On Thursday night (4th) I attended the RSPB Glasgow Group Indoor Meeting and listened to an excellent speaker - James How from the RSPB. His talk, which covered Islay and Oronsay, helped restore some of my enthusiasm for the organisation which has waned in recent years for a variety of reasons.
Much of Friday was spent on Friends of Glasgow's LNRs business, especially now that we have obtained virtually all the funding required for the proposed BioHavens at Hogganfield Loch.
Saturday and a brilliant day's birding. We travelled through to the east coast, thanks to Stephen, and started at Aberlady Bay. Lots of birds and with the tide coming in we got excellent views of a whole host of waders, wildfowl and gulls. Sadly it was rather overcast so this was the best I could do ....
Parts of the reserve were under water .....
.... but we still managed to find Stonechat, Skylark and Reed Bunting. The best birds, however, were the two Long-eared Owls.
From Aberlady we travelled west to Gosford Bay/Longniddry Bents but there was very little offshore. On the plus side the car park has been resurfaced but note that there is a charge.
Eventually we arrived at Musselburgh Lagoons at high tide and got close up views of Velvet Scoter and Long-tailed Duck off the sea wall - I forecast that this would happen as with the light being poor I left my camera in the car! Later, we got unbelievable views of 3 Short-eared Owls hunting over the same piece of grassland. As we returned along the sea wall to the River Esk mouth we saw a fourth bird and by now the tide was going out, so again lots of waders, wildfowl and gulls.
On the 8th, I made a quick visit to Bingham's Pond in the west end of Glasgow and added to my 'year list' for the pond with a sighting of a Grey Wagtail. It allowed me to approach to within a few feet and yet again, no camera, so I tried my phone. These photos show the extent of the flooding at the Pond with much of the footpath under water; if you look closely you can also see the bird!
Today was a first with a garden tick - Collared Dove! Although present in the nearby Kelvindale, this is the first time that I'm seen one (there were two) in our garden. A photo taken through a dirty window before a Magpie chased them off.
Monday 8 February2016
At least one Yellow-legged Gull at the Balgray Reservoir gull roost at 1645 hrs, also a female Scaup.
Three Jack Snipe at Harelaw Reservoir, Barrhead, also a Woodcock.
A Black-tailed Godwit at Newshot Island, also unusually three Shoveler.
Sunday 7 February 2016
A female Scaup still on Balgray Reservoir.
A female Blackcap (for its second day) in a Hillview Drive, Clarkston garden.
Saturday 6 February 2016
At the Balgray Reservoir gull roost, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, and adult Mediterranean Gull, an adult Kittiwake and a female Scaup.
A Nuthatch at the feeders in Pollok Country Park.
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