End of November

Well it's St Andrews day and at least we have finished the week on a bright note. Since my last update the weather has been generally typical of November - dark and dreary.

On Tuesday (25th) I attended the 'unveiling' of a Whooper Swan sculpture at Hogganfield Park - the sculpture being part of the 2014 Commonwealth Games legacy .....

The schoolchildren present certainly seemed to have a great time - see this link for more http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=14395

However, from a birding point of view it was dull and dreich ......

Hogganfield Loch - 25 November 2014

 

Despite the poor weather I did manage to see 33 species in just around 1.5 hours, including a Great Spotted Woodpecker which means my Hogganfield list for the year now stands at 66 species.

 

I travelled down to RSPB Lochwinnoch on Thursday (27th) and visited a part of the reserve I have not been to for some time - the Barr Loch. I even managed to get close to the southern end and was rewarded by large numbers of wildfowl, a few Snipe and a Buzzard.

 

Barr Loch - 27 November 2014

 

Sadly, soon after reaching this point it started to rain and it was a slightly bedraggled figure that returned to the Visitor centre!

 

I have also called in to Bingham's Pond a couple of times this week to re-fill the Friends of Glasgow's LNRs bird feeders and it was interesting to see how numbers of wildfowl fluctuate on each visit.

 

Finally, some recent sightings from the Greater Glasgow area, courtesy of SOC Clyde Grapevine:

 

27 November 2014

17 Tree Sparrows at East Millichen Farm, Glasgow.

 

26 November 2014

A male Blackcap in a Blacader Drive, Gartloch Village, Glasgow garden, also a Jay in the nearby oaks.

25 November 2014
In Glasgow, an adult male Peregrine unsuccessfully hunting feral pigeons in George Square and another adult male at Red Road flats, Balornock.

Weekly Update

Another busy week with visits to RSPB Loch Leven, Fannyside Lochs and the Lammermuirs interspersed with evening meetings of the Friends of Glasgow's LNRs and the Friends of Botanic Gardens/Tree Lovers; not to mention birding from our kitchen window!

On Wednesday (19th) we joined other members of the RSPB Glasgow Group on an outing to RSPB Loch Leven. The weather was mixed with bright spells interspersed with showers and then eventually heavy rain. There were lots of common woodland birds, waders and wildfowl to be seen including 2 Whooper Swans from the Carden Hide ...

View from Carden Hide - 19 November 2014

 

However, the highlights must be the drake Smew on the Loch, albeit in the pouring rain, and a Red Squirrel on the feeder ..

 

Red Squirrel - 19 November 2014

 

On the Wednesday evening we attended an excellent illustrated talk hosted by the Friends of Glasgow's LNRs ( see https://www.facebook.com/friendsofglasgowlocalnaturereserves )

 

And on Thursday it was off on another trip to the Lammermuirs via the Fannyside area.

 

Lammermuirs - 20 November 2014

 

The Lammermuirs are south of Gifford in East Lothian and home to a few specialist species as well as the occasional rare visitor - last week we had distant views of a Rough-legged Buzzard! This week there was no sign of the 'buzzard' but we did spot a male Merlin and a number of Red-legged Partridge as well as 'lots' of Red Grouse ...

 

Red Grouse - Lammermuirs - 20 November 2014

 

On Thursday evening we attended an excellent talk by Malcolm Muir jointly hosted by the Friends of the Botanic Gardens and the Tree Lovers.

 

And finally a quiet day on Friday until a Chiffchaff appeared in the garden! It proved to be very mobile so difficult to photo; this was my best attempt ...

 

Chiffchaff - 21 November 2014

 

Tomorrow I am off to Hogganfield Park LNR for the Friends of Glasgow's LNRs farmland bird and wildfowl feeding event and hopefully the weather behaves itself and we get great views of the Whooper Swans, Reed Buntings and other species to be found at this wonderful reserve.

 

Finally, some recent sightings from Greater Glasgow, courtesy of SOC Clyde Grapevine:

 

20 November 2014

Three Jack Snipe with 48 Snipe at Windlaw Marsh, near Carmunnock, also an adult male Peregrine.
18 Gadwall on Hogganfield Loch.

18 November 2014
A Jack Snipe at Windlaw Marsh, near Carmunnock, also a pair of Stonechats.

 

 

Bingham's Pond Update and Illustrated Talk

A late afternoon visit to Bingham's Pond today (17 November 2014) may have helped answer the question of why there appeared to be a swift uptake of food from the Friends of Glasgow's LNRs bird feeding station - the 'culprits' appear to be Grey Squirrels rather than hordes of hungry birds!

I can also report that there are no longer 6 juvenile Mute Swans at the Pond but there are now 2 adults and 2 juveniles. We await the next episode of our very own soap 'Swan lake'.

Finally, news of a free illustrated talk taking place on Wednesday evening (19th) hosted by the Friends of Glasgow's LNRs.

The venue is the Gilchrist Postgraduate Club seminar room in the Main Building of the University.

The main speaker is Eilidh Malcolm (Forestry Commission Scotland) with a talk entitled "Easterhouse Woods - past, present and future." 

Doors open at 18.30hrs for free tea and coffee.  

The evening will start at 19.00hrs with a brief overview of recent and forthcoming 'Friends' events with Eilidh commencing at 19.15hrs. Her talk will be of interest to anyone with a love of wildlife and will focus on Cardowan Moss and Bishop Loch LNRs. Also see this page for more information https://www.facebook.com/friendsofglasgowlocalnaturereserves

 

Cardowan Moss LNR

 

 

From Dorset to Glasgow

We've been away for a few days down in Dorset and despite the poor weather managed some birding. The highlights included c300 Brent Geese and 96+ Mediterranean Gulls (!!!!) at Ferrybridge and yet more Med Gulls at Radipole Lake RSPB Reserve, two of which were ringed ...........

Ringed Med Gull - car park Radipole Lake - 9 Nov 2014

 

However, the best sighting was of a Kingfisher from the hide at Radipole ....

Kingfisher - Radipole Lake - 9 Nov 2014

 

Back home, I can report that today there were 6 juvenile Mute Swans on Bingham's Pond, possibly the largest number since the pond was drained and naturalised some years ago. It will be interesting to see if any settle down and become the 'resident breeding pair' and chase-off all comers!

 

Finally, a few recent sightings from the Greater Glasgow area, courtesy of SOC Clyde Grapevine:

 

13 November 2014

A female/immature Black Redstart still at Lochcraig Reservoir, south of Newton Mearns NS528509, mainly near the tower, also a Brambling at  South Moorhouse Farm.
30 Tree Sparrrows at East Millichen Farm.

12 November 2014
A Woodcock flushed at Top Wood, Linn Park, Glasgow.

9 November 2014
A female/immature Black Redstart at Lochcraig Reservoir, south of Newton Mearns NS528509.
Seven Jack Snipe (one of which had been ringed in 23/10/12) and 60 Snipe at Windlaw Marsh, near Carmunnock NS603580.
A Nuthatch calling in Dougalston Estate, Milngavie.

8 November 2014
 A Jack Snipe in Hogganfield Park marsh, also eleven Gadwall and eight Whooper Swans on the loch.

 

 

Autumnal Millichen

After a good few months, today I made a welcome return to the Millichen area of Glasgow ....

Looking south-east over the Steadings and 'Flood'

 

In a three hour period I saw 29 different bird species with the highlights including some of the UK's 'Red Data' bird species that can still be found in this corner of the City

e.g. 2 Fieldfare, 4 Redwing, 20 Starling, 16 House Sparrow, 11 Tree Sparrow and 7 Yellowhammer.

 

Tree Sparrow - East Millichen - 5 November 2014

 

Other species of note included 5 Buzzard, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Kestrel, 110 Collared Doves, 3 Stonechat, a few Meadow Pipits (amber listed) and 7 Reed Bunting (also amber listed)  ...

 

Meadow Pipit - Millichen - 5 November 2014

 

Reed Bunting - East Millichen - 5 November 2014

 

All in all, a very enjoyable spot of birding on a beautiful sunny day.

 

Remember click on photos to create an enhanced view and slide show.

 

Finally some recent sightings from Greater Glasgow, courtesy of SOC Clyde Grapevine:

 

1 November 2014

A Nuthatch and a male Blackcap at NTS Greenbank Garden, Clarkston.