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Week
ending: 25th July:
Maidens and
Turnberry
This week we headed for the sun-kissed shores of South Ayrshire where
we hoped to see its flora and fauna at least well-lit and hopefully
we’ll-seen. We had morning breakfasts in Stewartfield
Morrisons in East Kilbride (6/10: very slow service and overcooked
food) and then we made speedy progress down the M77+A77 to Turnberry
and Maidens. As we expected, Maidens was filled with holidaymakers but
the north side of the harbour was quiet so we concentrated our efforts
there. I managed our first shots of the day by snapping some Sand
Martins as they swooped for flies over the harbour waters. A few House
Sparrows and Pied Wagtails were foraging amongst the seaweed on the
rocky edges of the beach, along with a pair of very accommodating Rock
Pipits. In the middle of the beach there was a large gathering of
assorted gulls but the strong sunlight was behind them so I
didn’t attempt a photo.
| Sand Martin |
Female House
Sparrow |
 |
 |
| Pied Wagtail |
Rock Pipit |
 |
 |
Looking out to the rocks at the mouth of the harbour I missed a shot of
a Grey Heron disturbing Feral Pigeons as it settled on the furthest
rock. A Cormorant on the same rock stood still and unconcerned by the
commotion. Meanwhile on the harbour waters a class of about a dozen
water boarders had finished their lesson allowing a family of Mute
Swans to emerge from between the boats. They were single parents as we
could see only one cygnet. We moved to the scrubland that borders the
beach where we proceeded to look for insect life. We found a Pied
Wagtail who had the same idea, albeit with different intentions when it
found them.
| Feral Pigeon |
Cormorant |
 |
 |
| Mute Swan |
Pied Wagtail |
 |
 |
John pointed out a female House Sparrow trying to hide in a Sea Radish
plant. I fired off a few shots and then I noticed that now we had the
sun behind us and I could view the aforementioned gulls in much more
favourable lighting. I got reasonable shots of a Herring
Gull in flight and also shots of a Great- and a
Lesser-black Backed Gull as they stood amid the large flock.
| Female House
Sparrow |
Herring Gull |
 |
 |
| Great Black-backed
Gull |
Lesser
Black-backed Gull |
 |
 |
Finally, turning our attention to the butterflies,
I was pleased to see a Large White on a Creeping Thistle, and then a
Green-veined White on some Lesser Burdock flowers. John spotted a Small
Tortoiseshell on the Thistles and I then came across a black and white
hoverfly, the Pied
Hoverfly , that was feeding on a Smooth Sow Thistle
flower.
| Large White
Butterfly |
Green-veined White
Butterfly |
 |
 |
| Small
Tortoiseshell Butterfly |
Pied Hoverfly |
 |
 |
We looked for, and found, Cinnabar moth caterpillars on a Common
Ragwort plant, and on top of a Wild Carrot flower, a Soldier
Beetle was battling its way through the stigmas and
stamen as it searched for food. We finished our short insect safari
with the sighting of a couple of Bumblebees,
the pollen-covered Red-tailed and the fresher-looking Buff-tailed, each
working tirelessly on their day-long search for pollen.
| Cinnabar Moth
Caterpillar |
Red Soldier Beetle |
 |
 |
| Red-tailed
Bumblebee |
Buff-tailed
Bumblebee |
 |
 |
We next moved to a new location for us, Turnberry Bay, just south of
Turnberry Hotel. On the short walk down to the beach we noticed a patch
of Wild Mignonette
on the edges of the golf course. On its flowers there were Red-tailed
Bumblebees, some with bulging pollen sacs. While photographing these,
an inquisitive female House Sparrow appeared a couple of metres from
me, apparently posing for a photo. Of course, I obliged.
| Red-tailed
Bumblebee |
Female House
Sparrow |
 |
 |
The picture below shows the view of the beach looking north-ish towards
Turnberry Lighthouse. The beach was filling with sunbathers and
although it was not “mobbed”, there were enough
people there to have scared off any wading birds. However, we walked
along the shoreline in the hope we were wrong.
We did find a small gathering, sitting about 100m away, of Black-headed
Gulls with a few Sandwich Terns. Unfortunately the birds went up before
I got a record shot. The sea too was very quiet and just as we were
plodding wearily back to the car John spotted a wee Ringed
Plover trotting along a stoney part of the beach.
Delighted at its showing we sat on our stools and watched its
behaviour. It seemed to be trying to find a place on the pebbles for it
to nestle. It tried a couple of times to clear some stones with its
tail before sitting in the small crater it had created, only to be
scared away when a small dog got too close. Eventually it just gave up
and flew further along the shore.
We made our final stop of the day at Turnberry Lighthouse, which
overlooks Turnberry Point. The property is within the grounds of Trump
Turnberry Golf Course but visitors are welcome provided they show
courtesy to the golfers. Below is the view of Turnberry Hotel looking
back from the lighthouse.
We parked by the start of the private road that leads to the lighthouse
from the A719. At the start of the walk I spotted a juvenile Yellowhammer
on top of a high bush, probably waiting for its parent to return with
food. As I took the picture I spied a Meadow Brown butterfly resting on
some Yarrow. As we continued the walk I photographed a further two
butterflies, a Small Heath and a female Common Blue.
| Juvenile
Yellowhammer |
Meadow Brown
Butterfly |
 |
 |
| Small Heath
Butterfly |
Female Common Blue
Butterfly |
 |
 |
When we reached the lighthouse we shimmied around its perimeter wall in
order to get onto the area on its sea-side which offers a fine view of
the coastline and of any passing birds. To the south we could see a
silhouetted view of cormorants and shags gathered on a large exposed
rock.
Over the hour that followed we watched young Starlings foraging on the
rocks below us and above us various gulls passed such as 1st and 3rd
year Herring gulls. We were delighted to see a few passing Gannets -
only fair given how close we were to Ailsa Craig, their likely nesting
grounds.
| Juvenile Starling |
1 st Cycle Herring
Gull |
 |
 |
| 3rd Cycle Herring
Gull |
Gannet |
 |
 |
Other birds that we saw were Curlew and Shags however they were too far
off for impressive shots. Our final pictures of the day were of Field
Bindweed at the entrance area of the lighthouse.
| Curlew |
Shag |
 |
 |
We had our tea and (wait for it) Strawberry Tarts (yes, again). For me
the stars of the visit were the butterflies, and of course the Ringed
Plover. I particularly enjoyed seeing the Large Whites. The sun shone
brightly throughout the trip and it would be nice to see the same next
week. I’d like also to see some more waders as
they’ve been in short supply in recent weeks due to their
breeding habits. Their babies must surely be in-depth now though?
Week ending: 18th July 2021: Barns Ness and
Dunbar
Harbour
Unluckily for us, Sunday was to have seen a weak front passing south
leading to rather cloudy, but dry, weather. According to my weather app
the best chance of sunshine would be in the east. So after a fine pair
of Dalkeith Morrisons breakfast (9.5/10) we found ourselves at Barns
Ness, east of Dunbar.
Sadly, when we started our circuit of the area around the Barns Ness
lighthouse, the tide was low and getting lower. The majority of birds
we could see were at least 100m away. I began by snapping a shot of a
black-headed gull that was quite a bit closer. I followed this with a
shot of some Cormorants drying their feathers on some distant rocks. We
were pleased then to find many butterflies
fluttering about us as we moved along the grassy trails. I managed some
good shots of a wee Small
Heath butterfly and also the very pretty Common
Blue butterfly.
| Black-headed Gull |
Cormorant |
 |
 |
| Small Heath
Butterfly |
Common Blue
Butterfly |
 |
 |
The most common and active butterflies on show were Meadow
Browns. As I tracked these down I came across a juvenile
Starling and a Reed Bunting on a couple of bushes poking above the long
grass. I also photographed a Soldier Beetle on a Creeping Thistle.
| Meadow Brown
Butterfly |
Juvenile Starling |
 |
 |
| Reed Bunting |
Soldier Beetle |
 |
 |
John discovered a pair of Meadow Brown butterflies that were copulating
on the grassy footpath. I also found more Common Blues as I turned my
attentions to the rocky shore. A Grey Heron flew onto rocks near the
water, so I carefully edged out onto the rocks to get a closer view and
managed a reasonable record shot.
 |
 |
| Meadow Brown
Butterfly |
Grey Heron |
 |
 |
Apart from butterflies, there were very many 6-spotted
Burnet moths hanging onto blades of grass or flying
onto flowers, such as Harebells. We also noticed that the were orange
and black-striped Cinnabar
moth caterpillars on nearly every Ragwort plant. Next John spotted a Green-veined
White resting on the grassy path and I managed to
capture a good image of that particularly strongly-coloured specimen.
 |
 |
| Cinnabar
Caterpillar |
Green-veined White
Butterfly |
 |
 |
When we moved across the southern part of the circuit we were
disappointed not to see the expected Linnets or Yellowhammers, as per
previous summer visits. We did see another singing Reed Bunting, but we
shouldn’t have worried since when we reached the car we were
met by a small flock of twittering Linnets that were feeding on Dock
plants and, unusually for that place, a pair of Yellowhammers catching
insects. I also snapped an inquisitive Carrion Crow as it sat on a
fence close to the car.
 |
 |
| Reed Bunting |
Carrion Crow |
 |
 |
I also had photographed a few wildflowers on our circuit, namely
Yarrow, Common Mallow, Red Poppy near the southbound art wall, and,
near the lighthouse,
Scentless Mayweed.
| Yarrow |
Common Mallow |
 |
 |
| Red Poppy |
Scentless Mayweed |
 |
 |
So after a rather slow start we ended up with a satisfactory set of
pictures. We then moved to Dunbar Harbour to view the nesting colonies
present on the rocks beyond the harbour walls. My first impression was
that the Shag colony was “maturing”. I say that
because I noticed that the chicks were almost as big as their parents.
Their feeding procedure looked rather uncomfortable for the parent as
can be seen from the picture below of the big chick thrusting
it’s beak down the parent’s gullet. The main
Kittiwake colony was on the Castle ruin. The Kittiwake chicks too were
fledging with many making very short flights from and back to the
safety of the wall.
The feeding procedure of the Herring Gulls’ chicks looks less
violent. When the adult arrives back on the rocks from gathering food,
the chick brushes its beak near the red spot on the parents bill. This
stimulates the adult to regurgitate the food, which the chick then
quickly gobbles up. John spotted a sodden Herring Gull chick paddling
rather pathetically in the harbour entrance. It had an injured head,
perhaps inflicted during a fall from an unsuccessful first flight.
We were very pleased with our haul of sightings this week. I
particularly enjoyed hunting down the butterflies and moths. And it was
interesting seeing parent birds with their chicks. Our tea and
strawberry tarts (yes again, and, we know it’s naughty but we
like them). A week of hot sunny weather is predicted for next week. I
hope it’s lasts until next Sunday
Week ending: 11th July 2021: Largs,
Fairlie,
Hunterston
and Portencross
Our run of sunny Sundays came well and truly to an end this week,
although we were spared the rain. It was predicted that the whole of
Central Scotland would experience 100% cloud cover with a chance of
rain. The rain was least likely in North Ayrshire so we headed for
Largs Morrisons to start our exploration of four familiar sites -
Largs, Fairlie, Hunterston and Portencross. Our breakfast experience
was marred though by very poor service, but the eventual food was fine
(7/10).
We began at the gloomy mouth of Noddsdale Water as can be seen by the
silhouetted Shags shown below. There were more than several groups of
people mulling about the river mouth so our expectations of seeing much
were low.
Just off the promenade a Carrion Crow provided a more visible subject,
while on the river we watched sleepy Mallards and a family of Mute
Swans. A pair of Woodpigeons flew onto the rocky river banks just as I
noticed some Scentless Mayweed that was growing by the fence
| Carrion Crow |
Female Mallard |
 |
 |
| Mute Swan |
Juvenile Mute Swans |
 |
 |
| Wood Pigeon |
Scentless Mayweed |
 |
 |
After the quiet start we drove a few miles south to the the picturesque
village of Fairlie.
John drew my attention to a Buff-tailed
Bumblebee that was feeding on Sea Radish flowers.
There were a pair of Mute Swans feeding by the shore and I photographed
a Common Gull and Black-headed Gull that were loitering on the short
grass near the car park.
| Buff-tailed
Bumblebee |
Mute Swan |
 |
 |
| Common Gull |
Black-headed Gull |
 |
 |
We were delighted to hear the familiar creeking calls of Sandwich
Terns. They flew around a bit before settling briefly on the
rocky shore near where we were sitting. I also photographed a noisy and
very active juvenile as it attempted a couple of aborted attempts at a
dive into the water. There were a few Herring Gulls and a Lesser
Black-backed Gull near the Terns but I was more excited by the
appearance of a very red-breasted male Linnet
that made a very brief appearance on the shore.
| Sandwich Tern |
Juvenile Sandwich
Tern |
 |
 |
| Herring Gull |
1st Cycle
Herring Gull |
 |
 |
| Lesser
Black-backed Gull |
Linnet |
 |
 |
Next, a small flock of young Starlings descended onto the rocks and
began feeding, only to be scattered by an attack of a Sparrowhawk .
It managed to get hold of one unfortunate Starling. I photographed the
raptor as it held it on the footpath before being disturbing a pair of
walkers. Undeterred by the commotion, a pair of Carrion Crows appeared,
feeding on Shellfish by dropping the them from several metres onto the
rocks.
| Juvenile Starling |
Carrion Crow |
 |
 |
After the excitement had subsided we drove south again for a brief
visit to Hunterston Sands. On the short walk from where we parked the
car we got pictures of a few wild flowers. There were quite a few
fading Vipers Bugloss plants and Spear Thistles along the roadside and
I spotted a solitary Evening Primrose in bloom. However we were
disappointed to find the Sands were largely devoid of birds apart from
a young wading Grey Heron catching a few small fish. I did however
photograph a few more wild flowers, namely Meadowsweet,
Lady’s Bedstraw and Sea Aster.
| Viper's Bugloss |
Spear Thistle |
 |
 |
| Evening Primrose |
Juvenile Grey Heron |
 |
 |
| Trying it's luck |
Meadowsweet |
 |
 |
| Lady's Bedstraw |
Sea Aster |
 |
 |
We made our final relocation of the day to Portencross,
site of an ancient castle.
We were surprised to find that the car park was very full and the
surrounding area was awash with people - which again meant the wildlife
would be flushed. Undeterred we pressed on starting with some pictures
of a family of Eider catching crabs in the salt pools, before the sight
of dogs drove them seaward.
As the place was teeming with people walking, fishing and swimming we
decided to plank ourselves on the rocks by the ancient harbour and
watch for passing birds. Some Rock Pipits paid us a visit and a large
Cormorant flew past. Of course there were also Herring Gulls watching
for any titbits, aided and abetted by a few Jackdaws.
| Rock Pipit |
Cormorant |
 |
 |
| Herring Gull |
Jackdaw |
 |
 |
I also snapped a few bee shots: a White-tailed Bumblebee as it fed on a
Spear Thistle and a Tree Bumblebee wrestling with the large stamen of
Beach Roses. Also, I managed a couple of shots of a bee-mimic hoverfly,
Cheilosia
illustrata on a Hogweed flower-head. Our last shot
of the day was of a House Sparrow calling from the roof guttering of a
cottage near the castle.
| White - tailed
Bumblebee |
Hoverfly -
Cheilosia illustrata |
 |
 |
| Tree Bumblebee |
House Sparrow |
 |
 |
It had been a gloomy day weather-wise but our sightings were many and
varied, my favourites being the Sparrowhawk and Terns. We finished with
tea and Strawberry Tarts (yes, again! Well they were so good last week)
while taking in the grey, but still awesome panorama that included
Arran to the west and Ailsa Craig to the south. The weathermen are
already predicting fine weather for next week. We hope
they’re right .
Week ending 4th July 2021: Stevenston,
Saltcoats
and Irvine
Harbour
There was little chance of extending our recent run of sunny Sundays. A
big low pressure system over Central Scotland put paid that. However,
it seemed, from my weather app, that North Ayrshire would have a
pleasant afternoon while almost everywhere else would see frequent
showers. So we decided we’d start in Stevenson Morrisons
Cafe, where we enjoyed excellent (9.5/10) breakfasts, each before
moving to Stevenson Point.
The sun was coming and going and we could see there were widespread
showers in the surrounding areas. There were Shags and Cormorants on
the rocks at the Point as well as the usual gatherings of gulls, most
prominent of these was a Great Black-backed Gull. The rain was edging
in from the south-east so we sheltered in the car for 10 minutes until
it cleared.
| Shag |
Cormorant |
 |
 |
| Great Black-backed
Gull |
|
 |
 |
When we emerged from the car, the sun came out and I snapped a pair of
flying Herring Gulls, an adult and an immature bird (2-3yr). We watched
Gannets
passing over the water a couple of hundred metres away. I managed a
clear shot of a mature Gannet with a 2-3yr companion.
| Herring Gull |
|
 |
 |
| Gannet |
Adult and 3rd
Cycle Gannet |
 |
 |
The weather was clearing. The view to Saltcoats looked much more
inviting than it did when we arrived.
The Cormorants and Shags were on the move, perhaps encouraged by the
brightening sky. Insects, now warmed by the sun, were also on the move.
On a Yarrow flower-head we discovered a White-tailed
Bumblebee and then the Sawfly, Tenthredo
arcuata. Also, a few Redtailed Bumblebees were visiting the
many White Clover flowers. As I followed the bees my attention was
drawn by the call of a passing, but quite distant Curlew.
| Cormorant |
Shag |
 |
 |
| White-tailed
Bumblebee |
Tenthredo arcuata. |
 |
 |
| Red-tailed
Bumblebee |
Curlew |
 |
 |
We could see the sunlit Ardrossan to Brodick ferry, although Arran was
still shrouded in cloud and rain showers.
There were fewer birds around the Point, with only a single
Oystercatcher and Black-headed Gull on show. A couple of Eider paddled
into view, an eclipse drake and a young female.
| Oystercatcher |
Black-headed Gull |
 |
 |
| Eclipse Eider |
Female Eider |
 |
 |
We were joined by an excited couple who had just guided their dingy
back onto the slipway. “Did you see them?”, they
asked us. “Seen what?”, I replied. “The
Dolphins! We were surrounded by them”, they gushed. We blamed
the heavy rain for our missed opportunity. But after about 40 minutes
we did spot about four Bottlenose
Dolphins about 300m from the shore. We identified
them by their curved dorsal fin and obvious “beak”.
Two metres away from me, a female House Sparrow seemed interested as we
expressed our delight in seeing the Dolphins. John noticed a Hooded
Crow had appeared on the rocks, a bird not seen so
much to the east.
| Female House
Sparrow |
Hooded Crow |
 |
 |
Satisfied that we’d witnessed the presence of the Cetaceans,
we relocated to sunny Saltcoats, by which time the tide was at its
lowest ebb. I snapped a Starling that was foraging in the car park,
before we moved around the harbour watching for anything of interest.
There were a few Rock Pipits and Pied wagtails dotted around the
exposed boulders, and a half-dozen summer plumage Redshanks flew in.
| Starling |
Rock Pipit |
 |
 |
| Pied Wagtail |
Redshanks |
 |
 |
A big Lesser Black-backed Gull sat on the highest rock at the centre of
the harbour, surveying the scene with an apparent air of superiority.
Near it were some Feral Pigeons, and a wee Blackheaded Gull stood
pensively by a salt pool looking down at its reflection. We passed a
large Herring Gull that had taken up position on the sea wall, near
teenagers that were eating chips.
| Lesser
Black-backed Gull |
Feral Pigeon |
 |
 |
| Black-headed Gull |
Herring Gull |
 |
 |
Time was getting on so we moved to our final destination, Irvine
Harbour, for a quick look and our tea and pastries. It was rather
quiet, bird-wise, with only a pair of Mute Swans and a Jackdaw on show
near the “Bridge of Scottish Inventors” (closed due
to the demise of the Big
Idea ). A bit further along, my eye was caught by
the brilliant yellow flowers of Biting
Stonecrop that were growing at the
quayside’s edge. A large Great Black-backed Gull was sitting
on top of a metal post near the opposite side of the river.
| Mute Swan |
Jackdaw |
 |
 |
| Biting Stonecrop |
Great Black-backed
Gull |
 |
 |
The light was dimming as a small Shag showed up and made repeated dives
near the bridge. The fishes it was hunting must have been small as it
didn’t bring any to the surface but seemed to be cleaning its
bill after some dives, suggesting it had caught something. John spotted
a female Eider paddling with its two duckling at the other side of the
river. A large Herring Gull checked me out as I photographed the
Eiders, so I fired off a few shots of it giving me my last capture of
the day.
| Juvenile Eider |
Herring gull |
 |
 |
The weather had been kind to us, warm with sunny intervals and only one
short period of rain. We got a reasonable haul of pictures, my
favourites being the Sawfly, Jackdaw and of course the distant
Dolphins. We celebrated in our usual fashion, but this week John had
bought large Strawberry Tarts - delicious! But we need to get back to
really sunny Sundays.
Highlights
- July 2021
We present last month’s
gallery of my favourite pictures I’ve taken during July 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.
BIRDS IN FLIGHT
WILDFLOWERS
1
GREY
SEALS
INSECTS
on FLOWERS
BIRDS
of the WATER
WILD
FLOWERS 2
TREE
BIRDS
MORE
INSECTS
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