Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Heading out of Bonnybridge in the direction of Rough Castle this morning, I was surprised by the number of birds about. Greenfinches were singing just outside the town Centre and Dunnocks, Jackdaws and House Sparrows all seemed to be doing well. Two Rabbits were in a field towards the edge of town and the first of two pairs of Oystercatcher was in a damp field corner next to the railway. St Helen's Loch held the other pair and a cursory scan turned up Mute Swan, Mallard, Teal, Goosander, Coot, Moorhen and Little Grebe. At Rough Castle itself, a big flock of Chaffinches and mixed tits feeding on Beech mast contained a single female/first winter Brambling. The walk to Falkirk was less good but there were a few Common Gulls among the Black-headed Gulls on the canal and a single Buzzard was soaring over the town centre, being mobbed by corvids.