Glasgow's Jewel in the Crown

Today, I visited one of the best nature reserves in central Scotland - Hogganfield Park LNR in Glasgow. As the photos show, the weather was in my favour for most of the time although a short hailstorm reminded me that I was in Glasgow!

Hogganfield Park was declared a LNR by Glasgow City Council (the owners) in 1998 primarily due to its Loch being an excellent place to see water birds.

Hogganfield Loch (from the north)
 

Over the years the Council, with the support of numerous other agencies and volunteers, has created a range of habitats to complement the loch - marshy pools, woodland, hedgerows, ponds and wildflower meadows.

A view of the marshy pools, woodland and scrub in the east of the LNR

Another view of the pools

Marsh Marigold in one of the many ponds

More recently, a bank for Solitary Bees has been built and I hope it is as successful as all the other works that have been undertaken.

Solitary Bee bank

All these habitat creation and improvement works have had a positive impact. Today, for example, I saw and/or heard 36 bird species.

These included Willow Warbler and Blackcap - both summer migrants. Despite extensive searching there was no sign of any other migrants - a trend repeated throughout much of the country probably due to adverse weather conditions in Europe and the UK.

Willow Warbler

Male Blackcap

The loch itself has not been forgotten and some of the edges have been naturalised to stop erosion, improve water quality and provide nesting opportunities for birds.

One of 3 pairs of Mute Swan on nests

The male bird cutting flag iris to help his mate ensure their nest doesn't get flooded out

The second of 3 Mute Swan nests

Improvements have also been made for people with signage having been installed over the past 12 months, albeit some are pointing in the wrong direction following the storms of a few weeks ago!

The car park area is unrecognisable with the old rusty railings and rotten jetties having been replaced with an attractive viewing/feeding platform and naturalised edges. In addition, a bird interpretation board (courtesy of RSPB Glasgow Local Group) has been erected and cars have been kept back from the loch edge to allow easy access for all.

Viewing and Feeding Platform + Interpretation Board

Recognised as a great place to visit in winter, Hogganfield Park LNR actually offers the wildlife enthusiast a host of diverse sightings throughout the year and I hope to report on these over the coming months.