Ballachurry Reserve, 22nd October 2019.

a dull old day

A dull, dark morning with a temperature of only 10 degrees!  Clearly I was not going to see any butterflies! I was right!  Indeed, I saw very little of anything, but here is the full list:

Birds:

SC209694 ( hide) Wren
SC209694 ( elsewhere)  Robin
SC208694 male Pheasant; Great Tit; Goldfinch; Coal Tit; Wren;  Blackbird m. & f. Blue Tit; Goldcrest; Chaffinch. Longtailed Tits heard but not seen.
SC209695 Wren

Other:

Occasional Bumble bees over meadow area SC208694
SC210694 the first Stinking Iris berries visible.
Alder and Hazel Catkins starting to form
Some lovely Autumn colours throughout the Reserve.
SC208694 Brown Rollrim fungus expanding on compost heap and also turning up elsewhere now.

Brown Rollrim fungus now expanding

3 stages all on one  Alder tree

Autumn colours

near the gorse boundary

rose hips across the pool

rose hips along the paths

view through the shutters

Light levels far too dark for bird photography - "raise the flash" urged my camera ! Still an enjoyable morning, nonetheless.

Ballachurry Reserve: next work party, Saturday 2nd November.

Weather permitting, our next work party will be on Saturday 2nd November from 10 till 1 or whatever people can manage within that timescale.

If numbers permit, we'll be doing more "brambling" but also raking out/cutting back foliage along the front of the reed bed as in previous years. So secateurs, shears, loppers, sickles etc. Rakes would also be useful. Some spares available though. As always at this time of year suitable footware to keep your feet dry and work gloves essential.

Hot drinks and cake at half time but please bring your own mug if you can remember (I'll bring a few spares, just in case!)

I'll confirm whether the work party is either on/ off just after the 8 o/c weather forecast on Friday 1st November, so please check your email or the Blog that day.

Hope to see some of you there.

Best wishes,

Sheila

Ballachurry Reserve, 9th October 2019.

 Sunny Autumn day at Ballachury Reserve

A sunny morning but very windy and according to the gizmo in my car only 12 degrees - just a bit too cold for butterflies, I thought. However as the morning wore on it warmed up a bit and despite the wind I did see some Red Admirals.  Here is the complete list:

Birds:

SC210694 male Blackbird
SC208694 Great Tit; Blue Tit; Robin; female Chaffinch.
SC209694 Wood Pigeon flying over; Wren; female Blackbird; Song Thrush; Robin;  2 x male Chaffinch together; male Pheasant.

Butterflies:

SC209694 Red Admiral flying past pond, seen from hide
SC208694 Red Admiral flying at tree top height near compost heap
SC210694 2 x Red Admiral on ivy flowers.

Other:

SC208694: Common Wasp in the gorse
SC208694  4 x Gorse Shieldbugs
SC208694 several Hoverflies among brambles inluding Syrphus and Helophilus species.
SC208694 Calliphorid flies in reeds
SC208695 Green Shieldbug + nymph
SC209694  Sloe Bug with Gorse Shieldbugs x 4
SC208694 Still plenty of Brown Rollrim fungi ( with thanks to Liz Charter for ID)  + Inocybe species ( Fibrecap) near compost heap.
SC208695 Cortinarius species fungi ( Webcap) along the path
SC210694 on noticeboard and in nettles - numerous flies including Noon Flies
SC208 694 numerous flies on tree stakes and hand rails
SC208695 numerous flies on tree trunks

always a sense of anticipation as I go through the gate

Greeen Shieldbug on bracken

and another

Green Shieldbug nymph on bracken

Green Shieldbug on brambles

Green Shieldbug nymph on brambles

Gorse Shieldbug in the gorse

and another elsewhere

Hawthorn Shieldbug on thistle 

Sloe Shieldbug with a couple of Gorse Shieldbugs

and yet another Gorse Shieldbug

autumn view  from the hide

the reed bed seen from the hide

wasp on oak leaf ( sorry it's a bit out of focus) 

very small  moth

one of several Hoverflies - this one is a male Syrphus species

Footballer Hoverfly in striped jersey! (Helophilus species?)

Noon Fly

lots of flies in the reeds - a mixture of Calliphorids

a sunny gorse boundary

very small spider in the nettles - possibly a young
Nursery Web Spider

more fungus from the compost heap
 kindly identified as an  Inocybe ( Fibrecap)
  species by IOM Fungus Group

and a different sort  from the old beehive loop

a closer view
kindly identified as a Cortinarious ( Webcap)
Species by IOM Fungus Goup

Des res? For a rabbit perhaps? 

Hide has retained its green roof,
 regardless of weather conditions.

Red Admirals on Ivy flowers, spotted just as I was leaving.

Not the best of visits birdwise, but invertebrates kept me interested and 4 species of Shieldbug  in one morning isn't bad going.

Please click on photos to enlarge them

With thanks to Steve Crellin for fly identification.

Ballachurry Reserve, Work Party, 5th October 2019.

The weather forecast for Saturday predicted a dry(ish) morning with rain coming in around midday. Thirteen volunteers arrived at the Reserve at 10 determined to do as much as possible before the weather deteriorated. This was the first serious attack of the autumn on the brambles and we spread out along the boundary ditch armed with secateurs, loppers and shears. First problem was to actually locate the ditch beneath the vegetation! Once found, we were soon underway. Second problem was finding a wasp nest hidden in the bank exactly where the ditch leaves the site. We hurriedly moved along 6 feet ! This section can be tackled later in the year more safely. No one likes wasps buzzing round their picnics but here they are in the right place and they are excellent pollinators.

Brambles are great for wildlife - they provide nectar, fruit, shelter and nesting sites - so our aim was not to destroy but simply to curb their enthusiasm a little. Without this annual intervention they would soon take over the whole reserve so we try to keep them to specific boundaries.

We broke for refreshments and enjoyed welcoming our new, hard working, recruits, Jane and John, over tea and cake. As we started to pick up our tools again though, the rain suddenly started and as it appeared to be more than just a passing shower we decided to head for home.

Particular thanks to the Costains - Carrie for her one woman efforts with the boardwalk, and Ian for the supply of dustbins, wheelbarrows and trailer. We left fruiting branches behind for the wildlife,  gorse stayed on site for a possible hedgehog refuge, green vegetation went to the compost heap but the mountain of arching brambles Ian kindly took to the tip.

We didn't quite finish the job because of the rain and there are still other areas to be cleared so the next work party (probably  2nd November) will almost certainly be "more of the same"!

Wasps apart, I didn't notice a great deal of wildlife on Saturday. A  Robin seemed to be following me about at one point ( SC209693) and a friend kindly removed a Shieldbug from my hair! I hadn't realised that my interest in this species was mutual! It flew away before I could take a photo for ID purposes as I think it might have been a Birch Shieldbug - possibly a new record for the Reserve, if so.

A few photos to finish, and a big thank you to all the volunteers for their help on Saturday.

I think the boardwalk should be officially named
"The Carrie Costain Boardwalk" in recognition
of Carrie's sterling work here each month! 

lost in the brambles

excellent teamwork

new recruit soon gets the  hang of things

who needs a gym membership?
a Ballachurry Work-out is good for body and soul!

another new recruit  tackles the brambles

as do the old hands

Peter's Progress

and a welcome break for refreshments

enjoyed by all

hot tea

and a catch up on all the news

Work Party: 5th October 2019

Just confirming that tomorrow's work party is still on. The forecast is for a dry morning but a wet afternoon so we may just get away with it. If the rain arrives early we'll call it a day and go home! Please check your email/ Blog before leaving home though, just in case the forecast has changed dramatically overnight and a last minute cancellation is necessary.

I look forward to seeing some of you there.

Best wishes,

Sheila

Ballachurry Reserve, 30th September 2019.

Seemed like a sunny morning but soon clouded over

I have just returned from a short break in England where I enjoyed seeing birds that would be rarities here - Jay, Nuthatch, Great White Egret for example. But I wasn't completely out of touch with Ballachurry as I saw a bird report from there detailing a Kestrel, Sparrowhawk,  40 Long Tailed Tit. 20 Blue Tit. 8 Great Tit, 2 Robin, 4 Wren, 10 Goldfinch, and 2 Chaffinch all seen before 9.15 in the morning. Clearly I don't get up nearly early enough! On Monday I  made it down there by 9.30 but everywhere seemed visibly quiet although there was a fair bit of birdsong going on - of which more later. Here are my records:

Birds:

SC209694 ( Hide) 2 x Wrens together; Robin; Song Thrush; Blackcap; flock of Goldfinch flying over.
SC209903 2 x Reed Bunting flew up from near path and into the reeds; Robin
SC209694 Song Thrush, Blackbird; Robin
SC208694 Blue Tit; Robin, Blackbird
SC209695 2 x Jackdaw

Butterflies & Moths:

SC210694 3 x Red Admiral on ivy flowers
SC209694 Speckled Wood
SC209695 Speckled Wood
SC209693 Speckled Wood
SC210694 2 x micro moths in nettles

Ladybirds:

SC210694 7-spot Ladybird on nettles

Other:

SC208694  2 x Green Shieldbugs
SC209694  Gorse Shieldbug
SC209694 Unidentified spiders in gorse
SC208695 Unidentified fungi on path
SC208694 Unidentified fungi on compost; Bluing bracket on rotting plank; unidentified fungus on top  of post
SC210694 Eristalis species Hoverfly on Dandelion
SC209694  Helophilus species Hoverfly on Cushag ( Ragwort)
SC210694 Oulema melanopa Beetle
SC209694  Noon Fly
SC210694 Ivy Flowers attracting many wasps & flies including Noon Flies


Whilst "across" I downloaded a free birdsong app. to my phone which I was keen to try out at Ballachurry that morning. I pointed my phone towards the various chirps and tweets I could hear and got some quite plausible matches back - Robin, Blue Tit - even "wind" and "engine" but just before leaving it came up with a Tawny Owl ! So my confidence is shaken. But who knows?

a smaller than usual 7-spot in the nettles

 One of two Wrens seen together from the Hide

underside of spider in gorse

seen right way up

Red Admiral enjoying late nectar on Ivy flowers

One of the "footballer " hoverflies - Helophilus species.

and a Noon Fly

female Eristalis species Hoverfly

Gorse Shieldbug

Green Shieldbug

Unidentified Fungi in the grassy path

Seems to have the remains of a "veil"

I think this is another example of Bluing Bracket

Another kind of fungi growing on the compost heap

and yet something else on a post

Oulema (melanopus?) beetle on nettles

Small Unidentified  Moth

I didn't realise there was a second one nearby
 till I saw the photo

The Hemp Agrimony had now gone to seed

The Reserve looking distinctly autumnal

Whilst walking round the Reserve  Monday morning I gradually became aware of young children's voices. Turning a corner I met up with a dozen little tots from a Douglas Day Care Nursery with their two adult teachers. We had an interesting little chat before they moved off to explore the various delights of Ballachurry. I do hope those little feet managed to avoid the dog mess in the middle of the path - we still have an antisocial person regularly walking their dog in the Reserve in defiance of the notice and what is worse, not clearing up after their pet.

All our volunteers work so hard to keep the reserve as the wonderful place it has become, so it is very disheartening when the actions of a single uncaring person spoil  it for everyone else. Not the best of notes to finish this posting on, I'm afraid, but at least I'm not publishing the photo of the "evidence".

Click to enlarge photos

With thanks to Steve Crellin for fly identification