Local Birding and Heavy Rain

With the awful weather conditions of the past week I stayed at home but still managed  some local birding at Bingham's Pond and Glasgow Botanic Gardens.

I called into Bingham's Pond twice - a total of 24 species including Bullfinch, Goldcrest and Treecreeper. On the Pond itself, there were up to 11 Goosander present and Coot numbers had risen to eight.

I also had a quick walk around the Botanic Gardens and viewed the River Kelvin in full flow. A few images taken with my phone follow:

Bingham's Pond - 6 December 2015

 Bingham's Pond - 6 December 2015

River Kelvin at Botanic Gardens  - 8 December 2015

Bingham's Pond - 8 December 2015

 

Hopefully the weather will settle down and we can look forward to a Happy Christmas and peaceful New Year.

West Coast v East Coast

On Wednesday, I led a RSPB Glasgow outing to Troon - 14 people braved the initial rain and cold wind. Sadly, some of the anticipated birds could not be found although we did see 2 Red-throated Divers flying by, a Black Guillemot in winter plumage and the usual common waders and wildfowl. Most of us carried on to Irvine Harbour where we hoped we'd be lucky and see a Grey Phalarope that had been seen earlier in the week, but again no luck.

However, we were told of 'a phalarope' at Stevenston Point so six of us called in and incredibly we discovered there were two Grey Phalarope showing well .............

So it was a happy, albeit smaller, group that enjoyed the sunset at Stevenston ...

Yesterday (3rd), I travelled through by bus to Cramond and the mouth of the River Almond. The tide was out so I managed to walk along the causeway where small waders were feeding literally feet away. Sadly, the weather was rather dismal hence the poor quality of the photos. However, there were 100s of birds present, including Greenshank, and it certainly looked like a location worthy of a further visit ...........

To Cramond Island

To Cramond

 

Dunlin

Turnstone

Distant view of Greenshank

 

Finally, recent Sightings from Greater Glasgow, courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine:

Thursday 3 December 2015
A Green-winged Teal still on Townhead Reservoir/Banton Loch, Kilsyth.
A single Short-eared Owl hunting at Cathkin Marsh SWT Reserve, also two pairs of Stonechats.

Wednesday 2 December 2015
Four Short-eared Owls hunting at Cathkin Marsh SWT Reserve.

Tuesday 1 December 2015
A Green-winged Teal on Townhead Reservoir/Banton Loch, Kilsyth.

Birding Update

With the awful weather we haven't managed much birding but last week we managed to get out on a couple of days. Firstly, last Wednesday with Judith and Mike on a recce down to the Troon Harbour area - I am leading a RSPB Glasgow Group outing to Troon harbour tomorrow!

We managed to see a few Purple Sandpipers - the target species - but eventually we were beaten by the weather, although a quick visit to Irvine Harbour during a brief break in the rain showers helped add to our day list.

On the Thursday (26th) we travelled through to Aberlady Bay by bus. The tide was coming in and ideal for birding, however, with the limited daylight hours we headed off across the wooden bridge ................

Aberlady Bay - 26 November 2015

On reaching the Marl Loch we came across a life tick - Simon King the TV presenter and wildlife cameraman!

Simon King - 26 November 2015

He was looking for the same bird as us, but sadly we all dipped - so this photo from last year will have to do! 

Long-eared Owl - 2014

As usual, I'll finish with some recent sightings from Greater Glasgow courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine:

Monday 30 November 2015
20 Siskins coming to the feeders in a Sween Avenue, Cathcart, Glasgow garden.

Sunday 29 November 2015
A pair of Stonechats just SE of Gartloch Pool.

Saturday 28 November 2015
A pair of Ring-necked Parakeets feeding on apples at Hillview Place, Clarkston.

Friday 27 November 2015
An adult Yellow-legged Gull at the Balgray Reservoir gull roost, also a female Scaup and 350 Lesser Black-backed Gulls.