This page provides information about an area of Countryside in the north of Glasgow known as Millichen.
The page is currently evolving with information and photos being added. It also provides links to various reports that have been produced from 2001 onwards in respect of wild birds and other fauna.
For 'Sightings' scroll down the page.
LOCATION
The
area is situated in the north of Glasgow, just east of Bearsden. It is bounded
by Boclair Road, to the north, Balmore Road, to the east, the River Kelvin, to
the south, and the Glasgow City/East Dunbartonshire Council boundary, to the
west. See Map Link
DESCRIPTION
The land is privately owned and is primarily in agricultural use – improved grassland and arable – with areas to the south of Millichen Road being susceptible to flooding (part of the River Kelvin floodplain). These areas also include fields of rush pasture. Some of the fields are bounded by hedgerows which have been subject to severe pruning in past years.
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| Arable field north of Millichen Road - September 2024 |
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| Millichen Flood with some 'steadings' in foreground - October 2022 |
Two small partially canalised streams flow south into the River Kelvin whilst land within the floodplain was subjected to drainage works in past years.
There are a number of cottages, steadings and farm buildings located alongside Millichen Road, which bisects the area. Many of the ‘steadings’ and cottages have been upgraded in recent years and a new 'settlement' constructed within the curtilage of the former East Millichen Farm.
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| New housing on footprint of East Millichen Farm - September 2024 |
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| East Millichen Farm - October 2006 |
In all cases, the privacy of all occupants should be respected.
The remaining buildings lie along the southern edge of Boclair Road and are dominated by Dobbie’s Garden Centre and the Tickled Trout public house.
My visits were curtailed due to the Covid lockdowns during 2020-21 and indeed I didn't manage any in 2021. Despite the increase in traffic on Balmore Road and Boclair Road, I still try and visit Millichen a few times a year and upload my sightings onto BirdTrack. I have also noted other birders sightings from BirdTrack since autumn 2024 and a link to these will be included shortly.
Records from my visits, plus a few photos, can be accessed via the following links. Note: a more comprehensive record of historic sightings are listed at the end of this page.
Millichen Selective Sightings and Photographs 2022
CONSERVATION MEASURES
1. Farmland Birds Project
When leader of the RSPB Glasgow Members' Group, I received an Information Pack from RSPB HQ detailing the decline of a range of Farmland Birds. I raised this with the Committee and John Miller advised that he saw most, if not all, of the species concerned at his 'local patch', Millichen.
In summary, with the support of Tricia Bradley and Duncan Cameron (both RSPB) and the Kelvin Clyde Greenspace (KCG) team, we initiated a Pilot Project of Winter Feeding from December 2001. In the following years, we continued with the winter feeding, a licensed ringer undertook some bird ringing and Jackie Gillespie (KCG) facilitated the erection of nest boxes and the planting of trees along selected hedgerows with the support of landowners and tenants.
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| Tree Sparrow at Nest Box in the Millichen area |
The project evolved to include the all-year monitoring of bird species in the four 'count' areas of 'Millichen'.
Millichen Flood proved to be of particular interest, with its farmland birds, passage waders and winter wildfowl. Images of the 'Flood' actually in flood can be found at this link:
After a few years, others took the lead in the monitoring and conservation work, as all detailed in the following links:
Millichen Farmland Pilot Project December 2001- April 2002
Millichen Winter Feeding of Farmland Birds October 2002-April 2003
Millichen Farmland Birds Intervention Project May 2003-April 2004
Millichen Farmland Birds Intervention Project May 2004-April 2005
Millichen Farmland Birds Intervention Project May 2005-April 2006
Millichen Farmland Birds Intervention Project May 2006-April 2007
2. Tree Sparrows Project
More recently, Paul Baker (Clyde Ringing Group and Committee Member of the Friends of Glasgow's LNRs) has undertaken the refurbishment of existing nest boxes and erected more, all to benefit Tree Sparrows. He has undertaken a ringing programme and the results will, I'm sure, make interesting reading.
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| Tree Sparrows - ringed in Millichen area - 6 August 2021 |
In 2006, I started compiling a list of wildlife sightings in the Millichen area. These covered the period from October 2006 until 2012. I 'published' them on my first ever web site - now long gone. However, I have been able to retrieve them and they can be accessed via the following links. Note: the reports are interspersed with a few photographs taken at the time from the area.
Millichen Sightings October 2006 to December 2006
154 8/12
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