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 ..
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.
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