Cold Weather Birding!

The weather has remained cold with the added 'bonus' of snow!

I have, however, obtained some details of the ringed Black-headed Gull I spotted at a partially frozen Victoria Park pond, as reported in my last post.

The gull, with a white ring 2D34 on its right leg, was ringed in 2005 in Wiltshire, England!

Other (n)ice sightings have been had at Hogganfield Park LNR and Knightswood Park.

Much of Hogganfield Loch was frozen and this meant all the water birds  were giving relatively close views AND they were easier to count! It was rather overcast, so that made photography a bit tricky.

Female Wigeon

Drake Gadwall 

Drake Pochard 

In addition to the birds on the loch I also spotted a Kingfisher in the large marsh pond and managed a distant record shot ..

On the day, I saw 37 different species; not bad for a winter's day birding in the City.

On the 13th we travelled through to Musselburgh with Peter and Stephen but with poor overhead conditions I concentrated on birding although I took this record shot from one of the hides .....

The next day (14 January 2018) I travelled to Knightswood Park and headed for the pond, which like many other water bodies, was partially frozen  ...

I spent some time counting the wildfowl and gulls; for example, 39 Mute Swans, 38 Tufted Duck, 26 Common Gulls, 22 Herring Gulls and c200 Black-headed Gulls. 

Common Gull

Herring Gull

Black-headed Gull

Whilst mentioning gulls, both Mediterranean and Iceland Gulls have been reported in Glasgow, so keep an eye out for them. More details of these and other interesting sightings from the SOC Clyde Grapevine:

Wednesday 17 January 2018
An adult male Hen Harrier at Balmore Pool.
Four Ring-necked Parakeets in Greenbank Garden, Clarkston.

Monday 15 January 2018
Now a 2nd-winter Iceland Gull at Hogganfield Loch at midday.
18 Ring-necked Parakeets going to roost at Victoria Park, Glasgow.

Sunday 14 January 2018
A 1st-winter Iceland Gull at Hogganfield Loch.
Six Jack Snipe at Windlaw Marsh, also two Stonechats (one caught and ringed).
A Woodcock flushed at the east end of Gadloch.

Saturday 13 January 2018
An adult Mediterranean Gull at Knightswood Park Pond, Glasgow.
A 1st-winter Iceland Gull at Strathclyde Loch.
A record local estimate of at least 5,000 Pink-footed Geese coming in to roost on Gadloch late afternoon; also 51 Whooper Swans.

Friday 12 January 2018
The long-staying female Mandarin Duck on the White Cart Water at Sinclair Drive, Battlefield.

Late news for 11 January 2018
Still a drake and a female Scaup on Waulkmill Glen Reservoir.
At least 4 Nuthatches in woodland NW of Pollok House, Pollok Country Park.
Two Ring-necked Parakeets over Hillhead High School, Glasgow. 

Happy Birding New Year

Like many bird watchers, I keep lists - year lists, site lists, and garden lists. At the beginning of the year I sat down and spent a wee bit of time looking back on 2017 and the birds we encountered in Greater Glasgow and also the rest of Scotland. 

With the use of BirdTrack it is now a lot easier to explore your records and compare your bird sightings with previous years. For example, I saw 69 species at Hogganfield Park LNR in 2017; this compares to 68 in 2016 and 63 in 2015. I also recorded my 100th species at Hogganfield in 2017.

Needless to say, the listing has started again and of course Hogganfield Park LNR has been visited as well as other local sites such as Bingham's Pond and Victoria Park. We also travelled a bit further afield, with Peter and Stephen, to Baron's Haugh RSPB Reserve and Strathclyde Loch...............

At Hogganfield Park LNR there were 4 Great Black-backed Gulls present, three of which are represented below ...

3 Great Black-backed Gulls with Herring Gulls - Hogganfield Park LNR - 5 /1/18

This Kestrel gave great views before going off and successfully hunting ......

Kestrel - Hogganfield Park LNR - 5/1/18

Baron's Haugh was looking good in the sunlight and we did manage to see a Tawny Owl as well as the usual species. 

Baron's Haugh RSPB Reserve - 6/1/18

From Baron's Haugh, we headed over to the nearby Strathclyde Loch and thankfully located the famous Ring-billed Gull which has returned for its 4th 'winter'. It remained fairly distant so I had to settle for this record shot .....

Ring-billed Gull - Strathclyde Loch - 6/1/18

 On the 8th, I walked to Victoria Park and found that most of the pond was frozen ....

Victoria Park - 8/1/18

There were still good numbers of waterbirds present with this Little Grebe showing particularly well ....

Little Grebe - Victoria Park - 8/1/18

 Another sighting of note was this ringed Black-headed Gull. I have sent off details and will hopefully receive information about where and when the bird was ringed from the relevant ringer ...

Back-headed Gull - Victoria Park - 8/1/18

Finally, I couldn't help hearing the screech of the 'local' Ring-necked Parakeets and I located 3 within the park boundary, away from their nest hole ...

Ring-necked Parakeet - Victoria Park - 8/1/18

So the year is less than 2 weeks old and my bird list stands at 51. Other people have also been out birding and their records, from the Greater Glasgow area, and courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine, follow:

Wednesday 10 January 2018
11 Gadwall on Hogganfield Loch.
Two Jays flying across River Clyde from Erskine Wood to Bowling. 

Monday 8 January 2018
A male and a female Scaup still on Waulkmill Glen Reservoir.
Two Barnacle Geese with about 1,000 Pink-footed Geese at Boclair Farm, Milngavie.

Sunday 7 January 2018
The 2nd-winter Yellow-legged still at the Balgray Reservoir, roost, also 44 Goosanders.
Four Crosssbills in Mugdock Country Park.
A remarkable19 Ring-necked Parakeets at roost in Victoria Park, Glasgow.

Tuesday 2 January 2018
A male and female Scaup still on Waulkmill Glen Reservoir, also two Stonechats.

West End Birding (and Breeding)

Following on from our recent travels, it was back to some local birding at Bingham's Pond and Victoria Park.

At Bingham's Pond, the pair of Mute Swans and 5 cygnets seem to be doing well; there is one young Coot; a female Mallard is trying to protect her brood of 4 ducklings and Blue Tits are still entering one of the nest boxes erected by the Friends of Glasgow's LNRs.

Bingham's Pond - 20 May 2017

 

Bingham's Pond - 1 June 2017

At Victoria Park pond, there are three pairs of Coot on nests and at least one brood of Mallard duckling .............

Victoria Park - 31 May 2017

 

Victoria Park - 31 May 2017

 

However, the highlight has to be my first ever sighting of a young Ring-necked Parakeet in its nest hole and confirmation that they have successfully bred this year........

 

Victoria Park - 31 May 2017

 

This also reminds me that I am giving a talk on 'West End Wildlife' at the West End Festival on Tuesday 20 June 2017 in the Hillhead Library from 6.30pm. All welcome and its FREE.

Daily Glasgow Birding

Despite winter arriving, I've managed out virtually every day since the last post - Knightswood Park and Bingham's Pond on Saturday (7th); the Forth & Clyde Canal/River Kelvin walkways and Dawsholm Park (8th); the River Kelvin Walkway from Kelvingrove Park to the Botanic Gardens (9th); Victoria Park (10th) and the Millichen area, courtesy of Judith & Mike, on the 11th! I certainly feel a lot fitter and my bird list has increased to 80+ for the year; one of the highlights being three Waxwings at the junction of Ilay Road/Bearsden Road.

Only a few photos as the weather was so poor ...

Knightswood Park pond - 7 January 2017

Knightswood Park pond - 7 January 2017

River Kelvin - 9 January 2017

Kelvin Walkway at Arboretum, Botanic Gardens - 9 January 2017

Also, at short notice, I delivered a 45 minute presentation at the RSPB Glasgow Group on Wednesday evening - the 'Birds and Other Wildlife of Poole Harbour' seemed to go down well.

Finally, a quick round-up of recent sightings from Greater Glasgow, courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine:

Wednesday 11 January 2017
20 Waxwings in gardens between Royal Crescent and Fitzroy Place, Glasgow.
20 Waxwings over Drumyone Post Office, Shieldhall Road, Glasgow.
A male Blackcap in a Sween Avenue, Cathcart, Glasgow garden, also 20 Bullfinches.

Tuesday 10 January 2017
A male Blackcap again in a Boylestone Road, Barrhead garden.
30 Siskins at Darnley Mill Pond.

Monday 9 January 2017
A Barnacle Goose with Pink-feet opposite Dobbies, Boclair Road, Milngavie.
A Jay in the woodland garden, Pollok Country Park, also a Nuthatch at the feeders.

Sunday 8 January 2017
A female Mandarin Duck still on White Cart Water at Sinclair Drive, Battlefield.

Saturday 7 January 2017
1st-winter Scaup still on Heritage Loch, East Kilbride.
40 Waxwings by the M8 at Townhead, Glasgow at 1000 hrs, at exactly the same time, the same number by M8 at Tradeston.
21 Waxwings at the junction of Wright Street and Percy Road, Renfrew at 1300 hrs, later 50 across Paisley Road at Glynhill Hotel.
A female Mandarin Duck on the White Cart Water at Sinclair Drive, Battlefield.
A Peregrine over Richmond Park, Glasgow.
Two Ring-necked Parakeets in Hillview Drive, Clarkston.

Birding and Walking

Firstly, remember you can click on the photos to create a slide show (and enhanced viewing).

I may not have walked 500 miles, as per the Proclaimers song, but I've walked a fair wee distance this week whilst out birding!

On Tuesday, we walked from Anniesland to Victoria Park and back. It's been a while since we visited and we had good views of Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff and Blackcap.

We noticed a pair of Jackdaws with nesting material and watched them approaching a large hole when they were 'repulsed' by a Grey Squirrel! A good number of birds were either already nesting or collecting nesting material and we eventually recorded 26 species in the park including Ring-necked Parakeet.

Victoria Park

Grey Squirrel

Coot on nest

Ring-necked Parakeet

On Wednesday we travelled down to Culter Water, thanks to Judith and Mike. I was leading a RSPB Glasgow Local Group outing and I'm pleased that there were 16 of us in total. We walked from the parking area at Birthwood all the way to Culter Waterhead Reservoir and back and, in the process, saw at least 31 species. Sadly no Ring Ousel, but possibly the best day of the year, weather wise, so far!

Culter Water Glen

Culter Waterhead Reservoir

 

On Thursday, it was off to Hogganfield Loch to check on the BioHavens and obviously some birding - 35 bird species seen with Common Sandpiper being a nice surprise. The Havens seem to be doing fine and the plants are starting to grow.

 

Common Sandpiper

BioHaven - Hogganfield Loch

 

Finally, we travelled by train and then bus to the Carbeth Inn and walked back to Milngavie Railway Station. In doing so we walked part of the John Muir Way, West Highland Way and Clyde Coastal Path. Within Mugdock Country Park we saw our first Tree Pipits of the year and by the end of our walk we had recorded 34 species in total.

 

Craigallian Loch from West Highland Way

Record shot of distant Tree Pipit

 

I would like to say we feel a lot healthier from all this walking but ..............

 

Finally, another round-up of interesting sightings from the Greater Glasgow area, courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine:

 

Thursday 21 April 2016
200 Pink-footed Geese north over Linn Park in the morning.

 

Wednesday 20 April 2016
A White Wagtail at Ardoch Farm, Eaglesham and still five Fieldfares between Over Enoch and Carrot.
Three Grasshopper Warblers (two reeling) at Mosswater LNR, Cumbernauld.
Single reeling Grasshopper Warblers at Littleton and Waulkmill Glen Reservoirs.

 

Tuesday 19 April 2016

An adult Mediterranean Gull at Ferguslie Park Gardens, Paisley.
A Short-eared Owl flushed at Windalw Marsh, also a Sedge Warbler.

A Cuckoo heard on Stockie Muir.
Single Tree Pipit singing at Mugdock Country Park.

 

Monday 18 April 2016
19 Shoveler (13 drakes), seven Gadwall and 260 Pink-footed Geese at Bridgend Farm Pool. KIrkintilloch.
A Cuckoo heard on Kilpatrick Braes near Loch Humphrey.