A Yellowhammer singing on the edge of Winchburgh was the highlight of a walk along part of the Union Canal this morning. Janice was the most interesting plant find. Several Mallard broods were present along the canal and Jackdaw and Feral Pigeon chicks were in Linlithgow Palace. Linlithgow Loch had a family party of five Little Grebes.

Heading to Greenock for my belated WeBS count, I dropped in at RSPB Lochwinnoch to see the reported Spotted Redshank. The bird was showing well and displaying a unique feeding style, more like that of Avocet rather than Common Redshank. A bonus was a single Mandarin (possibly an eclipse drake). 

A quick check of the loch in the James Hamilton Heritage Park confirmed that Canada and Greylag Geese have both had successful breeding seasons.  

Best birds of a walk over the cathkin Braes from Nerston to Castlemilk were Water Rail, Grasshopper Warbler, Stonechat, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Swift and House Martin. I couldn't find any Marsh Cinquefoil at SWT Cathkin Marsh.

I'm still hopeful that there maybe a female Tufted Duck on a nest hidden somewhere in Queen's Park but the number of non (or failed)-breeding birds on the boating pond was up to five today.

Saturday, June 13, 2026

Today was too busy for natural connections. The first birds I noticed were three Lesser Black-backed Gulls scavenging outside the local pubs just after midnight.

Three or four Swallows were feeding around the back of Silverglade Shopping Centre today with another bird singing from the front of the building.  

A Kingfisher flew under the Riverside Road bridge when I passed this morning.