Ballachurry Reserve, 16th February 2017.

Spring has arrived at Ballachurry Reserve!
Please note: it is illegal to remove frogspawn without a licence.

I'd been planning my visit to Ballachurry Reserve all week as Thursday promised to be sunny with light winds! How disappointing then to wake up to the 7 o'clock forecast and learn that instead it was to be dull and drizzly! A peep  through the curtains confirmed this. BUT, by lunch time there was a hint of blue sky (didn't last) and it had stopped raining. I grabbed my binoculars and was at the Reserve by 1.15.

Opening the Hide shutters I was just in time to see the Water Rail hurrying back to cover ( if only I'd been there earlier!) and to watch the rain drops making rings again on the water. Since the Water Rail seemed unlikely to reappear for a while I decided to set off round the reserve once the shower was over. But wait! Some movement in the water weed caught my eye and a closer look showed 7 frogs , some mating, and  a few clumps of frogspawn.  Already this was clearly going to be one of my more interesting visits to Ballachurry!

Here is the list:

Birds:
SC209694 ( from the Hide) Water Rail; 2 x Wren flying together; 2 x Wood Pigeon; 2 x Great Tit; Pheasant m; 2 x Mallard ( pair); 2 x Blue Tit together; 20 x Goldfinch landed in boundary trees.

SC208694 ( Willows) Coal tit; Goldfinch; 3 x Blue Tit; 2 x Great Tit; 2 x Wren ; 2 x Chaffinch; female Blackbird; 5 x very confiding Goldcrests  in the trees and on the pile of compost. Whilst trying to photograph one about 6 feet away from me I realised there was another just over my shoulder a mere 3 feet away!

SC209695 ( orchard entrance  area)  2 x Great Tit; male Blackbird; Wood Pigeon flying over; Pheasant heard not seen.

Other:

 SC209694 7x Frogs + 4 balls of frogspawn.  A lot of loud croaking.
SC209693 Fungi in path - think these are still Scurfy Twiglet.
SC209693 Hazel catkins now open
SC209694 Blackthorn in flower

Wren - also seen on the compost pile

Ballachurry Frog

Frogs everywhere

Another view of the frogs

Blackthorn in flower

Hazel catkins

A handsome pair of Mallards

Male

Female

Wren taken from the hide

I love the way the fungi curl up to show the gills sometimes

Does this little Goldcrest remind you of an "unhappy" Emoticon?

Looking for insects?

A lovely close view of a Goldcrest - no binoculars needed!

There were at least 5

Remarkably tame too

Great Tit

Blue Tit

Chaffinch - I spy with my little eye....

High water level just getting under the bridge

Yes, I know it's out of focus!
Only had time for a very quick shot before it vanished into the rushes.
Water Rail.

March is supposed to be the best month for seeing Water Rail and I certainly had my best views in March last year. So another couple of weeks.....