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view from the Old Beehive Loop
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My only chance this week to visit Ballachurry Reserve was on a rather chilly Wednesday morning. Although the temperature was 6C, it felt much colder in the strong South Easterly wind. At first the wildlife seemed to be sheltering from the cold too and I was anticipating this being a very short Blog post! However, as the morning wore on I began to see a few birds and then suddenly as midday approached and an occasional sunbeam broke through things improved greatly, culminating with an excellent view of a Buzzard sitting in the trees as seen from the Hide. I even saw the Water Rail for a few seconds! Here is my report: Birds:
SC209693 Blackbird; Robin; Wren; male and female Chaffinch; Great Tit; 5 x Woodpigeon.
SC208694 Siskin taking alder seeds; 2 x Blackbirds flew off giving alarm calls; Woodpigeon flying over; male pheasant flew up from near boardwalk; Robin; Mixed flock of Long-tailed tits x 8 and Blue Tits x 2 suddenly surrounded me at close quarters in the Willows; Wren; male Chaffinch.
SC209694 female/ juvenile Blackbird; Robin; Great Tit.
SC209694 ( from hide) Moorhen; Blue Tit x 2; Magpie x 2; Goldfinch in tree + 5 flying over; male Chaffinch; Blackbird; Goldcrest; Water Rail suddenly broke cover and briefly ran from one clump of vegetation to another; Robin; Wren; Coal Tit; 2 x Jackdaw; Buzzard landed in Churchyard trees opposite the hide and stayed there about 20 minutes. Mixed Tit flock were in the vegetation at the back of the pond, one Long-tailed Tit perched on willow branch adjacent to shutters.
SC208695 the mixed flock of Long-tailed Tits and Blue Tits again surrounded me .
Other|:
No insects or fungi seen
SC209694 Some Hogweed still in flower.
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Blackbird seen from Hide
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Blue Tit
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a very laid-back Blue Tit!
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Great Tit
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it was feeding
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one of 2 Jackdaws
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Long-tailed Tit
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| Magpie |
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Moorhen feeding in the reeds
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it didn't swim out this week
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| Robin |
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Siskin in the Alder tree
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feeding on seeds
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Buzzard settled in Churchyard tree opposite
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boundary path leading back to the entrance
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there is still Hogweed in flower along the boundary
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the bridge to the compost heap
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usual view from the boardwalk
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the direct path to the hide
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the new pond
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the meadow from the bridge
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usual view of the hide
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usual view of the boardwalk
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view from the hide ramp
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the pond on a grey December day
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the meadow in winter
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it hasn't been possible to cut the meadow so far this winter
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a final view of the bird hide before leaving
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And finally, some short video footage of the Buzzard in the tree. Unfortunately, it's only a clip from a longer video as there are restrictions on file size for the Blog.
17 species of bird seen eventually. An enjoyable morning, if a little chilly!
please click on photos to enlarge them
