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| access to the new pond, which was frozen. |
It was only one degree Celsius when I arrived at Ballachurry yesterday morning but a beautiful blue-sky day with hardly any breeze. The wood chip paths were still frozen and made loud, crunchy noises as I walked along. This rather annoyingly announced my presence to all the wildlife and sent the blackbirds flying off giving alarm calls! Here is what I recorded:
Birds:
SC209693 Robin; Blackbird; Great Tit.
SC209694 ( hide) Moorhen; male and female Mallard; Wren; Blackbird.
SC209694 ( elsewhere) 3 x Blackbird together ; Dunnock; Hooded Crow; 4 x Jackdaw; 2 x Woodpigeon; 2 x Redwing; 3 x Blue Tit together; Robin; male & female Chaffinch; 7 x Goldfinch flying over.
SC208694 Robin; Woodpigeon flying over; Wren; male Pheasant; 2 x Chaffinch; male Blackbird.
SC208695 Goldcrest foraging on the ground under birch tree.
SC209695 3 x Great Tit together; Goldfinch heard not seen;
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| The Mallards didn't mind bathing in the icy water |
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| Drake Mallard with ice in background |
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| female Mallard found a sunny spot |
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| Moorhen |
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| a blurry shot of a Redwing hidden among the branches |
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| Robin clinging to the side of a tree |
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| Great Tit - it sat preening in the sunshine |
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| and another close by |
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| Dunnock |
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| ringed Blue Tit |
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| I had several sightings of Blue Tits |
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| this Blackbird did not fly off as I passed close by |
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| there is a bird in this photo! |
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| a Wren looked in each time I sat in the hide |
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| the backlit birch bark looked very attractive |
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| the colour of amber |
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| approaching the board walk |
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| can you see the frost on the bend? |
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| usual view from the board walk |
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| and the stream still flowing well |
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| emerging from the ash walk |
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| gorse making a welcome splash of colour |
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| the boundary trees in the sunshine |
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| ice on the new pond |
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| usual view of the hide |
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| an icy corner of the pond |
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| icy puddles, and my long shadow alongside the meadow |
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| usual view from the ramp |
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| it was a positively balmy 4 degrees by the time I left! |
Seventeen bird species today, most of them not feeling very photogenic! In fact, Waxwings were seen earlier in the day (and also last Sunday) but with most of the berries and apples long gone there is little to retain them on the reserve now. However, I remain optimistic!
please click on photos to enlarge them
