It's Autumn and Anything Can Happen!

The last post proclaimed it was Spring and here we are well into autumn - apologies to those that follow this site, hopefully there are still some of you left!

The last few weeks has seen migration build up with birds moving south both into and out of the country. When this happens, surprises follow.

Firstly, we had two Whitethroats in our garden on 22 August 2022. Whitethroats are summer visitors that migrate south to spend the winter in Africa, and hopefully they will make it.

Whitethroat - 22 August 2022

In addition to smaller birds, we also are lucky to get a variety of wading birds on passage. This year Balgray Reservoir, Frankfield Loch and even Hogganfield Loch have had good records over the past few weeks. Birds such as Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, Spotted Redshank and even Pectoral Sandpiper (a north American species) have all been recorded.

A few of my record shots follow:

Frankfield Loch

Black-tailed Godwit with 2 Lapwing - 17 August 2022

Ruff - 31 August 2022

Ruff - 2 September 2022

Pectoral Sandpiper - 5 September 2022

Hogganfield Loch

My first ever Ruff at the loch and for once bright sunshine!

Ruff - 5 September 2022

Autumn is also a good time to look out for unusual gulls, terns and wildfowl. Cardwell Bay in Gourock is a good spot for gulls and terns. I saw this Mediterranean Gull on 22 August 2022 and noted it had a colour ring. The bird was ringed in Poland in 2017 and remarkably I first saw it in the same location on 22 August 2018, exactly 4 years ago to the day!

This photo allows comparison with the similar Black-headed Gull on the right

On the same day there were two Sandwich Terns also in the bay. 

Sandwich Terns (top two birds)

And finally, unusual wildfowl can be found within the City at Hogganfield Loch and Frankfield Loch with species such as Shoveler, Pintail and Wigeon all recently seen, as these record shots show.

Shoveler - Frankfield Loch - 2 September 2022

Pintail - Hogganfield Loch - 5 September 2022

Wigeon - 5 September 2022

So, get ready for the unexpected as we all look forward to even more surprises over the next month or so.

The End of Summer Birding

In the days leading up to the end of summer (August) I managed, thanks to Judith and Mike, to visit the Cardwell Bay area in Greenock on the 18th and the Loch Lomond area on the 24th. I also managed to fit in visits to Hogganfield Park LNR and Frankfield Loch.

Cardwell Bay/Ironotter Point

Here we saw a few common waders and some nice Sandwich Terns.

Turnstone

Curlew and Sandwich Terns

RSPB Loch Lomond and surrounding lanes and farm land

We managed two sightings of Osprey, one flying parallel to the River Endrick and one distantly on an island. Other nice sightings included Spotted Flycatcher, Nuthatch and a Small Copper butterfly.

Loch Lomond, with Ben Lomond in the background

Spot the dot (Osprey)

Spotted Flycatcher

Nuthatch

Small Copper

Not surprisingly, I managed to visit  Hogganfield Park LNR and Frankfield Loch, where wader passage had begun.

Hogganfield Park LNR

Black-headed Gull (ringed in the Moorfoots, south of Edinburgh)

Male Bullfinch

Whitethroat (juvenile)

Blue Tit (juvenile)

Frankfield Loch

Ruff and Common Sandpiper

During this period I saw 69 species and my year list now stands at a very modest 153, with 97 of them having been seen in Glasgow.

On to September and the real birding begins, or not, depending on the weather!

March - still in lockdown

Another month and we are still in lockdown although there i some light at the end of the tunnel - it's a very long tunnel! So birdwatching still limited to the Glasgow area with 16 visits to Bingham's Pond - mainly to check out the status of the Ring-necked Duck -5 visits to Hogganfield Park LNR, 1 visit to Cardowan Moss LNR and one to Frankfield Loch proposed LNR. Taking each in turn:

Bingham's Pond: I saw 35 species during the month making a total of 41 species for the Pond so far in 2021. The highlight was the drake Ring-necked Duck, from North America, which was regularly seen during March. Other highlights included the pair of Greylag Geese that popped in just for one day and clear indications of spring with thoughts turning to breeding!

Ring-necked Duck

Coot on nest

Blue Tit examining nest box

Greylag Goose

Hogganfield Park LNR: I saw 50 species during the month with the year total now standing at 63 species seen. Highlights included continued sightings of Iceland Gull and Scaup and the first Chiffchaff of the year. A pair of Oystercatcher and a pair of Teal were also notable. However, the main highlight was the appearance of another drake Ring-necked Duck which was a first for the loch. This bird had been seen at nearby Frankfield Loch and the Gadloch before it eventually spent a day of two at Hogganfield.

Record shot of distant Ring-necked Duck

Pair of Teal

Scaup

Chiffchaff

Iceland Gull

Pair of Oystercatcher

Cardowan Moss LNR and Frankfield Loch: These sites can be readily accessed, after visiting Hogganfield Park LNR, via a series of footpaths from Avenue End Road and Cumbernauld Road.

It was nice to see that one of the nest boxes at Cardowan Moss was being investigated by a Blue Tit, whilst the highlight at Frankfield Loch was a distant drake Shoveler.

Blue Tit investigating nest box

Record shot of drake Shoveler

Frankfield Loch

As we enter April, more migrants should arrive any day now and lockdown should be easing a little over the next few weeks. In the meantime thanks for reading my blog and stay safe.

Late August Update

I'm been away down south since the last update but thanks to Clydebirds and the SOC Clyde Grapevine I've been able to keep up-to-date with what's been turning up in the Greater Glasgow area.

All the sightings have come from wetlands in north east Glasgow and I predict the next 'goodie' to be found there will be a Black Tern, so get out there and get looking! In the meantime, a few key records courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine:

A juvenile Garganey, eclipse drake Blue-winged Teal and Greenshank have been seen on a regular basis at Frankfield Loch. 

Whilst there have been sightings of an Osprey at Bishop Loch, Frankfield Loch and Gartloch Pools.

Frankfield Loch - August 2019

'Autumn' Bird Watching

Over the past few weeks I have concentrated on bird watching rather than photography.

I have visited Hogganfield Park LNR and Frankfield Loch in Glasgow; Musselburgh Lagoons and Torness in Lothian; and Cardwell Bay and Parklea in Inverclyde. Thanks go to Stephen, Judith & Mike and the government's travel pass!

The Lothian trip was the most memorable as neither Stephen nor myself took our cameras, partly due to the very poor weather forecast and partly because we wanted to concentrate on bird watching and in my opinion you can't always do both well!

Of course the sun generally shone and we had great views of Pectoral Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Surf Scoter and Yellow Wagtail. The birds didn't fly off and we could have had good photos instead of just good memories.

On the other hand, on a trip to Hogganfield Park LNR, when no rain was forecast, I encountered a torrential downpour

Hogganfield Park LNR - 13/08/19

Thankfully, it soon cleared up

The rain seemed to follow me around because we were caught in another heavy shower at Cardwell Bay on the 20th. This Wheatear, however, was a pleasant surprise

We also got distant views of two Ospreys at Parklea (east) which was a nice end to the day.

Finally, I managed a couple of hours today at Frankfield Loch and Hogganfield Park LNR but there was nothing too unusual to report other than a sighting of Ayrshire birder Angus Hogg who had decided to twitch the Blue-winged Teal that has hung around Frankfield Loch for a few months now.

I had been hoping for some waders but could only see Lapwing, albeit a good count of at least 310.

Lapwing- Frankfield Loch - 21/08/19

Other recent sightings from Greater Glasgow, courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine, include:

Tuesday 20 August 2019
The drake Blue-winged Teal still at Frankfield Loch LNR, also a Green Sandpiper and a Greenshank.

Monday 19 August 2019

A female Mandarin Duck on Maxwell Park Pond, Pollokshields, Glasgow for its third day. 

The drake Blue-winged Teal still at Frankfield Loch LNR.

Friday 16 August 2019
The drake Blue-winged Teal still at Frankfield Loch LNR.
An Osprey catching a small fish at the Gadloch in the morning, then flying off SW.

Wednesday 14 August 2019

The drake Blue-winged Teal still at Frankfield Loch LNR.
An  Osprey (for a second day) fishing at Bishop Loch, and today flying off with a small perch in the direction of Drumpellier Country Park, Coatbridge.
An excellent count of at least 128 Collared Doves on wires at Wester Cleddens roundabout, Bishopbriggs.

Butterflies (and other insects) Galore

Edited 7 August 2019 to add photo of hide at Skinflats.

Since my last post, the Greater Glasgow area (and the rest of the country) has been inundated with Painted Lady butterflies - see the following photos

Our garden - 28/7/19

Neighbour's garden - 28/7/19

Other insects have also been recorded including this Brimstone Moth …

Our garden - 25/7/19

and a variety of bees and hoverflies feeding on knapweed, again in our garden

I have managed a few days birding locally at Bingham's Pond, Hogganfield Park LNR, Cardowan Moss LNR and Frankfield Loch LNR but the overcast conditions weren't conducive to photography. I did manage a photo of the Tufted Ducks (female and youngster)

at Bingham's Pond on 31/7/19 and this Lapwing (one of c300) at Frankfield Loch on 29/7/19

We also travelled through to the Forth estuary on Sunday (4th) with Stephen and managed a good few birds including a breeding plumaged Red-necked Grebe off the sea-wall at Musselburgh - no decent photos as I left my camera at home, thanks to the forecast of rain. However, I did manage a photo with my phone of this 'hide' at Skinflats. Totally impractical and more likely to be an 'art installation'.

Finally, I also managed to fit in a visit to Dawsholm Park LNR in my role as chair of the Friends of Glasgow's LNRs following litter concerns raised by locals via the Friends FaceBook page. I spotted additional maintenance issues and have contacted the Council; photographs of some of the issues are available via this link Friends