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| a sunny spring day at Ballachurry Reserve |
Although there were only ten days between my recent visits to Ballachurry, a trip to Scotland in between made the interval seem much longer. Spring had noticeably advanced during my absence but the Reserve seemed wetter than ever under foot as a result of recent heavy rain! Thursday was however a beautiful spring day and I enjoyed my recording visit. Here is what I noted:
Birds:
SC209694 male Blackbird; Blue Tit; 3 x Great Tit together; Robin heard but not seen; 5 jackdaw flying over;
SC209694 ( hide) Mallard Drake; Magpie; Great Tit, Pheasant, Blackbird and Collared Dove, heard not seen;
SC209693 Great Tit; Robin heard not seen; Wren heard not seen; Blue Tit; 2 x Great Tit heard at the same time from different areas. Jack Snipe? Pheasant heard not seen.
SC208694 Magpie flying over; Chiffchaff heard but not seen; 2 x Goldfinch flying over and 1 perched later; 2 x Long Tailed Tit; 2 x Blue Tit; 2 x Jackdaw flying over; 2 x Robin; Great Tit; Hooded Crow flying over; Woodpigeon; 2x Buzzard flew up from fir trees; Chaffinch heard not seen. Pheasant heard not seen;
SC208695 2 x Great Tit; Dunnock; male Chaffinch; Goldfinch.
SC209695 Chiffchaff ,Wren and Chaffinch all heard but not seen;
SC210694 Blue Tit; Goldfinch;
Other:
SC210694 garden escape Muscari in flower; cultivated Daffodils in flower; garden escape Yellow Archangel noted.
SC210694 7-spot Ladybird in nettles
SC209695 6 x 7-spot Ladybird in gorse
SC209695 2 x Gorse Shieldbug
SC209695 Sloe Bug( aka Hairy Shieldbug)
SC209694 7-spot Ladybird in gorse
SC209294 unidentified beetles in new pond
SC209694 Lawn daisies in flower
SC209694 Hogweed in flower
SC210694 Common Field Speedwell ( tbc)
SC209694 Small Tortoiseshell butterfly
SC209694 honey bees in gorse and Celandines
SC209694 Eristalis pertinax ? Hoverflies in gorse and celandines
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| Male Chaffinch |
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| Chaffinches can often be seen round the old beehive loop area |
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| as the Buzzard turned, the sun picked out its underwings beautifully |
one of a pair of Robins foraging near the boardwalk 
Magpie seen from the bird hide 
Goldfinch 
at first the Mallard drake was dozing
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| but later it came out to swim and feed |
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| one of several active 7-spot Ladybirds in the gorse |
I noticed this one in the nettles by the gate just as I was leaving
there were several of these Hoverflies about 
I think they may be Eristalis species 
probably Eristalis pertinax but I need to consult an expert! 
despite being in gorse this is a Hairy Shieldbug, I think.
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| this dandelion by the gate was still unfurling as I entered at 9.30 |
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| when I left at lunch time it was being enjoyed by the bees |
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| Grape Hyacinth ( Muscari) now flowering by the gate ( garden escapes) |
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| Variagated yellow Archangel is another garden escape |
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| willow flowers looking wonderful against the blue sky |
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| first Marsh Marigold flowering in the meadow |
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| an early Hogwweed in flower |
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| lawn daisies often flower all year round |
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| Celandines are attractive to many early insects |
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| Common Field Speedwell ( tbc) |
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| two usual views of the meadow |
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| the fixed point photo of the hide |
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| and a different angle with Blackthorn still in flower |
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| the Gorse Boundary in full flower |
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| not much change at the new pond although some small beetles have arrived |
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| we must expect the water to turn green for a while soon |
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| usual view from the boardwalk |
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| the area near the road is still flooded |
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| a lovely spring day as seen from the ramp |
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| still plenty of Blackthorn in flower round the pond |
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| looking left through the shutters |
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| and the middle section of the pond |
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| this area near the path junction is also very wet |
It was good to see the amount of progress that had been made on the boardwalk in such a short time.
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| the final ramp is nearly complete |
Although not strictly in the Reserve, I also walked along to see what all the quacking was about in the thicket between the Reserve and the Church and found 4 Mallard drakes.
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| the thicket |
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| 4 Mallard drakes together |
Whilst away on holiday I had loaded the Merlin Bird ID app onto my phone. This visit to Ballachurry gave me an opportunity to test it. My first impressions were very good as I could already see the birds in question that it was recording, or its identification of unseen birds accorded with my my own. It also alerted me to the presence of certain birds which I was then able to locate. However, there were a few identifications which were somewhat dubious, such as a Firecrest and a Kingfisher ( but never say never!) It also often includes a Common Redstart as a "best match" at the same time as a Chaffinch, so the two songs must be similar.
The birds recorded as "heard but not seen" listed above were from my own observations and not from the Merlin.
A very pleasant and interesting morning.
