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looking towards the landowners' private entrance to the Reserve
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My last visit to the Reserve, no doubt, before Christmas! A cold but sunny day.
Something on the grass caught my eye as I approached the Noticeboard - a pair of black, Jeff Banks underpants! I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions. I thought the owner was unlikely to return to retrieve them so they are now in my dustbin. Fortunately the rest of my visit was rather less surprising. Here is the report:
Birds:
SC208694 Robin; female Blackbird; Sparrowhawk flying through;
SC208695 2 x Magpies flying over;
SC209695 2 x Blue Tit; Great Tit; male Chaffinch.
SC209694 ( gorse boundary) Blue Tit; Wren; male Blackbird
SC209694 ( path junction) Robin; male Chaffinch; male Blackbird; Wren; Great Tit.
SC209694 ( from hide) Song Thrush; Dunnock; Wren; Goldfinch on Willowherb + 11 flying over; Blue Tit;Great Tit; Robin.
SC210694 4 x Jackdaw in garden tree next door.
Other:
SC208695 unidentified fungi
SC209695 Honey Bee visiting gorse flowers
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First stop the Bird Hide - nothing on the water
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A Robin soon appeared
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and stayed awhile
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a Wren was there at the same time
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this Robin was picking over the compost heap
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Blue Tit near the private entrance
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Great Tit looking for insects
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merited a closer look
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success, I think
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The same bird had spent some time preening in the tree
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the ash walk - sadly some have die-back
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there were fungi nearby
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beautiful white gills - rather nibbled
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I saw just one honey bee out foraging for nectar
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this gorse flower looked promising
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it visited many flowers in turn
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low sun making all colours bright and beautiful
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the stream was full after heavy rain the day before
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a perfect winter's day
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Coral spot ( I think) on rotting planks by compost heap
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some form of Crust fungus nearby
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I tried to get this Crust fungus ID'd without success
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| yet another fungus - they are nature's great recyclers |
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reflections on the water -still no water fowl to be seen
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sun picking out lichen on bridge handrail
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debris on bridge suggests stream had been overflowing
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rushes growing well on decidedly wet meadow
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plane reminds me of the outside world - easy to forget at Ballachurry
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Oak tree keeping leaves well
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but sky clouding over
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Rushen underpants ( not Russian underpants with Novichok!)
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This is not the image I wish to leave you with however!
So here are a few general views of the reserve and a beautiful Hogweed Seedhead sihouetted against the sky
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usual view of the hide
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looking back along gorse boundary
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Hogweed seedhead
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Wishing you all, wherever you are in the world, as lovely a Christmas as is possible this very strange year.
Please click on photos to enlarge them.
