Hogganfield Park LNR - spring clean and more

I visited my favourite birding site in the west of Scotland - Hogganfield Park LNR - on the 27th.

It obviously has had a bit of a make-over with a new entrance feature (opposite Cardowan Moss LNR) and a set of new interpretation boards ...

 

 

The wildflower meadows had been cut ....

 

.. and Primroses were in bloom ...

 

 

I also recorded 38 species of bird (49 species for the year in the LNR) some of which were already on nests e.g. this Grey Heron which was fishing in one of the many ponds in the LNR ...

 

 

The 'rarest' bird, however, was a female Scaup - a record shot follows ......

 

 

Another good day, but sadly no early migrants although a Chiffchaff did turn up in our garden yesterday. So despite the sleet, wind and rain, it is clearly SPRING!

 

Remember, for enhanced viewing of all photos, click and create a slide show.

 

Dawsholm Park LNR revisited

I made another visit to Dawsholm Park Local Nature Reserve last weekend and this time was able to spend a few hours there. A Dipper and pair of Goosander were on the River Kelvin and lots of woodland birds were singing, paired up or investigating nest holes .....

Stock Dove - 21 March 2015

Buzzard - 21 March 2015

Jackdaw - 21 March 2015

 

In addition to a good range of birds, I was pleased to note a healthy population of Common Frogs ..

 

 

 

A nice way to finish the day!

 

And now some more sightings from the Greater Glasgow area, courtesy of SOC Clyde Grapevine:

 

Monday 23 March 2015
Two female Scaup and 12 Whooper Swans on Hogganfield Loch.

Sunday 22 March 2015
A Nuthatch at Douglaston Estate, Milngavie.
A  wintering Common Sandpiper beside River Clyde between Newshot  Island and Clyde/Cart confluence.
A non-singing Chiffchaff at Cathkin Marsh, also a pair of Stonechats.

Local Patch Birding

Well, after our travels 'down under' it was back to some birding on my local patch.

On Wednesday (18th) I travelled to the Millichen area of Glasgow ...

Looking towards West Millichen Farm and the Steadings

Much to my surprise, I was rewarded with a Millichen/Glasgow tick - a Woodcock. I also managed to get views of three Millichen specialists - Tree Sparrow, Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting. This male posed for few seconds ...

Reed Bunting - 18 March 2015

 

A male Kestrel was harassed by corvids and this Buzzard got close enough for this shot ...

 

 

I had hoped for an early migrant but sadly not yet!

On Thursday, I managed 40 minutes in Dawsholm Park LNR and was rewarded with a Kingfisher on the River Kelvin.

Moving on to today (Friday 20th) I refilled the feeder at Bingham's Pond and in amongst the usual wildfowl and gulls, six adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls looked to be in pristine condition ...

Lesser Black-backed Gull - 20 March 2015

 

So over the 3 days I saw a nice range of species, adding to my Glasgow list, and we still have the summer migrants to look forward to, with Chiffchaff likely to be the first arrival.

Mandarin, Iceland and Talk!

Just to clarify, this is not a post about buying a small orange at a well known supermarket!

OK I went twitching (16th). Well sort of; the birds weren't where they were meant to be but I did find them! Isn't that amazing, birds deciding to use their wings and 'disappear'.

The birds in question and the location? Well, whilst we were away and even more recently, Mandarin Ducks and Iceland Gulls had been reported from the River Leven at Balloch. However, this morning, in the drizzle, no sign. There were a few Goosanders around with this female guilty of, let's call it, stalking!

 

With no sign of the target birds, I had a walk around the nearby woodland of Balloch Country Park before deciding to follow the riverside footpath south. Just beyond the Scottish Water bridge/boom I came across this pair of Mandarin Duck ..

 

 

They posed for a few minutes giving stunning views before flying upstream. At this stage I was decidedly damp and chilled so went for a nice coffee and hot roll at the Tullie Inn.

 

Suitably refreshed I tried again walking along the banks of the River Leven to no avail. The woodlands of Balloch Country Park were full of the calls of common birds and I also came across a pair of Buzzard and Sparrowhawk. Whilst walking along the shore line I spotted a few gulls over towards Loch Lomond Shores so decided to see if I might be lucky and find the Iceland Gull 'in the wrong place'. To cut a long story short, I located a 1st winter bird next to the Maid of the Loch . 

 

 

...... and ultimately managed a few record shots. This photo, stretching the zoom to the maximum, shows the Iceland Gull with a Black-headed Gull and Common Gull ..

 

 

So a positive finish to a damp day's birding followed by a comfortable 35 minute train journey home.

Finally, a wee plug for a talk I am giving tomorrow night on the 'Birds and Habitats of Glasgow'. It is being held in the pavilion visitor centre at Rouken Glen Park, Rouken Glen Road, G46 7JL, commencing at 7pm. No booking required.

RSPB Outing and More

Friday's RSPB Glasgow Group outing to Irvine Harbour and Garnock Floods proved to be really enjoyable with bright sky, almost no wind and NO rain - so a big thank you to Judith and Mike for being pro-active and changing the date!

At Irvine Harbour we spent time at the boating pond where we got excellent views of a range of gulls and wildfowl. We were a bit surprised that the most common duck was Wigeon .....

 

We then explored the nearby bushes and trees before making our way back to the harbour and eventually harbour/river mouth .....

 

 

We had lunch at the harbour/river mouth from where we spotted 2 Long-tailed Ducks, a few Common Scoter and 4 Razorbill. After lunch we headed off to the Garnock Floods, a new location for most people ....

 

 

The amount of surrounding litter and fly-tipping was disappointing but we added to our list which by now had reached c50 species.

 

On our way home we stopped off at Fairlie and Hunterston Lagoon and am pleased to say we saw the drake American Wigeon that had been reported over the past few weeks. 

 

Hunterston Lagoon - 13 March 2015

 

It was on the far side but I managed this really poor record shot - the cheek colour appears to have been distorted by the bright sunlight and extreme zoom ....

 

 

At the end of another excellent day, I logged 56 species onto the BTOs BirdTrack records system.

 

Other News

 

I have previously posted about the ringed Greenfinch we found dead in our garden. We have had a response and can advise that the bird (1st year, female) was ringed on 11-Nov-2012, nearby in Glasgow.

 

On a happier note, recent sightings from Greater Glasgow, courtesy of SOC Clyde Grapevine:

 

Saturday 14 March 2015
An adult Mediterranean Gull in full breeding plumage at the Balgray Reservoir gull roost.

 

Friday 13 March 2015
A pair of Stonechats at Cathkin Marsh, near East Kilbride; nearby, a single Tree Sparrow at Highflat Farm.

 

Thursday 12 March 2015
A male Brambling in a Mugdock village garden, also two Stock Doves.

Wednesday 11 March 2015
Six Tree Sparrows at West Millichen Farm.
A male and a female Blackcap continue to come to feeders in a Sween Avenue, Cathcart, Glasgow garden.

Tuesday 10 March 2015
An adult Mediterranean Gull on River Clyde opposite Glasgow Harbour.

Monday 9 March 2015
A single Barnacle Goose with about 900 Pink-footed Geese at West Millichen Farm.
A male Peregrine over Battlefield, Glasgow.

RSPB Glasgow Local Group Mid Week Outing

Just a note from Judith and Mike that the date for this month's RSPB Group outing to Irvine Harbour has been changed due to an adverse weather forecast. It will now take place on Friday 13 March 2015 - see http://www.rspb.org.uk/groups/glasgow/events/ for more information.

Bingham's Pond Update

Back to birding in the City! Today (8th) I visited Bingham's Pond to undertake the monthly wetland birds survey (Webs) and to refill the three bird feeders erected by the Friends of Glasgow's LNRs (https://www.facebook.com/friendsofglasgowlocalnaturereserves) .

The usual wildfowl were present along with a few gulls. Along the woodland edge, I spotted a couple of Goldcrests and a Treecreeper as well as Carrion Crows apparently collecting nesting material. In total, I saw 20 species in c45 minutes.

Sadly, two of the bird feeders had disappeared whilst the remainder had suffered some damage, probably caused by Grey Squirrels. Within minutes of refilling the feeder this squirrel appeared ....

 

Now an update of recent sightings in the Greater Glasgow area, as ever, courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine:

 

Sunday 8 March 2015
A male Stonechat at Cathkin Marsh, near East Kilbride.

Thursday 5 March 2015
A Chiffchaff (not singing) at Sinclair Drive, Battlefield, Glasgow.

Wednesday 4 March 2015
A male Brambling in a Muirlees Crescent, Milngavie garden.
A pair of Stonechats at Harelaw Reservoir, Barrhead.
A Stonechat at Windlaw Marsh.

 

Glasgow's Wilds Milder!

Apologies for the lack of updates but we have been on a trip 'down under' where temperatures regularly were in the 30s - Celsius - albeit it was also quite windy.

In Auckland we were disappointed when our planned trip to Tiritiri Matangi was cancelled due to poor weather. However, we managed to visit Tawharanui, courtesy of 'Habitat Tours' (www.habitattours.co.nz) and had a great time with sightings of Takahe, Red-breasted Dotterel, Morepork, New Zealand Kaka, Tui, New Zealand Bellbird, Saddleback and New Zealand Robin being some of the highlights .....

Saddleback

 

From Auckland we sailed around New Zealand to Perth in Western Australia calling in at various ports and encountering a wide range of bird species including penguins and albatrosses. Check out this Yellow-eyed Penguin photographed at an inspiring conservation project near Dunedin (www.penguinplace.co.nz)

 

Yellow-eyed Penguin

 

Our favourite excursion on the Australian part of our cruise was led by Echidna Walkabout Tours of Melbourne resulting in sightings of wild Koalas, eastern Grey Kangaroos and Emus. Although my favourites were this pair of Tawny Frogmouth ..

 

Pair of Tawny Frogmouth

 

Our holiday finished in Perth, WA where we had booked a day's birding with Peter Taylor

of Birding South West http://www.birdingsw.com.au/

Yet more life ticks followed, thanks Peter, with this Western Yellow Robin proving to be the most accommodating ...

Western Yellow Robin

 

I am still suffering a bit from jet-lag and trying to work my way through the thousands of images and video clips taken on this trip of a life-time, so I'll finish now, but can promise that normal service will resume shortly!