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A Pied Wagtail was singing from a tenement rooftop in greenock this lunchtime. Later, a Buzzard was over the motorway near Bishopton.

Started the day in Castle Woods at Lochmaben Loch. Good birds on show included some very noisy Nuthatches, singing Stock Doves, and lots of Chaffinches and Redwings feeding in the leaf litter. Willow Tit eluded me there, but two birds showed extremely well in front of the first hide at Ken-Dee Marshes. The day was characterised by dense fog which severely limited visibility. When the sun eventually came out, a Red Kite flapped lazily across a hillside north of Laurieston.

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Highlights of a morning walk around a frosty Mugdock Park consisted of two Jays in the south east corner, two Song Thrushes feeding in leaf litter north of the castle, a Goldeneye on Mugdock Loch and a good showing of "frost hair" on Cypress branches.

The first of two walks along the river produced a Mistle Thrush singing loudly and repeatedly from a tall tree in Rosshall Park and a Kingfisher diving for fish near the Cookery School. The second produced a Raven on the roof of Rosshall High School, causing considerable alarm among the local Feral Pigeons and corvids.

There were lots of birds along the river this afternoon including Fieldfares, Mistle Thrushes, Starlings and Redpolls in the treetops,Fieldfares and Redwings feeding on the playing fields and a Cormorant was just upstream of the Mosspark Station bridge.

An afternoon walk along the Cart at Leverndale produced a Buzzard being mobbed by crows, a Sparrowhawk cruising along less than a metre from the river surface, two Goosanders fishing together and a Kingfisher flying up to a perch under the bank before coughing up a pellet.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

A Buzzard was over the woods at Woodhall and 30 or more Lapwings were on fields at Longhaugh Point this afternoon. The shoreline had been inundated by one of the highest tides I have seen.

Twenty Lapwings flapped lazily over the motorway at Longhaugh Point, presumably taking refuge from the encroaching tide by moving to roadside fields.

Two interesting stories in the news today - one about a seal which was found in a field in Meseyside (17 miles from the sea) and another of an SSPCA officer called to an injured parrot in Aberdeen which turned out to be a Christmas hat.

The winter solstice has arrived. I was intrigued by the map showing Glasgow streets aligned to the rising sun here.

Saturday, December 20, 2014

A trip to Linlithgow and Blackness (with a fruitless detour to Luckenburn) produced a Long-tailed Duck on the loch, a couple of Linnets behind Blackness Castle, a Knot and a Grey Wagtail along the strand line just east of there and hundreds of Shelduck, Wigeon, Eider and Mallard floating offshore.

A Song Thrush was startled by the headlights of the car first thing this morning.

Four Scaup were on their usual pond as I headed back to Paisley from a meeting in Ayr this lunchtime.

A Cormorant was feeding in the Cart where it flows under the railway line west of Glasgow Airport.

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A Tawny Owl flew across Ardgowan Street, Greenock at 7am today. A little later it was "Kee-wick"-ing nearby.

The final bird list for yesterday's Strathspey trip was: Mallard, Goldeneye, Red Grouse, Black Grouse, Herring Gull, Collared Dove, Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Raven, Goldcrest, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Treecreeper, Wren, Dipper, Blackbird, Redwing, Robin, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Lesser Redpoll and Siskin (24 species).

A Black Grouse and several groups of Red Grouse (totalling around 24 birds) were in roadside fields between Drumochter and Dalwhinnie (no doubt forced down from the hills by the lying snow). 
With limited time in Aviemore, a walk around Craigellachie NNR seemed a good idea. Birds were fairly thin on the ground but two tit flocks were encountered, the first containing twelve Long-tailed Tits, two Blue Tits, two Coal Tits, five Goldcrests, and one Treecreeper, and the second seven Goldcrests, three Blue Tits, two Coal Tits and two Treecreepers. A Raven flew over unseen and Bullfinches were at two sites. Several Wrens were seen including one singing strongly and one which disappeared into a hole in the snow, presumably to feed in the Heather underneath. Best birds at Craigellachie were around 60 Redpolls in a feeding flock next to the A9.

Two Redwings were calling from the back garden of the Cairngorm Hotel and birds overhead included Herring Gulls, Collared Doves, Rooks and Jackdaws.
A quick detour down to the Spey produced a drake Goldeneye (a pair were also under the Spey Bridge east of Kingussie) and a singing Dipper.

Impressions of Strathspey in December:
It's virtually monochrome, with bare trees silhouetted against the snow. However the result is that the colours of the small birds (Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Redpoll etc) stand out all the more.
It's eerily quiet with the only sound from passing tit flocks (although in Aviemore, the Jackdaws and Herring Gulls produced a bit of noise).
Birds are concentrated around the villages (in this case Aviemore). In the countryside they are mostly in flocks. 

A perky Robin kept me company as I waited in Orangefield this afternoon.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Six Oystercatchers had taken refuge on the grass next to Rue End Street in a stormy Greenock.

The weather bomb hit Scotland today with winds of 144mph off St Kilda and thunder and lightening through the central belt.

Wild weather on the way for the north west.

Lots of snow on the Argyll hills today. Still no Goldeneye on the Murdieston Park dams, however.

Saturday, December 06, 2014

The feeder at RSPB Loch Garten held 8+ Coal Tits, two Blue Tits, two Great Tits, a Great-spotted Woodpecker and a Jay.

Chillier today, but Swallows still in Ayrshire and on the Black Isle.

Three Roe Deer were in a field next to the motorway at lunchtime today.

A Great Tit was singing strongly in the midday sunshine at the university campus in Paisley. Later, in Greenock, a skien of geese flew over, unseen. 
News from the Cairngorms is of what seems to have been the first substantial snowfall of the winter.

Sometime over the past few days, a small skein of geese flew low over the house.