Ballachurry Reserve: Wednesday morning, 14th January 2026.

 

sun still low in sky at 9a.m.

 My first visit of the New Year! I  was off-island at the beginning of January and also missed last Saturday's work party, although my husband gave me a first hand account of it later in the day.  I was very keen to see the changes made in the willow wood, knowing that this had been the principal task of the day. As I entered the Reserve a Sparrowhawk flew out and away across the road - an auspicious start to my visit, I thought. Here is what I recorded:

Birds:

SC209694 ( Hide) Mallard pair; Blue Tit x 2; Blackbird flying across. 

SC209694 ( Elsewhere) Sparrowhawk flying across reserve and out over road; Chaffinch heard not seen;  Blackbird alarm call near the path junction; Woodpigeon flying over; Jackdaws flying over.

 SC208694 Blackbird flying low along boardwalk; Wren flew under boardwalk, came up between the planks, and back down through them again;  Robin x 2; Blue Tit x 2; Chaffinch x 2; Long-tailed Tit x 4; Dunnock; Wren; Goldfinch; Goldcrest heard not seen.

SC209695 Magpie in top of tree; Robin on Bowman Memorial Bench.

SC208695  (on or near feeders) Great Tit x 3 at least; Blue Tit x 3; Long-tailed tit x 3;  Goldfinch x 4; Dunnock; Robin x 2; Coal Tit; Great Spotted Woodpecker in branches above feeders.

SC208695 ( elsewhere) Fieldfare in mature tree being very vocal.

SC209693 Buzzard flying over; Blackbird. 

Robin on the Bowman Memorial Bench

this Chaffinch may have Fringilla papillomavirus affecting its feet

Long-tailed Tit

Great Tit awaiting turn on feeders

there were several Great Tits using the feeders

Goldfinch enjoying the sunflower kernels

and another elsewhere

Long-tailed tit in the willows

 

Mallards among the reeds

 I had been trying to decide whether I could hear a Woodpecker drumming  in the distance or whether it was a hammer drill at a nearby building site!  I'll never know the answer but this Great Spotted Woodpecker turned up in the tree where the feeders hang. 

Great Spotted Woodpecker

I had a lovely view of it

and it stayed a long time

 not long  after entering the Reserve I saw a Sparrowhawk

the floods are subsiding but it's still very wet

my usual route past the reedy bend

and the usual first glimpse of the hide

a closer view

 wellies still needed along this path

the path junction

looking into the new glade from the path junction

I arrived at the hide

and took the usual photo from the ramp

my first view through the shutters

through the side shutter

lovely reflections

no Grey Wagtail on the mudflat today

the meadow

much less water in the stream, mud shows how high it has been

I'm heading for the bridge

I'm expecting big changes the other side

looking left back from the bridge

the reeds to the right are very flattened

 reed bed channel looking right from bridge

 a big change in the Willow Wood

that fallen tree now dealt with

coppicing by MWT prior to the volunteer work party

letting in much more daylight

note the stump on the right

it has forensic evidence of being well-used already!

 

the biggest change was at the end of the willow path

the coppiced wood had been put to good use in a dead  hedge

new dead hedge seen from the other side

and from the hide

the "unofficial pond" is now much more visible

it is part water, part mud

back across the bridge I headed for the boardwalk

Alders are happy to stand in water

the stream where it enters the reed bed

and the point where it crosses under the boardwalk

looking back across the meadow

the usual view from the boardwalk - cloudy today

the Ash walk from various angles

next stop, the Bowman Memorial bench with gorse in full flower

still a good flow of water entering the reserve

too strong a flow for bathing birds at the moment

the gorse boundary path is still quite muddy in places

bare apple trees on the right

usual views of the dragonfly pond

lovely reflections

And to finish, a short video of the Woodpecker:

 

  Fresh air, exercise, and 19 species of birds to watch! A very good start to 2026, I thought.

please click on photos to enlarge them