Confirmed breeding records for Swallow, Pied Wagtail and Starling. Two Crossbills calling overhead.

Yellowhammer, Linnet, two Jays, Mute Swan, Mallard and Moorhen with young, Common Blue Damselflies, possible Speckled Wood, possible Nuthatch, Crossbill species (alarming at passage of unidentified raptor (possibly Goshawk) overhead), Garden Warblers, Coot and Little Grebe.

Jay, Mandarin, Large Red Damselfly, nesting House Martins at two sites, Eider females with ducklings, Yellowhammers, Reed Buntings and Corn Buntings in song, Common (Harbour) Seals, three fishing Ospreys.

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Spotted Flycatcher, Weasel, Mountain Hare, Roe Deer, Swift

Today my five-day spell in Badenoch came to an end. Heading south, a male Kestrel was hovering near Dalwhinnie Distillery and a Chiffchaff sang in the centre of Pitlochry. Common Sandpiper, Goosander and a singing Yellowhammer were near Comrie Castle Bridge in Glen Lyon.

Pied Flycatcher, Tree Pipit, Spotted Flycatcher, Alpine Bistort, Goldeneye, Reed Bunting, Water Rail, White water-lily, Mallard with young, unidentified wader alarm-calling, Marsh Cinquefoil, Toads, Frogs, forest moth, Oystercatcher with large chick. 

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Swifts over GoS, Moorhen chick, Common Sandpiper, Dipper, Grey Wagtail, pair of Red-breasted Mergansers and later two juveniles or eclipse males. Goldeneye, Cow-wheat, two species of Wintergreen, Little Grebes.

Redstart, Tree Pipit, Cloudberry, Chickweed Wintergreen, Goldeneye, Osprey, Swift.

Pine Marten, Roe Deer, Lupins, Greylag and Canada goslings, 30 Swifts, Roe Deer, Rabbit, Brown Hare. 

Sunday, June 20, 2021

Four Greenfinches were singing around my home patch this evening. On some days they are completely quiet and on others, several males sing. I am yet to work out why.

A Goosander was resting on a boulder in the river and a single Swift was feeding high over Moulin Playing Fields this evening.

Spent a lovely, sunny day in Beecraigs Country Park. Some good sightings included singing Tree and Meadow Pipit, display-flighting Siskins, a pair of Mistle Thrushes defending their nest from a Carrion Crow, some lovely wildflower meadows, good numbers of grasshoppers and other insects, and a Common Buzzard hovering over Cockleroy like a Kestrel. Meanwhile Beecraigs Loch produced lots of Blue Damselflies, a pair of Swallows nesting under the walkway to the reservoir tower and lots of Greylag Goose goslings of different ages. 

It was still light after 10:30 yesterday evening. A single Swift was still hunting (silently) not far above the house, and two Palmate Newt efts were the first I have ever seen in my micro-pond. Today, a begging juvenile Moorhen was on the pond in Rosshall Park (where a Brown Rat was my first there for several months) and fledged broods of both Coal Tit and Blue Tit were attracting attention with their noisy calls.  

The small park at Renfrew's Ferry Village consistently holds some interesting, albeit common birds. Today there were two broods of Moorhen chicks on the pond and five Willow Warblers singing either in the park or on the adjacent undeveloped land. Two Sand Martins and a Swallow were feeding along the Clyde nearby.

A pair of Coots on Town Dam, Greenock had two begging chicks this morning. Four other pairs had empty nest platforms. The two pairs of Mute Swans (one on each dam) were occupying what appeared to be replacement nests. I suspect their original attempts might have been disrupted. It remains to be seen if there is sufficient time left for them to produce late broods. 

Four Sand Martins were feeding over a chilly River Kelvin this lunchtime, as the warm weather of last week was replaced by much cooler conditions.

I spent a sunny but blustery morning in the Kilpatrick Hills today. Birding highlights included three singing Whinchats (two showing very well), two alarming Stonechats, a singing Grasshopper Warbler and a Jay. Also notable were some good patches of Meadow Saxifrage and Navalwort. Unfortunately I was unable to find any Spotted Flycatchers, although I thought I heard the species in at least two locations.

The Moorhens on the river are still sitting on their nest, although I wondered if there was movement under the sitting bird today.

Only a few birds were calling on a rather damp and windy evening near Crianlarich. The plantation woodlands there produced Siskin, Chaffinch and Willow Warbler (plus House Martin over) but try as I might I couldn't hear anything else.

An early morning walk into the hills south of Balquhidder was rewarded with records of Green Woodpecker, Wood Warbler, Garden Warbler, Tree Pipit and four Red Deer. A walk into the hills on the other side of the village produced another singing Wood Warbler and foresty ditches teeming with Palmate Newts. Yellow Pimpernell and Common Butterwort were flowering along the track edges and Blue Tits were nesting in the cigarette butt holder at the village hall. Later, a walk near Killin produced Osprey, Common Sandpiper, Redshank, Swift, moth caterpillars in a communal cocoon and a good show of Globe Flower at a very accessible locality.

A Kingfisher was showing well along the river first thing. A Stock Dove was singing and the leucistic Mallard still has her four ducklings. The Rhododendrons in the park are putting on a fantastic display this year.

Bothwell Castle today had a family of Jays across the river and flowering Bistort, Water Avens and a stitchwort species along the riverside path. In Uddingston, two Swifts were high over the traffic on the main street. Back home, a Kingfisher and Grey Heron were on the river and a Red Fox was startled as I walked up to it near the Cardonald Place footbridge. The male Whitethroat which appeared last week is still around and has hopefully found a mate. Meanwhile Columbine is flowering in the park. 

Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Blackcap were all singing in the sunshine this morning. The Blue Tit chicks have definitely left the nestbox (probably three days ago). A Buzzard was mobbed by the local crows and a Swift screamed high overhead. 

An excursion to visit family near Crianlarich nevertheless provided some good wildlife encounters. A good range of "waterbirds" was on, over or around Loch Dochart, consisting of Teal, Mallard, Grey Heron, Common Sandpiper, Grey Wagtail, Sand Martin and Reed Bunting. Wood Cranesbill was flowering nearby but less welcome was a Pine Weevil.

Spent an interesting afternoon being distracted by a male House Sparrow attending a nest under guttering on the back of a house in Hamilton. He brought food to the nest several times, but also spent long periods perched on the rim of the nest hole facing into the nest.

Highlights of today's farmland walk consisted of double figures of Small Tortoiseshell Butterfles (plus lots of whites and single Small Copper and Peacock), three Tree Sparrows, five singing Sedge Warblers, Oystercatcher, Curlew and Lapwing on territory (the latter with young) and a Peregrine speeding overhead.

A single Magpie continues to intimidate the Blue Tits nesting in the box on the back wall of the house. It perches on next-door's sky dish and watches all the comings and goings. The adult Blue Tits hate it watching them and every time they arrive in the garden with food, they scold it from the top of a small tree. However their urge to feed their chicks is so strong that after a few seconds they give up and fly up to the nest box. I know that the Magpie is just waiting for the day (early morning in my experience) when the chicks start fledging so that it can pick them off as they emerge. I have to admire its patience (this standoff has been going on for nearly a week), but I plan to be up early every day this week to see if I can thwart its plans.

Two notable sightings from today's walk along the river were a singing and displaying Whitethroat (the first one locally this year) and the leucustic female Mallard, still with four (now well-grown) ducklings. In the afternoon, a Red Fox got into one of the gardens and made a huge racket (possibly disturbing a nesting Mallard). Late in the evening, another Red Fox was having a good scratch as it relaxed on the grass next to the kids' play park.

A pair of Grey Wagtails were on the Auldhose Burn at Rouken Glen this afternoon. A Mint Leaf Beetle was on the parapet of the Spiersbridge Road bridge.