Week
ending: 29th August: Doonfoot
and Troon
Harbour
After a week of warm, sunny weather it was disappointing to find that
Sunday was remain dry and reasonably warm but would be overcast. And so
it was. But, it was my challenge, as the photographer, to beat the
gloom by finding the bright little moments that always occur as we
watch nature. So after our customary breakfast, this time in
Stewartfield Morrisons at the edge of East Kilbride (9.5/10 - excellent
and only spoiled by the small plates), we sped down the M77/A77 to
Doonfoot on the south side of Ayr.
On alighting from the car I came across an unfamiliar tall
flowering plant growing through long grass of the bank behind the car
park. This turned out to be a variety of Soapwort,
Rosea Plena. There were the usual Mute Swans on the River Doon, as well
as Mallards.
| Soapwort Rosea
Plena |
Mute Swan |
 |
 |
| Female Mallard |
Drake Mallard in
Eclipse plumage |
 |
 |
To the west, Greenan Castle overlooked the sands and rocks that were
exposed by the low tide. There were far fewer people on the shore than
I expected. There weren’t many birds there either, but we did
see a very large gathering of birds at the mouth of the river.
We walked over the sand beach along the estuary and settled on our
stools to see what we could see. John picked out a few Lapwing on the
opposite bank. They were getting chased occasionally by Crows and
Jackdaws. Just why I’m no sure. A large Curlew few over us as
it made for the inner shore. John located a few Wigeon dabbling
in the shallows amid the mass of gulls.
We could also see many Redshanks foraging in the shallows, and at the
edges of the shore there were a few Rooks. I spotted a flying Herring
Gull trying to evade other gulls that were after the Crab it had just
caught. Among the pursuers was a large Lesser Black-backed Gull.
| Redshank |
Rook |
 |
 |
| Herring Gull |
Lesser
Black-backed Gull |
 |
 |
There was a wader by another Lesser Black-backed Gull that was standing
about 50m away from where we were sitting. I suspected it was a Greenshank .
We moved a bit closer, running the risk of putting up the assembled
mass of birds. It was indeed a Greenshank. They feed on invertebrates
and small fish. As we made our way back to the car I snapped a Juvenile
Herring Gull in flight and a Curlew poking about on the opposite side
of the river mouth.
 |
 |
| 1st Cycle Herring
Gull |
Curlew |
 |
 |
We relocated to the Greenan Shore Car Park and walked past the castle
but the shoreline was strangely devoid of birds. We did spot a couple
of Grey Herons on the water’s edge a bit further on from the
castle. We doubled back along the field adjacent to Greenan Bay. We
found it was full of large cylindrical hay bales, and there were large
numbers of Woodpigeons and Jackdaws feeding on the areas of shorn hay.
| Grey Heron |
Carrion Crow |
 |
 |
| Wood Pigeon |
Jackdaw |
 |
 |
The edge of the field was packed with wildflowers. I came across a
plant I hadn’t noticed before, and I’m still to
identify it. We also found Sea Mayweed and Red Campion. I also came
across the lovely red berries of Bittersweet.
| TBC |
Sea Mayweed |
 |
 |
| Red Campion |
Bittersweet |
 |
 |
In fact there were quite few types of berry on show. The blue berries
of the Blackthorn
also called Sloe berries. They are too hard and bitter to eat, but they
can be used to flavour gin. There were fruiting Bramble
bushes - good for jam-making. The Hawthorns
also were loaded with their bunches of red berries. Elder
berries were also very much in evidence. Rose hips of the Dog
Rose
took us back to our school-days when we called them
“itchycoos” due to their inner contents causing
much
discomfort when placed down a classmate’s back. Not a berry,
but
the fruit of Lesser Burdock are “burrs” that are
round
burrs that stick to clothing and fur.
| Blackthorn |
Bramble |
 |
 |
| Common Hawthorn |
Elderberry |
 |
 |
| Dog Rose |
Lesser Burdock |
 |
 |
At the east side of the field, just below the castle I photographed a
young Goldfinch feeding on Knapweed. John pointed out a Feral Pigeon
that was visible through a Castle window.
| Feral Pigeon |
Juvenile Goldfinch |
 |
 |
We decided to finish the day at Troon Harbour car park, a 20 min drive
north. The waders that were sometimes on the rocks there were sadly
flushed away by day trippers. However, the Herring Gulls were close at
hand, waiting for chips from said day trippers. The juveniles were
especially needy, making the pleading cries they use to encourage their
parents to feed them. The ubiquitous Starlings with their attractive
plumages were also nice to look at as they searched the shore for
invertebrates. We also watched a female Pied Wagtail tweeting its way
around the wooden tables and benches looking for nibbles.
| 1st Cycle Herring
Gull |
Starling |
 |
 |
We got closer views of the fine plumages of adult and juvenile
Starlings as we consumed our tea and, wait for it, Pear and
Almond-cream Tarts. I thought they outshone our recent Strawberry
Tarts. Our penultimate capture was a shot of a juvenile Herring Gull
that patiently waited for some of our tarts - no chance mate. Just as
we were about to leave Sammy seal turned up, albeit about 100m out.
Nice to see it nevertheless.
| Starling |
Juvenile Starling |
 |
 |
| 1st Cycle Herring
Gull |
Grey Seal |
 |
 |
It was not a bad haul of sightings despite the gloomy conditions. I
enjoyed seeing the Herring Gull with the Crab and I was pleasantly
surprised at seeing such a variety of berries along the field by
Greenan Bay. Hopefully our next visit will be in much brighter
conditions
Week ending: 22nd August 2021: Hogganfield
Loch LNR
I wasn’t available on Sunday for our usual nature-watching
trip but I managed a few mid-week trips to one of my favourite haunts, Hogganfield
Loch LNR in the northeast of Glasgow. It is a busy
public park but the Loch and its surrounding area contains an
impressive variety of flora and fauna. All my observations were made
from or just off the road that encircles the Loch.
The usual starting point for my visits is the car park that borders the
northwest corner of the Loch. There is a raft moored about 30m from the
shore, where Gulls, mainly Lesser Black-backed, congregate. It is
always worth a look as in the past it has attracted relative rarities
such as Iceland and Glaucous Gulls. Amongst them this week was a large
Cormorant, one of the permanent residents usually seen elsewhere on the
Loch. Some of the Lesser Black-backed Gulls had sizeable chicks in
attendance pleading with them for food. I could also hear the
persistent pleading cries of a Great-crested Grebe chick and I located
it not far from the raft. It was harassing its mother who was obviously
demented with its constant cries for attention.
| Lesser
Black-backed Gull |
1st Cycle Lesser
Black-backed Gull |
 |
 |
| Cormorant |
Great Crested Grebe |
 |
 |
Another noisy youngster that flew close-by was one of many juvenile
Black-headed Gulls. It’s parents seemed reluctant to feed it.
The edges of the Loch were packed with interesting and very attractive
array of wildflowers, such as the Purple
Loosestrife pictured below.
I photographed a few of the other flower species I saw: Water
Mint , Sneezewort
and Birdsfoot
Trefoil. I also found a small mushroom which I think is
Turf Mottlegill .
| Water Mint |
Sneezewort |
 |
 |
| Bird's Foot Trefoil |
Turf Mottlegill |
 |
 |
On the west end of the Loch I found several Pochard
ducks based on a small artificial island.
They were diving for food, typically aquatic plants, molluscs, aquatic
insects and small fish. Also in that area were Little Grebes also
diving for fish and insects. I noticed a juvenile Grey Heron perched on
an artificial island situated to the the east of the wooded island. It
too was after fish and invertebrates, but I’ve seen them
eating baby birds. As I photographed the Heron I was visited by a
Magpie and a juvenile Goldfinch.
| Pochard |
Pochard |
 |
 |
| Little Grebe |
Juvenile Grey Heron |
 |
 |
| Magpie |
Juvenile Goldfinch |
 |
 |
There was a large flock of Tufted Ducks on the Loch. The
drakes seemed to be on the hunt for females to pair with.
The male Tufted Duck has mainly black plumage with white flanks, and of
course a large curved tuft of feathers on its head, while the females
were a dark brown with light brown sides. I also snapped female and
drake Mallards. They have similar plumage at this time of year since
the drakes are in eclipse plumage. They are most easily distinguished
by their yellow beaks.
| Drake Tufted Duck |
Female Tufted Duck |
 |
 |
| Female Mallard |
Male Mallard in
Eclipse Plumage |
 |
 |
On my circuits of the Loch, as well as noting the flowers I saw, I also
photographed some of the insects that were on the flowers. In a long
stretch of Michaelmas Daisies to the south of the car park there were
rich pickings for me as well as for the insects. I started with several
snaps of Honey
Bees . The were also Greenbottles, Lucilia Caesar
and the small, neat hoverfly, Eupeodes
latifasciatus , but at the other end of the size
scale, the much bigger and hairier hoverfly, Eristalis arbustorum,
bossed it’s way onto the scene. I finished with a couple of
Bumblebees: the Heath
Bumblebee , which is common but often mistaken for
the Garden Bumblebee; the other Bumblebee was the much smaller, brown
Carder Bee. Below it is pictured searching a Devil’s Bit
Scabious flower.
| Honey Bee |
Fly - Lucilia
Caesar |
 |
 |
| Hoverfly -
Eupeodes latifasciatus |
Hoverfly -
Eristalis arbustorum |
 |
 |
| Heath Bumblebee |
Carder Bee |
 |
 |
On the north edges of the Loch I found a Great Crested Grebe fishing on
its own well away from demanding chicks. There were many noisy Coots,
feisty wee birds that are often seen fighting among themselves.
Similar-looking to the Coots are Moorhens. They are easily
distinguishable by noting that Coots have a large white/pink forehead
and pink beak while Moorhen have red and yellow beaks. The Moorhen
below is probably a juvenile as it’s beak is not quite at
full colour.
| Great Crested Grebe |
Coot |
 |
 |
| Coot |
Juvenile Moorhen |
 |
 |
The Loch at at the car park is occupied mainly by Mute Swans. I
photographed a group of sibling cygnets as they drifted toward the main
group of Swans. There was a single Whooper
Swan, clearly identified by the yellow in its beak. I believe
it has an injury that prevented it flying back to Iceland for the
summer along with the rest of its flock. Other large visitors include
geese. The numbers of Greylag and Canada Geese varies throughout the
year. Often they outnumber the Swans. Last week there was one of each.
My final capture of the week was of a juvenile White
Wagtail foraging along the lochside.
| Mute Swan |
Juvenile Mute Swans |
 |
 |
| Whooper Swan |
Greylag Goose |
 |
 |
| Canada Goose |
Juvenile White
Wagtail |
 |
 |
If you’ve never visited Hogganfield I hope I’ve
managed to whet your appetite. It really is a great place to visit for
close views of birds that you would need binoculars to see elsewhere.
It is also a great place to develop your knowledge of flowers and
insects.
Week ending: 15th August 2021: Longniddry Bents and
Yellowcraigs
Central Scotland was sandwiched between areas of cloud to the north and
south and the weather prospects were good, especially in the east. We
opted for Aberlady although the tide would be low and gulls and waders
would be quite far offshore.
After breakfasts in Dalkeith Morrisons (9.5/10: excellent again) we
stopped off first at Longniddry
Bents, a popular spot with day-trippers and birdies alike.
The weather was very dull, the tide was low and many of said
day-trippers were clambering over the exposed rocks so we walked
“around the corner” from the car park past a line
of World War II fortifications, where it was devoid of people and where
we could hear the pleasing sounds of birds.
At the western edges of Gosford Bay we found Sandwich Terns were
fishing and Curlews and Oystercatchers were also very busy. A lone
Herring Gull was not so busy as it stood the whole time on a boulder,
watching the world go by.
| Sandwich Tern |
Curlew |
 |
 |
| Oystercatcher |
Herring Gull |
 |
 |
Of course there were the usual gulls
in attendance: Black-headed, Common and Herring Gulls each doing what
gulls do - foraging, quarrelling and squawking.
| Black-headed Gull |
Common Gull |
 |
 |
| Herring Gull |
1st Cycle Herring
Gull |
 |
 |
John spotted a Grey
Heron patrolling the damp seaweed piles. It was
difficult to make out due to the low light levels. I could see it was a
juvenile as it had no white on its crown. John then informed me he had
counted four Herons in total and it wasn’t long before they
congregated at the spot that we’d seen the juvenile. An adult
Grey Heron displaced the juvenile, who rather sulkily waded into the
salt pools and poked about for tiddlers. John told me later
he’d seen the adult down some frog-like morsels but I reckon
they were crabs. It wasn’t long before we could see the two
adults and two juveniles, probably a family.
As we made our way back to the car we came across some butterflies: a
lovely Wall Brown, a Large White and a Meadow Brown. We also found a
Sawfly, Tenthredo
arcuata, on some Thrift flowers.
| Wall Brown
Butterfly |
Large White
Butterfly |
 |
 |
| Meadow Brown
Butterfly |
Tenthredo arcuata |
 |
 |
I found a patch of Eyebright
flowers. These may be tiny but closer inspection
is always rewarding as they are very beautiful - mainly white with
yellow, purple and green markings. We also noticed many Meadow
Cranesbill, much larger than the Eyebright and just as beautiful -
striking blue petals with pink stigma and stamen. Even larger were the
brown, oval, spiky seed heads of the Teasel we saw. We heard and
glimpsed Goldfinches (but unfortunately never photographed them).
Goldfinches, are birds who just love to eat Teasel seeds. I also
encountered some gloriously jaggy-looking Musk Thistle.
| Eyebright |
Meadow Cranesbill |
 |
 |
| Teasel |
Musk Thistle |
 |
 |
We next drove the short distance east to Aberlady but concluded that
the tide was too far out (at least half a mile!) for decent pictures,
besides, the car park and roadsides were rammed with cars. In the end
we settled for Yellowcraig,
a picturesque section of coast that is often rich in bird and plant
life. The picture below shows the island of Fidra that dominates the
view from the Sandy beach. This island reputedly inspired
R.L. Stevenson to write his very famous novel, Treasure Island.
If our morning viewing was in black and white due to the absence of
sunshine, then the afternoon was in glorious technicolour as the sun
finally came to the party. The beach was fairly well occupied with
visitors most of whom were active and noisy enough to have flushed away
the birds that normally frequent the sea shore. However, since the
water was so far out due to low tide, and since there was an exposed
“plateau” of rocks difficult to walk on, I thought
it was worth having a look at the albeit distant waters edge. As I made
my way across the sand an unexpected Peacock butterfly landed in front
of me on a sprig of seaweed. As I snapped it, a wee family of Linnets
twittered onto the rocks. It wasn’t long before they
twittered off again but I did manage a shot of daddy Linnet. I also got
quick shots of a couple of birds in flight, a Carrion Crow and a
beautifully sunlit Herring Gull.
| Peacock Butterfly |
Linnet |
 |
 |
| Carrion Crow |
Herring Gull |
 |
 |
As I reached the rocks another bird family appeared, Pied
Wagtails . Like the Linnets they were very flighty
but they didn’t fly clean away so allowing me to track them
and get shots of the male, female and juveniles - the full set.
| Male Pied Wagtail |
Female Pied Wagtail |
 |
 |
| Juvenile Pied
Wagtail |
Juvenile Pied
Wagtail |
 |
 |
My heart fell when I saw that there were a dozen canoes just beyond the
shore. And beyond them were the latest craze to disturb coastal waters
- paddleboarders . So I cast my eyes further, towards Fidra where I
noticed that there were quite a few Gannets diving to the east of the
island. There was obviously a large shoal of fish there and the Gannets
were engaging in what you could term a “feeding
frenzy”. I managed to get a sequence of four (distant) shots
of a dive of one particular bird.
On my way back to the car I photographed the Bass Rock,
the Gannets’ likely nesting site which lies about 6 miles to
the east.
On my way back to the car I photographed some of the Sea
Buckthorn that is very plentiful along that part of the
Lothian coast. It is often planted in coastal dunes to slow erosion. We
also saw a lot of Large
Bindweed draped over other plants and bushes. Our
final pictures were of Lesser
Burdock, another “jaggy” plant. Its
flower heads are surrounded by a bracts that end in hooks that stick to
fur, feathers or clothes so enabling the seeds of the plant to hitch a
lift on creatures that will take them far from the parent plant.
| Sea Buckthorn |
Large Bindweed |
 |
 |
We finished the day with tea and our recent favourites,
naughty-but-nice Strawberry tarts. Our fortunes had been mixed but we
ended up with a decent set of photographs. Favourite shots for me were
the Grey Herons and the Pied Wagtails.
Week ending: 8th August 2021: Musselburgh
and Port Seton
The whole of Central Scotland was
experiencing a wet and thundery low pressure that had stalled on top of
us for most of the week. There was news of assorted Sandpipers at
Musselburgh so we decided to brave the elements and hope for sunny
intervals. Our breakfasts at Morrisons got us off to the best start
(10/10: faultless - quick, responsive service with delicious, perfectly
cooked food) and the weather was dry and very mild.
As we entered the Levenhall Links nature reserve, otherwise known as
“the Scrapes”, a birder winked at us and commented
wryly as he was leaving, “You’ll be looking for the
far hide”. Encouraged by this, we indeed made for the
suggested hide where we managed to get a space in and immediately
started firing of shots at the many birds gathered before us. First to
catch my eye was a fairly distant juvenile Shelduck .
Then I focused in on the reported Wood ,
Green
and Common
Sandpipers. They were quite distant and not greatly lit, working their
way around the right edges of the rightmost scrape.
| Juvenile Shelduck |
Green Sandpiper |
 |
 |
| Wood Sandpiper |
Common Sandpiper |
 |
 |
I was pleased to see a Wood Sandpiper with a Green Sandpiper
that were a bit closer to us, foraging in the muddy puddles in the near
left edges of the scrape. Casting my attentions more widely I
photographed a few of the many familiar residents: Redshanks,
Woodpigeons and Carrion Crow.
| Wood / Green Sandpiper |
Redshank |
 |
 |
| Wood Pigeon |
Carion Crow |
 |
 |
Far to our left we saw a large flock of Canada Geese grazing
on the grassy surrounds of the far scrapes.
The tidal waters of the Firth of Forth were rising, forcing
the many birds that were feeding on the shores to seek shelter until
they were once again exposed. We watched waves of Curlew
, Oystercatchers and Bar-tailed
Godwits fly into the reserve, increasing the
numbers of their flocks already settled before us.
 |
 |
| Oystercatcher |
Bar-tailed Godwits |
 |
 |
Eventually the Sandpipers filed past us, as close to the hide as they
were going to get. The clouds were thinning and blue sky was breaking
through. It hadn’t rained and we were hopeful that the sun
would soon make a showing. We decided to check out the Firth from the
sea wall adjacent to the Scrapes. As we we exiting the reserve a pair
of Canada Geese passed overhead, one of which was a Greylag x Canada
hybrid.
At the boating pond John spotted a pair of Little Grebes diving several
metres from the banks. At the wall we were immediately treated to the
sight of Sandwich Terns passing. There were also passing Cormorants.
Several hundred metres offshore we could make out a feeding frenzy of
diving Gannets
that had obviously come upon a large shoal of fish. A little nearer to
us were a pair of Guillemots
bobbing in the fairly choppy waters. A lot closer was a bold Herring
Gull that checked us out for discarded sandwiches.
| Little Grebe |
Sandwich Tern |
 |
 |
| Cormorant |
Gannet |
 |
 |
Skies to the North, West and South were grey but we were in
the sunshine - so much so that we had to discard our jackets. We
decided to move to the mouth of the Esk for a quick check if there were
any roosting birds. Below is the view of Portobello with Edinburgh in
the background.
As we passed the Cadet Hall I snapped a cheeky Jackdaw that was walking
across our path. I noticed some nice Hedgerow Cranesbill at the “big
arrow” along with some very pretty Common
Mallow. We walked by the sea wall and photographed eclipse Eider,
Goosanders and Turnstones that were settled on and between the rocks
just below the sea wall.
| Jackdaw |
Hedgerow Cranesbill |
 |
 |
| Common
Mallow |
Eclipse
Plumage Eider |
 |
 |
| Goosander |
Turnstone |
 |
 |
Our last stop was at Port Seton where we knew there would be Sandwich
Terns assembled on the rocks. And so they were,
albeit at a distance of about 200m. However the incoming tide was
encouraging them to move to drier rocks closer to shore.
Also on the furthest rocks were Cormorants and Gulls that were getting
the occasional lashings from waves but it didn’t seem to
bother them. There were also Herring Gulls on the rocks closer to
shore. I just about spotted a very well-camouflaged Pied Wagtail that
was poking about on piles of seaweed just below the promenade.
| Cormorant |
Herring Gull |
 |
 |
| 1st Cycle Herring
Gull |
Pied Wagtail |
 |
 |
After we’d been there for about 20 minutes, the Terns decided
they’d had enough of the waves crashing onto their rocks and
they started moving to less exposed rocks nearer the shore. Many were
juveniles with their rather chequered plumage. The occasional Tern flew
in from further afield with a silvery fish in its beak. How they manage
to locate their juveniles amongst the ever-moving mass of birds is
impressive as it is mysterious, although they often have to fly around
a bit before they find them. The rain clouds gathered and we retired to
the car for tea before it rained. I managed a last couple of shots as
the light faded. A few Turnstones shared a rock with a juvenile Herring
Gull and a bit further out, the picture of stubborn persistence was a
Cormorant on a rock, drying its wings while being hit by advancing
waves and spray.
We were ready to dodge the showers but it turned out to be
rather a nice day , both weather-wise and bird-wise. We had tea and
cream caramel tarts as we discussed how the day had turned out better
than we had expected. My favourite sightings were of course the
Sandpipers but I love Terns as they are such active, skilful birds. As
for next week - we’re due a soaking as our last few visits
have been in warm sunshine, however it is still Summer so
there’s a strong chance that we might again have to get out
the sun cream.
Week ending: 1st August 2021:
RSPB
Lochwinnoch
I was on my own this week as John had a family commitment. Fair weather
was predicted but with low tides and summer
“stay-cations” at the coasts I opted for a wee
visit to RSPB Lochwinnoch. I passed on the usual breakfast and instead
opted for a boring sandwich for lunch (4/10), then I travelled the M74,
M8, A737 and finally A760 to finally reach RSPB Lochwinnoch.
After a quick chat with the staff in the Visitor Centre, who advised me
that all paths and hides were open, and that there were Nuthatches on
the feeders and Grebes with chicks on the Barr Loch, I headed straight
to the bird feeders. The usual suspects were dining there including Chaffinches
and Great,
Coal and Blue Tits.
| Male Chaffinch |
Female Chaffinch |
 |
 |
| Great Tit |
Juvenile Great Tit |
 |
 |
| Coal Tit |
Blue Tit |
 |
 |
A big Woodpigeon and a couple of Collared Doves were throwing their
weight around, bossing a big feeder that had a ledge they could stand
on. This of course was good news for the Robin, a ground feeder, as
pigeons and doves are messy eaters and would rain down the seed to
ground meaning Robbie wouldn’t have to work too hard for his
share. Another bossy bird made a brief appearance, the Great
Spotted Woodpecker , a juvenile (indicated by his
red head marking) that made off smartly with some of the nuts.
| Wood Pigeon |
Collared Dove |
 |
 |
| Robin |
Juvenile
Great-spotted Woodpecker |
 |
 |
I next moved away from the feeders and onto a wooden hide which
overlooks the wide expanse of Castle Semple Loch. It was sadly devoid
of birds though, but the view was nice.
Outside the hide I heard some twittering Goldfinches. They
were high in the trees but I was fortunate to catch a couple of
glimpses. As I moved further along the trail I came across a few
insects that were feeding on wildflowers. On the fabulously flowering
Meadowsweet I snapped a hovering Honey
Bee , complete with bulging pollen sac. Also on the
Meadowsweet I found the hoverfly, Leucozona glaucia. At the end of the
trail I found some Devil’s Bit Scabious on which was another
hoverfly, Ferdinandea cuprea.
| Goldfinch |
Honey Bee |
 |
 |
| Hoverfly
- Leucozona glaucia |
Hoverfly -
Ferdinandea cuprea |
 |
|
With so few birds “on show” I turned my attention
to the rich variety of wildflowers that were showing profusely. Not far
from the Scabious flowers, at the water’s edge, large spikes
of Purple
Loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria, stood proud. Around them I
noticed some yellow blooms I had, from a distance, thought they were St
John’s Wort, but on closer inspection it was obvious they
were not. After some research I discovered they were actually Yellow
Loosestrife, Lysimachia vulgaris. There were many patches of Yellow
Water Lilies on the waters edges. I set off back along the track
towards the Visitor Centre keeping an eye out for the wildflowers that
lined its edges. A sprig of Herb Robert caught my eye (not literally!).
| Purple Loosestrife |
Yellow Loosestrife |
 |
 |
| Yellow Water Lily |
Herb Robert |
 |
 |
Dominating much of the areas of wildflowers were the tall Great and
Rosebay Willowherbs. Also well represented was the thistle-like Common
Knapweed. I could only see a few Common Comfrey in bloom.
| Great Willowherb |
Rosebay Willowherb |
 |
 |
| Common Knapweed |
Common Comfrey |
 |
 |
I explored the wild flower garden in front of the Visitor Centre. A
Dotted Loosestrife plant, Lysimachia punctata was in full bloom. In the
same bed was a lone Musk Mallow. In another bed there was a large patch
of Wild Marjoram. A Garden Bumblebee was hard at work among the
plant’s tiny blooms. The bed at the Centre’s
entrance was dominated by Spearmint upon which I immediately noticed a
striking Pellucid Fly, one of the largest UK flies.
| Dotted Loosestrife |
Musk Mallow |
 |
 |
| Garden Bumblebee |
Hoverfly
-Volucella Pellucens ( Pellucid Fly ) |
 |
 |
Beyond the left hand side of the Centre I had a quick look through the
viewing screen at the Reserve but it was very heavily overgrown with
the water channels obscured.
I next crossed the very busy A760 and walked to the end of the path
along the edge of the Barr Loch. It too looked bird-free, but on
further inspection (very further) I could see there were birds on the
opposite edges of the loch. These were too distant, even for my 600 mm
lens. And guess where the aforementioned Grebes were - on the opposite
banks. Once again I turned my attention to the pathsides. I took a
picture of a White-tailed Bumblebee on Himalayan Balsam flowers shortly
before some RSPB volunteers arrived to root them out. There
was a small swarm of what looked like Marsh Greenbottles, Lucilia
silvarum, that were getting excited over a discarded plastic wrapper.
When I noticed the names of fish on the wrapper I assumed it was for
fish bait - hence the interest of the flies. There was a very smartly
carved seat by the path. It had a metal plate with the engraved
message: “Ronnie Bell, Enjoy the view”. On my short
trek back to the car I snapped a Meadow Brown and a Green-veined white
butterfly and also some Hedge Bindweed - making my visit to the Barr
Loch not a complete waste of time.
| White-tailed
Bumblebee |
Lucilia Silvarum |
 |
 |
| Ronnie Bell's seat |
Meadow Brown
Butterfly |
 |
 |
| Green-veined White
Butterfly |
Hedge Bindweed |
 |
 |
At the car I thought I’d give the feeders another go to see
if I could see the reported Nuthatch. Sadly it wasn’t to be.
But I did get some more pleasing shots of a male Chaffinch, a male
Great Tit and a Collared Dove that was just about to fly off its perch
onto the ground. My last shot of the day was of a Jackdaw that I only
spotted once I’d left the feeder area. It was perched high in
the trees, obscured by their foliage.
| Chaffinch |
Great Tit |
 |
 |
| Collared Dove |
Jackdaw |
 |
 |
I had a wee cup of tea and a biscuit before driving home. The young
Woodpecker was perhaps the bird star of the day. It is certainly true
to say that if it wasn’t for the feeders I would have seen
only one bird, the Goldfinch. Good job I’m interested in
flowers and invertebrates. My favourite sightings of these were the
Pellucid Fly and Yellow Loosestrife (a newbie for us). The weather was
great too. More of the same next week please.
Highlights
- August 2021
We present last
month’s gallery of my favourite pictures I’ve taken
during August 2021. They are not listed in the order they have been
taken, but according to a series of themes. I’ve kept
commentary to a minimum, preferring to let each picture talk for itself.
WINGS
ANYONE
FOR LUNCH?
PORTRAIT
INVERTEBRATES
IN
THE WATER
IN
THE TREES
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../Pics/IndexPagePics/2021/August/Highlights/
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ON
THE ROCKS
IN
THE FIELDS
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