I noticed a recent record of Hawfinches in Holme Hill Park, Dunblane and since I was passing there today, I decided to visit the site. There was certainly no shortage of birds with a total of 25 species logged. However Hawfinch failed to make it onto the list. Best birds were three singing Stock Doves, a flyover Oystercatcher and a Jay. However the best sighting was of a single Red Squirrel. A Red Kite was over the A9 on the way back to Glasgow.

I planned to walk from Port Seton to Seton Mains today to check on  the Mistletoe reported growing there. At least five and potential several more of the large Poplars surrounding a small area of woodland showed evidence of Mistletoe presence. Two trees were extensively affected with numerous, large "clumps" noted. Also in that area were flowering Primrose, Hazel, White Dead-nettle and Oxford Ragwort. Birds along the shore at Seaton Sands included a single Ringed Plover, three Rock Pipits and three Bar-tailed Godwits. 

I went to Darnley Woods today to see the Winter Aconite patch I visit every spring. I managed to locate it fairly quickly and found many of the plants to have open flowers (although more were just emerging from the soil). A Jay and a Raven called nearby.

It was a relatively calm and clear day in Ayrshire when we passed through there today. A short walk around the harbour area of Troon provided good views of Oystercatchers, Redshanks and Bar-tailed Godwits on North Beach. Rabbits were grazing along the coastal strip and hiding among the boulders lining the beach. Sea Buckthorn bushes were still bearing some of last year's berries (shrivelled). An old wall had Rustyback (less than I remember), Wall Rue and Maidenhair Spleenwort growing on it.

A very wet walk from Ruchazie to and round Hogganfield Loch this morning nevertheless produced some good birds in the form of Whooper Swan (but only three - I wonder if the group which has traditionally wintered at this site is dying out), Wigeon (a species I seldom record here), Gadwall (several pairs in breeding plumage) and Coot (at least 13 counted). Plants there and in Alexandra Park consisted of Primrose, Common Snowdrop and Early Crocus, all in flower. 

The Ring-necked Duck was showing very well on Queen's Park Boating Pond when I passed there this afternoon. The number of Tufted Ducks there remains very high (27). Most notable record of the day was a Raven calling as it swooped low over Crosshill Station. 

A cronking Raven flying low over a housing scheme was the most notable sighting of a morning spent in Crookston.

The number of Tuifted Ducks on Queen's Park Boating Pond today was a remarkable 25. Only three had been present until the pond froze two weeks ago when the number dropped to zero. This remarkable influx also brought with it the wandering drake Ring-necked Duck. Six Tufted Ducks was also a good count for Maxwell Park Pond. Stock Doves were singing there and in Pollok Park. 

A walk along the shore from Cardross to Ardoch this morning produced a count of 13 Pintail as well as large numbers of Oystercatcher and moderate numbers of Curlew and Wigeon. Three Rock Pipits were also notable. 

Thursday, January 22, 2026

Today was notable for my first flowering crocuses of the spring - a few plants of a yellow-flowered variety on the tiny grass patch at the east end of Coustonholm Road.

I heard eight bird species in song during a quick walk around Newlands Park this morning. Interesting birds included two Rooks and two Bullfinches.  

Mains Loch (I was today years old when I learned that that was the name of the loch in the James Hamilton Heritage Park, East Kilbride) was very quiet today with more walkers and dog walkers than birds. Normally reliable species such a Little Grebe, Coot and Tufted Duck were nowhere to be seen. Paserines were also very thin on the ground. My eventual species total for the site was a measly eighteen.

Two walks as far as Maxwell Park today failed to turn up anything notable, although the volume and frequency of bird song remain elevated compared to over recent weeks. News from the birding grapevine is that Tawny Owls have been very vocal in Pollokshields around 1am. 

My WeBS count this morning was notable for a Dipper feeding from a branch sticking out of the water on Town Dam (I normally see it on the burn and overflow pool nearer Old Inverkip Road). After the count I walked from Inverkip to Lunderston Bay. Interesting birds included a Skylark and a Rock Pipit feeding on the shore, a Grey Plover among Turnstones and Redshanks resting on a rock and a flock of five Meadow Pipits in the sheep field.

Spring seems to have arrived in Shawlands (just in time for the BBC's "Winterwatch" starting in three days' time) with Queen's Park this morning full of singing birds. Blue Tit, Great Tit and Robin were the most frequent singers with at least twelve but possibly more than twenty of each. Other species heard in song consisted of Woodpigweon, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Collared Dove, Nuthatch and Mistle Thrush. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was drumming near the greenhouses. Nearby, a Jay was a bird I rarely encounter here. Also notable were two Cormorants (one fishing for small fish - successfully) on the main pond. I haven't seen them here this year, although a quick check of birdtrack revealed that up to three had been present for the past three days. Botanical finds continue to be confined to Jelly Ear fungus, Hazel flowers and emerging Snowdrops. Insects were non-existent, although I saw lekking Winter Gnats in Larbet yesterday. 

An early morning walk from Forth Valley Royal Hospital to the Milennium Wheel produced two good records in the form of a female Sparrowhawk chasing a Woodpigeon and a Cormorant flying upriver above the River Carron. Highlights of the remainder of the day (spent exploring the Rough Castle Roman Fort and parts of the Union Canal and Antonine Wall) were a Jay, a Little Grebe, three Goldcrests and two Nuthatches (all giving good views). Also notable were my first singing Chaffinch and Greenfinch of the year.  

Suddenly, many more Blue, Great and Coal Tits are singing, and their songs are longer and more-developed. The Goosander pair on the river seem to be inseparable now. A Sparrowhawk was displaying high over Pollokshaws (and inevitably attracting the attention of local corvids).  

Not surprisingly, birds were mostly few and far between during a survey of the 1km square encompassing Glasgow Central Station. The two exceptions were Feral Pigeon and Black-headed Gull. 

With a free morning ahead, I decided to head to Cumbernauld to count the birds at Broadwood Loch (and hopefully encounter the two scarce birds reported from there - Smew and Pochard). In the event, both birds were present and showing extremely well. My final species count for the site was forty. 

I had a fairly unremarkable walk through Langside and Battlefield this midday, although a Dipper again on the bend in the river at Carmichael Place was notable. Jelly Ear, Yellow Brain and Coral Spot fungi were all further along the walkway towards home, as was a small Hazel tree in flower. 

Sunday, January 11, 2026

On a very wet day in Pollok and Crookston, the highlight was a male Bullfinch which strongly reminded me of a Wheatear as it flew away from me into cover.

It was dreich in Queen's Park today. The remaining water birds on the boating pond were concentrated in a small area of unfrozen water. Two Nuthatches were near the flagpole. A Song Thrush and two Mistle Thrushes feeding together enabled a useful side-by-side comparison.

The tide was fully out when I walked around Musselburgh lagoons today. Few birds were on the lagoons but two Bar-tailed Godwits were a nice find among the waders on the exposed beach. Little Grebes, Goldeneye, Great Black-backed Gulls and a leucistic Black-headed Gull were the best birds on the Esk. Shepherd's Purse was flowering nearby.

My regular walk around Pollokshaws today produced some good local birds, namely Little Grebe, Moorhen, Stock Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Greenfinch. 

With much of the local landscape still frost-bound, the unfrozen drainage ditch in Auldhouse Park was a magnet for birds with Blackbird, Redwing, Song Thrush, Robin, Chaffinch and Woodpigeon all present. A Treecreeper and Grey Wagtail nearby were good records for the park. I decided to walk up the Auldhouse Burn a little way to see if any birds were using it. However I was disappointed to find it a cloudy grey colour and totally devoid of any bird life. A Buzzard, four Grey Squirrels and four Bullfinches in the woods behind Eastwood were some consolation.

The clear, sunny weather of the past few days was replaced today by dampness and murk. A walk in Kelvingrove was equally depressing with four Redwings being the only notable sighting.

With the weather still very settled and bright, I decided to do a longer walk today, starting in Castlemilk and covering the Cathkin Braes, the edge of Carmunnock, the Netherton Braes, Linn Park and the White Cart Water back to Shawlands. Some highlights were four Dippers (including a singing bird), five Jays (including four mobbing an unseen predator - possibly a roosting Tawny Owl), a flyover Raven, literally dozens of Blackbirds (with smaller numbers of Redwing and Fieldfare), three Roe Deer, three Red Foxes, four Grey Squirrels, 54 Mallards on the river at Holmlea Park and twelve Goosanders (with another 25 Mallards) next to the footbridge over to Albert Park.

I carried out my second New Year Plant Hunt this moning this time around Pollokshields. I only managed to find four plants, but the very cold and frosty conditions probably didnt help. I did find two Apple trees along the railway line on Darnley Street and a calling rooster was an interesting record near Albert Drive.

Getting out extra early paid dividends this morning in the form of two Otters hunting and playing in the river behind Tantallon Road. Also present were Kingfisher, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Goosander and two Dippers. An attempt at a New Year Plant Hunt produced just five species. Best plant couldn't go on the list - Stinking Hellebore in the community garden on Old Castle Road.  

An early New Year's Day walk around my home monad of Pollokshaws produced a bird list of 29 species plus a new site for Hazelnut (in flower) and a Harlequin Ladybird. Slightly unusual bird species were Fieldfare (my first for the monad) and Greenfinch. A slightly later walk around one of my neighbouring monads (Langside) produced 22 bird species and more Hazelnut in flower.