Week ending: 23rd February: Hogganfield Park LNR, Figgate Park, Joppa

Winter continued with mostly dismal weather, the exceptions being Thursday and Saturday, when the Sun actually managed to break through the veil of cloud.

Thursday 20th February: Hogganfield Park LNR, Glasgow

My brief visit to Hogganfield coincided with a brief hour of sunshine. I made my usual circuit around the park, starting at the car park where the usual beautiful birds were gathered: Mute and Whooper Swans and various ducks such as Goldeneyes and Mallards. A Moorhen was foraging around a group of Mallards.

Mute Swan	Whooper Swan
Goldeneye	Moorhen / Mallard

Argumentative Coots were busy in all areas of the loch - when they weren’t diving, they were picking fights with practically every bird they met. Flirty cock Feral Pigeons were billing and cooing around the hen pigeons, who usually resisted their advances. The Tufted Ducks’ tufts seemed longer, but perhaps that was because the wind was fairly strong. I only spotted a single Greylag. Perhaps it was injured and was unable to accompany the rest of its flock wherever they went.

Coot	Feral Pigeon
Tufted Duck	Greylag Goose

Next, a fellow birder beckoned me over to direct my attention to a pair of mating Goosanders. To invite copulation, the female lies flat on the surface of the water (see below). Unfortunately the pair were disturbed by a second drake who chased of the first. We concluded from this that the female may have been “cheating” on her drake.

A bit further down the path I photographed other Goosanders: a drake, a female and a juvenile (note the white face patches that distinguish it from the female). In the middle of the marshy area at the southwest corner of the loch, a Grey Heron  was prowling, half-hidden in the long grass.

Drake Goosander	Female Goosander
Female Juvenile Goosander	Grey Heron

A large group of mainly Black-headed Gulls were gathered at the side of the loch not far from the Heron. They were soaking up the welcome sunshine, taking to the air to avoid approaching dogs, or to compete for bread thrown by some passing persons.

At the east side of the loch I could see at least six Grey Herons perched on the east side of the island. That area of the island has been called a “heronry” in the past few years, as the number of herons nesting there has increased.

Below is a closeup photo of two of the Grey Herons. Around me as I photographed the herons, a Woodpigeon and a Magpie were going about their business of gathering food. I continued my usual circuit by leaving the main park road and taking a detour past the pond to the east of the loch. I was pleased to see a pair of Gadwalls on the pond.

Grey Heron	Wood Pigeon
Magpie	Gadwall

Below is a view of the pond as seen from the footpath that leads to the Avenue End Road.

Some kind person had positioned a bird feeder on one of the Hawthorns that line the footpath. Long-tailed Tits were busy devouring a fat-ball and seemed to tolerate my presence, allowing me to quickly photograph them. After that I returned to the north side of the main park road where I came across several flowers now starting to bloom: Crocuses, Primrose  and Dwarf Daffodils.

Long-tailed Tit	Crocus
Primrose	Dwarf Daffodil

The majority of the new blooms were yellow, blue, white and violet Crocuses.

Saturday 22nd February (am): Figgate Park, Portobello


I headed east on Saturday, which, weather-wise, was the best day of the week. Figgate Park was my destination. After just about managing to navigate my way past road works on the A1 and through the Hibs / Celtic football traffic, I arrived to brilliant sunshine at Figgate Park in Portobello. I started my circuit of that park as I had ended my circuit of Hogganfield - by photographing flowers. My first Dandelions of 2025, Snowdrops, Winter Aconite and, on the banks of the Figgate Burn, Lesser Celandine ….

Dandelion	Common Snowdrop
Winter Aconite	Lesser Celandine

 …. and there were Crocuses:

On Figgate Pond there seemed to be fewer birds than I was expecting - only Mallards, Mute Swans and Goosanders.

Mallard	Mute Swan
Drake Goosander	Female Goosander

I walked the long straight circuit along the footpath on one side of the burn and back to the pond by the path on the opposite side ….

 …. through an underpass … 

 …. and back to Figgate Pond:

That circuit produced pictures of a Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon, Herring Gull and Magpie.

Carrion Crow	Wood Pigeon
Herring Gull	Magpie

I completed my circuit of the Pond where I encountered a Chaffinch by the path. I followed that with pleasing shot of a wee Robin that was looking down at me from a branch of a pathside bush. While photographing these I noticed a Grey Squirrel rifling through the leaf litter and managed to snap it through the undergrowth. On the pond there were two ducks that I initially thought were a pair of Mallards. In fact they turned out to be a Wigeon ……

Chaffinch	Robin
Grey Squirrel	Wigeon

 …. and a Gadwall.

By the end of my journey through Figgate Park I was fairly satisfied with my sightings. One disappointment though was that perhaps one of the main features of the park, certainly from a nature watchers point of view, the boardwalk, was closed off. I presume it was in need of repair. Hopefully it will be fixed by the next time I visit.

Saturday 22nd February (pm): Joppa

After a quick lunch I decided, after my problems travelling in, to avoid the A1 on my way home. That lead me through Joppa where I made a quick stop to view the seashore.

Clouds	Rain	Tides

There were flowering Cowslips near the sea wall - and Oystercatchers on the wall. On the shore all I could see were some Redshanks with another Oystercatcher. My final picture was of a rainbow out on the Firth of Forth - a sign of impending showers. I had made a good decision to return home.

Cowslip	Oystercatcher
Redshank / Oystercatcher

Overall my week was quieter than usual but I did manage out with the cameras those couple of days discussed above. My favourite sightings were the mating Goosanders and Long-tailed tits at Hogganfield and the Robin, Wigeon and Gadwall at Figgate park. Also, I enjoyed the fact that flowers were starting to bloom now that Metrological Spring is about to start at the weekend. I now await the appearance of the insects that will pollinate them.

Week ending: 16th February: RSPB Barons Haugh, Dalzell Estate, James Hamilton Heritage Park and Broadwood Loch

The weather this week has been rather miserable: cold, overcast and showery. I did though manage to visit several sites on perhaps the least miserable day, Friday (which happened to be St. Valentine’s Day).


Friday 14th February am: RSPB Barons Haugh


I started early at Barons Haugh, at the Causeway Hide. I usually start in the Marsh Hide but it was being attended by workers clearing up after the recent storm.

On my way into the Causeway Hide I snapped a wee Robin that was perched on a Hawthorn. There were quite a few Teal  on the haugh as well as gulls, such as the Black_headed and Herring Gulls below.

Robin	Teal
Black-headed Gull	1st Cycle Herring Gull

The Teal ducks made a pretty picture as they busily dabbled for invertebrates.

A Moorhen appeared feeding on grass in front of the hide, then a Dunnock crossed the path behind the hide. Meanwhile there were amorous Goldeneyes out on the water, throwing their heads back as they tried to catch the eyes of the opposite sex. However, that was about all I saw in the short time I was there, apart from a group of Woodpigeons pecking at the field as I headed back to the car.

Moorhen	Dunnock
Goldeneye	Wood Pigeon

Friday 14th February am: Dalzell Estate

Back at the car park I decided to walk over to the Dalzell Estate, which is literally across the road from RSPB Barons Haugh. My idea was to scan around its wooded paths for fungi. Below is the view from the path that overlooks Easter Braes, sloping fields that once attracted children rolling their decorated boiled eggs at Easter time.

The River Clyde passes the foot of the Braes and I spotted a pair of Mute Swans on the river. I then found my first fungus, Turkey Tail, growing on the trunk of a dying tree. I was also pleased to find a patch of Snowdrops, watched by a tweeting Blue Tit.

Mute Swan	Turkey Tail
Common Snowdrop	Blue Tit

Further along the path, near the Muirhouse flats, I came across more Turkey Tail as well as some Scarlet Elf Cup and the large, Artist’s Bracket. On the way back to the car I found Dog Lichen near the path.

Turkey Tail	Scarlet Elf Cup
Artist's Bracket	Dog Lichen

Friday 14th February pm: James Hamilton Heritage Park, East Kilbride


After lunch I drove to the James Hamilton Heritage Park in East Kilbride. It is a bonny wee park centred around a loch that usually has a rich variety of mainly common birds.

Snowdrops were blooming here too. I await the blooming of the many budding daffodil, crocus and tulip plants that were all around the park.

Mallards were preening by the loch at the start of my circuit of the loch. A few Cormorants were standing on a boom that stretched between the island and shore and a lone Greylag Goose paddled into view. A cheeky Jackdaw  landed on the arm of a park bench and looked at me, probably waiting for bread.

Female Mallard	Cormorant
Greylag Goose	Jackdaw

 As I passed a line of trees and was able to see the fields north of the loch, I noticed that there was a large gathering of birds that I initially thought were crows. They were in fact Jackdaws - about 200 of them.

A little later, something put the Jackdaws up and they flew over the loch.

The Jackdaws settled in nearby trees and then about 30 Greylags flew in and descended noisily onto the loch. I managed to walk to a position where some of the Greylags were quite close. There was a very light coloured, probably leucistic, Greylag in their group. It was accompanied by an ordinary Greylag which was chasing away and other Greylags in the vacinity. Perhaps it was its parent or even its mate.

Gradually the Greylags were were dispersed around the loch.

The Black-headed Gulls waited on the water for their next feeding opportunity when some kind human would approach with a poly-bag. The Greylags were still restless and changing position a lot and the Jackdaws were fairly settled in the surrounding trees. I had noticed Canada Geese earlier, on the shaded sides of the island but when I walked around the loch I encountered a Canada Goose at the lochside and managed a fairly decent photo.

Black-headed Gull	Greylag Goose
Jackdaw	Canada Goose

At the end of my circuit of the loch, there were Black-headed Gulls on a boom and a Moorhen was on top of a large buoy. Near the car I snapped a Magpie and then a Woodpigeon before driving to my next, and final site. 

Black-headed Gull	Moorhen
Magpie	Wood Pigeon

Friday 14th February pm: Broadwood Loch, Cumbernauld


Broadwood Loch is in another Lanarkshire “new” town, Cumbernauld. The roads connecting them are very efficient and I was parking next to Broadwood Loch only 20 minutes after leaving East Kilbride. Continuing the romantic theme, there was a pair of Mute Swans getting frisky at the loch’s edge. And on the loch, the Goldeneyes were also pairing up.

Mute Swan	Male / Female Goldeneye

This drake Goldeneye was particularly active around the females.

 The Wigeons too were getting together and the fancy, bright head plumage of the Cormorant below showed that this male was on the look out for a mate. In fact the plumages of every male bird, such as Goosanders and Mallards, were bright, neat and tidy. Spring, the breeding season, is just around the corner. The birds will be ready.

Wigeon	Cormorant in Breeding Plumage
Goosander	Mallard

 It was a very productive Friday with 4 sites visited throughout the day. There were 22 species sighted. It was a pity I didn’t see the Smew at Broadwood but I was pleased to see some fungi at Dalzell Estate, and it is always entertaining to see the courtship antics of the various birds. Milder weather is predicted towards the end of next week. The Sun might even make the odd appearance.

Week ending: 9th February: Hogganfield Park LNR, Strathclyde Country Park, Skateraw, Dunbar Harbour and Belhaven Bay


This week I managed out with my cameras on the three sunniest days of the week and was rewarded with some pleasing shots of mainly birds and scenery. There were though, signs that it wouldn’t be too long before flowers start blooming


Tuesday 4th February: Hogganfield Park LNR

I had a brief visit to the the east side of Glasgow for a circuit of Hogganfield Park. The Mute and Whooper Swans were still very much present at the car park feeding area, as were the usual Moorhens and Tufted Ducks.

Whooper Swan	Mute Swan
Moorhen	Female Tufted Duck

I noticed that male Cormorants on their usual wooden perches were decked in breeding plumage and the drake Goosanders were accosting the females in between fighting them for chunks of bread. So Spring seemed to be in the air, a notion which was strengthened further when I watched two mating Great Crested Grebes (sadly they were partially hidden behind some dense plumage). My short walk finished with a snap of a juvenile Herring Gull descending onto a large buoy.

Cormorant in Breeding Plumage	Goosander
Great Crested Grebe	1st Cycle Herring Gull

Wednesday 5th February: Strathclyde Country Park


The following day my constitutional walk was along a section of Strathclyde Country Park. It was there that I photographed a patch of blooming Snowdrops. In the same area I noted that Daffodils were beginning to sprout, so it should be a matter of days rather than weeks before they bud and bloom. At the rowing boat starting bays at the north end of the loch, there was a large Grey Heron using the solar-panelled roof of a cabin as a vantage point to peer down into the moat. In the bushes nearby, a Robin  was serenading prospective mates with its warm, warbling tones. Many Greylag Geese were dotted around the grassy areas of the park. The ones below were at the Beach swing park. In nearby trees, a very acrobatic Grey Squirrel paused to watch me as I passed. I also snapped a Grey Wagtail that was foraging in the pebbly lochside.

Common Snowdrop	Grey Heron
Robin	Greylag Goose
Grey Squirrel	Grey Wagtail

Friday 7th February (am): Skateraw


Arguably, the best day of the week was Friday and I drove to the East Lothian coast at Skateraw, east of Dunbar. The Sun shone throughout the visit - which aided my efforts. The tide was low but I was lucky enough to arrive at the beach at Skateraw at just the right time - as I’ll explain.

Cloud	Rain	Tides

The seashore to the east of Skateraw beach was rather deserted of birds ….

..,,, but there were large numbers of Sanderling on the beach. I settled on my wee 3- legged stool, with the Sun behind me, and waited to see if they would venture close to where I was sitting. They did and I got some close views. There was a large salt pool by the rocks on the left and it had other small waders namely: Oystercatchers, Dunlin, Ringed Plovers and a lone drake Shelduck . 

Sanderling...
Oystercatcher	Dunlin
Shelduck	Ringed Plover

Next I trekked out to Chapel Point at the west side of the bay. Below is the view looking west to Barns Ness lighthouse.

The tide was well out and the massive slabs of exposed rock stretched west along the coast for about half a mile. There were piles of rotting seaweed scattered along the shore, so I sat on my stool and waited to see if there were any birds attracted by the prospects of finding invertebrates in the dead seaweed. I didn’t have long to wait. A Grey Wagtail, then a Pied Wagtail appeared, followed by a small flock of Rock Pipits. At Chapel Point I photographed a pair of Mallards that drifted past, but there was little else of note there. I returned to the car and set off for Dunbar, but stopped at one of the fields when I spotted a Pheasant crossing the road and entering the edge of the field. After few minutes it emerged from the long grass to give me a reasonable view.

	Grey Wagtail
Grey Wagtail	Rock Pipit
Mallard	Pheasant

Friday 7th February (pm): Dunbar Harbour


I parked at Dunbar Harbour which has the ruin of Dunbar Castle at its entrance.

I walked into the ruin of the Battery from which I got a picture of the Bass Rock which is roughly 10 mile to the northeast.

There were birds on the rocks just north of the battery. My Coolpix P950 set at 2000mm managed very passable shots of a Cormorant and a Shag that were standing on the guano-covered rock. I moved from the battery and walked to the viewing area on the sea wall that looks onto red sandstone rock stacks where Shags and Herring Gulls usually nest. I snapped a Feral Pigeon that was watching me from the top of the very tall sea wall. I was able to look over the top of the wall by ascending the steps built there for the purpose.

	Cormorant
Shag	Feral Pigeon

I was surprised to see that there were Shags already gathering on the stacks so early in the year, but there they were. Occasional individual Shags would fly off the rock stacks, presumably to feed, but would return after a short time. Herring Gulls too were gathering and pairing up. I was lucky enough to find one large Herring Gull feasting, just below my stance, on a large Harbour Crab.

Shag...
Herring Gull...

Friday 7th February (pm): Belhaven Bay 

Pleased with my sightings at the harbour I relocated very briefly to the Shore Road car park at Belhaven Bay for one last look and a cup of tea and a biscuit. The seashore was very far away…..

…..but there were a few birds on the inner bay, notably a few Redshanks and a Curlew. I was delighted to find a quartet of Common Snipe  snoozing at the west corner of the inner bay the first I can recall seeing there. Seafield Pond had mainly Mute Swans, Mallards and Tufted Duck but the low, bright Sun was awkwardly placed for decent pictures. I did though get a decent photo of a drake Teal  since I managed to position myself at the northwest corner of the pond, so avoiding looking into the sunlight.

Redshank	Curlew
Common Snipe	Teal

 I really enjoyed my walks in the sunshine with the cameras this week (even although the temperatures were far from comfortable), and accumulated a fairly respectable 29 species. Next week looks as if it will be even colder and it will be very dull, but will probably be mainly dry. However I will use the right camera settings and hopefully I’ll accumulate more pictures given the chance, hopefully including some flowers and maybe even some fungi.


Week ending: 2nd February: Broadwood Loch, Musselburgh and Port Seton

I managed out with my cameras on each of the two good, sunny days out of an otherwise cold, dull week.


Tuesday 28th January: Broadwood Loch, Cumbernauld.

The main attraction at Broadwood Loch was the return of a bird I photographed last year, a Smew. There are usually lots of beautiful birds at the loch, so given the lovely light, I looked forward to some pleasing shots. I parked the car on Atholl Drive, at the north end of the loch and as soon as I got out of the car, a wee Robin was watching me from its perch on a pathside bush. And at the lochside I got great views of Moorhens, Little Grebes and Goldeneyes feeding. The Goldeneye drakes were, in between dives, wooing the females by throwing their heads back.

Robin	Moorhen
Little Grebe...
Female Goldeneye	Drake Goldeneye

The females were definitely not appreciating all of the attention and were dashing around, trying to evade the amorous advances.

There were also male and female Tufted Ducks diving for food ,and on the grassy banks, Canada Geese were foraging.

Drake Tufted Duck	Female Tufted Duck
Canada Goose...

Occasionally fights broke out, over what, I couldn’t tell, but the rows were loud and aggressive.

I was heading for the small island on the northwest side of the loch, where I saw the Smew last year. On the way I snapped some Wigeon but when I reached the island there was no sign of the Smew. Luckily I met a fellow birder who informed my he had just seen it at the south end of the loch. On my way there I photographed a House Sparrow in a red bush and a Buzzard that circled overhead for a time. At the car park (which was closed due to a fallen tree) there was again no sign of the Smew, but I did see some fine drake Goosanders 

Drake Wigeon	Female Wigeon
Female House Sparrow	Robin
Common Buzzard	Drake Goosander

The view at the south end of the loch was rather nice.

 I kept walking, reasoning that the Smew must be making its way northward, hopefully on the east side where I was about to explore. There were quite a few Mute Swans and I captured a nice image of a very cooperative Magpie. Then I spotted the Smew. Unfortunately it was about 50m out but I did manage a nice record shot. The Smew was repeatedly diving, but each dive was taking it further away from where I stood, until it was over on the opposite side of the loch. As some sort of compensation, a fine drake Pochard drifted past very close to me, the first I'd  seen this year.

Mute Swan	Magpie
Smew	Drake Pochard

My final shot of the day was of a line of Cormorants drying their wings on on the wee island.

Thursday 30th January (am): Musselburgh

On what was probably the best day of the week, I travelled to the mouth of the River Esk in Musselburgh. The tide was low and rising.

Below is a panorama of Edinburgh to the west of Musselburgh. Prominent at the centre of the shot is Calton Hill in Edinburgh, easily picked out by Nelson’s Monument tower and the columns of the National Monument.

There were some Goldeneyes active at the mouth of the Esk. Starlings were soaking up the sunshine from the comfort of the Cadet Hall. A small flock of Redshanks sped past just as I had spotted a drake Red-breasted Merganser  diving.

Goldeneye	Starling
Redshank	Red-breasted Merganser

Some Turnstones were picking their way along the water’s edge while some Bar-tailed Godwits were probing the shallows on the opposite side of the river. A pair of Pied Wagtails appeared on the near bank beside the Turnstones, before flying off again.

Turnstone	Bar-tailed Godwit
Male Pied Wagtail	Female Pied Wagtail

I made for the “new” scrapes by following the sea wall for half a mile to reach the access path. The view below of the wall shows the prominent hill, the North Berwick Law, in the distance.

Eventually I reached the new scrapes and from the first hide I could see plenty of birds roosting such as the Greylag Geese shown below……

 …. as well as large numbers of Wigeon ….

 … and Teal.

There were also a few Wigeon paddling around the moat. Also, a Curlew was using its large curved beak to explore the long grass of the banking around the moat. Some Skylarks were chasing each other across the stones of the scrapes. I photographed one Skylark ascending, singing its familiar, incessant song as it rose. A few pairs of Gadwalls were feeding on the pools.

Wigeon	Curlew
Skylark	Gadwall

Right in the middle of the scrapes was a quartet of snoozing Oystercatchers ….

 …. and a beautiful Mute Swan.

Next I went to the “old” scrapes, but found there were only birds near one of the hides - from the he leftmost hide, low numbers of Dunlin, Redshanks, Lapwings and Curlew could be seen. I next headed to the seawall adjacent to the scrapes. A large Carrion Crow watched me as I passed.

Dunlin / Redshank	Lapwing
Curlew	Carrion Crow

There was a flock of Wigeon on the Boating Pond, however they were put up by uncontrolled dogs.

At the sea wall I was disappointed to find that there were very few birds to be seen. All I saw in the short time I was there was a group of Goldeneyes flying past.

Thursday 30th January (pm): Port Seton

After lunch I relocated briefly to Port Seton, where I found that the rocks were almost completely covered by the rising tide, with only a few birds, Cormorants, Oystercatchers and gulls, still clinging to ever-decreasing areas of rock.

Oystercatchers and Redshanks were flying between fewer and fewer rocks, “encouraged” by the bullying tactics of the large gulls. Meanwhile, a
single, handsome drake Eider drifted across the scene - giving me a lovely picture to finish my set.

Redshank	Oystercatcher
Great Black-backed Gull	Drake Eider

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