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| Hawthorn and Blackthorn in mid March |
A dry day with intermittent Sunshine was forecast for last Tuesday so I headed down to the Reserve for just after 9.30. There seemed to be birds everywhere at first, although later it went quite quiet. I had a fleeting glance of a Chiffchaff almost immediately and had two further sightings later in different locations. But perhaps the highlight for me was to see a Greenfinch from the hide. Others have seen Greenfinches at Ballachurry many times but this was a first for me! Here is my full report:
Birds:
SC210694 male Blackbird; Great Tit; Robin. 2 x Jackdaw on Old School House chimney
SC209693 2 x Robin together; 2 x Wren together; Long Tailed Tit; male and female Blackbirds separately; Chiffchaff; Dunnock.
SC209694 Magpie flying over; Great Tit; Wren; Heron flying over; female Blackbird; 3 x Goldfinch.
SC209694 ( hide) Greenfinch; Magpie; Water Rail heard not seen; Wren; Chiffchaff; 2 x Great Tit; Robin; Blue Tit.
SC208694 ( general) Goldfinch; Chaffinch heard not seen; male Blackbird; Robin; Wren; male Pheasant; (Compost area) male Blackbird; Goldfinch; Robin; Magpie flying over; 2 x Blue Tit; Chiffchaff; male and female Chaffinch; Wren.
SC208695 Mistle Thrush; Robin; Woodpigeon over; male Chaffinch; Woodpigeon flying over; 2 x Blue Tit together.
SC209695 Robin; Great Tit x 2 together;
Other:
SC209694 7-spot Ladybird; Honey Bee; Metellina species Spider (with thanks to Kate Hawkins for ID)
SC208694 Lesser Spearwort NEW RECORD
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| a male Blackbird in the Alder tree near the compost heap |
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| juvenile Blackbird on the gorse boundary |
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| it then flew into the ivy to eat the berries |
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| Blue Tit |
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| Singing Dunnock |
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| another view of the same bird |
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| one of two Great Tits seen together |
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| Wren in the Blackthorn |
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| Robin near the compost heap |
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| another on the bridge |
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| one of two Robins on the path parallel to the road |
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| this one may be its mate |
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| I usually hear Pheasants more than see them on the Reserve |
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| a fleeting glance of a Long Tailed Tit |
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| just a ball of fluff! |
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| one of 2 Jackdaws next door. |
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| my first view of a Greenfinch at Ballachurry I think |
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| it stayed quite a while |
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| I was very pleased to see it there |
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| view through the shutters |
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| a watery sun |
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| route to the compost heap |
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| 7-spot Ladybird and Metellina species spider |
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| 7-spot Ladybird |
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| Honey Bee |
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| a little more progress? |
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| and a dry spell forecast |
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| Hazel and Blackthorn growing together |
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| Lesser Celandines still in flower |
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| view to reed bed and church |
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| bridge to compost heap |
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| I noticed it is growing moss |
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| cultivated Muscari near the gate |
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| Lesser Spearwort -thanks to Andree Dubbeldam for ID |
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| some nice reflections in the new pond |
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| Sorrel near the new pond - food plant for Small Copper butterfly caterpillars |
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| the damp meadow still looking fairly desolate |
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| a slightly different view of the hide |
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| cultivated Daffodils along the gorse boundary |
Three hours well spent on the Reserve.
please click on photos to enlarge them
