Today's walk between Barrhead and Paisley took place in really horrendous weather, Consequently, most birds were staying out of sight. Even the Cart in Paisley failed to produce any sightings of Kingfisher, Dipper, Goosander or Grey Heron as it typically would. Two Grey Wagtails and a Pied Wagtail were the only notable species there. 

I spent a couple of fairly fruitless hours this morning following up some reports of Waxwings in the Scotstoun and Bearsden areas. Only common species were located but it was good to notice so much bird life in what are fairly built-up locations. Best species were probably Bullfinch and Redwing.

The daily bird count locally is consistently in the high twenties these days, helped by the increasing number of species in song. A Song Thrush continues to practice a few phrases in a tree near the Cardonald Palace footbridge, but hasn't broken into full song yet. Dunnock song is getting stronger by the day. Snowdrops are flowering at a few places along the river and some Daffodill shoots are pushing up strongly. Grey Wagtail was the only slightly unusual species.

A single Cormorant was along the river again today. Much less typical was a single Dipper heard twice as it flew downstream towards Bonnyholm Footbridge.

Siskin and Bullfinch were both present in the Birch trees around the house this morning. Two Dunnocks were singing nearby. 

Crianlarich was one of our stops on the way home from Strathspey. Birds were fairly scarce along the river but included single Goosander, Buzzard, Raven, Hooded Crow and Dipper.

Today started with a look around north Aviemore and Boat of Garten for any Common or Black-headed Gulls that might be wintering in the area. I found plenty of gulls between Granish dump, the fields along the A95 and one field on the way in to Boat of Garten, but all were Herring Gulls. Next stop was Sgorr Gaoidhe in the Cromdale Hills. Few birds were about on the way up or down except for two Ravens, three Buzzards and a pair of Red Grouse. The Spey at Anagach Woods held three Goosander while the walk into Grantown-on-Spey produced Great Spotted Woodpecker, Treecreeper and Red Squirrel. A stop at Cromdale found the Winter Aconite which I discovered there a few years ago just coming into flower. The following are a few nature notes from the trip (added 12/02/23):

Greylag Goose

A single bird calling as it flew over moorland near Sgòr Gaoithe in the Cromdales on 25^th. Two more over the Spey near Anagach Woods later in the day.

Goosander

A pair and a single on the Spey near Anagach Woods on 25^th. The pair pulled out briefly to rest on the far bank.

Feral Pigeon

A flock of 45 (presumably from nearby Lynbreck Croft) flushed by a passing fighter jet and flying over the beginning of the walk up Sgòr Gaoithe in the Cromdales on 25^th.

Collared Dove

A single near Granish Tip on 25^th.

Herring Gull

Four at Granish Tip, a further 27 in the field north of Avielochan and a few in the fields along Deshar Road, Boat of Garten all on 25^th. No Common or Black-headed Gulls seen at any of these sites.

Red Grouse

Two flushed and flying off together (presumably a pair) on the walk up Sgòr Gaoithe in the Cromdales on 25^th.

Buzzard

Two or three soaring over the flank of Sgòr Gaoithe in the Cromdales on 25^th.

Jackdaw

Around 20 among mixed corvids at Granish Tip on 25^th and four in fields to the north of Avielochan a short time after. Later in the day, sixty were over Grantown-on-Spey with smaller numbers here and there over Anagach Woods and the Spey.

Carrion Crow

Three among mixed corvids at Granish Tip on 25^th.

Carrion x Hooded Crow hybrid

Three among mixed corvids at Granish Tip on 25^th.

Raven

Two flying together (presumably a pair) near the summit of Sgòr Gaoithe in the Cromdales on 25^th.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

A single was visiting a garden feeder near General Wade’s Road on the edge of Anagach Woods, Grantown-on-Spey on 25^th.

Great Tit

Two singles at Granish Tip on 25^th.

Blue Tit

A single at Granish Tip on 25^th.

Blackbird

A single at Granish Tip on 25^th.

Robin

A single at Granish Tip on 25^th.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

A single was feeding on the trunks of trees in a garden near General Wade’s Road on the edge of Anagach Woods, Grantown-on-Spey on 25^th.

Chaffinch

Three birds were near Granish Tip on 25^th. Small groups were encountered at various points around Anagach Woods and especially on the feeders outside a house on General Wade’s Road on the south edge of Grantown-on-Spey later that day.

Red Squirrel

A single took refuge in the branches of a Scots Pine tree overhanging General Wade’s Road on the edge of Anagach Woods, Grantown-on-Spey on 25^th.

Today's walk was from Peterculter back to Aberdeen via a section of the Deeside Way. Some good birds along the way consisted of twenty Linnets and five Fieldfares. A big cat crossing a field was definitely domestic, given the time of day. One of two Great Spotted Woodpeckers was drumming - the first I'd heard this "spring".

There was still quite a lot of ice on the main pond in Victoria Park this morning, even after the recent thaw. All the gulls present were Black-headeds apart from a single Common. Coots had started nest-building but will presumably stop again if the cold weather returns. 

Some slightly less regularly recorded species along the river this morning consisted of  Goosander, Grey Heron, Cormorant, Redwing, Stock Dove, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush and Bullfinch. Down in Greenock, the highlights of my WeBS bird count were three Goldeneye, single Cormorant and Grey Heron, two Grey Wagtails and two Dippers (including one in song).

A Red Fox was near the estate when we got home in the wee, small hours of this morning.

Today's sunny weather prompted some new (or newish) birds to sing including Nuthatch, Song Thrush, Greenfinch and Bullfinch as well as the regular Woodpigeon, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Starling, Wren, Robin, Dunnock and Goldfinch. Mallard and Jackdaw were showing signs of defending a territory and/or mate and at least one pair of Long-tailed Tits appeared to have broken away from the roving flocks which have been such a feature of this winter.

A Robin was perched on top of one of the aisles in my local supermarket this morning. Four Redwings were in the treetops down by the river in the afternoon. Numbers locally have remained in single figures for most of the winter period so far. Black-headed Gull numbers remain approaching 100. Various species were singing today including Woodpigeon, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Robin and Goldfinch. 

Much of this afternoon was spent walking in North Ayrshire from Kilwinning to Stevenston. Best birds were a Kestrel at the north end of Kilwinning, nine Redshanks on a flooded area on Auchenharvie Golf Course and twelve Rooks attending a rookery beside the A738. The day (light) ended with a Rock Pipit on the rocks beneath Saltcoats Harbour wall.

Only common birds were on show during a walk around Cowcaddens in the centre of Glasgow today. The eventual total of thirteen species was the most I could come up with in one hour of walking, watching and listening (Feral Pigeon; Woodpigeon; Black-headed Gull; Herring Gull; Magpie; Jackdaw; Carrion Crow; Blue Tit; Long-tailed Tit; Robin; Dunnock; Pied Wagtail; Goldfinch).

Today's walk from Shettleston to Stepps took place in brilliant sunshine - such a relief after days of rain. Birds were fairly unremarkable, but the variety of habitats passed through probably produced a reasonable day total (still to be totted up). Best bird was probably Pied Wagtail, its cheerful call brightening up quite a few places along the way. Also, a Water Rail squealed as I passed Hogganfield Loch.

Four Stock Doves (two pairs) were in Rosshall Park (although not singing yet), a very good total of six Moorhens were between the park pond and the river and a single Cormorant flew upriver, cutting the corner to fly over the playing fields.

More rain, more Black-headed Gulls - this time at least 147 on the flooded playing fields.

At last the rain has abated, although the local playing fields are still flooded and were providing a resting place for 115 Black-headed Gulls when I checked this morning.

Cormorants seem to have moved in locally with one seen last week and another this afternoon. They appear most winters and I have seen up to five roosting on a tree about 1km upstream, although in recent years only one or two have been present. Whilst checking the local wood for Woodcocks, I surprised three Roe deer which were hiding out among the Rhododendrons.

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

Another day of very heavy rain meant natural connections were severely curtailed. Black-headed Gull continues to be the most prominent species locally with still over 50 on the playing field next to the river.

Today's walk along the railway path betweeen Kilbirnie and Lochwinnoch took place in heavy rain so natural connections were severely limited. However a Dipper along the drainage channel beside the track bed didnt seem to mind the rain. Nor did a Woodcock which clattered away through the trees from its resting place on a wooded section of embankment. Chaffinches, Redwings, Bulfinches and Redpolls fed in the branches over the path and one of the latter was quietly picking the seeds from Reed flowers.

Today's walk was around Barshaw Park where some nice Common Gulls were giving excellent, close views as they fed with Black-headed Gulls on flooded grass. In amongst them was a single Mediterranean Gull which gave me just enough time to pick out its key identification features before it was flushed by other walkers. Other good birds in the park included a singing Mistle Thrush (my third since the New Year) and a calling Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Birds were fairly unremarkable during today's walk up to and around Crookston Castle. However just after dusk, the back garden was filled with the sound of Long-tailed Tits (from what I could see/hear, settling down to roost in our Hawthorn hedge).

Today's walk was along the Clyde between Braehead and Ferry Village. As usual at this time of year, the park had good numbers of Mallard and Moorhen but not much else. On the river were a pair of Teal, four Cormorants and at least fifty Common Gulls.

With today promising the best weather of the week, we headed for Moffat to walk some of the Annandale Way and around the town. Best bird was a probable Willow Tit calling in woods south of Gallow Hill. Also notable were large numbers of Chaffinches feeding on Beech mast and one or two each of Pheasant, Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Buzzard.

Thursday, January 05, 2023

Moorhen, Coot and Tufted Duck were represented by only one individual of each species on the ponds in Queen's Park this lunchtime. I wonder if there has been a real decline in these species or if the low numbers were due to temporary movements.

A wander into the neighbouring 1km square of Cardonald this morning produced three Mistle Thrushes in Corkerhill Cemetery (confirming it as a very reliable site for this species).

Some slightly unusual birds found on a walk around Strathclyde Loch this morning were as follows: plenty of  Greylag Geese with a single white "farmyard" type"; a single Canada Goose staying separate from the Greylags;  plenty of Mallards with a single, large domestic-type [currently (09/01/23) being debated as a possible escped Black-headed Duck]; a single Lapwing roosting on the pontoons at the north end of the loch.

It was bright and calm during a walk around Loch Ardinning and Muirhouse Moor this morning. Birds were keeping a low profile in the frosty weather but four Goldeneye were on the ice-free part of the loch and three Reed Buntings were on nearby fence lines. 

Some notable birds along the river today consisted of a Cormorant fishing near the Moulin weir and a Mistle Thrush singing near the high school. A Brown Rat was in the park.