With lockdown restrictions continuing, I limited my birding to three wildlife sites in Glasgow - Hogganfield Park LNR, Dawsholm Park LNR and Bingham's Pond SINC. Some of my sightings follow
Starting at Hogganfield Park LNR
4 November 2020 - a bright day for once!
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| Hogganfield Loch & Island |
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| Goldeneye |
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| Whooper Swans |
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| Gadwall |
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| Red-necked grebe (in winter plumage) |
17 November 2020 - as one would expect, a bit overcast.
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| Black-headed Gull (ringed in Poland in July 2019) |
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| Smew (redhead) |
19 November 2020 - amazingly, sunny once again.
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| Black-headed Gull (ringed in Elvanfoot, Scotland in June 2014) |
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| Common Gull |
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| Hogganfield Loch |
25 November 2020 - a typical overcast day.
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| (Redhead) Smew still present |
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| Scaup |
So, with the sighting of the Smew, my Hogganfield 'year list' at the end of November stood at 88 bird species.
Moving on to Dawsholm Park LNR
6 November 2020
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| Dawsholm Park LNR (Autumn colours) |
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| Jay (an uncommon species in Glasgow, one of two present) |
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Buzzard (late afternoon)
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10 November 2020 - very dull day
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| River Kelvin (northern boundary of the LNR) |
23 November 2020 - another dull day with only my phone as a camera!
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The small pond with a Dipper on the tree trunk (honest)!
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30 November 2020 - notable for adding a 'year tick' to my Dawsholm list - Kingfisher - and a LNR 'first' in the form of a Teal! Both birds were on the River Kelvin.
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| Access improvements at the River Kelvin |
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| Teal (record shot) |
The sighting of the Teal means the all-time bird list for Dawsholm Park LNR stands at 73 (at least). Meanwhile, my personal 'year list' for the LNR stands at 51.
Finally, Bingham's Pond, which was notable for another brood of Mallard ducklings!
2 November 2020 - dull conditions and once again I relied on my phone for a photo - this time of 4 of the original 'October brood' of Mallard ducklings. There was a fresh brood of six I wasn't able to photograph them.
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| Mallard ducklings (hatched in October) |
13 November 2020 - the four Mallard ducklings were still doing well and the Goosanders similarly showed no fear of humans.
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| Mallard youngsters continue to do well |
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| Goosander (male) |
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| Bingham's Pond |
I didn't add any new birds to my Bingham's 'year list' and it still stands at 43, although there is still time to add a few more before the year ends.
Finally, sadly the Red-necked Grebe eventually left Hogganfield Loch during the month but we were compensated by a (redhead) Smew.
All we need now is for a few white-winged gulls and some Waxwings to turn up over the next few weeks and we can finish this year on some sort of high-note.
