- 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
