Ballachurry Reserve, Rushen, IOM.: Ballachurry Reserve, 18th November, 2021.

a sunny November Thursday

I was at Ballachurry Reserve on Thursday quite early ( for me!) because I had an appointment at 1 o'clock and needed to have an early lunch first. I didn't start recording straight away though. First I went to look at the muddy area where the boardwalk used to be and mixed up some plaster of Paris to pour into the little footprints which covered the area. That done I had an hour to wait until it was fully set and I could remove the plaster casts as records of those creatures visiting the area when no one was about. I left some pretty hefty wellie prints behind in the mud myself! There was to be preliminary work done in the area next day towards the installation of the new boardwalk so it seemed likely that the little footprints in the mud would be obliterated by those of the volunteers. It was now or never!

Here is what I recorded while waiting for the plaster to set and later :

Birds:

SC209694 Goldcrest taking alder seed; Hooded Crow seen in adjacent field.

SC208694 Great Tit.

and that was it, as far as birds were concerned! The previous Thursday at the same time I had recorded 16 or so species but one week later the reserve was eerily quiet. The weather was sunnier than the previous week though so I did actually see a few invertebrates as I walked round.

Other:

SC208694 Gorse Shield Bug in gorse

SC209694 7-spot Ladybird in gorse

SC209695 Honey bee in the gorse

SC208694 Funnel fungus still in evidence. Wood Blewits, new this week. Bracket fungus on rotting plank.

SC209694 unidentified fungi along path to hide

SC208595 unidentified cream fungi under the willow.

SC208694 Hogweed in full flower - this particular plant is late flowering ( or is it early?) every year

SC209693 ( and elsewhere) Hazel catkins in evidence.

Goldcrest taking alder seed from cones

an acrobatic little bird

Hooded Crow

Honey Bee collecting pollen from gorse flowers

Gorse Shieldbug

7-spot Ladybird

Wood Blewits

they have beautiful lilac gills

new fungi under the willow

I'm hoping the Fungus Group can ID them for me

the Funnel Fungi are still walking round the compost heap

no social distancing here


These Inkcaps are short lived

they are so delicate and vanish within a day or two

a bracket fungus ( Blueing bracket?) near the compost heap

growing near the hide, these are being ID'd by the Fungus Group

the usual view of the hide

Hazel catkins

Hogweed in flower still/ already

one solitary apple left under the tree - birds have been feasting

it's amazing what litter can be found on the Reserve - from the Churchyard ?

Willowherb seeds to feed the goldfinches

the light became quite stormy

picking out the tree tops

and the reeds

still some autumn leaves on the trees

this is where I spotted the Goldcrest

a passing seagull? No! Plaster of Paris!

Cast of Hedgehog footprint

and another

several together

lovely little "hands"

they were all over the mud

Peacock cast

Polecat

I am grateful to Dawn Colley ( MWT Education Officer) & Sue Harvey ( Vetinary Surgeon) for identifying the casts for me.

I returned to the reserve just before 4 p.m. to drop off something at the hide. Just as I was leaving I heard a rush of wings above me and realised that a mini murmuration of starlings had just flown over my head! I stayed on to watch them and, after circling several times, they eventually came down into the reed bed near the bridge. Here are a few photos of them to round off this Blog post. I did try to photograph them dropping down into the reeds but the picture is completely blurred unfortunately!