More Wind & Rain and a Climate Change Conference!

This weather is starting to get really annoying! Not much birding since the last post but I have helped the Friends of Glasgow's LNRs with their nest box work and managed a few sightings of note.

We started at Hogganfield Park LNR and enjoyed a mixture of sleety showers, wind and some sunshine! All of the nest boxes were cleaned out and two more boxes erected

Spot Box no. 8

It was nice to see a clump or two of primroses....

….whilst a pair of Canada Geese and an Oystercatcher took advantage of the 'biohavens'...

From Hogganfield Park LNR we moved to Bingham's Pond where two boxes were cleaned and a new one erected....

On Tuesday, I attended  a conference at the SEC on Sustainability & Climate Change and it proved that some people do care

I eventually managed some 'proper' birding at Bingham's Pond yesterday, for just one hour, and recorded a respectable 22 species.

Others have managed out, despite the weather, with some recent sightings in Greater Glasgow, courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine, including: 

Two Yellow-legged Gulls (an adult and sub-adult) and a  3^rd-winter Iceland Gull at the Balgray Reservoir gull roost. 

There have also been some reports of Blackcaps - a female in a Bearsden garden and also at the feeders in Holyrood Crescent Pleasure Gardens, Kelvinbridge; with a male in an Ormonde Drive, Netherlee garden.

Dull and Dreich, Once Again

Not much to report over the past week - three visits to Dawsholm Park LNR and a visit to Bingham's Pond.

Dawsholm Park LNR provided some good bird sightings - Raven, Buzzard, Bullfinch, Ring-necked Parakeet, Stock Dove and a large flock of 50+ Siskin.

However, the main reason for going to Dawsholm on three occasions was to assist with a Friends of Glasgow's LNRs event - the cleaning out and erection of nest boxes and a litter pick. My input involved:

• undertaking a recce of the ground conditions, nest box locations and litter hotspots; 
• helping with nest box cleaning; 
• producing a photographic record; and 
• checking how everything looked the day after the event - the bags had not been uplifted by the Council by early afternoon!

In the end, 16 boxes were cleaned-out and 2 were erected whilst 15 bags of litter were collected.

I would stress that I did do more than just take the photos!

Finally, today I made a 1 hour visit to Bingham's Pond with nothing unusual to report.

Meanwhile in Greater Glasgow, the Ring-necked Duck still appears to be happy at Mugdock Loch and flocks of Waxwings are being reported in Kelvinside and Cathcart - information courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine.

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

Some Breeding Success at Bingham's Pond

Apologies for the lack of updates over the past few weeks; I've not been out birding in the Greater Glasgow area.

However, yesterday I did pop down for 40 minutes to Bingham's Pond to check on the wildfowl and I can report some success.

Six of the eight cygnets still remain - 

I spotted this juvenile Moorhen -

At least two young Coot and one young Mallard have almost reached 'full size' and this 'new' Tufted Duck duckling was being carefully shadowed by its mother - 

In addition, one Swift flew overhead making it my 36th species for the Year at the Pond.

Other bird records from the Greater Glasgow area, courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine include:

Sunday 21 July 2019
The Blue-winged Teal still on Frankfield Loch, also now 322 Lapwings.

Saturday 20 July 2019

The Blue-winged Teal still on Frankfield Loch.

Thursday 18 July 2019

An adult Mediterranean Gull on Hogganfield Park pitch and putt, Glasgow until 1520hrs.

Spring has arrived, albeit damp and chilly!

Nothing much to report since the last post.

Managed to see two Chiffchaffs at Hogganfield Park LNR on 29 March 2019, followed by three at the cycleway at Castle Semple Loch/Parkhill Woods and one at Lochwinnoch RSPB Reserve, both on 5 April 2019.

Chiffchaff - Hogganfield Park LNR - 29/3/19

On 31/3/19 I helped out at the Friends of Glasgow LNRs event at Hogganfield Park LNR and this pair of Mute Swans performed well …

I visited Bingham's Pond on at least 3 occasions in the hope that I might get a Sand Martin or Chiffchaff to add to my Bingham's year list but sadly, no sign. I did get a fly-over Buzzard which was good but nothing else unusual.

Finally, a trip down to Castle Semple and Lochwinnoch RSPB Reserve, with Judith & Mike, where the aforementioned Chiffchaffs were the star turn. Sadly, somehow we managed to miss a female Marsh Harrier that flew through but I did pick up a Raven.

It was good to see a number of floating islands have been installed at Lochwinnoch along with a Sand Martin bank - hope they prove successful

Finally, a few recent sightings from Greater Glasgow courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine:

Saturday 6 April 2019
1,580 Pink-footed Geese at Millichen Flood, Glasgow.

Six Shovelers (four drakes) at Bridgend Farm Pool, near Kirkintilloch.

A Blackcap still visiting feeders in a Milngavie garden.

Friday 5 April 2018

Two Swallows at Balmore Pool.

Thursday 4 April 2019

1,920 Pink-footed Geese at Millichen Flood and six Tree Sparrows at West Millichen Cottages, Glasgow.

Mid-January Update

I've not managed out much other than an hour or so at Bingham's Pond plus a visit to Knightswood Park pond.

The year list for Bingham's currently stands at 26 which compares favourably with recent years - another advantage of using BirdTrack to record your bird species, you can quickly compare previous years sightings with your current efforts.

At Knightswood park, I concentrated on the pond and its immediate surrounds in the hope of getting some more sightings of ringed birds …

Knightswood Park pond - 11/1/19

There were three colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls present, all three of which I have already seen at the Pond ..

Ringed Ythan Estuary 3/6/14

Ringed Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria 4/12/18

Ringed Victoria Park, Glasgow 15/12/18

… but more interestingly, I managed to get photos of a metal ringed Black-headed Gull. Although only getting a partial reading from the photos, I do know it was ringed in 'Helgoland, Germania' or Heligoland, Germany. I am hoping that I shall get some more information from the ringers even though I only have a partial number ….

Finally, since I've not managed out much, a few interesting bird sightings from Greater Glasgow, courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine:

Balgray Reservoir - a 2nd winter Iceland Gull and 3rd winter Yellow-legged Gull.
Clarkston - Ring-necked Parakeets from a few different locations.

Wader Week!

Note: remember to click on the photographs to get a slide show and better view of the images.

Since the last post I've visited six different birding sites and seen 65 species including 12 species of wader.

On Sunday, I led a guided walk from Hogganfield Park LNR to Frankfield Loch via Cardowan Moss LNR on behalf of the SOC Clyde Branch in conjunction with the Friends of Glasgow's LNRs. We saw 37 species with a Garganey at Frankfield Loch being the highlight, plus three species of wader were seen - Greenshank, Snipe and Lapwing.

Grey Heron - Hogganfield Park LNR - 9/9/18

Approaching Cardowan Moss LNR - 9/9/18

Record shot - Garganey with Wigeon and Teal in foreground - 9/9/18

On the 12th I headed over to Balgray Reservoir using the No.3 McGills Bus from Glasgow City Centre to Neilston - get off at Oakbank Drive in Barrhead and then walk west for 10 minutes to a walled entry point to the Dams to Darnley Country Park. From here it's another 10 minutes or so to the car park and footpaths for Balgray Reservoir.

The reservoir's water levels are being dropped to facilitate work on the small reservoir opposite Balgray on the other side of Aurs Road. This has resulted in vast expanses of mud which is attracting a nice variety of waders - 8 seen here - Black-tailed Godwit, Snipe, Redshank, Dunlin, Green Sandpiper, Curlew, Ringed Plover and Lapwing.

Balgray Reservoir - 12/9/18

Curlew - 12/9/18

Black-tailed Godwits - 12/9/18

There were also good counts of Little Grebe (19) and Great Crested Grebe (11) plus a nice surprise, this female Scaup with a female Tufted Duck for comparison ….

Scaup and Tufted Duck (foreground) - 12/9/18

In between these trips, I also walked down to Bingham's Pond to check out if anything unusual had turned up. I added Grey Heron which, surprisingly, I hadn't seen at the Pond this year. This means my 'Pond Year List' now stands at 37. 

Finally, yesterday I travelled through to Musselburgh. It was too wet for any photography but I did add a few other waders to the weeks list - Ruff, Oystercatcher and, the highlight, Curlew Sandpiper. I also added Red-necked Grebe to my Year List.

Other people's sightings in Greater Glasgow,courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine, include:

Friday 14 September 2018 
The Garganey still at Frankfield Loch, also the first 36 Pink-footed Geese SE over at midday.
Balgray Reservoir counts included, a Knot, a Green Sandpiper, five Black-tailed Godwits, ten Dunlin, also still two Pintails, 20 White Wagtails and 250 Linnets.
Three Whinchats and eight Stonechats on the A77/M77 border at Shieldhill Farm, near Newton Mearns. 

Thursday 13 September 2018 
The Garganey still at Frankfield Loch, also an outstanding 38 Shoveler with eleven Gadwall.

A Ruff at Bridgend Farm Pool, near Kirkintilloch.

Waders at Balgray Reservoir included a Green Sandpiper, still seven Black-tailed Godwits, four Redshanks and a Common Sandpiper, also at least ten White Wagtails amongst the Pied.

Wednesday 12 September  2018
The Garganey still at Frankfield Loch.

No sign of the Pectoral Sandpiper at Balgray Reservoir, but a good collection of waders and ducks, including now two Green Sandpipers, seven Black-tailed Godwits, 10 Ringed Plovers and five Dunlin, also two Pintail with an  unusually high count for the site of 19 Little Grebes.

Tuesday 11 September  2018
The Pectoral Sandpiper still at a very reduced Balgray Reservoir, favouring the SW shore this morning, also three Dunlin and four Redshanks; late afternoon, also a Knot, a Green Sandpiper and seven Black-tailed Godwits.

Saturday 8 September 2018
A juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper at Balgray Reservoir.

'Scarce' birds start to appear

I travelled through to Fife and Lothian with Stephen and Peter last Sunday in the hope of adding a few 'unusual' species to my year list.

We started at Pettycur harbour, near Kinghorn ……

The Forth from Pettycur

… and quickly saw a number of terns - Sandwich and Common. However, in the distance, two birds looked darker whilst flying around the estuary. We all thought Black Tern and our thoughts were then confirmed when one landed on a distant buoy giving us good scope views. This photo was shot at maximum zoom on my bridge camera but does at least provide a nice record!

Distant record shot of juvenile Black Tern

Having also added Arctic Skua to my year list, we then headed for Guardbridge and the Eden Estuary ….

Eden Estuary

Here we saw a variety of waders including Greenshank, Ruff and Black-tailed Godwit. Other species of note included Little Egret, Osprey and Kingfisher …..

Greenshank

Two distant Little Egrets

Having planned to then visit 'The Wilderness' and 'Letham Pools', we had a change of heart when we heard about a Pectoral Sandpiper at Musselburgh Lagoons!

We arrived after 5pm but managed to see the bird albeit it spent most its time at the back of one of the lagoons or in the grass! So photographs are limited to this heavily cropped token shot …

Pectoral Sandpiper

So a great day's birding and creeping ever closer to 200 species in Scotland for the year!

On Tuesday I paid a short visit to Hogganfield Park LNR to check out progress on the planned path improvements and to hopefully get a passage tern or chat.

The path work was almost complete but sadly no sign of any birds on passage …..

One of the new surfaced paths

… although I did get an atmospheric shot over the loch towards the island ….

Elsewhere, in Greater Glasgow, sightings (courtesy of SOC Clyde Branch) included:

Tuesday 4 September 2018
The female Garganey still on Frankfield Loch, also an excellent 25 Shovelers, 380 Lapwings and two Kingfishers.

Monday 3 September 2018
The female Garganey still on Frankfield Loch. 
An Osprey fishing at Gadloch, Lenzie between 1500-1800 hrs.
Eight Black-tailed Godwits at Balmore Pool.

Saturday 1 September 2018
The female Garganey still on Frankfield Loch, also a Greenshank.

White-winged Gulls

I haven't managed much birding over the past week but, thanks to Stephen, we did go in search of white-winged gulls on Saturday.

The west coast of Scotland has seen an influx of such gulls over the past few weeks; mainly Glaucous and Iceland, with a few Mediterranean and even Little Gull, being reported.

So we spent the day travelling around the Clyde coast, with a stop at Lochwinnoch, hoping to see some of these cracking birds and, I am pleased to say, we were partly successful. In total, we saw c50 species including Red-throated Diver, Purple Sandpiper and Water Rail but the star birds were two juvenile Glaucous Gulls, in and around Troon Harbour ......

Bird 1

Bird 1

Bird 2

Bird 2

As well as in and around coastal harbours and bays, these gulls can be found on inland lochs, reservoirs, ponds and landfill sites, so keep your eyes open and you may be lucky!

I normally limit reporting sightings to those from the Greater Glasgow area, but today I've included some from further afield, all courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine:

Wednesday 7 February 2018
A 1st-winter Glaucous Gull and two Iceland Gulls (a 1st and 2nd-winter) at Greengairs landfill, Airdrie.
The adult Ring-billed Gull again at Strathclyde Loch in the morning.

Tuesday 6 February 2018
An adult Little Gull and an adult Mediterranean Gull in Cardwell Bay, Gourock.
42 Greenland White-fronted Geese at Gartocharn.
Today's highlights amongst the 2000+ birds at Blackstoun Farm included a Merlin, 16 Twite, 21 Bramblings and still 400 Skylarks.
Still six Bramblings in a Hollows Avenue, Foxbar garden.
A Jay in Linn Park, Glasgow.

Monday 5 February 2018
At low tide, three adult Mediterranean Gulls in Lunderston Bay.

Sunday 4 February 2018
A 2nd/3rd-winter Iceland Gull with three Mediterranean Gulls amongst over 6,000 gulls in Lunderston Bay at low tide.

At Roughrigg Reservoir gull roost, an adult Ring-billed Gull, two 1st-winter Iceland Gulls, one very pale and the other with characteristics of Kumlien's Gull and a probable hybrid Glaucous/Herring Gull.

End of the Month Update

It's almost two weeks since my last update and during that time I've birded locally - Bingham's Pond, Botanic Gardens and Hogganfield Park LNR and travelled a bit further afield to Irvine Harbour, Cardwell Bay, Castle Semple and Lochwinnoch RSPB Reserve.

Not many photos, I am afraid, thanks to the weather but here goes ....

On the 22nd I made the short journey to Bingham's Pond in the west end of Glasgow. Despite the 'mild' conditions (c7C) much of the pond was still frozen ...

Mallard on ice

Art installation or future nest site?

Moving on to the 23rd and a visit to my favourite LNR - Hogganfield Park. No photos but excellent views of a Kingfisher before the rain!

Wednesday 25th and we joined the RSPB Glasgow Group outing to Irvine Harbour, thanks to Judith and Mike. The winds were strong and there were less than 30 species to be seen. My camera stayed in the car although this photo, using my phone, gives an idea of the conditions we encountered looking out from the harbour mouth ....

From Irvine Harbour, four of us travelled to Cardwell Bay where we were lucky enough to see a Little Gull, just before yet more heavy rain, but no sign of the reported Bonaparte's Gull.

The next day, in the late afternoon, I spent just over an hour in Glasgow's Botanic Gardens and recorded 19 bird species , although again, no photos.

The next day it was back to Bingham's Pond, which was still partially frozen ...

... and 22 species seen including this Pied Wagtail .....

..... and this Goosander ....

We finished with a trip down to Castle Semple loch where we added birds such as Peregrine and Smew to our year total. We then moved on to the RSPB Lochwinnoch Reserve where we were really lucky to see this remarkably confiding Water Rail ...

Video grab

The whole video can be viewed here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXQQ0bEAwxQ

Since my last post I've seen 67 species, not bad considering the weather!

Other recent sightings, all courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine, include:

Monday 29 January 2018
Five Pintail in Cardross Bay.
The drake and female Scaup now on Ryat Linn Reservoir.

Saturday 27 January 2018

A spectacular flock of at least 500 Goldfinches going to roost in Elder Park, Govan.

Thursday 25 January
23 Whooper Swans on Hogganfield Loch.
A Greenshank at Erskine Harbour.
Five Ring-necked Parakeets at Bishopbriggs Golf Course.

Wednesday 24 January
20 Siskins coming to feeders in a Cathcart garden.

Saturday 20 January 2018
A 2nd-winter Yellow-legged Gull on Waulkmill Glen Reservoir, before flying to the Balgray Reservoir roost, also four Stonechats at Waulkmill; nearby, a drake Scaup on Ryat Linn Reservoir.
A Brambling in a Gardenhall, East Kilbride garden.