Greenock continues to be a bit of a seagull city with rooftops crammed with mobile young and the skies full of anxious parents. A brief lunchtime walk around Murdieston Dams found four species (Common, Black-headed, Herring and Lesser black-backed) scavenging for bread. Also notable were family groups of Mute Swan, Mallard, Coot and Tufted Duck. The latter consisted of a female with three small young. They are one of my favourite ducks at this stage. The young are like corks bobbing back to the surface after every dive. Jackdaws also had dependent young nearby.

Back home, a male Blackbird was acting suspiciously beside the garden pond. At one point it gave a good thrashing to something which I can only imagine was a small frog. As the light faded, a single Swift screeched once, high overhead - sadly the first I have heard in South Cardonald this year.