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| Autumn colours at the Reserve |
10 a.m. on Saturday saw sunny weather for our November Work Party. In October we had been rained off before finishing cutting back the brambles along the gorse boundary, so here was a new opportunity to finish the job. 6 of our 11 volunteers were soon hard at work on this task. The rest of the group headed for the reed bed where the advancing reeds needed cutting back to the limit of their allotted space before raking out vegetation which was impeding the flow of water across the front of the bed. Bundles of reeds were taken to near the compost heap where their hollow stems may provide a winter refuge for invertebrates. Other vegetation was added to the compost heap. As last time, gorse trimmings were taken to a particular corner of the reserve where they may provide a habitat for hibernating hedgehogs, but brambles were kindly taken off-site to the tip by Ian with his well-organised bins and trailer. Minor jobs saw willow cut back along the pavement and a new background given to the noticeboard panel. Woodlice and earwigs seem to enjoy re-cycling the cardboard for us while keeping dry and warm behind the "glass".
Around 11 the local siren was tested and we took this to be the tea break signal, especially as by now it was spitting and spotting with rain. This soon turned into a heavy shower and all 11 of us managed to squash into the bird hide for hot drinks and cake, kindly provided by Margaret and Carrie. There were reminiscences about how many people could be fitted into a mini in the 60s! The rain eventually eased sufficiently for us to return to work but once we had tidied up our mess we decided to head for home rather than start a fresh task. That pleasure awaits us in December!
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| working on the gorse boundary |
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| down in the ditch! |
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| job done |
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trees along the gorse boundary freed from
choking brambles |
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| cutting back the reeds |
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| in the autumn sunshine |
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| job done |
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the only way I could photograph our tea break was
to hold the camera in the air and hope for the best! |
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| Add caption |
During the morning we saw a Red Admiral butterfly flying across the meadow ( SC208694) and a Heron flying towards the pond ( SC209694) Earlier some people had seen it mobbed by corvids. A Robin was near the old beehive loop SC208695) and the wasps nest was still busy near the ditch on the gorse boundary (SC209694)
Trips to the compost heap revealed several fungi. The Brown Rollrims are still going strong to the left of the path in, but new lilac-gilled toadstools have appeared on the compost to the right. Volunteer Chris pointed out some little brown caps under the birch tree nearby and while looking at these I spotted some beige coloured club fungus in the leaf litter nearby. These were the first I have seen on the reserve. As well as photographing the above , I was later able to drop off specimens at the house of Karen and Mick Rodger of the IOM Fungus Group who hopefully will be able to identify them for the Ballachurry Records. I shall report back on these once known.
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brownish on top
Kindly now identified as Wood Blewits
by Karen and Mick Rodgers |
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| decidedly lilac below |
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| with magnificent gills |
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| something different |
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and Club fungi for the first time on the reserve
Kindly now identified as Pipe Fungus
by Karen and Mick Rodgers |
The autumn colours on the reserve are lovely at the moment, so here is a photo of one of the Hazel bushes to finish this post.
Many thanks to all the volunteers who gave their time and energy to helping on the reserve on Saturday. Also to Margaret and Carrie for reviving us with cake!
