A glorious day today with warm winds and sunshine. Spent the afternoon walking in Mugdock Park. Bird sightings were very limited as they usually are at this time of year. There were a few squeaks and whistles in the woods but almost everything small and feathered was staying well hidden.
Out on the fields at the Kyber Path, four Swallows and two Pied Wagtails were on the wing, and a couple of Goldfinches buzzed from a stand of pines. On some of the rocky outcrops, Wild Thyme was in full flower. More colour was provided by Harebells, Knapweed, Devil's Bit Scabious and Foxgloves.
Mugdock Loch was covered with yellow water lillies and 27 eclipse Mallards (plus a white farmyard-type) languished in the shallows. Seventeen more Mallards were on Craigend Loch, including a female with one tiny duckling. A female Tufted Duck had 6 tiny young which were bobbing about like corks. Meanwhile a juvenile Grey Heron was lurking around the margins, a couple of Moorhens were squabbling out on the water and a Lesser black backed Gull was on the lookout for easy pickings.
Up at the visitor centre, a Swallow was attending two chicks in a nest under the entrance arch. Down at the dipping pond, blue and red damselflies were both in evidence, and the water lillies on the Gallows Pond were of the white species. A few Goldgrests were working the treetops nearby and two Buzzards were soaring over the field behind Craigton Castle. Finally, on the way back to the Kyber Path, a probable Sparrowhawk flashed across the path [10,000].