Birds along the waterfront in Greenock this morning included Common Gull, Shag and Pied Wagtail.

Two Grey Wagtails on the river were slightly unusual today. I think a pair bred locally this year but they have been quite elusive. A possible Dipper flew upstream but the call was atypical and I couldn't quite get a good enough view to be certain.

A Gannet flew by and a non-breeding-plumaged Black Guillemot floated offshore while I waited in the car park at Gourock. Later, highlights of a walk around Lunderston Bay included up to 20 Pied/White Wagtails, seven Goosanders (replacing the usual Red-breasted Mergansers), nine Sandwich Terns and fifty Eiders.

The centre of Larkhall seemed a fairly barren location for birdwatching. However, after forty minutes I had located fifteen species including two Chiffchaffs, four Collared Doves and a House Martin. A Small Copper butterfly was near the railway station.

A Grey Heron fishing the river and two Coal Tits in song were the only notable sightings on today's local walk. 

The return section of my trip to Badenoch and Strathspey began with a drive into the hills in the direction of Corrieyairack Forest. The road was closed after the ford at Melgarve but by then, a number of interesting birds had been encountered including Red-legged Partridge (a covey of nine), Kestrel, Greylag Goose, Whooper Swan and Golden Eagle. The highlight however was the dramatic scenery, all set against mostly blue skies.

 

Spey Dam

Glenshero

Melgarve

Wednesday, August 25, 2021

The first notable birds of today's trip up north were an adult and two juvenile Little Grebes on Loch na Creige in the Griffen Forest park south of Aberfeldy. Pitlochry had nesting House Martins and Swallows with Dipper Grey Wagtail and Goosander on the river and a Nuthatch calling in Port-na-Craig. A dead Wood Mouse was on the footpath next to the railway in the town centre. The drive north from there was made more enjoyable by the pink of Rosebay Willow-herb and the yellow of Ragwort and possibly St John's Wort in the verges. The Lupins of a few weeks ago seem to have "gone over" and the Heather appears also to be past its best (although some very purple patches persisted here and there). My first stop in Badenoch and Strathspey was Glebe Ponds where two Teal were lurking among the Mallards, domestic ducks and domestic geese. Two or three Moorhens were also present and a Sparrowhawk flew over being mobbed by a cloud of Swallows. A Robin's Pincushion gall was on a rose bush near the entrance gate. With the low morning sunshine now very stong, viewing was difficult at the next stop, Loch Insh. However Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Mallard and Goldeneye could just about be picked out. Two juvenile Common Gulls posed an initial identification challenge. A Jay called from nearby woods and a Hooded Crow x Carrion Crow hybrid flew over. Moving on, a Pheasant was on the road at Street of Kincardine and a Great Spotted Woodpecker called in the RSPB Loch Garten car park. The main event of the day was a guided walk around the Speyside Fields for Wildlife fields at Ballymore and Mains of Tulloch (below). Birds were fairly scarce at this, the hottest part of the day, although a Common Buzzard flew over the second site. However it was very interesting to learn more about the project and meet some of the patrons and supporters. Establishing and maintaining these fields requires a lot of work and significant financial outlay. However the benefits, in terms of the numbers of both pollinators and granivorous birds making use of them are remarkable. A busy day came to an end with the sun setting pink and orange over the Drumochter hills and a cream-crown Marsh Harrier and ring-tail Hen Harrier going to roost. The last bird of the day was a Barn Owl quartering a roadside field in the half-light.

 

Today was another lovely, summery day. A Wren in the back garden was feeding a juvenile hidden in the hedge. It then produced a burst of song before disappearing. The locally-bred juvenile Buzzard flew over calling once. Late in the day, two Swallows twittered high overhead.

It was a lovely, mild and calm day in Greenock for this morning's WEBS count. All species appear to have completed their breeding seasons with plenty of Coots, Tufted Ducks, Mallards and two families of Mute Swans (Br3 and Br4) loafing out on the water. Back home, a large tit flock (comprising Coal, Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tits) passed through the garden. The day ended with a lovely pink sunset and a small bat hunting between the houses of the estate. 

A large mixed tit flock, perhaps comprising 30 or more birds, was in trees near the Cardonald Place footbridge. A Kingfisher was along the river. More Rooks have arrived back on my patch and House Sparrow numbers are creeping back up as well. The day had started with a young Buzzard repeatedly (and noisily) flying over the nearby housing estate while I sat in a friend's back garden. 

Heavy rain probably explained the paucity of birds along the river this evening, but may also have been responsible for bringing a large Common Toad out onto the path near Bonnyholm Bridge.

After a misty start, our day in Tyninghame Bay turned out sunny and warm. The woods were fairly quiet but plenty of birds were along the shore. Waders consisted of Oystercatcher, Redshank and Ringed Plover and five species of gull were present. An amazing 109 Goosanders swam by in a huge flotilla. Gannets and Sandwich Terns fished offshore and Sand Martins and Swallows fed over the beach. Other birds of the shore included Rock Pipit and Pied Wagtail with Razorbill, Shag and Eider on the sea. Birds in the dunes included Linnet, Chaffinch, Woodpigeon, Rook and Jackdaw. Ten Grey Herons were together on the saltmarsh along with around thirty Curlew and a single Little Egret. Butterflies consisted of Meadow Brown, Small Copper, Small Blue, a white and a fritillary species plus Spotted Wood in the woods.

 

Another day, another (or presumably the same) Kingfisher on the river. However a calling Great Spotted Woodpecker was the first for a while. A mild and mercifully dry day - the forecast for the weekend is not so favourable. I notice from twitter that a Purple Hairstreak butterfly has been seen on the grassy area in front of Crookston Castle. 

A Kingfisher calling as it flew along the river was the highlight of today's walk. Passerines are still very quiet but the improved weather has meant that a few more species can be identified by call, including the first Chiffchaff for a few weeks. A Peacock butterfly added a welcome touch of colour.

Barshaw Park was busy with human visitors today, but some avian highlights consisted of a dozen Lesser Black-backed Gulls by the pond with young in tow, and four House Martiins feeding over the old hospital building.

Ardmore Point was quiet this morning with no-one encountered until the end of the circuit. There were plenty of birds about, however. Waders in North Bay included two Black-tailed Godwits, five Knot, four Ringed Plover, twelve Dunlin and a Sanderling. Meanwhile a single Whimbrel was on rocks at the south west corner of the point and gave the diagnostic "seven whistles" as it flew off. Linnets at three sites included a flock of 25. A Little Egret was over on the Helensburgh side of North Bay and two Sandwich Terns were feeding off South Bay.

 

A single House Sparrow was among the fifteen species seen around my home patch today, one of very few records all summer. I have formed the impression from recent years that the local population moves out (possibly to nearby farmland) after breeding, only to return in the autumn.

An afternoon walk along the seafront at Lunderston Bay, as usual, produced numerous wildflowers and insects, and a fair number of birds as well. Highlights among the latter included three Stock Doves feeding on the beach and two Sanwich Terns hunting just offshore. Notable isects icluded Antler Moth and Small Copper Butterfly.

 

 

 A day of heavy rain and very few birds.

A pair of Little Grebes had a begging chick on Craigend Pond, Mugdock Country Park today. Fourteen Tufted Ducks were on Mugdock Loch. Back home, a female Sparrowhawk spent three hours feeding on a dead Magpie in the back garden. 

For the second day running, a single Kingfisher was flying along the river. It was one of only five species recorded during a 25 minute walk around my home 1km square.  A more typical total would be twenty (with 35 possible in late spring). The reasons include the fact that very few birds are singing at this time of year and the dense vegetation obscuring all but a few short sections of the river.

A speeding Kingfisher was the highlight of today's local walk. Only one juvenile Sparrowhawk could be located today, following yesterday's two.

The Sparrowhawk juveniles found earlier this morning were still present in (and calling ludly from) a bare tree in Rosshall Park. A single \chiffchaff was giving its contact call near the Cardonald Place footbridge.

Heavy rain all day meant that today's local walk had to be moved to the early hours of Monday. Notable bird records included seven singing Wrens (they have been silent later in the day recently) and a single Chiffchaff. It was particularly gratifying to find two newly-fledged Sparrowhawks "branching" near the Lime Walk in Rosshall Park.

Typical for this time of year, interesting birds were hard to find during a walk along the Kelvin near Glasgow Botanic Garden. The situation was not helped by a torrential downpour which sent walkers scurrying into doorways and turned parts of Byres Road into a river.

Friday, August 07, 2021

Small birds continue to keep to cover so the main species encountered locally are gulls, corvids and pigeons. After the relative drought of the past three or four weeks, the current rainy and stormy weather has come as a bit of a shock.

With some time to spare during a visit to Gartnavel Hospital, I took a walk around Bingham's Pond. The vegetation around the edge of the pond is incredibly luxuriant with Great Willow-Herb, Greater Knapweed and Purple Loosestrife among the many species evidently thriving.

Two Ravens flew low over the estate around luchtime. As usual, I was alerted to their arrival by their throaty calls. I heard tham again later, but they were flying much higher by then. 

A Grey Wagtail on the "library" pond was the only species of note during a walk around Milngavie town centre this morning. In the afternoon, the summering Whooper Swan was among the Mute Swans on the footpath north of the car park at Hogganfield Loch.

With an average of less than one sighting per year, Dipper is a species I rarely see in my home 1km square (even though they are quite regular at sites both up and down stream from here). Therefore one which stopped briefly at the Bonnyholme wier this evening before heading off upstream was a special record.

A brood of Great Tits was in the Willows along the river this evening. Later, a midnight walk in the forest south of Aberfoyle failed to find any displaying female Glowworms (maybe too late in the season). However careful searching produced a minimum of sixteen larvae. I was interested to note that the larvae glow much less brightly and for much shorter periods than the adult females I saw at the site last year. A Badger, a Roe Deer and a couple of bats were in the general area. Heading home, single Hedgehogs were at Douchlage and Bankell House and a Red Fox was near the Asda store in Bearsden.