Ballachurry Reserve, 16th February 2019. Work Party.

The weather was kind to the 13 Volunteers who tackled a variety of tasks at the Reserve on Saturday, 16th February. Ten o'clock saw lots of activity - the hide received a first coat of fresh wood preservative and several rotten planks in the boardwalk were replaced. These were the two main tasks scheduled for the morning but the number of willing hands allowed us to tackle several other necessary jobs as well. The back of the noticeboard received a fresh coat of blackboard paint and additional gravel went down on wet areas of path. We were also able to finish off "brambling" in three areas not completed at the last work party. A light strim and raking off of the grass near the noticeboard should further reduce the fertility of this area to encourage its colonisation by wild flowers.

We very much enjoyed the refreshments provided at half time by our volunteer bakers ( thank you!) and as always it was pleasant to chat and catch up with everyone's news

a sure sign that wood is going rotten
 when fungi starts to recycle it!

the underside of the same bracket fungus on the boardwalk

first the chicken wire had to be removed -
 old staples going into empty bucket
(if you are wondering about Slug Gone - it's made from sheep's wool!)

a fiddly job

getting the old planks out

new ones neatly slotted in

they will soon weather to match the rest no doubt

meanwhile, a few more brambles cut back

they are not allowed to advance beyond the fence post!

gravel added to the wettest part of the path

our hide was very much in need of some TLC

some preservative quickly made a visible difference

more brambles near the gate

cut back to reveal....

a clump of snowdrops

a light strim for one of the potential wildflower areas

outdoor picnic in February

arty shot!

a welcome cuppa

 My thanks to all concerned, an excellent morning's work!

(click on photos to enlarge)

Ballachurry Reserve, 14th February 2019.

A shabby looking hide - soon to be given
 a fresh coat of preservative

Quite a difference in the reserve this week. Spring was in the air ( and not just because it was St.Valentine's Day!)  The Blackthorn blossom had opened in my absence and there were a good few splashes of gold from the Celandines.  Garden escapes - Snowflake and Daffodils - were also in bloom. Down in the stream I saw my first two Water Crickets of the season too. So things are definitely looking up. Here is the complete list:

Birds:

SC209694  ( near the path junction) female Reed Bunting; Great Tit.
SC209694 ( from Hide)  2 x Great Tit;  2 x Blue Tit; Wren; 4 x Goldfinch; Grey Heron which nearly landed in the water but aborted landing - think it spotted me through the shutter of the hide; Jackdaws flying over.
SC208694 ( compost area / willows) 2 x Robin together; female Chaffinch;
SC208695 ( old beehive loop) Magpie; Blue Tit;  2 x Great Tit; male Blackbird; Wren.
SC209694 ( gorse boundary) Snipe.

Other:
SC209695  2 x Water Cricket
SC209695  unidentified Liverworts on stream bank NEW RECORD
SC209694  Scurfy Twiglet fungi reappearing after short absence
SC208695 Lawn daisies
SC210694  Snowflake in bloom ( garden escape)
SC209694 Cultivated daffodils in bloom ( pre-date reserve status)
SC209694 and throughout reserve Blackthorn in bloom

Blackthorn near the hide

opening blackthorn buds

fully open in many places

female Reed Bunting

just record shots

rather distant and not quite in focus

likewise a distant Goldfinch taken from the hide

Magpie in a Sycamore

The Wren has a favourite perch

one of two Robins together near the compost heap

the boardwalk, also down for repair at the next work party

lawn daisies seem to flower all year round these days

daffs fighting through the brambles and bracken

Snowflake near the gate

Alder catkins are lengthening

must go back and take a better photo for ID-
haven't noticed these liverworts before - new record.

fungi are back

some of the Alders are getting really tall now,
catkins in silhouette.

My next post, when time permits, will be of  last Saturday's Work Party.

(Remember to click the photos to enlarge them, then click them again to move through as a slide show) 

Ballachurry Reserve, Work Party 16th February 2019

The forecast for tomorrow is dry with sunny intervals, so our work party is going ahead. Please see earlier post for full details of tasks and necessary tools etc.  I've found quite a few paintbrushes but the largest are  2" so if you have a roller or bigger one you are prepared to use/lend then it makes the job go quicker.

If you have a stepladder that you can get in the car that might be useful too. We may have a couple being brought along already but I'm not sure about that.

Eye protection is advisable for some of our tasks so if you have your own please bring it along.

I look forward to seeing some of you there.

Best wishes and thanks,

Sheila.

Ballachurry Reserve, 6th February 2019 & 9th February, 2019.

Click on photos to enlarge, click again to move on through them

no sign of the promised sunshine

Lured by the promise of a sunny day on Wednesday  I headed off early for the Reserve only to find grey skies,  quickly followed by a heavy shower. I made it into the Hide in the nick of time to keep the camera/binoculars dry. As the rain eased towards 11 o'clock I headed back to my car only to get thoroughly wet as down it came again worse than ever! Needless to say the sun did eventually come out but too late for my purposes. So I felt rather miffed! It wasn't an entirely fruitless visit though as you'll see from the bird list below:

Birds:

SC210694 Great Tit; male Chaffinch
SC209794 ( from hide) male Blackbird; Chaffinch; 6 x Goldfinch on church boundary.
SC208694 ( damp meadow)  2 x Great Tit
SC208694 ( compost area/ firs)  pair of Chaffinch; Robin; Wren; Dunnock; Blue Tit;  Goldcrest; Warbler  briefly seen 3 times, probably the Chiffchaff seen a few weeks ago. 3 x Magpie
SC208694 ( willows) Coal Tit; Great Tit;
SC208695 ( beehive loop) Blue Tit; male Chaffinch; Wren.
SC209694 ( gorse boundary) Great Tit;
SC209694 ( near path junction) male Blackbird

Other:

SC209694 Lesser Celandines in bloom
SC210694 Snowdrops amongst the brambles
SC208694 unidentified moss in damp meadow

first bird of the morning - a distant male Blackbird

this Dunnock was viewing the compost heap

as was the usual Robin

there was a time when it was hard to find moss at Ballachurry
this patch is growing in the middle of a puddle in the damp meadow

Hemlock Water Dropwort growing fast now

Lesser Celandines along the gorse boundary

 Snowdrops fighting their way through the brambles

a quick dash back to the car required!

It was disappointing to find the hide door open on arrival. It's usually a sign that the hide has been used by miscreants and sure enough there was litter inside as well as elsewhere on the reserve. It also lets in the winter weather, of course, which will shorten the life of the timbers. As usual the Police have been notified so they can step up their patrols in a bid to nip any anti-social behaviour in the bud.

9th February 2019

A non-recording visit to the Reserve ahead of next week's work party; just for the record:
SC209694  2 x Mallard on pond; 20 + Goldfinch flying over; Great Tit.

....and yet more litter and home rolled fag ends in the hide😞

Ballachurry Reserve - a last look at January

click to enlarge

Ballachurry Reserve - Work Party, 16th February 2019.

Just a reminder that the next Ballachurry Work Party is scheduled for next Saturday, 16th February from 10 until 1 or whatever you can manage in that timescale.

The principal task will be to re-paint the Hide, first giving it a brisk rub down with brooms and scrubbing brushes to get off any loose matter. We have a couple of rollers & trays + a few old brushes of varying sizes. If you have any old brushes languishing in your shed or garage a few extra could be useful but don't bring along anything new or expensive! A couple of stepladders would be helpful if you can get them in your car. I'll bring along some disposable gloves so we don't all finish the morning with green fingers! We can't wash equipment on site, so I'll take it home with me to clean up.

We have lost some guttering brackets in last night's storm so if I have time to source some replacements we'll also be fixing those. Without them the guttering was flexing alarmingly this morning.

If numbers permit we'll also tackle replacing some rotten planks in the boardwalk. This will entail lifting or rolling back the chicken wire first. The reserves officer tells me that fencing pliers are needed to do this. These are the very pointed ones. We have one pair ourselves but another pair might speed up the job. Removing the old planks will require crowbars - ours is rather long so if you have a shorter one you are prepared to lend us for the morning, please bring it along. We probably have some hammers available and we are obtaining some nails. Many thanks to Chris and Peter Baker who are both Ballachurry Bashers and Mid Week Muckers for transporting the planks down to the Reserve from MWT for us.

Another painting job is the back of the noticeboard. A fresh coat of blackboard paint would not go amiss.  A job for just one or two volunteers.

If none of this appeals there are still a few brambles to be dealt with, so secateurs, shears, loppers etc. needed for those. There may also be a small area to be raked off if conditions are suitable for strimming. We probably have enough rakes for that though.

The reserve is rather wet after recent rain so suitable footware and, of course, work gloves are a good idea. Refreshments will be provided at half time as usual. We need dry conditions for these painting jobs so I will confirm on Friday after hearing the 8 o'clock forecast whether the Work Party will go ahead. Fingers crossed! I look forward to seeing some of you there.

Many thanks,

Sheila

Ballachurry Reserve, 31st January 2019.

snowy view from reserve

A half hour circuit of the Reserve on Thursday morning yielded nothing but a solitary Chough flying over the Reserve. A return visit after lunch was a little better. Here is what I saw during both visits:

Birds:

SC210694 female Blackbird; Chough flying over.
SC209694 ( from hide) male Blackbird; 6 x Wood Pigeon
SC208694 ( compost ) 3 x Blackbird together ( 1 male, 2 x female) ; Robin;
SC209694 ( gorse boundary) Robin; male and female Blackbirds; Song Thrush.

Other:

SC208694 more Bracket fungus on side of boardwalk plank (probably Gloeophyllum separium - to be confirmed )
SC209694 remains of Artichoke galls on Oak saplings.
SC209694 unidentified moss growing on carpet square.

there was frost on the boardwalk....

....and ice on the pond

ice on the puddles in the damp meadow

the remains of last year's Artichoke galls, I think

flowering gorse giving a welcome bright splash

this Hawthorn is is full leaf already

just a small area of the water was ice free

a mossy carpet - literally!

Robin near the compost area as usual

Things can only get better......