhens, Goldfinch, Wren, Female Pheasant in undergrowth + 2 more females
flying in on the Church boundary, Jackdaw.
SC209695 Blackbird
SC208695 Robin heard
but not seen
SC208694 Pheasant
heard but not seen along seasonal path through willows; Goldfinch.
SC208694 Male Pheasant
flying in over reed bed ; 2 x Magpie; Wren; Robin heard but not seen.
Flying over: large flock of winter thrushes ( Possibly
Fieldfares but did not get good view). Seen from road as I was leaving, they
appeared to come down on boundary behind reed bed. I went back in to look but
couldn't see them either in the Reserve or in the adjoining field.
Herring gulls and
usual Corvids.
Plants in flower:
SC208694 Hogweed plant
SC209694 Campion still
has odd flowers
SC208695 A few lawn
daisies still
SC210694 Ox-eye
daisies still in flower under the Noticeboard + some Hedge Garlic
SC210694 &
SC208694 Cushag ( Ragwort) + elsewhere in reserve.
SC210694 Ivy in hedge
SC208694 Still a few
Bramble flowers
SC208694 Gorse
SC208694 Water
Forget-me-nots
Despite this late
nectar I saw no insects today.
Fungus:
SC209694 Still some
fungi near the path junction and a dead sapling nearby has what may be
coral spot.
Other:
SC209694 Oaks along
the Gorse Boundary still have Oak Spangle Galls
Some have another type of gall on the
leaves which at first sight appear to contain some sort of "seed" but
photos show these are empty cases.
"Oak Apples" from Oak Gall
Wasps
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| Blackbird viewed from the Hide |
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| Moorhen |
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| Two Moorhens together |
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| A few Brambles still in flower |
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| and a Red Campion |
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| Ragwort/ Cushag |
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| Ox-eye Daisies still going strong |
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| Water Forget-me-nots give a splash of blue |
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| Gorse in flower, so kissing still in season ! |
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| Hedge Garlic still has a few flowers |
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| This particular Hogweed plant was the first to flower this year and looks like being the last too! |
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| Non-stop Lawn Daisies |
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| Autumn colours on Oak sapling |
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| "Oak Apples" caused by a Gall Wasp |
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| Oak Spangles - another gall |
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| yet another type of Oak Gall |
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| and the tiny "seed" inside - an empty egg case? |
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| A little fungus still left in the woodchip |
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| This may be Coral Spot fungus on dead sapling |
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| A beautifully marked female Pheasant near the Hide |
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| and another on the boundary, taken from the road |
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| Looking quite wintry today |
And finally.........
Some dates for your diary: 12th November - A Celebration of Manx Birds at the Manx Museum
19th November - Saturday morning Work Party, Ballachurry. 10 -1pm
25th November - "Manx Marine Life" talk by Dr. Lara Howe organised
by MWT Southern Group. Mount Tabor Methodist
Church Hall, Port St. Mary. 7.30pm
