Wednesday 1 March 2017

Ballachurry Reserve, 1st March 2017.


Ballachurry daffodils for St. David's Day
How lovely to see the sunshine and a clear blue sky after recent storms! I hurried through my morning commitments, had an early lunch and headed for Ballachurry Reserve. It finally felt like spring and I spotted blackbirds before I was even through the gate. They were exploring the ivy - prospecting for nest sites already perhaps? Here is today's list:

Birds:
SC210694 2 x female Blackbirds + 1 male, in and out of ivy hedge.
SC209694 ( from Hide)  2 x Mallard ;Wren; 2 x Blue Tits together; Great Tit; Robin; Blackbird;Chaffinch heard but not seen.
SC208694 ( willows) Great Tit; Blue Tit; Chaffinch m; 2 x male Chaffinches fighting; 5 x Goldfinch in alder; 1 Goldfinch on ground;
SC208694 ( near compost heap) Blackbird; pair of Chaffinch; 2 x Wren; Robin; Goldcrest.
SC208695 ( old beehive loop)  Great Tit; Chaffinch & Pheasant heard but not seen.
SC209695 ( near orchard entrance) Blue Tit; male Chaffinch; Robin; 2 x Goldfinch;
SC209695 ( near stream) 3 x Blue Tit flying together; Blackbird.
SC209694 ( gorse boundary) Blackbird; Song Thrush.
SC210694 ( near entrance) Rook on wires


Other:
SC208694 3 x 7spot Ladybirds in gorse bushes.
SC208694  3 x Gorse Shieldbugs in gorse.
SC209694 7 x Gorse Shieldbugs in gorse.
SC210694 Snowflake in flower ( garden escape)
SC208694 Lesser Celandine in flower.
SC210694 Lawn Daisy in flower.
SC208694 Moss growing inside empty tree guard.
SC208694 Several tree guards had sunbathing flies 
SC209695 Honey bee in gorse.
SC209694  Fungi  (Still Scurfy Twiglet?) colour varies according to age and whether wet or dry
Composite photo of various stages of fungi

Bright splash of colour - Lesser Celandine

Lawn daisy

Snowflake

Moss growing inside tree guard

Wren

Rook

Great Tit

Goldfinch

Goldfinch again

Chaffinch

Blackthorn in full flower now

Good to see the insects reappearing ( bird food!)

sunbathing Gorse Shieldbugs

the entrance to the Orchard which is private land

Honey bee visiting gorse

first Ladybirds of the year - 7-spots

another 7-spot

sunny reserve
I was not the only person enjoying Ballachurry today - 5 others were dotted round the Reserve enjoying the sunshine. Unfortunately it began to cloud over later and a cold breeze got up so around 4 o'clock I headed home for a welcome cup of hot tea. The forecast is for some more sunshine over the next couple of days followed by a wet day on Saturday, which doesn't look good for the postponed work party but there is time for things to change yet. Watch this space!