Ballachurry Reserve, 31st December 2019

New Year's Eve

rather a bleak scene on a grey, cold morning.

Positively my last visit to Ballachurry Reserve of the month, the year and the decade! It was extremely cold down there this morning and I was glad to head home for a bowl of hot soup after a couple of circuits and 35 minutes in the hide, hoping the Water Rail might put in an appearance or even a squeal. The Christmas Bird Race was short of a Water Rail so I thought there might just be a chance, given that I'd heard it on a couple of occasions in December. Not to be, but  here is what I did see:

Birds: 

SC208694  5 x Goldcrests picking over the compost heap together. I was watching two then suddenly realised there were 3 more behind me! Magpie heard but not seen;

SC209694 ( gorse boundary) Blue Tit; flock of about 30 Goldfinches flying over, of which 5 dropped down into a willow for a few minutes before moving into adjacent hedge where they were taking blackberry seeds; Robin; Blackbird;  Wren; Jackdaws flying over; Herring gulls flying over;

Hen Harrier  briefly over reserve.

SC209694 ( hide) Robin heard but not seen;  2 x Wens together; flock of Goldfinches flying over; Pheasant heard but not seen. 

Other:

Gorse, Red Campion and Hogweed still in flower in places.

Orange algae ( or iron leachate?) where wet. 

SC209693 Celandines in bud

Throughout reserve - Hemlock Water Dropwort showing new leaves

Blackbird

5 Goldfinches in the willow

brief view of Hen Harrier

one of five Goldcrests

our barrows enjoying a well-earned rest! 

Celandines in bud

gorse flowers brightening up the scene

Hemlock Water Dropwort showing through

looking back along the stream towards the pond

and the other way towards the bridge

a hint of blue in the sky which came to nought

orange algae ( or iron leachate|?) in the ditch

a final view or 2019
lack of postings partly due to  loss of board pen!

Some of you may be interested to compare this visit with that I made on 31st December 2018 (see list of years to right of opening page). I saw nearly double the number of bird species last year so today was disappointing in that respect. But seeing the Goldcrests and the Hen Harrier today was a great way to finish the year. I was also delighted to spot the celandines in bud - the promise of spring!

I wish you all a very Happy New Year and excellent natural history spotting during 2020.

Please click on photos to enlarge, although they are record shots only due to low light levels and a faulty camera!

Ballachurry Reserve, 23rd December 2019.

The new sign leaves no doubt as to where you are! 

Just a quick midday visit to the Reserve today. Sunny but blustery weather and very wet underfoot. Here is what I recorded:

Birds:

SC209694 A Grey Heron flew up out of the water as I approached the hide.
                   Song Thrush; Great Tit. 2 x Blackbirds heard calling to each other, one from
                   each side of the path.
SC209693 female Blackbird
SC208694  Chaffinch; Song Thrush; Robin heard but not seen

Other:

SC208694  2 x Gorse Shieldbugs in gorse bush
SC208694  Hogweed in flower
SC209695 solitary toadstool in grass.

the usual photo of the hide to record the weather conditions

the damp meadow is certainly damp at the moment!

I helped plant these willows many years ago now-
they were just little slips about 2 feet high!

solitary toadstool

distant fuzzy photo of a Song Thrush

one of two Gorse Shieldbugs

winter sunshine on the bridge

🌲Wishing you all once more a very Happy Christmas🌲

Ballachurry Reserve, 17th December 2019.

December at Ballachurry

The bad weather prevented me from visiting the Reserve last week and I was quite late arriving there on Tuesday, but I  still managed a couple of circuits before going home for my lunch. Here is what I saw:

Birds: 

SC209694 male Blackbird; Great Tit; Song Thrush; Magpie heard but not seen; male Pheasant; Wren; Redwing.
SC208694 3 x Blue Tit;  male and female Chaffinch; Robin heard but not seen; Redwing
SC209695 Wren; Blackbird;

Other:

SC209694 partially eaten Longtail on path by hide ( I moved it into the undergrowth)
SC208694 large bumble bee briefly seen on gorse flowers - orange band
SC210694 large black fly on Notice Board
SC208694 by the compost heap the reserve i s very sheltered and Red Campion remains in bloom. There are also some fresh leaves on the Hawthorn bushes there.
SC210694 Stinking Iris berries still making a bright splash near the gate
SC208694 oak leaves still clinging on to young trees despite recent gales.

one of three Blue Tits

they stayed in the willows quite some time

distant view of the solitary Redwing

unidentified fly

Red Campion still in flower

Oak Leaves

Stinking Iris

the reed bed

we are losing the water to Brook Lime

another view

approach to the hide

a sunny bench and gorse still in flower

just a hint of sunshine on the hills

It was good to have a blow of fresh air at the reserve after having to stay indoors so much the previous week and seeing the Redwing, however fleetingly, was the highlight for me. I hope I'll be able to return once more before the end of the year but this will, of course , depend on the weather and other commitments . There is a big event, of course, half way through the week!

click on photos to enlarge them - sorry so many are out of focus, hoping to get this rectified soon.

Ballachurry Reserve, December 2019.

Have a lovely festive season and thank you for visiting five years of this Blog
2015 - 2019.

Ballachurry Reserve, Work Party 7th December 2019.

 Our final work party of the year on Saturday saw leaden skies but light spirits!

 14 Volunteers came along for another attack on those seemingly endless brambles. Brambles are excellent for wildlife but Ballachurry Reserve has plenty of them already and we don't want them to take over the paths and the open areas. We divided into two groups, one to free up the Hazels lining the path which runs parallel to the road, and the other to maintain a demarcation line between the scrub and the damp meadow. We were again indebted to Ian with his dustbins and trailer for making this job easier.

We are also very grateful to Andree Dubbeldam of the Manx Wildlife Trust for giving us a small crab apple tree for the reserve. This was planted during the morning, complete with Tully Tube  (rabbit protection) and a mulch of old carpet to keep the vegetation from overpowering it while it becomes established. It will be a year or so before it produces fruit but will eventually have great wildlife value on the reserve. Thank you Andree!

Being December we thought this work party should have a festive feel so seasonal refreshments were provided in the form of mince pies and hot punch. Lest this should be misconstrued, here is a photo of what we were drinking!

Alcohol obviously doesn't mix with sharp tools, let alone the fact that we all had to drive home afterwards!

     

our new Crab Apple Tree is in there somewhere!

a few action shots from the meadow area.....

..........and among the Hazels

Then a well deserved rest

and the punch certainly made it smell like Christmas!

Cheers everyone!

after a convivial break we resumed the tasks

Unfortunately it began to drizzle shortly after our break and when this became more persistent we decided to call a halt. By this time we had pretty much finished these areas anyway. We'll no doubt be taking up the loppers again in January!

A huge thank you to all who came to help today - we know there are lots of calls on your time  just before Christmas -but also to everyone who has  worked on the reserve throughout  2019. Without you Ballachurry would not be the beautiful and interesting place it has become over the years. 

Thanks too to those who baked mince pies and biscuits for us today, some of whom were also busy in Shoprite raising money for the Wildlife Trust by bag-packing.

 Wishing all our wonderful Ballachurry Volunteers a very Happy Christmas!

P.S. Water Rail heard squealing from reed bed during the morning SC209694

Clicking on the photos will enlarge them