Garganey at Frankfield Loch

Following the report of a Garganey at Frankfield Loch (see previous post) we made two visits on Monday, thanks to Peter, in the hope of seeing the bird. A birding trip to the east coast was sandwiched in between with Short-eared Owl, Little Egret and Ruff being just a few of the highlights!

The number of birds present at Frankfield was impressive with c410 Lapwings, a few Snipe, one Greenshank, one Water Rail, Shoveler and lots of Teal to scan through to try and find the Garganey.

We bumped into a few well-kent faces - Tommy, Stephen and John - and thankfully, we eventually got some good views and I took a few record shots ….

The bird was still present today and is just the latest 'rare' bird to turn up with Pectoral Sandpiper, Blue-winged Teal and Osprey just some of the birds attracted to the loch in the last few years.

Autumn migration has begun!

It has been a busy few days since my last post. 

I travelled down to RSPB Lochwinnoch by train on the 21st and was sorely disappointed. The Aird Meadow part of the reserve was almost devoid of birds. I only saw 19 species in 2 hours and these were, in the main, visiting the feeders.

Aird Meadow from Visitor Centre Tower

I had better luck on the Wednesday when we both travelled to Ironotter Point/Cardwell Bay in Gourock with Mike and Judith.

The tide was perfect, as we had hoped, and we had good views of a solitary Sanderling with a small flock of Ringed Plover. Apparently the Sanderling was a first record for Cardwell Bay!

Sanderling and Ringed Plover

Also present were up to 31 Sandwich Terns, two of which had been ringed but we were unable to read the rings …

Sandwich Tern, with rings

More excitingly we also saw two Mediterranean Gulls one of which had been ringed in Poland in 2017!

Mediterranean Gull (not ringed)

Mediterranean Gull (ringed PUP2)

We also called in at Newshot Island on the way home and got good views of a Greenshank plus other common waders and gulls.

Newshot Island, from viewpoint

Closer to home I helped the Friends of Glasgow's LNRs at the Garscadden Wood LNR event on Sunday.

Garscadden Wood LNR, Drumchapel, Glasgow

Here, I saw 2 Buzzards and 2 Sparrowhawks as well as common woodland birds. Two of us also had a glimpse of what was probably a Purple Hairstreak butterfly high in the canopy of an oak tree.

So a nice end to a good week with more exciting weeks ahead, I'm sure!

Migration has clearly started, so some interesting recent sightings from the Greater Glasgow area, courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine:

Sunday 26 August 2018
 A 1st-winter/female Garganey at Frankfield Loch, also a Greenshank and a Swift.
Friday 24 August 2018

An adult Mediterranean Gull roosting at Frankfield Loch, also a Greenshank present.

Wednesday 22 August 2018
A juvenile Kittiwake on Balgray Reservoir this evening, also a good count of 140 Linnets.
Two juvenile Ruffs, 14 Black-tailed Godwits and four Greenshank at Newshot Island in the morning, also a Reed Warbler feeding with Willow Warblers in the hedgerow there. 

Monday 20 August 2018
Three Whinchats at Cathkin Marsh SWT Reserve.
A Hummingbird Hawk-moth again feeding on buddleia in a Netherlee garden.
Sunday 19 August 2018

A female Scaup on Woodend Loch, also a total of 15 Gadwall between there and Lochend Loch.Two Sandwich Terns over Balgray Reservoir at 1430 hrs, also there a Black-tailed Godwit with four Ringed Plovers and two Dunlin.
Five Ringed Plovers and a Dunlin at Frankfield Loch.
Four Whinchats at Todds Well, near Gartloch Pools, Glasgow; nearby, a Comma in a Gartloch Village garden. 

Hen Harrier and more

With a dodgy weather forecast for most of Scotland, I started the week, on Sunday the 12th, down at the Caerlaverock WWT Reserve in Dumfries and Galloway, thanks to Stephen.

After driving through heavy rain we reached the reserve which was, as per the weather forecast, dry.

It was my first ever visit to the reserve in 'summer' with all previous visits being in winter to see swans, geese and other wildfowl. So it was strange to look out from the Peter Scott Observatory building and only see a few Mallard and Canada Geese - no swans whatsoever!

We were lucky to see a male Hen Harrier from the Merse Observatory Tower hide, as this record shot shows ….

.. and a variety of passerines including warblers from the Tower hide …..

Willow Warbler

Finally, we had good views of 3 Black-tailed Godwits at the Folly Pond …

In the end we saw c40 different species before returning home.

On Tuesday, it was a late wildfowl count at Bingham's Pond, with no surprises, and on Wednesday a trip down to the Fairlie area with Judith and Mike. Here we were pleasantly surprised to find 2 Little Egrets and 12 Greenshank on Hunterston lagoon. We also had flight views of a Kingfisher on the southern edge of Fairlie Sands. Later we moved to the Battery Park area of Gourock where I found a Mediterranean Gull off Ironotter Point as this distant photo shows .. 

In total, 67 species seen during the week and hopefully more to find over the next few months! 

Birds and Butterflies

The weather has become changeable and reports from around the country suggest birds are on the move, although it is still early days.

At this time of year I concentrate more on finding, identifying and watching birds so sometimes the camera is seldom used or even left at home. So future posts may have fewer photographs than normal!

I'll start with a new species for our garden which appeared on the 3rd - a Small Copper butterfly. It was simply stunning and a welcome addition to our garden list ….

On Sunday (5th), we helped out at the Friends of Glasgow's LNRs event at Hogganfield Park LNR. This involved wildfowl feeding, advising visitors on the birds to be found and de-littering - 4 bags collected!

Wildfowl feeding

Rubbish collected from the edge of loch, next to car park

We visited Doonfoot on Tuesday, thanks to Judith and Mike, and saw a range of common species with 2 Greenshank being the 'rarest' record. We also saw lots of butterflies and dragonflies with this Peacock and Common Darter standing out …..

After lunch, we headed for a new site for us - the beach on the southern edge of Troon as far as Meikle Craigs. This proved to be full of birds with lots of Dunlin and Ringed Plover plus at least 30 Sanderling. We also spotted two Red Knot, in breeding plumage, and 3 Mediterranean Gulls. Definitely a place we shall visit again.

Finally, some 'local' sightings found by searching the internet:

10 August 2018
Six Snipe, 2 Common Sandpiper and a Water Rail at Frankfield Loch.

It's Autumn - from a birdwatching point of view!

Since my last post, things are slowly beginning to happen with birds on the move.

The highlight for me was a Sooty Tern at the Ythan Estuary in Aberdeenshire - thank you bus pass. I also discovered you could get a bus to the Collieston junction and then walk to the Waulkmill Hide upstream of the estuary (allow c30 minutes). Here I saw 2 Osprey, a Little Tern and 6 Greenshank, a sign that waders are on the move.

Sooty Tern with Sandwich Terns - Ythan Estuary - 26/7/18

View from Waulkmill Hide, Ythan - 26/7/18

Closer to home, I spent a few hours at Hogganfield Park LNR on the 25th and noted that wildfowl numbers were starting to slowly increase with 19 Pochard present as well as 16 Gadwall not to mention this Little Grebe .. 

Little Grebe - Hogganfield Loch - 25/7/18

On Tuesday (31st) we travelled through to Baron's Haugh RSPB Reserve and with the water levels low there was plenty of mud exposed with a juvenile Little Ringed Plover and 9 Green Sandpipers being the highlights, with a total of 35 species recorded.

Green Sandpiper - Baron's Haugh - 31/7/18

Finally, through to Musselburgh Lagoons yesterday and 42 species recorded with Wood Sandpiper taking pride of place whilst managing to avoid the frequent swoops of a Peregrine! I also saw 22 Black-tailed Godwits one of which was ringed. I sent off the details late last night and a response was received first thing this morning! The bird is an adult that was ringed last autumn and is likely now returning from breeding in Iceland. 

It was ringed on 23/9/17 at Terrington, the Wash estuary, Norfolk; re-sighted on 26/9/17 at Snettisham, the Wash estuary, Norfolk with no further records until mine.

Finally, some records from the Greater Glasgow area courtesy of a trawl around the internet!

3 August 2018

Six Black-tailed Godwits, 11 Redshank, and a Common Sandpiper at Balgray Reservoir.

Six Common Sandpiper, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Redshank and 4 Black-tailed Godwit at Gartloch main pool, this morning. 

1 Common Sandpiper, 24 Black-tailed Godwit and 300+ Lapwing at Frankfield loch, this morning.

28 July 2018

1 Mediterranean Gull, briefly, in Victoria Park in the morning.