Highlights of a dark, dismal January!!!

Since my last post, in amongst the dark, dismal, drizzle of a Scottish winter I've had a couple of  highlights!

Last Thursday (21st), I was the guest speaker at the Queens Park Camera Club and was made to feel most welcome - so a big thank you to everyone that attended.

On the birding front I've managed a couple of visits to Bingham's Pond and yesterday (24th) two Ring-necked Parakeets flew over. This was my 4th sighting of this species at Bingham's with two sightings in 2013 and one sighting in 2014. However, on these occasions only one bird was seen.

Ring-necked Parakeet - Bingham's Pond - 22 Nov 2013

The parakeets helped increase my 'Pond Year List' to 24 species. How many will I see this year and how will it compare to previous years? For example, I saw 37 species in 2012; 41 in 2013; 45 in 2014 and 40 in 2015.

Talking of sightings, other recent sightings from Greater Glasgow, courtesy of SOC Clyde Grapevine:

Saturday 23 January 2016
A drake Green-winged Teal  still on Banton Loch, Kilsyth.
A Jack Snipe at Windlaw Marsh; nearby, a pair of Stonechats at Cathkin Marsh SWT Reserve.
A Woodcock at Kittoch Bridge flood storage, near Busby.

Friday 22 January 2016
A male Stonechat at Cathkin Marsh SWT Reserve.

Thursday 21 January 2016
A Jay at the cattle sheds in Pollok Country Park.
A Jay flying over the M77 at Silverburn, Glasgow.

Wednesday 20 January 2016
A Pink-footed Goose at Hogganfield Loch.
A Stonechat at Gartloch Pool.
Four Otters on White Cart Water at Linn Park in the morning.

Hogganfield Park LNR - First Visit of 2016

I paid my fist visit of the new Year to Hogganfield Park LNR on Friday (15th) and I wasn't disappointed. Thirty eight bird species seen plus cracking views of Roe Deer. I'll let the photographs do the talking .......

Hogganfield Loch - 15 January 2016

Feeding Frenzy - 15 January 2016

Goosander (male) - 15 January 2016

 Goosander (female) - 15 January 2016

Goldeneye (male) - 15 January 2016

Goldeneye (female) - 15 January 2016

Whooper Swan - 15 January 2016

  Grey Heron - 15 January 2016

 

Reed Bunting (female) - 15 January 2016

 

Roe Deer - 15 January 2016

 

Hopefully, the above images will encourage you to make a visit!

 

Finally, some more recent bird sightings courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine:

 

Friday 15 January 2016
An adult Yellow-legged Gull still roosting at Balgray Reservoir, also a 1st-winter Mediterranean Gull and 29 Goosanders.
A Ring-necked Parakeet flying up Shakespeare Street behind Botanic Gardens at 1620 hrs.

More Local Birding

Following on from the 'man flu' (still not 100%!), it has been a busy few days. On Tuesday evening I was the guest speaker at the SOC Ayrshire Group and was made to feel really welcome - thanks to everyone that attended.

On Wednesday I joined the RSPB Glasgow Group on their outing to Mugdock Country Park where we had a pleasant walk and a nice bowl of soup ............

Mugdock CP - 13 January 2016

 

We managed to see virtually all of the common woodland species plus a Jay which was a nice surprise. We also encountered a strange 'fungus' ..............

 

Mugdock CP - 13 January 2016

 

...... which, thanks to Liz, we think was 'Hair Ice'. See the following link

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_ice

On Thursday, I visited Bingham's Pond and met a few people who were interested in the wildfowl and history of the pond. It's good to know other people care about this wonderful oasis in the west end of Glasgow!

Yet again I was pleased with the range of species to be found in such a small area and the ice made the wetland bird count easier than normal!

Bingham's Pond - 14 January 2016

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

Thursday 14 January 2016
A drake Ruddy Duck still on Garnqueen Loch; nearby, 51 Gadwall on Woodend Loch.

Sunday 10 January 2016
A drake Green-winged Teal still on Banton Loch, Kilsyth, also a drake Red-breasted Merganser.

Saturday 9 January 2016
An adult Yellow-legged Gull still coming to roost on Balgray Reservoir at 1515 hrs, with a 1st-winter Mediterranean Gull and an excellent winter count of 650 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, also 250 Pink-footed Geese north over.
A drake Green-winged Teal still on Banton Loch, Kilsyth.
A Woodcock and a pair of Stonechats at Cathkin Marsh SWT Reserve.

Thursday 7 January 2016
A drake Ruddy Duck still on Garnqueen Loch.
Two drake Red-breasted Mergansers on River Clyde at Riverside Museum.
A Nuthatch on the feeders at the walled gardens in Pollok Country Park.





 









 
 
 

First Birding of the Year

Despite still suffering from 'man flu', Lynda persuaded me that a bit of birding would do me good! So we caught the train to Balloch and, having received a tip-off (thanks Fiona), we headed straight for the Loch Lomond Shores area .....................

Loch Lomond Shores - 5 January 2015

 

Walking towards the Maid of the Loch we quickly found 2 Little Auks followed by the Velvet Scoter that has been around for a few days now. Despite the poor light and drizzle, I managed some record shots ....

 

Little Auks - 5 January 2015

Velvet Scoter - 5 January 2015

 

We also managed to see 5 Mandarin Ducks (4 male and one female) on the River Leven at Balloch before catching the train home - a really nice start to 2016 and a great way to forget you've got a cold!

 

Finally, a quick round-up of recent sightings from Greater Glasgow, courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine:

 

Monday 4 January 2016
A Firecrest feeding amongst rhododendrons near the flatted mansion in Queen's Park, Glasgow.
A drake Green-winged Teal still on Banton Loch, Kilsyth and unusually a drake Red-Breasted Merganser.
Three Barnacle Geese at Boclair Farm, Bearsden.
Six Ring-necked Parakeets in a tree beside the clubhouse of Bishopbriggs Golf Course.
A Brambling, six Tree Sparrows and thirty Yellowhammers in a mixed flock of passerines at KIrkintilloch.

Sunday 3 January 2016
A drake Green-winged Teal still on Banton Loch, Kilsyth.
A drake Ruddy Duck still on Garnqueen Loch.
A Barnacle Goose with Pinkfeet and Greylags at Boclair Farm, Bearsden.

Season's Greetings and Best Wishes for 2016

Belated Christmas Greetings and a Happy New Year to everyone that reads this Blog - we've been away for a few weeks and I am also suffering from 'man flu' so this will be brief.

Although it was meant to have been a relaxing holiday, we couldn't help birding ............

Can you guess the location and the species of bird?

That will have to do for now apart from a quick update of recent sightings from Greater Glasgow courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine:

Friday 1 January
A drake Green-winged Teal still on Banton Loch, Kilsyth.
A drake Ruddy Duck on Garnqueen Loch; nearby, 50 Gadwall and 21 Whooper Swans on Woodend Loch.
A single Jack Snipe at Windlaw Marsh.
A male Blackcap in a Weymouth Drive, Kelvindale garden.
Three Stock Doves in a Gartloch Village, Glasgow garden.

Also worthy of note, an adult Ring-billed Gull again at Strathclyde Country Park.