 |
| New Look Reserve! |
It was a frosty start to my visit on Thursday. In the shade the grass and plants were white over but in the bright sunshine the moisture was hanging in droplets which dripped from the branches. The temperature was around 6 degrees Centigrade at 9 when I arrived and I enjoyed a mostly sunny morning. But then it clouded over and suddenly there was a chilly breeze. At 12.30 I headed home, with visions of bowls of steaming soup in my head!
There was a new look to the reserve! Earlier in the week Manx Wildlife Trust staff had cut a swathe through the trees to facilitate entry for a mini digger. At some point in the future work will be needed on the pond, which is now badly silted up and fast disappearing under vegetation. With more light let into the path junction area it will be interesting to see what plants appear this spring.
Here is my report:
Birds:
SC210694 Blackbird flying across; 2 x Great Tit; House Sparrow in hedge.
SC209693 Blackbird flying through + 1 perched in tree; Great Tit; Wren heard not seen; 2 x Long-tailed Tit.
SC208694 Woodcock flushed from same spot as last week.; Chaffinch heard not seen; juvenile Blackbird; Song Thrush heard not seen; Magpie flying over; Woodpigeon flying over; Great Tit flying over; Dunnock; Wren; Great Tit; 2 x Blue Tits investigating nest box together; 5 x Greenfinch together; 8 x Goldfinch together.
SC208695 ( feeders) 2 x Long -tailed Tit ( one ringed); male and female Chaffinch; Goldfinch x 5; Great Tit; 2 x Blue Tit; Greenfinch; Coal Tit; Dunnock on ground.
SC208695 3 x Chaffinch on ground; Blackbird on ground; Pheasant heard not seen; Robin; Blackbird and Redwing flying over together; 7 x Jackdaw in trees.
SC209695 Dunnock; Blackbird flying through.
SC209694 ( hide) Moorhen; Blackbird; Robin.
SC209694 ( elsewhere) Blackbird by dragonfly pond, another at path junction; Robin; Woodpigeon flying over; Chaffinch singing from treetop; 2 x Woodpigeon in trees of Old School House; Blue Tit x 2; Great Tit flying over, Song Thrush; Redwing in tree.
Other:
SC209695 Red Campion in flower.
SC209693 Hazel Catkins lengthening.
SC209694 Celandine in flower.
 |
| 5 birds in silhouette turned out to be..... |
 |
| Greenfinches |
 |
| they were flying round together in this small flock |
 |
| I was not the only one watching them! |
 |
| just one Greenfinch visiting the feeders |
 |
| it was aggressive towards the Goldfinches |
 |
| Ringed Long-tailed Tit |
 |
| there were 2 of them |
 |
| one waits patiently while the other feeds |
 |
| a Dunnock was foraging under the feeders |
 |
| another Dunnock elsewhere |
 |
| female Chaffinch near the feeders |
 |
| female Chaffinch foraging on the stream bank |
 |
| Blackbird near the hide |
 |
| Blackbird near the dragonfly pond |
 |
| Ringed Blue Tit |
 |
| another elseewhere |
 |
| a small flock of Goldfinches |
 |
| Great Tit |
 |
| lovely to have birds singing from their song posts once more |
 |
| Chaffinch on the Gorse Boundary |
 |
| Moorhen |
 |
| Robin |
 |
| singing Robin |
 |
| Celandine |
 |
| Hazel catkins |
 |
| Red Campion flowering |
 |
| frost near storm damage, recently cleared |
 |
| a frosty thistle near the gate |
 |
| frost on the meadow area |
 |
| another area where storm damage has been cut back |
 |
| view from the Boardwalk |
 |
| view from the bridge |
 |
| reeds looking golden in the sunshine |
 |
| usual view of the hide |
 |
| and view from the hide ramp |
 |
| looking to the right through the shutters |
 |
| looking to the left through the shutters |
 |
| a new look path junction |
 |
looking towards the pond from the path junction
|
 |
| looking towards the gorse boundary from the path junction |
 |
| an altogether more open path junction now. |
A work party is planned for Saturday to spread the wood chip along the paths and generally tidy up the areas where the trees were felled this week. Fingers crossed for a dry morning!
please click on photos to enlarge them.
