Ballachurry Reserve, 22nd January 2021

 notice the green clumps of Hemlock Water Dropwort there already

 For my exercise today I returned to Ballachurry Reserve. Two circuits took less than an hour as it was too cold to linger even in the patches of intermittent sunshine. Everywhere was very quiet - I was the only person there and there was very little wildlife either. The private gate to the reserve was standing open, often a sign in the past that there have been unwelcome visitors to the hide ( I don't mean the private landowners!) so I put my head round the door to check there had been no vandalism.  Everything looked in order, I'm glad to say. Here are the birds I noticed as I walked round.

Birds:

SC209693 Blackbird

SC208694 Great Tit; Small flock of Goldfinches flying over; Blue Tit;  female & male  Chaffinch

SC208695 Blackbird; 2 x Chaffinch

SC209695 Great Tit; male Blackbird; ( blackbird flew out of adjoining private land at low level, almost taking my head off! Gave me a fright! Landed in nearby bush - see photo)

 SC209694 2 x Robin 

Also noted:

 SC208694 & SC209694 Celandines in flower 

entrance to the reserve - shall I turn left or right today?

Left! A veritable lake under the willows

usual view of the hide

and the meadow

a perfect winter's day - a cold wind though

 

female Chaffinch

 and a male Chaffinch

they were not together - yet!

 male Blackbird

beautiful colours

shaft of sunlight lighting up the compost heap

this particular Hogweed always flowers early

looking back towards the new bridge

another sunny spot - temporarily!

again signs that the water had flooded the boardwalk bridge

Catkins along the gorse boundary

with Celandines growing close by

Celandines under the brambles too

cultivated daffs showing through

private gate standing open

no bees in the gorse today

plenty of water in stream after heavy rains

Alder  cones

Homeward bound - heading for the gate.

Not so many birds today as last week, despite the better weather, but an enjoyable walk nonetheless.

Please click on photos to enlarge them.

Ballachurry Reserve, 15th January, 2021.

Puddles along the Blackthorn path

  My exercise lately has been restricted to strenuous, aerobic digging in my own garden, so it was with some relief that I again ventured out for a gentle walk on Friday, choosing the Reserve for my permitted exercise. It was very wet and muddy underfoot after several days' rain and there were mini lakes under some of the trees. I did not stop to bird watch from the hide but I put my head round the door to check all was in order within. It was, although someone had felt the need to observe on both the whiteboard and Police notice that "legal is not the same as lawful" . (Smoking pot in the hide is neither, of course!) Again I managed 2 circuits without meeting anyone else, so here is what I noted on the way.

Birds:

SC209693   7 x Long Tailed Tit; Blackbird.

SC209694    2 x Blackbird together; 2 x Robin together; Wren; Great Tit; Blue Tit. 2 x Jackdaw together.

SC208694    7 x Long Tailed Tit; Robin; Chaffinch; 2 x Blackbird;

SC208695    Blackbird;  2 x  Chaffinch; Great Tit.

SC209695    Chaffinch.

From the gorse boundary I noticed that in the far distance the Churchyard trees  appeared to have leaves again! Through binoculars I could tell they were not leaves but a flock of birds but I was too far away to tell what species. I hurried round to where I could have a closer view . Miraculously they were still there and I could now see they were Redwings.  I counted 30 altogether.  Approximate Grid reference SC207694

Other:

SC210694 Jelly Ear fungus on Elderberry Tree; Stinking Iris seeds still in the pod.

Blue Tit

male Chaffinch

very distant shot of Jackdaw

Gorse in flower

Great Tit

 

Stinking Iris berries near the gate

I wonder what invertebrates are over wintering in our log pile?

Jelly Ear fungus on a  dead Elderberry branch

no sunshine today!

compare this with the same shot on my last visit

tell tale scars of ash die back, I'm afraid

distant view of the bird hide

 due to be spruced up this year with a coat of green wood preservative

a memorial plaque to Anne herself will be added in due course

legal adj : lawful ( Chambers Dictionary)

not sure whether the litter by the hide is new....

or whether it can only be seen now that the vegetation has died down

it was from this point that I saw the Long Tailed Tits land in the tree

beautiful little birds

some blue sky behind would have been nice

see what I mean? But that's cheating!

taking seeds from the Alders, I think

it's not often they stop long enough to be photographed

they actually then flew  a little closer to where I was standing

two out of seven

stream very full and scum accumulating  near bridge

a wintry scene altogether

wear your wellies if you are planning a walk

a distant view of the Redwings

camera on maximum zoom

lovely birds

a Red Robin too

 

This Blog post is dedicated, with love, to the memory of Anne Kaye with whose camera all the above photos were taken. 

 

 

Please click on photos to enlarge them