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| a chilly March day at the Reserve |
I had to carefully negotiate a lot of dog mess on the pavement to reach the gate into Ballachurry Reserve on Tuesday ! As if this were not bad enough, I noticed 2 lots of fouling on the pile of woodchip inside the gate too, despite there being a very clear "No Dogs" notice on the gate . This will make loading the barrows and spreading the chip very unpleasant for the volunteers at the next work party. There was even a dog's ball left behind nearby. Not the best of starts for my visit but, despite the cold and cloudy skies, I spent an enjoyable few hours watching and recording the birds. Here is my report:
Birds:
SC209693 male Blackbird; Chaffinch; female Mallard flying over; Wren heard not seen; Woodpigeon. Robin singing from tree; Blue Tit.
SC209694 ( hide) Moorhen; Mallard drake x 2; Great Tit; Woodpigeon and Hooded Crow in the churchyard trees.
SC209694 ( elsewhere) Robin; male and female Chaffinch; female Blackbird; Hooded Crow flying over with nesting material; Great Tit x 2; Goldfinch; Heron flying over; Chiffchaff; Great Tit; Buzzard; Woodpigeon on hide roof.
SC208694 Song Thrush; Raven flying over croaking; Wren; Drake Mallard flying over; Woodpigeon; male Chaffinch in willows & 2 male Chaffinch near boardwalk;Robin; Woodpigeon; Golfinches flying over one in tree; Blue Tit; Wren x 2; Male Blackbird; Chiffchaff heard not seen; Goldfinch x 2 bathing in stream; Great Tit; Siskin x 2; Long-tailed Tit; 2 Blackbird x 3 together; Magpie.
SC208695 Magpie; Goldfinch x 5; female Chaffinch x 2; Chiffchaff; Redwing.
SC209695 Blue Tit x 2 going in and out of nest box (removing nest material?) one ringed; Woodpigeon flying over; male Chaffinch; Great Tit x 2 together; Goldfinch x 5.
SC210694 Goldfinch; female Blackbird; Robin.
Other:
SC209695 Common Carder Bee on grass.
SC208694 Marsh Marigolds in flower.
SC208694 just one Yellow Dung Fly on Hogweed flower.
SC209694 a few pond snails visible under water, dragonfly pond.
Too cold today for ladybirds and butterflies unfortunately.
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| I saw a small flock of birds land in a distant tree |
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| these proved to be Goldfinches |
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| one of five |
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| Golden Goldfinch and Golden Gorse |
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| a closer view of the bird in the tree |
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| Blackbird |
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| Wren singing near the Boardwalk |
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| one of two Blue Tits going in and out of the nest box |
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| this one appeared to be removing last year's nest from the box |
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| one of the pair was ringed |
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| I came out of the hide just in time to see this low flying Buzzard |
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| a Grey Heron was also flying over |
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| Great Tit |
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| and another elsewhere on the Reserve |
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| male Chaffinch |
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| there seemed to be several male chaffinches about |
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| Woodpigeon on roof of the hide |
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| Magpie in the distance |
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| there are still Redwings on the Island |
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| they will be leaving us soon for the summer |
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| I had a lovely view of this one |
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| Robin foraging on the ground |
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| there is often one on this bend in the path |
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| this one was singing from a tree |
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| are you looking at me? |
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| inside the bird hide |
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| at first sight there was nothing about |
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| Blackthorn blossom making a pretty backdrop |
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| although some of it is going over now |
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| the Moorhen soon appeared |
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| two Mallard Drakes taking a snooze |
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| this one was awake when I returned to the hide later |
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| just one Yellow Dung Fly on the Hogweed this week |
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| the Marsh Marigolds are coming into bloom now |
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| some sunshine will encourage them |
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| usual view of the boardwalk |
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| and from a slightly different angle today |
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| usual view from the boardwalk |
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| the path parallel to the road |
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| looking through the ashes |
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| still some berries left! |
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| the dragonfly pond |
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| another view of the pond |
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| the Marsh Marigolds are in bloom here too |
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| Pond Snails beneath the water |
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| Blackthorn to the left and Hawthorn to the right |
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| the coppiced willows are sprouting |
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| the reserve is looking very pretty at present |
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| the Hemlock Water Dropwort will soon obscure the steam |
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| Flag Iris near the dam |
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| looking back towards the hide across the meadow |
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| and in the opposite direction |
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| the gorse boundary |
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| the grassy area near the private entrance |
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| ahead lies the gorse boundary |
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| view from the hide ramp |
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| a colourful corner |
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| the "unofficial pond" beneath the willows |
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| usual view of the hide |
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| stream near the boardwalk |
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| another colourful area |
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| route to the compost heaps |
My last visit of the month. I am looking forward to April which should bring the return of the Warblers and the butterflies ( and hopefully some warmer weather!)
please click on the photos to enlarge them
