Record Count and more..............

Yet more excellent records from the Glasgow area, all courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine:

30 October 2013
A Nuthatch in Linn Park, Glasgow near the stable gates; also three Otters showing well on the White Cart Water upstream from the White Bridge, and two Kingfishers nearby.

28 October 2013

A site record count of 56 Gadwall on Hogganfield Loch; also 17 Whooper Swans (7 juvs).

A juvenile Gannet flew west over Millichen Flood in the morning.

We visited Lochwinnoch RSPB Reserve yesterday (30 October 2013) and were pleased to see the recent publicised changes for ourselves - the new ponds next to the visitor centre looked impressive as did the upgrade to the centre itself......................

The new ponds from the Visitor Centre main window

The new ponds from the tower

The refurbished Visitor Centre and Tower 

 

From a birding point of view we had a small flock of Redwing and Fieldfare; small flocks of Redpoll and Siskin and close up views of Great Spotted Woodpecker and common tits and finches at the feeders. A Buzzard also put on an impressive display before landing in a nearby tree.

 

We saw a few Snipe flying up from the marsh whilst the ponds were full of Mallard with a few Teal, Mute Swan and Tufted Duck.

 

As ever we were made most welcome by the staff - so why not pay them a visit?

 

 

 

Friends Wildfowl Feeding

I helped with the Friends of Glasgow's LNRs wildfowl feeding event at Hogganfield Park LNR today. Despite the forecast there was a bright spell before the forecast rain came driving in.

It was good to see families of Whooper Swans, 30+ Gadwall and numerous Goosanders all within sight of the viewing platform although in all honesty we were too busy to do a 'count'.

Yes, despite the weather, people came out to feed the birds with bread and we supplemented this with our free barley. A few photos follow showing just how the weather changed.....................

Feeding frenzy - 27 October 2013

 

Male Goosander

 

Feeding in the Rain

 

The next wildfowl feeding session is next Sunday - on 3 November 2013.

 

Millichen floods

After the heavy rain of the last few days I decided to visit Millichen yesterday (24 October 2013) and see if the flood plain had actually flooded! And yes it had!

Initially the weather was bright and sunny and I settled down to identify and count the wildfowl, waders and gulls. There were a good range present and indeed a personal first for me at Millichen in 2 Little Grebe. Other wetland species included: 2 Grey Heron, 3 Mute Swan, 91 Greylag Geese, 1 Canada Goose, 37 Wigeon, 1 Tufted Duck, 1 Goosander, c135 Lapwing, 30+ Black-headed Gulls, 15+ Common Gulls, 70+ LB-b Gulls and a few Herring Gulls.

The weather, however, changed and soon clouded over and there was even some rain!

Record shot of Greylag Geese as the weather turned

 

In addition to the wetland birds there was a good selection of other species such as:

2 Buzzards and a Kestrel circling overhead, 66 Collared Dove, a pair of Stonechat, at least 5 Skylark also overhead, a few Meadow Pipits, 20+ House Sparrow, 2 Tree Sparrow, c20 Goldfinch, c50 Linnet and 7 Reed Bunting.

 

Reed Bunting at Millichen 24 Oct 2013

 

In total I saw 40 different species in c3 hours and it was good to see that the area can still deliver an excellent birdwatching experience. 

 

I'll finish with a shot of the flood taken from the path on my way to Hillfoot Railway Station - note the apparent wild bird cover crop in the foreground.

 

 

 

East Coast Magic and other tit-bits

After a hectic 8 days, I have some time to update the blog!

On Saturday (19th October) I led an RSPB Glasgow Group outing to the east coast - starting at St Abb's Head NNR then moving back up along the Lothian coast.

Whilst at St Abb's we concentrated on the Mire Loch and I was able to get everyone onto a male Sardinian Warbler - a UK/Scottish tick for everyone; and a life tick for a few. We also had good views of Yellow-browed Warbler and other passage migrants such as Goldcrest, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Bullfinch, Redwing and Ring Ouzel. ID photos of both the rare warblers follow, although I would stress they weren't taken at the loch!

Sardinian Warbler (Gran Canaria)

Yellow-browed Warbler (Glasgow)

 

We left St Abb's and headed for Torness Power Station and Thorntonloch where we added Brambling and Tree Sparrow to our list. This was quickly followed by a stop at the Whitesands Quarry near Barns Ness. On a casual glance, the quarry didn't look too promising,  but when you looked closely there were a good selection of wildfowl, waders and gulls present - including Scaup, Shoveler, Pochard, Lapwing and Curlew.

 

The Glasgow Group scan the quarry

 

We then moved to the Barns Ness area. Although the light was fading we still added new birds such as Golden Plover and Stonechat.

 

Some of the Group at the top of the 'wire dump'

 

As the sun began to set we headed home with the ever reliable Karen Hill at the wheel. A quick count indicated we had seen 75 species of bird - a good start to the weekend!

 

On the Sunday we headed for Fife starting at Fife Ness before heading for Kilminning/Balcomie Farm. We spent a lot of time looking for 'rarities' and sadly we didn't manage to connect with them (albeit few people did!). Most of the Group did see Brambling, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Long-tailed Duck and we finished with a 'day list' of 40 species and a weekend list of c85.

 

On Monday evening I travelled to Ayr and was made most welcome by the RSPB Central Ayrshire Group - a big thank you to all those that turned out on a foul night. A photo from my presentation 'In the Footsteps of Livingstone' follows:

 

 

So a WEBs count plus three day-long guided walks and three evening presentations in eight days - its a good job I'm retired!

 

Don't forget the Friends of Glasgow's LNRs talk on Thursday 24th - thankfully, I shall just be chairing the meeting rather than speaking! See earlier post for more details.

 

 

The Importance of Nature Reserves

The Importance of Nature Reserves  – Illustrated Talk – Toby Wilson (RSPB)

Earlier this year the UK’s wildlife organisations published a report on the health of the UK’s wildlife – the State of Nature. They discovered that of the 3,148 species assessed, 60% were in decline! This in part was due to habitat loss e.g. ponds, wildflower meadows, woodlands, etc.

In order to help stem this habitat loss, many Councils and wildlife groups are managing nature reserves and indeed within Glasgow there are 10 such reserves.

On Thursday 24 October 2013, the 'Friends of Glasgow's Local Nature Reserves' are hosting an illustrated talk by the RSPB’s Toby Wilson on ‘The Importance of Nature Reserves’. The talk is being held in the Hopkirk Building, Botanic Gardens, Great Western Road, Glasgow commencing at 19.15hrs.

Toby is the Conservation Officer for RSPB Scotland’s South & West Region and is a popular and well respected speaker; so the talk comes highly recommended.

Cost: free to members of the Friends Group; £3 to non-members. Meet at the main entrance gate at 19.00hrs to gain entrance to the Gardens and directions to the Hopkirk Building.

Rarity Alert & Update

Yet more excellent records from the Seven Lochs Project Area courtesy of SOC Clyde Grapevine:

18 October 2013
A Bittern in full view (with a telescope at 1400 hrs  and again at 1600 hrs) at Bishop Loch at NS689671. Best viewed from the other side of the loch entering from Lochend  Road as approaching through Gartloch Woods by the Old Hospital would most likely flush it, also on the loch a drake Gadwall, three Shoveler (two eclipse drakes) and 162 Wigeon.
The Blue-winged Teal still on Frankfield Loch.
A pair of Scaup, 24 Gadwall (14 drakes) and four Whooper Swans on Hogganfield Loch.
13 Gadwall (seven drakes) on Gartloch Pool.
Two pairs of Gadwall on Lochend Loch.

Apologies for the lack of updates but its been a hectic few days. On Sunday (13th) we managed some nice birding on the east coast - thanks Fiona!

On Monday, I undertook my monthly WEBS count at Bingham's Pond with the highlight being a personal record count of 28 Moorhen.

On Tuesday, I was invited to speak at the Cumbernauld & Kilsyth Photographic Society - a big thank you to Andy and all the club members for such a warm welcome.

On Wednesday I was leading a RSPB Glasgow Group outing to Musselburgh where we saw c45 species with 7 Barnacle Geese being the biggest surprise. A record shot taken with my wife's small camera follows.................................

Yesterday, I was speaking at the RSPB Forth Valley Group - a big thank you to Robert and all those that took the time and trouble to attend on such a foul night.

 

The next three days will be as equally busy; so my next update may not be until Tuesday by which time my 'page views' should have crashed through the 10,000 barrier. Thanks for watching!!

Seven Lochs - Sightings Update

Latest sightings for the Greater Glasgow Area, courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine 

Saturday 12 October

The drake Blue-winged Teal still on Frankfield Loch.
Two Scaup (one drake) on Hogganfield Loch.
An eclipse drake Pintail on Gartloch Pool, also seven Gadwall (four drakes) and a pair of Shoveler.
Four Gadwall on Lochend Loch.

All four sites are located within the Seven Lochs project area, albeit Lochend Loch is in North Lanarkshire.................

Lochend Loch - 22 May 2013

More information on the Seven Lochs project can be had from www.sevenlochs.org

Hogganfield Park LNR

I paid another visit to Hogganfield Park LNR yesterday (10 October 2013) and it proved to be a glorious day, despite the 'breeze'!

Once again there were good numbers of Coot (c50) and Gadwall (33) whilst the 'rarest' birds were a male Ruddy Duck and a male Scaup. Other species included Greylag Goose, Goosander, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe and Buzzard.

A few of the Gadwall at Hogganfield Loch yesterday

However, still no sign of the Whooper Swans.

Recent Sightings

Recent sightings courtesy of SOC Clyde Grapevine:

Tuesday 8 October 2013

The drake Blue-winged Teal still on Frankfield Loch, also 27 Shoveler.

On nearby Hogganfield Loch, up to three Scaup (one male), a drake Ruddy Duck, 37 Gadwall and 11 Goosanders.

For those of you still to visit Hogganfield Park LNR or want some bird identification advice, there is another guided walk on Sunday 27 October 2013  from 1.15pm - part of the Friends of Glasgow's Local Nature Reserves monthly wildfowl feeding sessions.

Forecast Comes True! (Recent Sightings)

I suggested in a recent post that you should keep an eye out for Yellow-browed Warblers in the city; well yesterday (5 October 2013) one was seen in Richmond Park!

Report courtesy of SOC Clyde Grapevine:

A Yellow-browed Warbler with a mixed tit/thrush flock in Richmond Park, Glasgow NS602631, also ten Redwing.

It is also good to see that the Seven Lochs Project Area continues to deliver good birds; again courtesy of SOC Clyde Grapevine:

The drake Blue-winged Teal still on Frankfield Loch, also a female Pintail.

Two Jays flying west and calling along the tree line south of Blacader Drive, Gartloch Village, Glasgow NS680669.

3 LNRs in One Day (well almost)

I arrived at Frankfield Loch late yesterday morning (4 October 2013) and was greeted once again by 100s of birds. A count of some of the key species resulted in 6 Little Grebe, c70 Teal, 29 Shoveler, 1 Pintail, 1 Dunlin, 11 Snipe and c260 Lapwing. Photos of a Snipe and Lapwing (albeit not taken at Frankfield) follow:

Snipe

Lapwing

I am also pleased to say that the male Blue-winged Teal was still present. Also of note was a Kingfisher.

I then walked from the loch via the new footpath to Cardowan Moss LNR where I encountered a 'tit' flock and a few gulls overhead before reaching Hogganfield Park LNR some 25 minutes later.

As ever, Hogganfield Loch was full of birds with c90 Mute Swans, 11 Little Grebe, 4 Great Crested Grebe, 77 Coot, 20 Gadwall, 6 Pochard, 2 Ruddy Duck and 6 Goosander being of note. Still no sign of the Whooper Swans but I am hopeful that they will arrive by the next 'Friends of Glasgow's LNRs' feeding session on 27 October 2013.

Finally, for those wondering about the title to the post; well Frankfield Loch is a proposed LNR in Glasgow City Council's City Plan and certainly the birds it attracts and the local interest generated by these birds and bird watchers certainly confirms that it should be officially designated as soon as possible!