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stream flowing fast into the pond
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Not having visited the Reserve for 2 weeks, I was keen to visit on Friday if only to see how it had fared during the recent period of stormy weather. After a week of torrential rain I was almost expecting the hide to be floating like Noah's Ark! It was certainly wet underfoot with water flowing along the ditches as well as gushing down the usual stream. The pond water level was higher than I've seen it for years and I was very pleased that we'd been able to do the necessary clearance of weed and silt earlier in the autumn. I could also see why our old boardwalk had rotted as the area where it used to stand was over ankle deep in water. It is for this reason that it's replacement will be raised up to avoid a similar problem occurring in future. The afternoon could not have been more different from the morning! The rain stopped, the sun came out and I enjoyed my squelch round the reserve. Here is what I recorded:
Birds:
SC209694 Lesser Redpoll eating Meadowsweet seeds near the hide; Robin; Great Tit; Blue Tit; Goldcrest; Heron flying over pond
SC208694 Long Tailed Tits heard from the willows but not seen; Kestrel hovering overhead; 9 x Woodpigeons flying over
SC208695 2 x Chaffinch
SC209693 Robin
Other:
SC209695 Red Admiral butterfly on the grass.
SC210694 Red Admiral butterfly on the Ivy flowers
SC208694 7-spot Ladybird in gorse
SC208694 Large Pinkgill species toadstool on path + 2 other species of unidentified fungi
SC208694 Wood Pinkgill fungi under willows .
SC208694 Unidentified fungi underwater on the path
SC208695 Deceiver Fungi with Rosecomb mutation; unidentified fungus nearby.
SC209693 unidentified fungi adjacent to path.
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Great tit
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| Robin |
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this Robin was up and down between the Hazel and a puddle, finding insects.
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close up of the female Redpoll
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she was feeding near the hide
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taking Meadowsweet seeds
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I had a prolonged view of her
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If you follow the Blog via Email you will probably have to switch to the Blog itself to view the following video ( www.ballachurryreports.blogspot.com)
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the stream in spate after the morning's torrential rain
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it was certainly gushing along
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fortunately we had cleared this area in September
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high water levels in the pond
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the rushes in the foreground are normally high and dry these days
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7-spot Ladybird. I wasn't expecting to see many invertebrates after the bad weather,
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but there was even a Red Admiral
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this one was enjoying the Ivy flowers
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this ditch runs parallel to the road and is rarely wet
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a new "pond" by the barrows
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I disturbed some Chaffinches along the old beehive loop
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good to see the fallen apples are being enjoyed by the wildlife
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perhaps a Blackbird made those bill marks
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the usual view of the hide
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stream on the right, old boardwalk area on the left
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old boardwalk area under water
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another view of the flooded area
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bridge is closed for the time being
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the stream had been going over the bridge, as evidenced by all the silt
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the ink has run on the notices but it is still legible
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stream brimful, this was dug out by volunteers in September
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unidentified fungi alongside the meadow
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many were actually under the water!
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this large Pinkgill species had fallen over
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or perhaps been beaten down by the weather
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looking rather like a large eggshell, this is the volva out of which the stipe grew
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A new species nearby for the reserve - currently being ID'd by the experts.
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| also nearby - Redlead Roundhead |
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under the willows on the old Beehive loop - a Deceiver
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these particular ones have a Rosecomb mutation which makes them frilly
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Wood Pinkgills under the willows
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water rushing past
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the meadow area - possibly now too wet for mowing
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and the usual view from the ramp
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you could be forgiven for thinking this was a stream
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but in fact it's the path - the water was visibly flowing
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reeds looking a little bashed by the weather
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under the willows near the road
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and looking in the opposite direction
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colourful birches in the late afternoon sunshine
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An interesting afternoon at "The Wetlands"
(With thanks to Liz Charter and Bob Moon of the IOM Fungus Group for ongoing IDs of the fungi)
Please click on photos to enlarge them
