Thursday, 28 November 2024

Ballachurry Reserve: Tuesday, 26th November, 2026.

 

late November sunshine, main pond.

 After last week's very chilly 3 degrees, Tuesday's 7 Centigrade felt positively balmy! The sun was out, the wind was light and there was plenty of blue sky. A great day for a visit to Ballachurry Reserve, in fact. Here is what I recorded:

Birds:

 SC209693  male and female Blackbirds; Great Tit; 7 x Goldfinch flying over; 4 x Redwing flying over; Magpie flying over; female Chaffinch.

SC208694 Pheasant heard not seen; female & male Blackbird; Robin x 2; male Chaffinch; Little Egret flying over; Jackdaw flying over;

SC208695 ( on or near feeders)  Robin; Magpie x 2; Blue Tit x 2; Goldfinch; Great Tit x 2; Greenfinch x 2; Chaffinch x 7;  male Blackbird.

SC209695 male Blackbird; Woodpigeon x 2 flying over; Goldfinch x 3 in bush together; Dunnock;  female Chaffinch; Blue Tit x 2.

SC209694 Jack Snipe put up from close to path;  Blackbird x 2; Siskin heard not seen; Robin;  2 x Magpie flying over; 3 x Woodpigeon flying over;  Blue Tit.

Other:

No Longtails or Rabbits seen today. 

SC208694  unidentified fungi under willows

Blackbird along the gorse boundary

Magpie

Robin foraging along wood chip path

Robin auditioning for Christmas Card

Song Thrush
female Chaffinch

Sycamore tree where the feeders are

Great Tit

Greenfinch eyeing feeders

popular with Greenfinches and Chaffinches alike

Goldfinch too

Chaffinch awaiting its turn

Blue Tit

another waiting patiently

this one has a ring

Blackbird scavenging below feeders

just a few fungi now

view across the  reed bed near the boardwalk


usual view of boardwalk

view from boardwalk

bridge across to meadow

a quiet corner

the giant compost heap

the usual views of the dragonfly pond

with reflections

looking back along the gorse boundary

the damp meadow

currently with standing water

taken from near the Bowman memorial bench

usual view of the hide

view from the hide ramp

through the shutters
no water fowl today

lovely silvery back-lit reeds

 

I was very pleased to see that the Reserve had suffered no obvious damage during Storm Bert at the week-end. My next visit will be during the month that Christmas comes! 

please click on photos to enlarge them