The damp weather returned today but I was cheered up by the first flowers on the Fritillaries in the Moira Jones Memorial Garden in Queen's Park. Flowering Coltsfoot and a big Buff-tailed Bumblebee were other, more modest highlights.

Grey Wagtail was probably my bird of the day with one at my WeBS site in Greenock and two on the roof of the tenements across the road from our house. 

Some notable records from a late afternoon walk around Pollokshaws today were a Dipper fishing just downstream of Shawbridge, three Rooks in the vicinity of the nests on Shawhill and the absolutely stunning Cherry blossom which has appeared on the trees in the grounds of Pollokshaws Burgh Halls.

A single Fulmar was on a ledge on Salisbury Crags when we checked this morning. Later, a walk around half of Gladhouse Reservoir produced sightings of several interesting species including Red-legged Partidge, Kestrel, Skylark and a suite of farmland waders (Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Curlew and Redshank). 

Thursday, March 19, 2026

At least four Hawfinches were near the cemetery in the grounds of Scone Castle this lunchtime. 

There were fourteen Mute Swans on the Queen's Park boating pond this afternoon. However no Tufted Ducks were present (possibly all on Maxwell Park Pond where I counted 36 a few days ago).

Today I walked from Castlemilk over the Cathkin Braes down to the James Hamilton Heritage Park, then from Carmunnock back to Castlemilk. Best birds were lots of singing Skylarks and the long-staying drake Scaup on Mains Loch. Two Japanese Cherry trees at the entrance to Castlemilk Swimming Pool did their best to lift what was otherwise a gloomy, blustery day.

Today was another day of persistent rain and gusty winds. However three Stock Doves feeding on the ground at Nether Pollok Playing Fields lifted the gloom a little.  

The two Pollok Rooks' nests which had been started when I checked last Sunday were looking more-or-less finished when I checked today. A pair of Mistle Thrushes were nearby and prominent singers included Song thrush, Greenfinch and Dunnock. There has been a noticeable influx of Lesser Black-backed Gulls into the area, and a corresponding decline in Black-headed Gull numbers.

Some of the best birds at RSPB Loch Leven today consisted of Tree Sparrow, Pintail, Gadwall, Jay and Stonechat. Birds at Hogganfield Loch included Whooper Swan and Oystercatcher. Botanical highlights were flowering Lungwort and Marsh Marigold. Frogspawn was in Hogganfield Marsh.

This morning, five Goosanders were on the stretch of the river in Battlefield where they have overwintered. A lone darke further west may have been guarding a female on a nest. Three wagtails swooping over the tops of the tenements on Kilmarnock Road could have been Pied or Grey. 

An hour spent in an extremely wet Lochwinnoch was mostly taken up counting Rook nests. Here is the summary of the counts I submitted to Birdtrack: "27 nests in the vicinity of Auld Simon Kirkyard; seven nests along East End and seven nests along Gates Road. This gives a total of 41 partially-completed or completed nests. There may have been others elsewhere in the monad but these were the most obvious (noisy) and all concentrated in a relatively small area". 

Some interesting finds on the way over to Mount Florida today included a crawling, ant-like Ichneumonid wasp species, flowering Blackthorn and Coltsfoot, an interesting, early, pink-flowered Prunus species and a Great Spotted Woodpecker (the latter in Cathkin Park - a new site record for me). At least three Common Frogs were in the Queen's Park nature pond.  

First sighting of the day concerned a pair of Oystercatchers doing some synchronised flying and calling over the grounds of Shawlands Academy (no doubt intended to broadcast the fact that the territory has been re-occupied). I need to put some effort into working out exactly where the nest is this year as it eluded me last season. An errand in Paisley allowed me to pop into Fountain Gardens to see how the Rooks there are doing. I counted a total of twenty partially-completed nests, distributed between six different trees. In the afternoon I walked around the farmland between Inchinnan and the mouth of the River Cart. Pink-footed Goose was the main find with several groups scattered around the stubble fields. Flocks of Fieldfares, Redwings, Starlings and Stock Doves were also noteworthy. Teal and Wigeon were the main species on the Clyde, but back at the confluence of the White and Black Cart Waters, a beautifully-marked long-tailed Duck was feeding with eleven Goldeneye and a Cormorant. A Stock Dove was singing in the grounds of the Normandy Hotel as I headed for the bus.

A Goldcrest was singing strongly from a conifer in a Shawhill Road garden when I passed this afternoon. Three Grey Squirrels seemed to be working together to raid the bins near the retail park. 

Sunday, March 08, 2026

The highlight of today's walk around Crookston was my first singing Chiffchaff of the year. Other interesting records included Rooks building nests about 50 meters from last year's site and a pair of Goosanders on the river nearby.

Saturday, March 07, 2026

I took quite a long walk today past Queen's Park, Crosshill, Govanhill and on to the Southern Necropolis on the edge of the Gorbals. Highlights were botanical in the form of my first flowering Coltsfoot of the year and more Cherry Plum trees in blossom.

This morning started with a walk down through Dumbiedykes to check the crags for Fulmars. Six birds were present including two, two and one bird on ledges plus a single flying along the cliff. Dunbar Harbour had Shags in full breeding plumage and Rock Pipits chasing eachother along the beach. Pressmannan Lake held four Mandarins including a pair. Also present were Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Stock Dove, Goldeneye and Little Grebe.

Today saw a return to wet and miserable weather. However more plants were in flower including a Quince tree in the grounds of Pollokshaws Burgh Hall and some interesting "wild-type" Daffodills in Pollok Park. Birds in the park included Jay (2), Great Spotted Woodpecker (3), Stock Dove (3) and a nice pair of Grey Wagtails.  

In spite of weather forecasts to the contrary, the sunny weather of yesterday lasted into today. The change to better weather has been accompanied by an increase in the number and variety of plants coming into flower. I found my first two Lesser Celandine plants in flower, and there are significantly more flowering Daffodils and Cherry Plums around. Several resident bird species continue to sing strongly. However I also found a single Redwing singing the warbling, slightly gruff sub-song that I associate with spring birds. I have heard flocks singing like this on several occasions in recent springs. They are sometimes joined by Starlings (possibly also preparing for migration) and the volume of sound produced can be quite substantial. I am surprised that it is not reported more often by other observers. 

Today's walk from Shawlands to Cathcart Cemetery took place in bright spring sunshine. Notable bird species included Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Goosander and two pairs of Stock Doves. The main botanical highlight was a flowering Cherry Plum tree along the river in Battlefield. Snowdrops are now "going over" with Daffodil flowers still not fully open. Plants already in flower consisted of a few each of Dandelion and Common Chickweed and lots of Gorse and Crocus spp.

A walk around Queen's Park this morning produced a total of 34 bird species with the highlights being Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatch. At least four Common Frogs were in the "nature pond", two of which in amplexus.  

A lunchtime visit to the Neuer See at the west end of the Tiergarten produced sightings of Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Mallard, bibbed Mallard, Coot and Moorhen and the calls of Nuthatch and Great Spotted (or similar) and Green Woodpeckers. The only plant in flower was a Spring Snowflake (Leucojum vernum), a new species for me.