Ballachurry Reserve, Rushen, IOM.: March 2020

Wednesday 25 March 2020

Ballachurry Reserve, 18th, 20th & 21st March 2020 - incidental reportss

Cold but bright and sunny morning

On Wednesday 18th March I was at the reserve to discuss the mowing requirements with Rushen Commissioners' contractor. While there I noted the following :

SC210694 garden escape Muscari mixed in with wild Lesser Celandines
SC210694 Song Thrush; 2 x Blackbird; 2 x Goldfinch; Blue Tit;
SC209694 Great Tit x 2; female Blackbird; Chaffinch x 2
SC208694 male Chaffinch; Goldcrest; Great Tit.

a lovely morning at Ballachurry

On Friday 20th March I was working at the reserve cutting back some Blackthorn which might impede the mower and noted the following:

SC209694 - Chiffchaff; Goldfinch; female Blackbird; Chaffinch;Blue Tit
SC209695 Chrysomelid Beetle; 7-spot Ladybird
SC209695 Eristalis pertinax hoverfly in gorse
SC209694 Eristalis pertinax hoverfly in gorse
SC209694 3 x Small Tortoiseshell butterflies ; Peacock butterfly.
SC209694 3 x 7-spot Ladybirds

7-spot Ladybird

and another further along the gorse boundary

this one was warming up on a dead
Hemlock Water Dropwort stem

Eristalis pertinax hoverfly

and the Gorse Shieldbugs

Leaf Beetle on an ash tree

another Gorse Shieldbug

a lovely colour combination - cultivated Muscari
and wild Lesser Celandine

On Saturday 21st my husband and I returned with some hardcore, obtained with permission from a local skip, to do a path repair at the Reserve. Whilst there we saw a Snipe fly over SC209694.

These are difficult times for us all, but do look out for wildlife in your garden - it will lift your spirits as it does mine!

Clicking on photos will enlarge them

Tuesday 17 March 2020

Please collect used stamps for local wild bird charity

Used Stamps can help local bird charity

The RSPB no longer collect used stamps but Manx Wild Bird Aid does. They are a registered charity dedicated to the rehabilitation of sick, injured and orphaned wild birds. They are run entirely by volunteers who pay their own expenses and receive no government funding.

You can find out more about them here

www.manxwildbirdaid.com

used stamps can be sent to

Manx Wild Bird Aid

c/o 11, Victoria Road,

Castletown,

IM9 1 EN

Thursday 12 March 2020

Photo glitch

I am aware that there was a problem seeing some of the photos in the last Blog post. Hopefully this is now sorted out. If you receive the Blog via email you will need to go to the Blog itself to see the photos, they will still be missing from the email you received. My apologies for this mystery glitch which I eventually rectified by deleting the photos and starting again!

Tuesday 10 March 2020

Ballachurry Reserve, 10th March 2020.

My main purpose in visiting the reserve today was to construct a small willow fence at the path junction to guide people towards the middle of the path. At Saturday's work party we discovered how easy it was to step off the edge of the path at this point into deep mud which no amount of wood chip seemed to stabilize. Someone commented it was almost like quicksand! So until we can add some hardcore at this point this seemed like a temporary solution. The willow wands were from our garden, not the reserve, by the way. I also cut back the willow on the bend which was pushing people off the original path, a job I didn't quite finish on Saturday.

But first I decided to walk round the Reserve in the intermittent sunshine to see what was about. Here is the list:

Birds:

SC209693 male Blackbird; Chaffinch heard but not seen; Blue Tit; Great Tit; 3 x Long Tailed Tit; Water Rail - my first sighting of the year and indeed for a very long time. It came out of the bushes near where we store the barrows and crossed the path just ahead of me. Then it noticed me and took flight, legs trailing. It seemed to come down into the undergrowth on the other side of the path.
SC209694 ( hide) Drake Mallard; 3 x Goldfinch.
SC208694 male and female Chaffinch; 2 x Blue Tit; Long Tailed Tit; Robin; Goldcrest on compost heap; 2 x Great Tit; Song Thrush.
SC209695 Goldfinch; 2 x Chaffinch; Great Tit; male Blackbird.
SC210694 female Blackbird

Other:

SC209695 about a dozen Water Crickets near the water inlet pipe, first time I've seen them this year
SC208694 small orange fungus on planks near compost heap

It was good to see other people walking round the reserve and to chat about what they had seen or were hoping to see.

tiny fungi and a few fallen Alder cones

cultivated daffodils and ivy near the gate

I know I often take this shot but it's one I can't resist

view through the hide shutters

and finally.....


Ta-dah! my mini wattle fence - hope it does the trick

Remember you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them

Monday 9 March 2020

Ballachurry Reserve, 7th March 2020 - Work Party

a daunting task ahead?

We have had to cancel two previous work parties this year because of stormy weather and poor ground conditions. But it was third time lucky on Saturday when, despite the forecast for occasional rain and drizzle, we met up at Ballachurry at 10 o'clock to spread wood chip along those very muddy paths. No less than seventeen volunteers were on site with barrows, shovels and rakes and we were soon plying backwards and forwards along the tracks with the wood chip which had kindly been donated by Chris Preston of "Roots to Shoots". (https://www.facebook.com/rootstoshootsiom) Chris has given us wood chip in the past and we are very grateful to him and his business for helping us out in this way. Not only does the chip improve the paths enormously, it has also increased the bio-diversity of the Reserve and we have seen new fungi appear regularly where it has been spread.

Although many hands make light work, this was a strenuous task and everyone was pleased to hear the workers' tea-break siren at 11 o'clock (they were testing the emergency sirens locally!) and all headed down towards the hide for a well earned rest and refreshments. A very sociable break, then back to work to finish off the task in good time for lunch. We also put up the nesting bird signage and cut back some willow which was forcing pedestrians off the path. Not a drop of rain the whole morning either!

but many hands make light work

and everyone got stuck in

there was even a queue to fill the barrows at times

barrows going off in all directions

emptying the .nth load

raking the chip along the paths

one of the wettest paths being improved

yet more raking

a well earned break - three types of cake no less!

reviving tea and coffee

and plenty of chat

two hours later the pile had gone!

we also took the opportunity to put up the
nesting bird signage as nesting now
seems to be underway

Thanks to all Saturday's volunteers for your hard work - you certainly made a difference to the state of the paths, as well as being a lovely bunch of people to work with! Thanks too to our cake makers, Margaret and Janet, for reviving us at half time.

We usually take a bit of a break during the bird nesting season but then things sometimes crop up unexpectedly requiring a work party to put things right. No doubt I'll be issuing a "call to arms" at some point before mid August when we usually take the signs down again. Two major tasks on the horizon are replacing the boardwalk and, if planning permission is granted, putting in a new pond for dragonflies /pond dipping. I should perhaps add that we won't be digging the hole by hand!

In the meantime do visit the reserve to enjoy the fruits of our labours! There should be plenty to see there over the next few months.

Tuesday 3 March 2020

Ballachurry Reserve, 2nd March 2020

"The Ash Grove"

I arrived at the Reserve yesterday at 2.45. The sunshine came and went intermittently and it was still quite windy, although nothing like the gales we have experienced very recently. I stayed for two hours and was lucky enough to see the Red Kite no less than 4 times during that period - sometimes quite distant and sometimes very close, always fleeting. Its wing tags suggest it has come over from Northern Ireland. Local corvids constantly give it a really hard time and I found myself reflecting that a Red Kite's life is not an easy one; never a moment's peace! Here is the full list:

Birds:
SC209694 / SC208695/ SC208694 Red Kite mobbed by corvids
SC209694 Blue Tit; Great Tit;
SC208694 2 x Blue Tit feeding from Pussy Willow buds; Goldfinches heard but not seen; Chaffinch heard but not seen. Pheasant heard but not seen; Robin; male Blackbird; Great Tit; Goldcrest on compost heap.
SC208695 Rook; 3 x Jackdaw; 2 x Chaffinch;
SC209695 male Blackbird; 2 x Blue Tit ( 1 investigating bird box) male Chaffinch; Hooded Crow flying over; Grey Heron flying over.
SC209694 ( from hide) 3 x Mallard ( 2 drakes, 1 duck); 4 x Blue Tit together; 2 x Goldcrest chasing flies above Phalaris reeds;
SC210694 female Blackbird

Other:

SC210694 Cultivated snowdrops in bloom by gate beneath brambles; cultivated Snowflakes in full bloom; wild Lesser Celandines nearby.
SC208694 large unidentified Queen Bumblebee on Blackthorn blossom
Still no frogspawn that I could see.

We were unable to hold our work party last Saturday because ground conditions were too wet, although the threatened sleet showers " heavy and prolonged" never actually materialised. Pushing heavy barrows of wood chip along the paths repeatedly would simply have churned them up even more. Hopefully a week of drying winds and less rainfall will improve matters and we can get the chip down in the muddiest areas to improve conditions underfoot. Meanwhile, be sure to wear your wellies!

March has come in like a lion so hopefully will go out like a lamb, according to the old adage. Some warm March sunshine without the wind chill factor could see the emergence of our first Butterflies and Ladybirds of the season. How I am looking forward to that moment!