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| autumn sunshine |
Wednesday was indeed a dry day with some sunshine, so I was hopeful of seeing rather more wildlife than on my previous "damage assessment" visit. This proved to be the case, so here is my full report:
Birds:
SC209693 Wren; Robin; Long Tailed Tit flying over.
SC208694 ( near the compost heap) Song Thrush; Blackbird; Blue Tit.
SC208694 ( near the boardwalk) Robin
SC208695 ( old beehive loop) Great Tit; Robin;
SC209694 ( gorse boundary) Robin heard but not seen.
SC209694 ( from hide) Water Rail; Robin heard not seen; Wren heard not seen. Blue Tit. 3 x Great Tit; 20+ Goldfinch in boundary trees; Blackbird; Dunnock; Magpie. 2 x Raven flying over.
SC209694 Siskin
SC209692 Not strictly in the reserve, but the alder thicket adjoining it. A flock of 10 Siskin were enjoying the Alder seed. 2 x Goldfinch likewise. Wren on the ground.
Butterflies:
SC210694 Red Admiral
Ladybirds:
SC208694 7-spot Ladybird
SC208695 10-spot Ladybird
Other:
SC208694 2 x Gorse Shieldbugs
SC209695 2 x Gorse Shieldbugs
SC209693 Unidentified fungus along path parallel to road
SC209693 Unidentified fly
SC209694 Various Hoverflies
SC209694 Quite a lot of invertebrates on top of the carpet round the hawthorns near the hide: 12 x small Common Hairy Snails; several White legged Snake millipedes; unidentified tiny beetle, small worms, a black mite of some sort; various slugs.
SC210694 Stinking Iris berries continue to ripen
SC210694 Numerous Woodlice and Earwigs behind the noticeboard window
SC210694 Garden snail
SC208694 Noon flies on many tree guards
SC208694 remains of pellet on handrail show what has been eaten - possibly snake millipedes?
With leaves now off the trees it is possible to see some small nests in the top of the willows.
I had been sitting somewhat mournfully in the Hide thinking that this time next year all the water would have vanished beneath the advancing weed and that natural succession would take place with willow and birch seeding in. No more Mallard, no more Teal, the Moorhens seem to have vanished already😭.......when suddenly a movement caught my eye and there was the Water Rail briefly emerging from the vegetation to cross a short section of weed before returning into the reeds. My spirits immediately soared! I hadn't seen it for months, though I hear it from time to time.
We really do need an action plan -or some kind of decision- about the pond though. It's not straightforward as the visible weed ( native Brooklime) is underlaid with alien New Zealand Pygmy Weed, an invasive species which we risk spreading further if we remove the Brooklime. We volunteers await a decision from HQ!
The teapot was beckoning as I left the Reserve and I nearly skipped the alder thicket,which is easily viewed from the road. I'm so glad I decided to take a look after all, as it was a real pleasure to watch the Siskins taking the seed from the Alder cones. The light was pretty bad by this time and my camera kept focusing on cones in the foreground instead of the birds themselves, which was frustrating. I just kept on clicking though, in the hope that a few might turn out OK.
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| Blue tit seen across the pond from the hide |
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| Goldfinch eyeing the Alder cones |
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| taking a closer look |
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| Goldfinch sharing with the Siskins |
Hard to choose which Siskin photos to include - scroll on if you get bored!
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this photo gives an idea of how close together they were-
all in one tree |
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| very acrobatic |
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| a bit out of focus but a record shot of a wren |
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| 7-spot Ladybird |
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10-spot Ladybird - thanks to Helen Roy at UK Ladybird Survey
for confirming the ID |
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| Red Admiral |
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| unidentified fungus |
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| Gorse Shieldbug |
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| a good bee mimic |
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| ivy flowers providing late nectar for insects |
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| This one is a Hoverfly |
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| Snail in winter quarters |
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| a cosy habitat for woodlice behind the noticeboard window |
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| composite photo of carpet life |
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| this one is not a composite picture |
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| unidentified fly |
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| close-up of tiny Common Hairy Snail |
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| designer stubble? |
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| disintegrating pellet |
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| the wetlands living up to its name |
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| Noon flies seemed to be everywhere |
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paths wet in places after recent heavy rain
unidentified fungus |
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| reeds flattened by recent storms |
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| others still standing |
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| lichen and berries make a good colour combination |
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| nest visible in willow |
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| lichen contrasting with Blackthorn bark |
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didn't spot this storm damage on Monday
ivy has come down right on the Reserve boundary |
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someone has dumped their garden rubbish in the thicket-
looks like leylandi- they could just have easily taken
it to the Civic Amenity site only a couple of minutes drive away! |
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| brooklime will soon reach the iris |
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| advancing weed |
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| receding water |
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| not much water left for wildfowl |
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| stinking iris |
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| view from the bridge |
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| and looking the other way |
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| blue skies over Ballachurry |
