Millichen - 3 months on

I last visited the Millichen area in January but with a 'favourable' weather forecast I decided to risk it - the walk to and from Hillfoot Station is dangerous at the best of times and not one to be undertaken in poor weather!

Unfortunately, the weather didn't play ball with it being typically 'sunshine and showers' between 11am and 1pm exacerbated by a strong biting wind.

A gloomy Millichen (looking south from the north west)

 

A sunny Millichen (looking north from the south west)

 

Needless to say the wind kept the bird sightings to a minimum. Wetland birds - 1 Mallard, 1 Lapwing and 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; farmland birds - 12 Starling, 8 House Sparrow, 1 Yellowhammer and 1 Reed Bunting; and summer migrants - 1 Swallow, 2 House Martin and 3 Wheatear (2 male and 1 female).

 

Female Wheatear - Millichen - 29 April 2013

 

In total, I saw 23 species of bird plus 1 Small Tortoiseshell butterfly and 3 Roe Deer, one of which came very close ...................................

 

Roe Deer - Millichen - 29 April 2013

 

Hopefully, I shall be able to post a video of this deer over the next few days.

 

It was nice to see Millichen again but I just wish the weather would improve!

 

Finally, the 'footpath' that runs along  the northern edge of Boclair Road beyond the housing in Bearsden was easier to walk on as much of the vegetation had died back, and/or been cut and/or been sprayed now making it a more practical option for a pedestrian.



 

 

Goldeneye - a bit of fun?

After 2 years, I have eventually tried out the 'video' function of my 'powershot' camera - here's a link to my first attempt!

http://youtu.be/96Xmvfgay38


More will follow!

Also some recent updates:

The male Blackcap continues to visit our garden; and courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine:

27 April 2013
Now 55 White Wagtails, 3 singing Sedge Warblers and a female Whitethroat at Balgray Reservoir.

26 April 2013
30 White Wagtails and 10 Swifts, in the morning, at Balgray Reservoir.
A reeling Grasshopper Warbler at Waulkmill Glen Reservoir.
4 Waxwings in a Simshill garden, later flying towards Linn Park LNR.

 

 

Blackcap in Garden!

A feature of recent SOC Clyde Grapevine reports has been Blackcaps coming to feeders in gardens throughout the Clyde area. Well, this morning we had our first Blackcap of the 'winter' when a male decided to utilise our sunflower seed feeder. A still photo from another one of my video attempts follows...............................

Two New Local Nature Reserves

Two new Local Nature Reserves have been declared in the Glasgow area, now making 10 in the city!

The ninth, at Cathkin Braes, was formally declared by Glasgow City Council at the end of last month with the newspaper advert and subsequent story appearing in the Evening Times more recently - link follows

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/extra-protection-for-park-as-it-gets-nature-reserve-status-121977n.20810050

Covering some 148 hectares, Cathkin Braes is now the largest LNR in Glasgow.

The other LNR is the Dams to Darnley LNR which was declared jointly by Glasgow City Council and East Renfrewshire Council, with the notification advert appearing in the Evening Times a few days ago.

This LNR is almost 37 hectares in size.  Whilst all of the land is in the ownership of Glasgow City Council, a small part of it is actually located within East Renfrewshire Council, hence the need for a joint declaration.

A few images follow

 

 

 

 

From this LNR it is a relatively short walk south to Balgray Reservoir, another excellent birdwatching site which has featured in this blog.

Willow Warblers Arrive!

I suggested a few weeks ago that Willow Warblers would arrive at Bingham's Pond around about the 16th; well they arrived in some numbers yesterday (23rd). Eight birds, some in song, were actively feeding together in the trees on the north west corner of the pond. Also present in the same group of trees was a male Blackcap, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit and 2 Great Tits. A poor, still photo from an 'attempt' at videoing one of the Willow Warblers follows...........

A male Sparrowhawk swooped low over the pond creating havoc with the feral pigeons whilst, soon after, 2 Swallows also flew over.

On the pond itself both Coot and Moorhen were on nests and the Tufted Duck numbers remained healthy with at least 43 birds present.

In total, I saw 23 species of bird in just over 1 hour. My running total for the pond is now 40.

I managed a very quick visit this afternoon (24th) and at least 2 Willow Warblers were still in song.

Trip to Lothian

On Saturday (20 April) I led a RSPB Glasgow Group outing to Lothian. Whilst generally sunny, it was bitterly cold. We visited two of the car parks at Longniddry Bents (also commonly known as Seton Sands and Ferny Ness/Gosford Bay).

9 of the 14 Group members at Longniddry Bents - I'm the one with the silly hat, 4th from the right!

Here we saw a good few summer migrants including Wheatear, White Wagtail, Sandwich Tern and Swallow. A summer plumaged Slavonian Grebe was also located as well as numerous Velvet Scoter, Long-tailed Duck and Red-breasted Merganser. A solitary Grey Plover sat in amongst the Bar-tailed Godwits and Oystercatchers.

From here we headed to Kilspindie to view the west side of Aberlady Bay. A lone Brent Goose feeding on the far side was a good find, as was a pair of Gadwall in amongst the numerous Shelduck, gull and common wader species. Next to the golf club house we were pleased to see 3 Tree Sparrows whilst overhead Swallows and Sand Martins flew back and forth.

We then spent our 'lunch hour' at the SOC's HQ Waterston House which is located on the edge of Aberlady. (Telephone no. 01875 871 330)

SOC HQ Waterston House

 

I would recommend a visit even if you ownly have a feint interest in birds. It is a wonderful facility and the staff/volunteers are extremely helpful.

 

Therafter, we headed to Aberlady Bay - the first Local Nature Reserve in Britain. With the strong winds creating havoc with our hair styles we headed for the more sheltered, scrubby part of the Reserve and were rewarded with a male Redstart. We also had cracking views of Bullfinches.

 

With bird photography proving difficult, primarilly due to the fact I hadn't taken my camera, my wife spotted and photographed a Common Toad.

 

 

 

We also managed sightings of Roe Deer, Stoat and Brown Hare to add to the 60+ bird species seen or heard on the day.

 

Thanks to everyone on the trip for their kind comments and to my wife for the three photos.

Sunny Hogganfield!

This is the first of two updates; its been a busy few days! On Friday (19 April) I visited Hogganfield Park LNR in the hope of seeing and hearing some new migrants. It was a beautiful sunny day..........................

...........but with a cold biting wind - so was it still winter or is it spring? It must be spring as I could hear at least 5 Willow Warblers in full voice; it is amazing that these small birds fly all the way from Africa to Glasgow every spring! There was also evidence of breeding with Grey Herons on their nests.........................................

Distant record shot of Grey Heron on nest

 

Whilst one pair of Mute Swans had also built a substantial nest...........

 

.................note the 'pan loaf' bread wrapper incorporated into the nest, just to prove it was in Glasgow.

 

However, while the evidence strongly pointed to it being spring, why were 2 Whooper Swans still present? They breed in Iceland and clearly felt that the time wasn't right for them to make the long journey to their breeding grounds (albeit they were clearly in the minority, as 20+ other birds had presumably already left).

 

Whooper Swan - Hogganfield Park LNR - 19 April 2013

 

Another species that was still present although in greatly reduced numbers were Goldeneye and they too should be moving on in the next week or so..............................

 

Male Goldeneye - Hogganfield Park LNR - 19 April 2013

 

Winter or spring, does it really matter? It was three hours well spent, birding in a Glasgow Park/Local Nature Reserve.



Migrants arrive!

I spent seventy minutes at Bingham's Pond this morning on the look out for summer migrants and wasn't disappointed. Almost immediately the first birds I saw were 2 Swallows flying around the pond in rather windy conditions. Later, another Swallow appeared accompanied by a Sand Martin.

A Grey Heron stood motionless only a few feet from the path, its hunting technique proving successful as a frog (or toad) was successfully dispatched. Since my last visit, three Goosanders remained whilst the Tufted Duck flock had risen to forty nine.

Male Tufted Duck

Just as I was about to leave, I heard what sounded like Oystercatchers and sure enough two flew in from the north west, circled the pond, looked as if they were thinking about landing and then flew of towards Gartnavel Hospital. Whilst a relatively common bird it is always good to get a new bird for your local patch - so I was well chuffed!

It was a really good morning with 26 species seen or heard with the running total for the pond now being 38 species.

Elswhere in Greater Glasgow, courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine, sightings of interest included:

Thursday 18 April 2013
2 Arctic Terns at Hogganfield Loch.
6 Arctic Terns, a singing Willow Warbler and 4 House Martins at Balgray Reservoir.
A Swift over Cartvale Road, Battlefield.

 

With high pressure moving in over the next two days who knows what else might turn up!

Spring at Last plus weekly update

I went for a walk along the Forth and Clyde Canal today, from Bearsden Road to Great Western Road, and at last there were a few signs of spring.

A narrow boat was getting ready to negotiate the locks............

 

We wondered what he thought about the litter............................

 

 

This Red Fox had no such concerns.............................

 

 

We saw a Chiffchaff, near Westerton Station, our first summer migrant of the year and small clumps of Marsh Marigold were also a welcome sight..................

 

 

Elsewhere during the week, courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine, recent bird sightings included:

 

13 April 2013

48 Waxwings at Ormonde Drive, Netherlee.

1 Swallow at Balgray Reservoir.

6 Chiffchaffs at Dams to Darnley Country Park.

 

12 April 2013

2 Gadwall at Hogganfield Loch.

 

11 April 2013

A Swallow over Clairmont Gardens at 14.45hrs.

 

9 April 2013

An Osprey SE over Balgray Reservoir at 1100hrs plus a single Chiffchaff.

2 Jack Snipe, 20 Snipe and a calling Water Rail at Windlaw Marsh.

6 pairs of Gadwall and 2 Sand Martins at Gartloch Pools.

 

At last there appears to have been a small influx of summer migrants; let's all hope for a good spring and summer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bingham's hanky panky!

Yet another visit to Bingham's Pond yesterday (5 April); the Coot were on nests, a pair of Moorhen were getting it together and female Mallards were under a bit of pressure! This one managed to avoid attention by sitting behind one of the park benches......................

Female Mallard - Bingham's Pond - 5 April 2013

 

In addition to the resident species of wildfowl there were 3 Goosanders present..............

 

 

and finally, the local Sparrowhawk put in its annual 'April' appearance circling high overhead.............................................

 

Record shot - Sparrowhawk - 5 April 2013

 

The Sparrowhawk was the 32nd species that I've seen at the pond this year. I would expect that the next species to be added will be Willow Warbler, perhaps in about 10 days time!

 

 

Dawsholm, Dog Dirt & Evening Times

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that the Evening Times had picked up on the dog dirt/dog walking companies issue at Dawsholm Park; well today they published an excellent report in this morning's edition as well as offering a sympathetic editorial.

You can read this online and comment at:
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/fears-over-glasgow-dog-walkers-120166n.20646801

It will be interesting to see if they get any response.

Bingham's Pond - a touch of spring

I visited Bingham's Pond yesterday afternoon (2nd April) to check on the wetland birds and it was good to see 10 Lesser Black-backed Gulls bathing.................................................

Lesser Black-backed Gulls - 2 April 2013

 

These gulls are primarily summer visitors to Scotland, although a few overwinter, so their appearance clearly shows that spring is on its way!

 

Other wetland birds present: 2 Mute Swan, 23 Mallard, 19 Tufted Duck, 23 Moorhen, 6 Coot, 38 Black-headed Gull, 1 Common Gull, 3 Herring Gull and the 2 domestic/cayuga escapees.

General Update

I haven't been birding much recently with the weather being so poor. However, I did lead an outing of the RSPB Glasgow Local Group on Saturday (30th) when we visited Fife. We saw at least 55 species with Red-necked Grebe, Slavonian Grebe, Red-throated Diver, Whimbrel and Grey Partridge being the highlights. One of my photos of a Whimbrel (not from Fife!) follows......

Whimbrel

 

I also was contacted by a journalist from the Evening Times re-dogs and Dawsholm Park; yes someone else reads my blog! There may be an article and a photograph (!!!!) later this week.

 

Finally, recent bird sightings in Greater Glasgow, courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine, include:

 

30 March 2013

An unconfirmed report of a Ring-billed Gull at Waulkmill Glen Reservoir (near Balgray Reservoir).

 

28 March 2013

50 Waxwings in St Andrews Road, Pollokshields.

 

26 March 2013

A male Ruddy Duck still on Hogganfield Loch.

2 Brambling, 9 Reed Bunting and 43 House Sparrows in a Balornock garden.

 

25 March 2013

A Jack Snipe at Commonhead Moss NS695659.