Long-tailed Tits continue to dominate the local soundscape with two or three noisy flocks encountered regularly on my daily circuit.

A Ladybird made its way into the house today - so sad that this is a notable event these days. 

Two newly-fledged juvenile Woodpigeons were in Elder Park, Govan when I passed there today. All the gulls on the pond were staying well away from the edges but I just about managed to pick out a single Mediterranean Gull from among them. Apparently two first-winter birds have been present there for a few days.

A Tawny Owl was calling outside the house at 10:45pm. Earlier, a Chiffchaff was calling along the river and a count of seven Starlings was the highest since June when most of our local birds left the area after breeding.

A long day of walking in North Lanarkshire was notable for a walk through a hidden gem of a deciduous wood tucked in between Motherwell and Holytown. Wildlife highlights consisted of calling Chiffchaffs at two sites, a Red Admiral sunning itself on the path and two Swallows over the Furlongs in Hamilton (one bird, presumably a parent, feeding the other in flight).

Between 40 and 50 Greylag Geese flew over the house this afternoon. 

Two Stonechats, a Kestrel and a pair of Ravens were the pick of the birds on the Cathkin Braes this morning. 

A Nuthatch was calling repeatedly near the east gate of Rosshall Park where a male Chaffinch was feeding on Beech Mast with the usual Woodpigeons, Feral Pigeons and Grey Squirrels. Earlier, a Greenfinch called as it flew over the garden. 

A Chiffchaff was calling near the house. It had possibly arrived with a tit flock which moved through about the same time. 

Birds were fairly quiet on today's walk from Kirkintilloch to Bishopbriggs apart from a huge mixed flock of Jackdaws, Rooks, Carrion Crows, Feral Pigeons, Wood Pigeons and Stock Doves (and three Roe Deer) feeding on a recently harvested field. 

A Mistle Thrush rattled from Corkerhill Road Cemetery when I passed this morning. At least seven Grey Squirrels were running among the gravestones. Thirty-five Black-headed Gulls and two Pied Wagtails were on the tarmac playground of a neighbouring school. 

A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard calling again in the local woods.  Beech mast is thick on the ground and attracting Woodpigeons, Magpies and Grey Squirrels.

Two things about the local birds were noticeable today: firstly that House Sparrows are back and/or vocal again after their late summer absence/silence and secondly that Lesser Black-backed Gull numbers seem to be falling as Black-headed Gull numbers build up.

My home patch produced Kingfisher, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatch in addition to all the usual suspects today. I get the impression that Lesser Black-backed Gull numbers are falling - perhaps the start of autumn movements.

A Tawny Owl calling from a tree opposite the house at a quarter to one this morning woke up the Jackdaws roosting in the woods. Later in the morning, a walk round Linlithgow Loch found three Chiffchaffs singing short bursts of song in the sunshine while a Willow Warbler was doing the same just to the south-west of the loch. Up at Kirk o' Shotts, a Kestrel may have had young nearby and a Buzzard was accompanied by a begging juvenile. Over on Duntilland Hill, a Wheatear was among the Meadow Pipits and other signs that summer is not quite over were two Swallows and a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly. Early signs of autumn were Pink-footed and Greylag Geese flying overhead, a Merlin in hot persuit of a small passerine and a single Puffball pushing through the grass.

 

Two Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk were over my home patch today. 

A short walk around Hamilton produced fairly few birds, but a large clump of what I think were Fairy Waxcaps on a road verge were a reminder that autumn is underway. Two Swallows were feeding just a few inches from the grass in Bothwell Road Park.

 

Today's slightly delayed WeBS count in Greenock produced a surprise in the form of a female Gadwall (my first for the site) on Cowdenknowes Reservoir. The bird was initially swimming between the water's edge and the island, giving good views, but flew off (showing white specula) to the centre of the reservoir when approached. It noticeably did not associate with any other species including the Mallards which frequent the area around the island.

A Cormorant was off the end of the footpath past Braehead Shopping Centre this afternoon. A huge spider and a Deil's Coach-horse were visitors to the house this evening.

A Kingfisher was showing well as it sped ahead of me up the river.

A Pied Wagtail and ten or so Carrion Crows were feeding at the mouth of the Figgate Burn in Portobello when I passed this morning. Later in the day, around 50 Black-headed Gulls were on the sea where none had been there in the morning. In between, two Grey Herons were in Figgat Park and an Oystercatcher was calling nearby. 

Following a slight improvement in the weather, two Wrens were working over the "bus shelter" looking for food. Along the river, the row of Yew trees had shed a lot of berries in the wind and rain. I think there must have been a bumper crop this year as the ground was red with them.

 

 

A day of heavy rain which definitely affected the behaviour of the local birds. A particularly heavy shower mid-afternoon caused twenty or more Magpies to arrive from all directions and fly into a patch of trees opposite the hosue. Woodpigeons, Jackdays, Carrion Crows and Lesser Black-backed Gulls were also aloft in the rain but didn't show any co-ordinated movements. 

A walk around Tollcross Park today produced sightings (or soundings) of all the usual city birds. Magpie was the commonest.

Two Chiffchaffs were calling to eachother in bushes next to Cardonald animal re-homing centre this morning.

Birds heard while painting the outside of the house today included Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Chiffchaff, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit and Coal Tit. There has been a definite increase in the vocalisations of these and other species. 

A Forest Bug was resting on the car windshield today.

A walk around my neighbouring 1km square produced a surprise in the form of two Goldcrests calling from some conifers in a front garden. Back on my home patch, two Black-headed Gulls on the playing field included a juvenile.

A Kingfisher was the best bird of today's walk.

The most notable sighting of today involved six Swallows heading north (!) over my housing estate in southwest Glasgow. A Kingfisher was perched on a boulder in the river but sped away when I appeared from behind the Policeman's Helmet. A tapping sound proved to be from Beech mast dropping onto the tarmac path in Rosshall Park.