Ballachurry Reserve, Saturday, 28th October, 2023. Work Party.

 I think we had all been watching the weather forecasts anxiously this week, knowing there was a work party scheduled for Saturday morning but it went ahead as planned and no one got seriously wet! There was a momentary shower just as the tea break was called  but by the time we had reached the hide it had blown over and we were able to enjoy our drinks and cakes outside. 

The main task today was to cut back the ever encroaching Blackthorn along the direct path to the hide . Blackthorn spreads by suckers and has spent the past 12 or 13 years or so doing just that! Although the volunteers prune back along all the paths each year, the time had finally come for more drastic action. We piled up the resultant debris in a nearby glade and this will eventually be used to make another dead hedge similar to the one near the new pond. These are fantastic habitats for wildlife, so the cut Blackthorn will continue to be of use for many years to come. 

 While some volunteers were busy cutting and strimming, others were using the remainder of the wood chip pile from near the gate to counteract the mud along the paths.  Some hide maintenance was also undertaken, I believe. 

Here are a few photos from the morning.

Karen's photo at the start of the morning

 Karen's photo shows the muddy area near the hide

and mine shows the same area with the wood chip in place

 

everyone getting stuck in

loppers at the ready

taking stock

dragging away the cut blackthorn

raking up the inevitable debris

adding wood chip to the paths

an excellent reason for volunteering! ( Karen's photo)

everyone enjoys the rest.....

the cake.....

the catch-up.....

and the camararderie

news ( and cake recipes) get exchanged

a short tea-break then it's back to work

wood chip pile gone

work finished

pile of cut Blackthorn

finished path now much wider

wood chip soaking up the mud

 Many thanks to Karen for organising the work party today, for providing some photos for the Blog, and to all volunteers for working so hard to get the job done before the rain set in. Thanks also due to the baking ladies for providing the delicious cakes - always much appreciated.

 Wildlife: I believe Redwings and Long-tailed Tits were seen by those who arrived early. This tiny caterpillar was photographed on a fallen nestbox (  caterpillar relocated, box taken home for repair). There was an old nest in the open fronted box.

  please click on photos to enlarge them

Ballachurry Reserve, Wednesday, 25th October, 2023.

Autumn colours reflected in the new pond

 

  On Wednesday the Met. Office finally came up trumps! Sunshine,  cloudless skies and barely a breeze! Such a contrast with the previous week when I needed hot soup to revive me after my visit.  I was at the Reserve by 9.15 and stayed till nearly 1.30! Here is what I saw:

Birds:

SC210694 Robin heard not seen; 8 x long Tailed Tit.

SC209693 Robin; Magpie flying over; 8 x Woodpigeon flying over; 2 x Jackdaw flying over.

SC209694 ( Hide) male Blackbird;  4 x Mallards on pond ( 2 x drakes, 2 x ducks); Little Egret; Water Rail very vocal for 10 minutes but not seen; Blue Tit;  Robin; Wren. 

SC209694(Elsewhere) Pheasant heard not seen;  8 x Blackbird flew out from fallen apples as I walked along the path; Magpie;  2 x Robin; Goldcrest; 2 x Goldfinch;  Buzzard x 3.

SC208695 2 male and 1female Chaffinch; Robin; female Blackbird;  Hooded Crow flying over.

SC208694 3 x Woodpigeon in tree; 4 x Blackbird ( 2 on  apples in tree) 2 x Robin; Dunnock; Siskin; female Blackcap; 3 x Goldfinch in firs on cones; Blue Tit; male Chaffinch

SC209695 Sparrowhawk just outside reserve in neighbouring property; 3 x Long-tailed Tit; Great Tit; 2 x sparring Blue-Tit; Wren.

Other:

SC210694 Red Admiral.

SC208695 2 x Rabbit.

SC210694 juvenile Jumping Spider;  larger spider (Wolf spider?)

SC209694 3 x Nursery Web Spider.

SC209694 tiny spider found on camera lens

SC209694 2 x 7-spot Ladybird.

SC209694 2 x Diving Beetle.

SC209694 Marmalade Hoverfly.

SC209694 bright orange fly in grass

SC208695 Blue bottle type fly on oak leaf

SC210694 Common Wasps, and many flies on ivy flowers

SC209694 dead Long-tailed Fieldmouse on path.

SC209694 unidentified fungi under willows.

 

only the second time I've seen a Little Egret at Ballachurry

 at first the Mallard drakes were keeping together

and so were the Mallard ducks

but eventually they met up

later it was bath time for this Drake

 Blackbirds : "thank you for not foraging our apples!"

the apples are a valuable food source for the birds

one of about 10 Blackbirds on the Reserve, both males...

....and females

a female Blackcap was also enjoying the feast

she was coming and going all morning

I would have missed her without my binoculars

as I was on the opposite side of the meadow

near the private entrance a Blue Tit drama was unfolding!

one was frequently going right inside this knot hole,

presumably looking for insects

but then a second one appeared

and there was a rather vicious fight

a  Great Tit was also checking out the knot holes

but then moved across to the nest box

the technique seems to be to check from above

then take a closer look - it went right inside

the Wren was also busy looking for insects

another Wren seen from the hide

and a Robin near by

male Chaffinch

one of three Woodpigeons in the firs

a tiny Siskin in the Alder by the boardwalk

Coming out of the hide, I heard  2 Buzzards calling in the distance. They were soon circling above the reserve but as I watched I heard another very loud call directly behind me and a third came flying right by me at low level before going up to join them.

they have a wingspan of between 110 and 130 cm

that's around 4 ft.

only marginally smaller than I am!

beautiful, majestic birds

I took some rather bumpy video of one of them

On a rather smaller scale:  Red Admiral feeding from the Ivy flowers

7-spot Ladybird in the thistles

and a second one nearby

 I was looking for Jumping spiders on the wall but this one is bigger

juvenile Jumping Spider - only about 2mm long!

Nursery Web Spider

At this time of year small spiders can be found "ballooning" on gossamer threads to move home. The reserve was awash with the gossamer which caught the sunlight.  But as I turned off my camera and the lens retracted I was horrified to see there was a tiny spider sitting on the barrel, vanishing off into the depths of the mechanism! I quickly turned the camera back on and out it came again, apparently unharmed! It sat on the lens so I pressed the shutter and got this photo before carefully removing it to the vegetation.

probably a tiny Money Spider?

Marmalade Hoverfly on Dandelion

 a bright orange fly enjoying the autumn sunshine

there were several species around

the ivy flowers were attracting many flies and wasps

one of two diving beeetles seen at the new pond

new fungi continue to appear

these were under the willows

2 species or just young and mature specimens?

autumn colours against a clear blue sky            

walking through the ash grove

the long route round to the hide

colourful bramble leaves

the tree where I photographed the Siskin

usual view of the Boardwalk

and the usual view from it

the new dragonfly pond

the hide was in full sun - it was quite hot inside!

meadow view with my shadow

view from the ramp

autumn reed bed

still not a cloud in the sky

I started with pond reflections, so will end with them too!

 

That was a perfect visit the Reserve!  I visited another Manx Wildlife Trust reserve in the afternoon, which was also very enjoyable. No time to do a Blog for that one though!

 please click on photos to enlarge them