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| cloudy but dry at the start of the afternoon |
I felt a bit cheated on Wednesday when it started to rain, so decided to make a return visit to the Reserve on Thursday afternoon when weather conditions looked more promising. My first couple of circuits were with a friend who had not visited the Reserve before. I enjoyed showing her round and pointing out various features but didn't take photos or make notes at this stage. Later I made a final circuit in the late sunshine and compiled a short list.
Birds:
SC208694 ( willows) 2 x Great Tit; 2 x Long Tailed Tit; Wren; Sparrowhawk f;
SC208694 ( boardwalk area) Wren; 2 x Blue Tit; Wood Pigeon flying over.
SC208695 ( beehive loop) Wren; Robin.
SC209694 ( Ginnie's Bench area) female Blackbird
SC209694 ( from hide) Wren; 2 x Blackbird; 3 x Great Tit.
Other:
SC210694 the Jelly Ear fungus photographed previously looked quite different.
SC209694 Alder has catkins and last year's cones; Blackthorn in flower
SC209693 Hawthorns in leaf
SC208694 Willows in bud
SC210694 Garden snails hibernating in wall crevices
SC210694 small glass snails ( possibly Garlic snails) and White Legged Snake Millipede
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| wren near the boardwalk |
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| 2 Blue Tits nearby |
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| close-up of one of them |
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| Robin proclaiming that it is Spring at last |
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| then looking rather pensive |
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| Long Tailed Tit |
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Closer view of the frogspawn possible
now it's not raining |
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| hibernating Garden Snail |
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| and another |
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compare this photo of the Jelly Ear fungus
with that taken on the previous day |
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| Hawthorn in leaf |
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| Blackthorn blossom |
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| Alder cones and catkins |
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| Willow buds |
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| late afternoon sun across the Reserve |
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| now a clear blue sky |
I also took a look in the adjoining thicket from the road and across the road to Ballakilley too and noted the following
SC209692 Robin; Chaffinch; 6 Mallard
SC210692 2 x Greylag Geese; Cormorant; 2 x Coot ( and possibly a chick?)
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| Mallard in the flooded thicket |
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| Greylags still across the road |
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Cormorant had been preening
and was now flapping and drying wings |
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2 x Coot - something we never see at Ballachurry
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The thicket and the Ballakilley land, together with the Reserve, all form an excellent "wildlife corridor" in this part of the South.
