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| A sunny day at the Reserve |
I had other things planned for Monday but who can resist a sunny day, especially after all the gloom and rain we have been experiencing lately? I managed to reach the Reserve soon after 2 o'clock and stayed for two and a half hours. This included about half an hour in the bird hide, hoping the Water Rail might put in an appearance. But I was watching the wrong pond! Just before leaving I was standing near the dam when I heard it calling from the reed bed- not the squealing pig noise, but the chip, chip, chip it also makes. I was sooo patient, hoping it might come out of the reeds and stood there hardly daring to breathe. It was clearly very close to me. I peered into the base of the reeds until I was almost cross-eyed and eventually caught a white flash of under tail coverts which told me where to focus my binoculars. Sure enough, there it was moving about in the heart of the reeds. Impossible to photograph with so many reed stems in front of it and when I finally moved off it must have heard me because it ceased to call. But the perfect end to my afternoon at Ballachurry Reserve.
Birds:
SC209694 ( path junction) Wren
SC208694 ( path through willows) Blue Tit; Great Tit; male Chaffinch; Blackbird; 2 x Long Tailed Tit; 2 x Goldcrest; Wren. 2 x Raven flying over.
SC208694 ( willows near stream) Robin.
SC209695 (near orchard entrance) Song Thrush; Robin; Blue Tit; Goldfinch;
SC208695 ( old beehive loop) Wren; Robin; Blue Tit; male Chaffinch
SC209694 ( from bird hide) Wren; 2 x Great Tit; Robin; 2 x Wood Pigeon; Blue Tit;
SC209694 ( near Ginnie's Bench) 2 x Blackbird
SC208694 ( reed bed near dam) Water Rail.
SC209694 ( gorse boundary) Flying over - 2 x Wood Pigeon
SC209694 Flying over - usual corvids and Herring Gulls.
Other:
SC209693 2 x small Wolf Spider on tree guard
SC209694 2 x small Wolf Spider on outside of the Hide
SC209694 dandelions in flower opposite Hide
SC209694 ( gorse boundary) first Primrose in flower.
SC209694 ( gorse boundary) a few Gorse Shieldbugs in the gorse
SC209694 ( future wild flower glade)New Record: Blinks (Montia fontana). Growing in inverted turves used to fill ruts. Thanks to Andree Dubbeldam for the I.D.
SC209694 ( path junction) grey lichen starting to grow on hawthorn
SC208695 (old beehive loop) large fly on ash tree
SC208694 ( path through willows) Lesser Celandine
SC208694 ( future glade) Flag Iris starting to come through
SC209694 ( pond) Flag Iris starting to grow
SC208694 ( near compost heaps) Domestic cat. A bit worried about this, as this was where the Goldcrests were. However, as soon as it saw me the cat bolted!
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| I think this is the same Song Thrush as on Saturday |
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| Same song post. Sang all afternoon, audible right across reserve. |
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Wonderful repetoire of phrases : Can see ya, can see ya!
Left a bit, left a bit; Philip Pirrip, Philip Pirrip ( Great Expectations!)
Even some Manx: Hee'm oo, hee'm oo ( I'll see you) |
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| First Ballachurry Primrose of the year? |
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| Flag Iris now visible in the pond |
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Thanks to Andree Dubbeldam for identifying this little
plant as Blinks ( Blink and you'll miss it!) |
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| Lesser Celandines |
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| Dandelions awaiting arrival of the year's first butterflies |
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| Flag Iris coming through in the wild flower area |
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| Stream gushing after the rain and making some nice bubbles |
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| Goldcrest looking for insects |
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| and another |
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| There were 2 there at the same time |
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| I love their facial expressions |
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| Ballachurry's smallest bird |
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| can look a bit grumpy at times! |
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| Wolf spider on the hide - the screw gives an indication of scale |
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| Two more on a tree guard |
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| pensive Robin |
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This little Wren kept hanging down vertically to pluck
insects from the surface of the water. |
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| Sunbathing Gorse Shieldbug |
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| Lacy lichen |
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| Long tailed tit |
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Look! No wings! This one launched itself into the air without so
much as a flap! |
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Tail just about the same length as the body
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| or even longer? |
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| view from the hide |
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| Great Tit |
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| Insects starting to reappear now it is spring |
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I was worried about this cat heading for the area where
the Goldcrests forage for insects |
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| Bye, Ballachurry! Heading home for a cuppa. |
I keep meaning to say...... You do know that you can click on these photos to enlarge them, don't you?
