Ballachurry Reserve, 19th March 2021.

A sunny day at the Reserve but the hill fog was never far away

 Not having been beyond my own garden gate for 10 days I decided that a change of scene was perhaps necessary and that a couple of circuits of Ballachurry Reserve would be good exercise while at the same time giving my gardening muscles some respite! Accordingly I arrived on Friday morning in brilliant sunshine which had brought out the Ladybirds and Bees. Three other families came and went but we all managed to social distance even more than required, so this was not a problem. Just as I was thinking of returning home the fog rolled in from the hills and everyone else vanished. I decided to do an extra circuit as I had the reserve entirely to myself  and was enjoying the fresh air, the birdsong and the solitude. Here is the wildlife I noted as I walked round:

Birds:

 SC210694 Redwing; female Blackbird; 2 x Great Tit ; male Chaffinch; Wren.

SC209694 2 x Mallard ( drakes); 5 x Goldfinch; Blue Tit;  2 x Robin.

SC209695 2 x Buzzard overhead; 2 x Long Tailed Tit.

SC208695 Magpie; female Blackbird; female Chaffinch;

SC208694 2 x Ravens overhead; Chiffchaff heard not seen; Woodpigeon; Blue Tit; Goldfinch; Chaffinch; Goldcrest; Long Tailed Tit. 

Ladybirds:

SC209694 5 x 7-spot Ladybirds in gorse

SC208694 7-spot Ladybird on Hemlock Water Dropwort by stream 

Other:

SC210694 Honey Bee on "No Dogs" notice on gate

SC209695 Honey bees in gorse

At Ballachurry the wildlife starts at the gate!

notice how full the pollen sack is on this bee

another bee with a full pollen sack

one of 5 x 7-spot Ladybirds in the gorse

this 7-spot was on Hemlock Water Dropwort near the stream

this fly landed on the Ladybird!

Hazel catkins are starting to fall now

the daffodils were not social distancing

yellow is definitely a spring colour

one of 2 Robins foraging together along the gorse boundary

Mallard drakes

Goldfinch

Croaking Ravens were putting on an acrobatic display

Blackthorn in full flower now

Marsh marigolds coming through but not yet in flower

this is why I call it the gorse boundary

fog creeping closer

hills blotted out

a distant bird.....

proves to be a chaffinch

I heard the Buzzards approaching through a foggy sky

they were circling over the adjacent field

chaffinch in the willows

hills totally vanished into the fog

atmospheric reserve

Long Tailed Tit

 my final view of the reserve before heading home

An interesting visit.

Please click on the photos to enlarge them

Ballachurry Reserve, Spring Housekeeping.

 

•   Mid March is the time of year when we are asked to keep strictly to the paths at Ballachurry Reserve because it marks the start of the ground nesting bird season. No one wants to disturb the birds while they are nest building let alone trample eggs under foot so the notices have gone up as a reminder and will remain now until mid August. We already have Chiffchaffs singing back on the reserve and my BTO handbook tells me they like to nest between 10 and 30 cm off the ground, so they are a good example of why we need to be careful. 

• When I walked round the Reserve this week there was a large pile of bird food on the tool shed roof just below the shutters in the hide. I suspect this was intended to bring birds in very close so they could be photographed from just inside the hide. Please may we ask you not to do this? This is for several reasons:

The food attracts the peacocks which we try to discourage on the Reserve ( they are detrimental to wildlife and leave very large droppings)

Small birds feeding on this roof are extremely vulnerable to predators both from the ground and the sky. We all know that "nature is red in tooth and claw" and out on the reserve everything has a sporting chance and is in balance. On the roof they are very exposed, their exit routes are restricted and there is limited cover when threatened. 

The food can attract vermin to the hide .

We do not want our wild birds to become tame or come to rely on being fed at the hide - there is plenty of natural food for them on the reserve.

Using the tool shed roof as a bird table can spread diseases from the accumulated droppings to infect other birds - it is not a surface that can be easily cleaned and no one is available to do this chore. 

Droppings also attract flies, which we don't mind elsewhere as they are part of the food chain, but which can come into the hide to the annoyance of wildlife watchers.

• Those of you still able to take your exercise at the Reserve will know how muddy the paths have been (and still are in places) so we ask you please leave cycles at the gate and not ride them round the Reserve. There have been a lot of bike tracks through the mud recently which has made the condition of the paths rather worse.

The Volunteers who care for the Reserve don't like plastering the entrance with notices saying DON'T, DON'T, DON'T / NO, NO, NO,  as it creates an unfriendly impression, but please do encourage any visitors you may encounter there to follow the country code at all times.

Our volunteers are looking forward to the lifting of restrictions so that we can undertake much needed path maintenance and other tasks such as re-painting the bird hide etc. and I'm sure everyone will be pleased when we can walk round once more without masks and can stop to chat and compare notes about the wildlife. 

With thanks for your co-operation on all the above matters.

Sheila

 

Ballachurry Reserve, 8th March 2021

My first March visit to Ballachurry Reserve

Monday's sunshine tempted me to pay my first visit to Ballachurry Reserve for my exercise since the new Lockdown began. In the 12 or so days since my last visit Spring had clearly arrived at the Reserve with daffodils everywhere, Hawthorn in leaf and even some starry Blackthorn blossom open in places. The paths were a little drier after a period without much rain but still plenty of mud and even standing water in places. I could also hear a Chiffchaff calling as I entered the Reserve but imagine my surprise to spot a Buzzard perched on a birch tree down near the bridges! This caused me a dilemma - should I look through binoculars first or take the photo first? I chose the binoculars. This was probably a mistake as it quickly flew off into nearby fir trees before I could organise the camera. It definitely landed in the trees but there was no sign of it by the time I reached a suitable vantage point. About an hour later I heard it calling and managed to spot it over a field near Ballakillowey but of course this was too far away for much of a picture. You can see the white wing patches though. As I had the reserve to myself for most of the afternoon I was able to walk round several times. At one point I did hear an excited young voice shout "Dad, I've found a duck!" followed by the sight of a Mallard making a hasty flying exit but the family headed off elsewhere  and our paths did not cross. Here is what I noted as I walked round.  

Birds:

SC210694 3 x Blackbird; Chiffchaff heard not seen; Wren.

SC209694  Long Tailed Tit; Kestrel flying over; 2 x Woodpigeon flying over; Grey Heron flying over; Magpie flying over; Dunnock.

SC208694 Buzzard; Great Tit; Chiffchaff; 2 x Goldfinch; Blue Tit; 3 x Chaffinch; Redwing; Robin; Great Tit; Wren;

SC209693 Chiffchaff; 2 x Mallard ( pair)

SC208695 Blue Tit; Blackbird; Goldfinch; 2 x female Chaffinch; 2 x Long-Tailed Tit

SC209695  4 x Goldfinch; 2 x Chaffinch; Blue Tit; Great Tit.

Other:

SC209695 7-spot Ladybird

SC 209695 Gorse Shieldbug

SC209694 3 x Gorse Shieldbug

SC209694 large cultivated Daffodils in flower; Celandines in flower;

SC208694 here and throughout reserve Hawthorn in leaf.

SC208694 and elsewhere Blackthorn in flower

SC209695 Honey Bee in gorse

SC209694 Copious amounts of Frogspawn

Our wood chip still awaits  a work party, docks have grown up through it, red as deprived of light

Blackthorn in flower near Hide

Blackthorn flowers

Goldfinch

Blue Tit

Chiffchaff in willows near stream

A good view of the wings - shorter than a Willow Warbler

it was spending its time between these willows

and the reed bed

looking for insects and sometimes flying into air to catch them

stream still very full even after a dry week

the walk through the willows

Hawthorn leaves open near the bridge

I took this photo of the Buzzard from just over the bridge

Cultivated daffs planted before the area was a Wildlife Reserve

now in full flower

Wild Celandines nearby

Dunnock

Lovely to see the fresh green leaves of Hawthorn

This view of the hide will vanish once the willows are in leaf

2 of the 3 Shieldbugs among the gorse flowers

and a 4th elsewhere

I noticed the 7-spot Ladybird while photographing the Shieldbug

 Blackbird along the Gorse Boundary

I think this is frogspawn among the weed

I think a Rabbit has been digging here

a composite shot of a Long-Tailed Tit working its way through a row of willows

I helped plant this row of willows several years ago now so it is very gratifying to see one of my favourite birds systematically working its way along them looking for insects.

Long Tailed Tit

Mallard Drake - Mrs. Duck is behind the tree trunk

3 Blackbirds flew into the ivy and 1 came back out to feed on the berries

it took one after another

obviously very tasty

you can see the stripped stalks

but still a few to go

starting to cloud over, so thoughts turn to home

a final view of the pond, visit over for today

Please click on photos to enlarge them