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| 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.
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| one of three Blue Tits |
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| they stayed in the willows quite some time |
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| distant view of the solitary Redwing |
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| unidentified fly |
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| Red Campion still in flower |
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| Oak Leaves |
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| Stinking Iris |
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| the reed bed |
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| we are losing the water to Brook Lime |
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| another view |
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| approach to the hide |
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| a sunny bench and gorse still in flower |
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| 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.
