Ballachurry Reserve, 22nd October 2018.

(Click photos to enlarge, click again to move through them)

an inviting prospect

It's not often I can visit the Reserve in the mornings, but on Monday I was there by 9.30 on a very bright and breezy day. And I really hit the jackpot!  Already thrilled to see my first Redwings of the season from the hide, I thought "I just need the Water Rail now to make it perfect" and instantly it appeared! I think it caught a movement from me though, as it immediately turned tail and went back into the reeds. However about 5 minutes later it reappeared and crossed directly across in front of the hide in a series of rapid short runs. It began feeding briefly along the right hand edge of the pond where it was difficult to see for intervening foliage then headed off down the stream towards the other reed bed. I just managed a photo before it vanished. Here is my full list:

Birds:

SC209694 ( hide) 7 x Redwings taking hawthorn berries opposite the hide.
                             Water Rail
                              2 x Chaffinch
                              Robin
                              2 x Goldfinch taking seed from Willowherb
                              male and female Blackbirds
                              Blue tit
                              large flock of Goldfinch flying over.
SC210694 ( entrance) Magpie flying over
SC209693  I missed a very "cute" photo of a Robin sitting on the wheel of an upturned barrow.
SC208694 ( compost area) Robin; Goldcrest.
SC209694 ( end of willows path) female Blackbird; Song Thrush; Dunnock; Robin

Other:

SC210694 Ivy attracting flies and wasps
SC208694 Noon and other flies on wooden hand rail
SC208694 Flies and wasp on oak leaves in sunshine.
SC209694 Lots of fungi still on the woodchip path.

my patience rewarded!
Water Rail.

Redwing taking Hawthorn berries

one of 7

I just kept on clicking

spoilt for choice

autumn colour from the birch trees

Robin checking out the new compost heap

and another in the willows

Song Thrush

Goldfinch with Great Willowherb seed head

fungi in the woodchip

Gorse Shieldbug

flies enjoying the sunshine
Noon Fly and friend  

another Noon Fly on oak leaf

spider in the gorse

a closer look at spider and web

wasp on Oak leaf

oak turning colour too

our recently mown and raked meadow

morning sunshine

 Phragmites reeds looking silvery, back-lit by sunshine

sadly, time to go.

Ballachurry Reserve, 20th October 2018 : Work Party.

10 volunteers arrived at Ballachurry Reserve on Saturday morning armed with a variety of rakes and a selection of barrows. Tricia's  Muckers had already raked the cut meadow areas into piles for us so we set to loading the hay into barrows and depositing it on our two compost heaps. I was about to tip up my own barrow when I noticed fungi growing on last year's heap. Great excitement - I could see it was a new record for the reserve. We are fortunate to have a member of the Fungus Group amongst our volunteers, so hopefully they will be identified for us. It seemed a pity to bury them under this year's compost so I carefully dug them out deeply and replaced them later once we had finished. Hopefully they will shed their spores and continue to grow there in future.

Back at the meadow we raked again and as the sun broke through we started to shed the winter woollies . Our thoughts began to turn towards refreshments but we were determined to get the last few barrowfuls done first. Tea, coffee and home made ginger cake were then most welcome ( thank you, Sheila S. )  But our raking was not yet over. Richard N. strimmed both areas again and the raking/ barrowing routine began again until the compost heaps reached new heights, something appreciated by the local Robins and a couple of Goldcrests who came down to investigate.

Then Diane kindly did a one woman job deterring brambles from crossing the paths. While the petrol lasted Richard  strimmed the boardwalk and bridge areas too as well as a spot of pipe unblocking into the bargain.

There was just time to show Karen some more fungi before we all headed homewards for our well-earned lunch.

"See you soon" and "weren't we lucky with the weather? " floated across the reserve to my ears as I locked up the tool shed.

 A major, annual task well done and one which is starting to show benefits, not just in terms of increasing wild flowers but also numbers of butterflies and other invertebrates.

My personal thanks to everyone who came along .

Last word to the wildlife: SC208694  3 x Frogs; 2 x Goldcrests; at least 1 Robin;  possible Kestrel; possible flock of Goldfinches;  2 x white-legged Snake Millepedes;

Hay already raked into piles by MWT Muckers
but area still looks quite a daunting task

- have to start somewhere

loading the barrow

first of many

here comes another

on it goes

welcome cuppa

friendly chat

colourful friends

oh no! he's strimming it again!

haven't we done this once today already? 

job well done

just half the compost heap

spotted in the nick of time

gorgeous colour

quite different ones elsewhere

and different gills too

another new record too, I suspect.

a bit of a fuzzy photo - this frog was in a hurry
and not anxious to be photographed

Note for the diary: next work party likely to be November 10th.

Ballachurry Reserve, 10th October, 2018.

October view from the bird hide.

Very late posting this report from 10th October because of other commitments. It was very quiet at the Reserve that day, despite the lovely sunshine but here is what I noted:

Birds:

SC209694 ( near Ginnie's bench)  2 x Chaffinch; Wood Pigeon; Robin; Blackbird heard but not seen.
SC209694 ( hide) Moorhen
SC209694 (stream where bridge removed) Snipe

Other:

SC209694 6 x Gorse Shieldbugs + very small fly
SC209694 Red Admiral
SC210694 Noon & other flies on bridge hand rail; Common wasps and various flies on ivy.
SC209695  Various flies sunning themselves on leaves
SC209695 Silver Y moth
SC209694 Unidentified micro moth ( possibly Udea lutealis)

the path through the willows

one of my usual shots - good to see the turf roof survived
the summer drought

can you spot the moth?

closer view

I would have missed this Silver Y had I not seen it land

the low sun in October back-lights the leaves beautifully

like me, the flies were enjoying the warm sunshine

this one was on the hand rail of the bridge

another near the private entrance

still some late Hogweed in flower

autumn food for the wildlife

Gorse Shieldbug with tiny fly just above it

blue sky view

and a hint of mist over the hills

The next posting will be Saturday's Work Party, so watch this space!