I spent this afternoon in the west end of Glasgow and took the opportunity to check for Swifts in Hyndland (one bird seen and heard overhead) and the Gilbert Scott Tower for (the now openly publicised) Peregrines (one bird arriving from the south and alighting on the tower). Other interesting birds included a female Goosander on the Kelvin near Dumbarton Road with four Sand Martins feeding over her head.

An afternoon walk at Longhaugh Point produced lots of interesting but not very remarkable birds including Common Gull and Common Tern nesting on the derilect Bowling Oil Terminal, a pair of Shelduck with eight ducklings several interesting passerines on territory (e.g. Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat, Linnet and Reed Bunting).

A busy day working on the flat in Shawlands. A walk in Langside at the end of the afternoon produced six Swifts wheeling and screaming together plus Goldcrest, Chiffchaff and Great Spotted Woodpecker, all new for my spring list for the square.

The Moorhen pair on the local park pond were still sitting tight on their nest but there was no sign of yesterday's female Mallard and her nine newly-hatched ducklings on the river. 

Signs of successful breeding in my home 1km square today included a female Mallard with nine newly-hatched ducklings on the river at the Cardonald Place footbridge (with another female with two larger ducklings near the Bonnyholm footbridge), a pair of Moorhens doing an incubation changeover on Rosshall Park Pond and two Blue Tits bringing food to chicks in the nestbox on the back wall of the house. 

Friday May 26 2023

Today was spent exploring some sites in North Lanarkshire and West Lothian including Netherton Muir, a stretch of the Union Canal, Beecraigs Country Park, Cockleroy and Binny Craig. Some good sightings along the way consisted of Curlew and Black-headed Gull in potential breeding habitat at the Torrance Wind Farm, a Jay flying over the Bridge 49 cafe bar, four Ravens circling over Cockleroy, Linnet and Yellowhammer there and on Binny Craig, Greylag Goose and Mallard with young on Beecraigs Loch, Lapwing on territory at Binnyside Strips and a big rookery at Oatridge Estate Lodge.

I planned to walk from Gourock to Wemyss Bay today, not guessing that the weather would be just so perfect. There was hardly a ripple on the Clyde (allowing me to pick out four Harbour Porpoises and a Grey Seal)  and a great feeling of summer being just around the corner. Three Swifts were in Gourock and I also found nesting Swallow, House Martin, Grey Wagtail and Linnet as well as fledged broods of Pied Wagtail, House Sparrow and Starling. A Cuckoo sang during the upland section of the walk while coastal birds included Gannet, Red-breasted Merganser and Sandwich Tern. A dead Hedgehog was a sad find.

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Today was my third day working in Shawlands. At lunchtime I walked around the 1km square covering the centre and western portion of Queen's Park as well as the area around Langside Hall and along Minard Road as far as Strathbungo and down the railway line as far as Nithsdale Road. Coot and Mallard both had young on the water while a large group of Long-tailed Tits presumably included a fledged brood. Best sightings were up to nine Swifts (in groups of 6, 2 and 1) and three Collared Doves (both additions to my all-time list for the square which now sits at 48 species).

I was back painting my son's flat in Shawlands today. At lunchtime I had a good walk around the 1km square covering Langside (NS5761) and managed a reasonable total of 24 species. In amongst them were some notable birds including Grey Wagtail and Dipper. Mistle Thrush and Blackcap were additions to my all-time list for the square. However the highlight was a flypast by three Swifts, so close that I could hear the air rushing past their wings. I know the species used to breed at nearby Battlefield, and seeing birds so close to the ground would suggest an intention to summer locally. However the cool weather of recent days is no doubt depressing aerial prey numbers and may well play a part in whether the birds even attempt to breed. My all-time list for the square currently consists of: Mandarin Duck, Mallard, Goosander, Swift, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Sparrowhawk, Kingfisher, Magpie, Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Goldcrest, Wren, Starling, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Redwing, Blackbird, Robin, Dipper, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Grey Wagtail, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Siskin (38 species).

A busy day working in Shawlands meant little time for natural connections. However a walk over to the DIY store and back produced a fairly good bird list including Swallow and Willow Warbler, both new for my all-time list for that particular square "Pollokshaws NS5661. The list is now: Mallard, Goosander, Swift, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Moorhen, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull,, Grey Heron, Buzzard, Kingfisher, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Peregrine, Magpie, Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Raven, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Swallow, Long-tailed Tit, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Goldcrest, Wren, Treecreeper, Starling, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Redwing, Blackbird, Robin, Dipper, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Siskin (46 species).

Lots of juvenile Starlings are now out of the nest and greatly outnumbering the adults as they swarm over the local playing field. The female Goosander was again on its usual rock.

The local female Goosander was again hauled out on her favourite rock in the river. She is quite a forlorn figure with no sign of any males or ducklings. More juvenile Starlings are out of the nest and following their parents around, although there must be plenty still in the nest as adults continue to predominate. 

I walked from Old Kilpatrick up to Loch Humphrey in the Kilpatrick Braes today. Most notable birds on the way up were Whinchat, Stonechat, Tree Pipit, Raven and Cuckoo. Loch Humphrey itself had Canada Goose, Common Sandpiper, Wheatear, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Lesser Redpoll, another Cuckoo and Reed Bunting. Plants included Yellow Pimpernell and Meadow Saxifrage.

I had to go to Greenock this morning so took the opportunity to pay a visit to my WeBS site which covers the two reservoirs in Murdieston Park. The Mute Swan pair on Cowdenknowes Dam had seven newly-hatched cygnets. Meanwhile on Town Dam, the female was incubating and the male chasing away intruding Tufted Ducks (I had assumed this pair had failed as their nest was empty when I visited a month ago). Coot and Mallard pairs also had young and I managed to confirm breeding by a pair of Dippers when I heard the begging calls of their chicks coming from a culvert. Back in Glasgow, a non-birding visit to Thornliebank was greatly improved by the sudden appearance of two Ravens calling and swooping low over the houses.

I was due to be in the west end of Glasgow late this afternoon so accepted a lift to Bishopbriggs and walked from there (along the canal via Balmuildy Road, Lambhill Stables and Stockingfield Junction and along the Kelvin from Maryhill to the Botanic Gardens). Warbler numbers seemed exceptional along the route (final totals still to be calculated) with Willow Warbler and Sedge Warbler predominating. Other interesting birds included Reed Bunting and Grey Heron. 

Good birds were fairly hard to find in Paisley this lunchtime. However a female Goosander was lurking on a quiet stretch of the river near Morrisons supermarket and two House Martins were feeding high overhead. Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Blackcap were all singing in Saucelhill Park and a single Rook flew over Canal Street Station.

I spent most of today in South Lanarkshire with the bird highlights being: Swallows feeding over the Powmillan Burn in the centre of Strathaven, a pair of Dippers on the River Nethan in Lesmahagow (with a couple of House Martins overhead) and up to eight pairs of Black-headed Gulls nesting on the island in the upper reservoir at Auchlochan.

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Sunday, May 14, 2023

Had a shorter walk today - just a circuit of Barshaw Park. However there were several interesting birds about including singing Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff and Blackcap, a hperactive Treecreeper and two Swallows feeding over the walled garden. It still feels cool for the time of year, which may be affecting the species reliant on an insect diet.

I thought I would mark the Clyde Big Birding Day by trying to record as many birds as possible without the use of motorised transport. With my bike currently off the road, that meant travelling on foot. Therefore, I set off from south Cardonald just before 6am with the intention of walking the shared-use track to the RSPB reserve at Lochwinnoch, and recording every bird I saw or heard along the way. The first bird I heard was Chiffchaff, and that sound (together with the songs of the other common leaf warblers) was to accompany me throughout the day. By the time I reached Lochwinnoch I had recorded a minimum of 84 Willow Warblers, 47 Chiffchaffs and 43 Blackcaps plus twenty Whitethroats and thirteen Sedge Warblers. 

With the first part of the walk through my home 1km square, my bird list quickly reached 29 species including some potentially hard to find birds such as Stock Dove, Treecreeper and Nuthatch. The next section through Leverndale Hospital grounds and along the White Cart Walkway to Paisley added Raven, Kingfisher, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Goosander, but I failed to locate the Grasshopper Warblers which this area is normally good for.

The going became more urban as my route passed through Paisley, Elderslie and Johnstone. Nevertheless, warblers continued to feature strongly with Wren, Robin, Blackbird and Chaffinch competing with them to dominate the soundscape. I find tit species are significantly quieter at this time of year (compared to earlier in the spring) and I suspect their numbers were fairly underrepresented on the lists I was compiling. Less common species encountered along this section included Siskin, Greenfinch and the second Raven of the day. The Black Cart Water in Johnstone was particularly productive with Grey Wagtail and Dipper present (and strong breeding evidence obtained and entered for both species).

With the most urban sections of the walk now completed, some more rural species began to feature including Yellowhammer, Buzzard, Linnet, Pheasant, Swallow and Rook. Damper areas provided records of Sedge Warbler, Canada Goose and Grey Heron. The range of plants flowering along the route also changed with fewer garden exotics and more of the slightly unusual species such as Common Bistort, Water Avens and Wild Strawberry. Orange-Tip and Small White butterflies seemed particularly common along this section.

The long straight section of the shared-use path as it approaches the outskirts of Lochwinnoch village mainly produced records of birds I had already recorded (although I continued to take note of everything seen and heard). I always think this section (especially the ancient trees around the Collegiate Church) would be perfect for Spotted Flycatcher but I have never found one here and today was no different. After walking for fourteen miles, it was a relief to see Castle Semple Loch appearing on my left. New birds for the day at this point included Mute Swan, Greylag Goose and Black-headed Gull, but a cup of coffee from the visitor centre was the most welcome addition. Once suitably refreshed, I had a look at the rookery there, although too little time and too much foliage meant I only managed a cursory estimate of the colony size.

I continued walking round the edge of the loch, intending to move on to Barr Loch and the Dubbs Trail before finishing on the Aird Meadow trail. It was here that I recorded the most notable species of the day – a single drake Pochard actively feeding just out from the viewing platform beside the water treatment works. I watched the bird for several minutes and was able to get some record shots using my binoculars and phone. I couldn’t help thinking how sad it was that a once-common species has become something so rare as to be notable. The wind was strengthening as the afternoon progressed and Barr Loch was unexpectedly cool and choppy. However I was glad to pick up Goldeneye and Tufted Duck there.

The well-watched Lochwinnoch RSPB reserve was probably the most predictable part of the day as so many of the species present had been discussed on the Clyde SOC Branch’s sightings grapevine and in social media. Nevertheless it was a pleasure to see such species as Shoveler, Common Sandpiper, Lapwing and Oystercatcher making use of the scrape in front of the visitor centre. I also enjoyed walking the Aird Meadow trail in dappled sunshine with lots of families and other people enjoying their day out.

The bird list for the day reached a fairly modest total of 65 species. I managed to miss out on some common species such as Mistle Thrush and some less common but nevertheless normally quite predictable ones such as Grasshopper Warbler. The absence of Sand Martin, House Martin and Swift from my list may be a consequence of the cool weather (or my declining eyesight – I’m getting new glasses tomorrow) but may also hint at the troubling declines which have removed particularly the latter two species from all their former sites in my part of southwest Glasgow. On the plus side, our warblers seem to be doing well. It was good to connect with six of the eight species identified by the Discussion Group for special focus (Tree Sparrow and Cuckoo being the two that "got away") and to enjoy the "ebb and flow" of different species as different types of habitat were passed through.

Finally, some of the best experiences of the day were not bird-related at all. These included watching six Roe Deer browsing in Leverndale Hospital Grounds in the first rays of sunlight, finding three groups of Rabbits feeding quietly on waste ground near the centre of Johnstone (Why is that area so good for them?), watching little black and orange flies pollinating Water Avens near “the boardwalk”, seeing the back end of a Bank Vole disappearing into a hole in a ditch wall and finding some interesting plants in flower including Sweet Woodruff, Birds Foot Trefoil, Wood Avens, Columbine, Comfrey (in three or four different flower shades) and the last of this spring's Coltsfoot.

 

Friday, May 12, 2023

When an opportunity to spend a day in Arbroath arose, I was delighted to accept. The day started with a stop-off in Lower Largo where two Swifts seemed to be inspecting the roof of one of the seafront buildings. Arbroath Harbour area had at least two pairs of Swallows and a pair of Oystercatchers looking like they were nesting nearby. However the best selection of birds was found in the Auchmithie area. The village and the beach below had singing Skylark, Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat, Linnet and Yellowhammer with Fulmar and Feral Pigeon nesting on the cliffs and numerous auks and Shags flying offshore. The cliffs nearby held large numbers of nesting Guillemot, Razorbill, Kittiwake, Herring Gull, Shag and Fulmar plus a few Great Black-backed Gulls patrolling overhead and a few Oystercatchers and Cormorants passing by. The only notable passerines were a few more Yellowhammers and Linnets plus a single Rock Pipit and an elusive Wheatear (heard but not seen). On the way back to Auchmithie, careful scanning of the auks on the sea and flying in to the cliffs revealed at least four Puffins entering a sea cave. Plant highlights included flowering Cowslip, Sea Campion, Red Campion, Thrift and Common Kidney-Vetch.

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During a trip to Edinburgh today, I managed to survey the birds in a small area of Corstorphine and later at St Margaret's Loch in Holyrood Park. In between I found several ladybirds basking in the sun along a nondescript street in Portobello.

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No sign of any Swifts over Queen's Park today, although some good records included singing Chiffchaff, Blackcap (four) and Whitethroat. A female Mallard on the small pond was desperately trying to keep a Lesser Black-backed Gull from devouring her last remaining duckling. Down on the main pond, a pair of Coots had seven chicks freshly out of the nest. This evening, two Oystercatchers flew high over south Cardonald heading west (downriver) calling and interacting as they went. 

I enjoyed a good walk from Uplawmoor to Neilston via the farm roads south of Neilston Pad. Highlight of the day was probably stumbling across a big rookery (I counted 161 nests) on the edge of Uplawmoor. Also notable was a single male Wheatear classically perched on a rock in a pasture field. Other good upland farm birds included Linnet, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Swallow and a lot of warblers (Willow Warbler the commonest, followed by Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat and - only when the outskirts of Neilston were reached - Chiffchaff and Blackcap). Non-bird highlights consisted of British Soldier lichens on an old stone wall and a scattering of common butterflies.

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Today's birdtrack survey was carried out in heavily built-up Pollokshaws, and consequently the total number of species (17) was fairly disappointing. Some of the most notable species I have recorded here in the past (such as Raven, Dipper, Kingfisher and Peregrine) failed to feature. However I was pleased to add Goldcrest to my long-term list for the 1km square (now standing at 44 species) with two birds singing from tenement gardens just off Kilmarnock Road.

A female Mallard was accompanied by two small ducklings on the White Cart at Cardonald Place footbridge today (I suspect the rest of her brood have been taken by an immature Grey Heron which has been hanging around recently). The good spring for the commoner leaf warblers continues around south Cardonald with six Blackcaps, five Chiffchaffs and a single Willow Warbler all in song within half a kilometer of the house. A quick trip "over the border" to a neighbouring 1km square found at least one large Raven chick exercising its wings on its nest while the two adults looked on. 

Today's bird list around my local patch totalled 36 species (list here). Some notable sightings concerned a singing Treecreeper, Starlings with young in the nest and Long-tailed Tit pairs at three sites.

Two Kingfishers (heard, not seen) were the highlights of a walk along the River Almond near Livingston Town Centre. Two Goosander and four Mallards were the only other riverine species found. A single Rabbit and flowering Water Avens, Cowslip and Corn Marigold (the latter two presumably planted) were interesting non-bird records.

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Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Greenfinch were singing in Shawlands first thing. This evening, a lone Gannet was patrolling just out from Largs in stormy weather while a Guillemot and two Shags fished in the bay.

Single Great Spotted Woodpecker and Black-headed Gull were the only notable birds on a fairly unremarkable, cool spring day in South Cardonald.

Evidence of breeding in my home 1km square today consisted of Starling chicks calling from at least two nests, an increase in adult Jackdaw feeding intensity (suggesting young have hatched), a Nuthatch leaving its nest hole (very quietly) and a Blue Tit visiting the nest box on the back wall. 

The most notable sightings from a day spent exploring a few sites around Newton Mearns were Rooks nesting at five sites, a Raven predating a Rook's nest, Oystercatchers nesting on a school roof, plenty of singing Chiffchaffs and Chaffinches, Linnets at two places along the path around Balgray Reservoir and a cockerel calling from a housing estate.

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