Week ending: 26th May: RSPB Baron’s Haugh

In a week of miserable weather, I managed a visit to RSPB Baron’s Haugh, Motherwell, on a rare sunny day. Unfortunately John wasn’t able to accompany me so I would have to be extra alert as I progressed through the circuit around the reserve. After parking in the main car park, I walked west through meadows and emerged at fenced fields (see below) just north of the main Haugh.

On my way past the field I photographed Red Campion and Yellow Rattle that were growing in the wild grassy verges and also snapped a Magpie that was watching me warily from a fence post, flying off as I passed. 

Red Campion	Yellow Rattle
Magpie...

At the entrance to the Marsh Hide, a White-lipped Snail was clinging to a thin tree stem. Once in the hide, I scanned the recently-created scrapes and was pleased to see a few familiar birds were present. A Coot was on its nest and there were Sand Martins flying speedily over the surrounding water surface as they hunted flies. There was a snoozing Mute Swan on the left-hand side of the scrape.

White-lipped Snail	Coot
Sand Martin	Mute Swan

Looking beyond the scrape, I could see a gathering of Mallards lounging on the grass, soaking up the Sun.

Further back from the mallards, a Grey Heron stood tall as it surveyed the scene, from which a pair of Wood Pigeons appeared, foraging on the scrub at the edges of the scrape. A Canada Goose emerged from the reeds behind the swan and paddled over to the muddy scrape. With little else to see, apart from some notably bonny Teasel, I headed for the next hide.

Grey Heron	Wood Pigeon
Canada Goose	Teasel

At the Causeway Hide, looking left, I found a Cormorant wrestling with a large Eel  which it eventually swallowed whole. There was a Mute Swan sitting on a nest amidst reeds to the far left. The reeds are Reed Mace, known more commonly as “Bulrushes”. They occupy most of the perimeter of the main Haugh. A small green insect, a Common Green Capsid, joined me on the hide bench, which was nice since it allowed me to take its picture. With little else to interest me at the Causeway Hide, I set off for a look along the banks of the River Clyde. On my way there I spotted a flowering Wild Strawberry plant growing by the path

Cormorant...
Mute Swan	Reed Mace
Common Green Capsid	Wild Strawberry

On the grassy verges of the path that runs parallel to the River Clyde, a pair of white butterflies were skipping between flowers and blades of grass. Careful examination of the butterflies revealed that they were different species: a female Orange Tip  and a Green-veined White. As I snapped the butterflies, a Willow Warbler was serenading me from its lofty position on top of a large Willow. Along the same verge I found more newly-bloomed wildflowers: Crosswort, Common Comfrey and Wood Stitchwort.

Butterfly - Female Orange Tip	Butterfly - Green Veined White
Willow Warbler	Crosswort
Common Comfrey	Wood Stitchwort

I turned my attention from flowers to insects and very soon spotted a Tree Bumblebee feeding on Cuckoo Flowers. I followed this up with the discovery of a (newby) hoverfly - Parhelophilus versicolor  that was soaking up the sunlight as it stood on a large leaf of Common Comfrey. Nearby, a Blue-tailed Damselfly landed on a large blade of grass long enough to photograph it. Another Green-veined White turned up on a Comfrey leaf a few metres away.

Tree Bumblebee	Hoverfly - Parhelophilus versicolor
Blue-tailed Damselfly	Butterfly - Green Veined White

Satisfied with these, I pressed on along the path, only to find a sign informing me it was closed. However, a walker appeared walking towards me from beyond the sign. He informed me that the sign was wrong since he had walked from Chestnut Way, the path that leads back towards the car park. I decided, therefore to carry on, because I do like a circular route. To be honest, though, once I’d passed the site of the now demolished Phoenix Hide, I rather rushed the remaining part of the circuit because I had an appointment I was in danger of missing if I dilly-dallied. Having said that, I couldn’t resist stopping a few times to capture images of some lovely wildflowers: bonny Broom, Greater Stitchwort, Welsh Poppy, Dame’s Violet and Germander Speedwell. A Common Wolf Spider  even made an appearance on Comfrey leaves.

Broom	Greater Stitchwort
Welsh Poppy	Dame's Violet
Speedwell Germander	Common Wolf Spider

The final section of path, from the river Clyde to the car park, also slowed my progress as it also turned up some photo-opportunities. I caught a couple of shots of a male Orange Tip butterfly as it flew off Common Comfrey flowers. Also, I found a pair of fungi very close to the path - the bracket fungi, Artist’s Fungus , and a newly sprouting Dryad’s Saddle. My final two shots were of flower spikes on opposite scales of size - Bugle and Horse Chestnut.

Butterfly - Orange Tip...
Artists Fungus ( Artists Bracket )	Dryad's Saddle
Bugle	Horse Chestnut

It was a brief but productive visit to one of our favourite sites. I particularly enjoyed seeing and photographing all of the wonderful wildflowers. The Cormorant battling the Eel, the Blue-tailed Damselfly, Common Green Capsid and the Tree Bumblebee was my pick of the insects. Hopefully John and I can get out on a sunny Sunday next week.


Week ending: 19th May 2024: Stevenston, Saltcoats and Irvine Harbour 

“West was best” for this week’s visit, according to the weather prediction. There was to be a dull start in the morning but cloud was to clear to leave us with a sunny sunny day. I chose to visit Stevenston, last visited early in March. I was glad that John was able to accompany me since Stevenson is one of our favourite locations. We had our breakfasts first, in Stevenston Morrisons cafe (8/10: good tasty breakfasts, but the fried eggs and bacon slice were a tad overdone).

When we arrived at Stevenston Point, the light was disappointingly poor. Arran and Ailsa Craig were totally obscured by mist, with nearby ships appearing ghostly as they drifted past.

However, rather unexpectedly, a pair of Gannets  appeared close to the east of the Point and began diving for fish. Also, John spotted a few Eider diving a bit further out and a pair of Shags flew past ….

Gannet...
Eider Duck	Shag

…. and joined other Shags that had gathered to the west of the Point.

A Rock Pipit , apparently annoyed by our presence, made repeated short and quick ascents, followed by a slow, gliding descents onto the rocks - singing all the while. At one time it landed on a rock very near to us and struck a threatening pose. We got the message - that we were in its breeding ground - and we left it in peace by exploring the perimeter round the Point. A Jackdaw was imbibing at a puddle in the middle of the Point. 

Rock Pipit...
	Jackdaw

There were many wildflowers coming into bloom around the grassy edges of the peninsula. Bush Vetch is not particularly pretty but there was a lot of it. I was surprised to find Common Comfrey on such an exposed site, but I wasn’t surprised to find White and Red Campion plants since these are common in a wide variety of sites. The only birds we saw off the west side were the Shags and occasional passing gulls, such as the Great Black-backed a Herring Gulls.

Bush Vetch	Common Comfrey
White Campion	Red Campion
Great Black-backed Gull	1st Cycle Herring Gull

At the east edge there were quite a few Sea Radish plants coming into bloom. Some had lots of Pollen Beetles  on their prickly flower buds. John alerted me to a Grey Seal that surfaced where the Gannets had been diving - probably attracted to the same shoal of fish. I snapped the seal and then resumed my botanic investigations with pictures of Oxeye Daisies and there were extensive patches of the low-growing Hop Trefoil and Birds’-foot Trefoil.

Sea Radish	Pollen Beetle
Grey Seal	Oxeye Daisy
Common Bird's Foot Trefoil	Hop Trefoil

We relocated to Saltcoats Harbour where the light seemed a bit better than on the Point. However, again all we could see in the harbour bay were a few gulls - Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls - and a Feral Pigeon. It wasn’t much better as I walked around the north side of the harbour - only partially hidden Oystercatchers caught my interest.

Lesser Black-backed Gull	1st Cycle Herring Gull
Feral Pigeon	Oystercatcher

The light was improving though. We could actually see Arran, but the sky was far from the cloudless blue sky we were hoping for.

As I was taking the shot of Arran, I noticed a collection of small birds on the rocks at the edge of the shore. On closer inspection I discovered that they were Dunlins and Ringed Plovers.


When I walked a bit further round the sea wall I found another wee group of mainly Ringed Plovers and a juvenile Carrion Crow landed on the rocks just below the wall. Satisfied with seeing these few birds I doubled back towards the car. On my way there, a large adult Herring Gull was on the harbour rocks and I noticed Common Scurvygrass growing on the pavement. Near the car we watched a young Herring Gull devouring a Harbour Crab.

Ringed Plover	Juvenile Carrion Crow
Starling	Herring Gull
Common Scurvygrass	1st Cycle Herring Gull

Fairly satisfied with our few sightings at Saltcoats Harbour, we moved to the Auchenharvie Pond, which is between Saltcoats and Stevenston. We started at the southwest end of the pond where John noticed lots of small birds moving on and around the bushes. I sneaked a little closer to them and immediately snapped a pair of House Sparrow fledglings peaking out a gap in a hedge. John pointed out a juvenile Starling that was either washing or foraging in shallow water beside reeds at the edge of the pond. House Sparrows and Goldfinches made repeated visits to the same area of the pond, presumably to feed as we didn’t see them washing.

Juvenile House Sparrow	Juvenile Starling
House Sparrow / Goldfinch...

 We scanned the rest of the pond and were pleased to see a family of Mute Swans. The cautious parent birds guided their cygnets towards the bank as we approached.

There were birds on the small island: a young Cormorant, a big Grey Heron and a few Mallards. Also, just beyond the island, two drake Tufted Ducks were diving for food. I also photographed a Yellow Flag iris that was near me on the bank of the loch.

Juvenile Cormorant	Grey Heron
Yellow Flag Iris	Tufted Duck

My final shot at Auchenharvie was of a trio of drake Mallards progressing down the length of the pond.

We finished the trip with a brief visit to Irvine Harbour, the highlights of which were the a long awaited appearance of the Sun, and sightings of Sandwich Terns . I managed a flight shot of one of the terns as it flew out of the estuary. This led me to where the majority of its fellow Sandwich Terns were ….

Sandwich Tern...

…. at the rocks, exposed by the lowering tidal waters, at the mouth of the estuary.

Considering the poor light throughout most of the trip, it had been fairly satisfactory. My favourite sightings were the Gannets and feisty Rock Pipit at Stevenson Point, the Dunlins and Ringed Plovers and Gull with the crab at Saltcoats, Sparrow fledglings and Goldfinches at Auchenharvie and the Sandwich Terns at Irvine. If we had started our trip at 2pm we might have got slightly better-lit shots, but probably we’d have accumulated the same assortment of sightings.



Week ending: 12th May 2024: Skateraw and Belhaven Bay 

I’m delighted to report that John felt well enough to accompany me to Skateraw on Sunday. The weather was predicted to be warm and dry with sunny intervals and 26 weeks had passed since our last visit there, so it was due a revisit. We started the morning at Dalkeith with Morrisons rolls and said goodbye to the fried breakfast (7/10: ok but the rolls were small and the sausages were overcooked). 

We drove onto the A1 and headed south, turning off just before Torness power station. We scanned the fields between the A1 and Skateraw and we were pleased to see Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails. Small piles of brown waste in the middle of one field turned out, on further inspection,  to be Brown Hares. Because we were making our observations from the car, which I was driving, these pictures below were taken by John.

Meadow Pipit	Pied Wagtail
Brown Hare....

John also snapped a Goldfinch that he spotted on a field boundary wall. We were particularly looking out for Yellow Wagtails  that had recently been reported. I parked the car and walked along the road to check for them on and around the field boundary walls. Unfortunately a tractor started tracking up and down the field, carrying out agricultural work. Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Rooks had gathered on the field and were very keen to follow the tractor, so it may have been planting seeds. We also heard and saw plenty Skylarks  in the area but sadly no Yellow Wagtails. We returned to the car and drove down the narrow, winding one-track road to Skateraw Bay. just before the car park I photographed a Stonechat atop one of the many tall, yellow-flowered Oil Seed Rape  that was growing wild in the field adjacent to the car park. 

Goldfinch	Lesser Black-backed Gull
Rook	Herring Gull
Skylark	Stonechat

After parking the car, we walked along the foreshore that borders the lovely curved sandy beach. The tide was very low and there was no obvious sign of birds. 

We moved beyond the limekiln ruin and scanned the rocky panorama between Skateraw and Torness. At first glance it too seemed empty of birds.

However, things picked up. We heard the rather anxious bird calls emanating from a bush next to the toilet block. John discovered it was a Common Whitethroat  moving at the heart of the bush. I stood out of sight of the bird and in a short time it appeared on one of the outer branches. I then return to the side of the limekiln where I found Common Scurvygrass and Garlic Mustard blooming. John the saw a pair of Shelducks and Oystercatchers hiding in plain sight amid the rock pools. We picked our way carefully over very hazardous rocky terrain to get satisfactory shots (without scaring the birds). 

Whitethroat	Common Scurvygrass
Garlic Mustard	Shelduck / Oystercatcher

We next decided to have a look at the field where the Stonechat was posing. We found the grass verge between the field and road was teeming with wildflowers. Nestled at the roadside were beautiful yellow-flowered Bird’s-foot Trefoil and tiny pink-flowered Dove’s-foot Cranesbill . Many white flowers of Star of Bethlehem  and Red Campion were standing proud of the wild grass, as were some clumps of Spanish Bluebells. At the opposite side of the road, White Deadnettles were blooming at the edge of the verge.

Common Bird's-foot Trefoil	Dove's-foot Cranesbill
Star Of Bethlehem	Red Campion
Spanish Bluebell	White Deadnettle

A Meadow Pipit landed on a fence post and seemed to watch me as I photographed flowers with my wee LUMIX camera set on macro mode. As I did that, John was using my “big camera “ (a Nikon 500D with Sigma 600mm zoom lens) to photograph a record shot of a pair of Linnets feeding in the field. He also captured images of a couple of butterflies: a female Green-veined White and an Orange Tip in a hurry.

Meadow Pipit	Linnet
Female Green-veined White Butterfly	Orange Tip Butterfly

Just after John returned the camera to me, a Roe Deer darted from the great mass of flowering Oil Seed Rape. Note the deer, which was moulting, quickly disappeared into the wooded area behind the field. We strolled further west and in the scrub land beyond the west side of the beach, I heard the distinctive song of a Sedge Warbler . When I wandered over to have a look, I came across a Meadow Pipit and then a Reed Bunting, and each settled on the bush from where I thought the Sedge Warbler was singing. Eventually it climbed to the top of the bush and provided me with the opportunity I was waiting for, to snap it as it sang.

Roe Deer	Meadow Pipit
Reed Bunting	Sedge Warbler

Below is the view from the scrubland, looking west towards the Barns Ness lighthouse.

Next, we relocated a few miles west to Belhaven Bay, specifically to the Shore Road car park at Belhaven, Dunbar. We walked towards the Seafield Pond which sits just south of the inner bay, next to the caravan park. There was a pair of Shelducks on the sands of the inner bay, and, while I photographed them, I noticed Hoary Cress growing on the sea wall. When we reached the pond, a Reed Bunting was on the tall reeds. Also, a Tree Sparrow emerged from the reeds and landed on a bird feeder at one of the caravans - the first time we’ve seen one at that location.

Shelduck	Hoary Cress
Reed Bunting	Tree Sparrow

The Seafield park was partially flooded, blocking off access to the south side of the park. However, we sat on our stools and observed the birds that accessed the flooded area. These included a pair of Mallards, a Moorhen and a Mute Swan. Also, there were House Sparrows feeding from the tall reeds, or they may have been gathering nesting materials.

Mallard	Moorhen
Mute Swan	House Sparrow

As we left the pond area I got a nice shot of a Wood Avens flower nesting near the park boundary fence. A pair of Woodpigeons overtook us as we walked beside the sea wall on our way back to the car. Our final couple of sightings were of a pair of Collared Doves and a Jackdaw that were foraging in the sandy channels of the salt marsh.

Wood Avens	Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove	Jackdaw

Well, John picked a good Sunday to resume his nature-watching: 37 species photographed. My personal favourites were the Hares and Roe deer, our first Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat of the year and, let’s hear it for the wildflowers, I especially appreciated the beautiful Star of Bethlehem. Hopefully John will join me again next week, especially since the weather is predicted to be very nice across the Central Belt.

Week ending: 5th May 2024: Hogganfield Park LNR ( Map)

This week I visited a very familiar suburban Glasgow Local Nature Reserve: Hogganfield Park (Website). John was still recuperating, so I was once again walking solo, depending entirely on my own spotting skills. I parked in the new car park at Golfit and set off on a well-practiced circuit of the park, starting at the main entrance at the northwest end of Hogganfield Loch. The weather was warm and quite sunny so I set off with much optimism that I would see and photograph lots of interesting stuff. There was feeding already going on with over-eager Mute Swans accosting the kind person who was chucking bread. The melee disturbed a drake Mallard, as can be seen in the picture below. A sad female Mallard was looking a bit overwhelmed as even more eager Goosanders rushed in to grab chunks of bread.

Mallard / Mute Swan	Feral Pigeon
Female Mallard	Goosander...

I walked along the west side of the loch, passing a neat clump of Cowslips flowering on the grassy bank. About 40m from the bank a large Lesser Black-backed Gull was preening on a large spherical buoy. There are artificial islands near the southwest corner of the loch. One of these hosted a Moorhen and on and around another was a family of Coots.

Cowslip	Lesser Black-backed Gull
Moorhen	Coot

The adult Coots were careful not to let their chicks paddle too far from the safety of the island. Any stray chick was immediately chased back under the island’s leafy canopy. 

Below is the view looking north from the southwest corner of the loch.

Along the path at the south end of the loch I photographed Carrion Crows, Magpies and Starlings all eagerly seeking out invertebrates, perhaps to feed to their young. I spied some Coltsfoot flowering near the water edge. On the water a handsome pair of Tufted Ducks paddled past.

Carrion Crow	Magpie
Starling	Coltsfoot
Drake Tufted Duck	Female Tufted Duck

The path eventually turned onto the east end of the loch. Prominent in the water between the wooded island and lochside was a bare artificial island where a pair of Great Crested Grebes have set their nest. One of the birds was sitting on the nest, the other had just paddled in and was having a wee snooze near the nest.

Next, at the east end of the loch, I deviated from the road and followed a path that took me across marshland and past a small pond that is often visited by a large variety of birds. Near the start of that path, I heard the unmistakable call of a Grasshopper Warbler. I decided to wait and watch to see if I could catch a glimpse of this often-heard, but rarely-seen bird. To my delight it emerged from the thick grass onto a bramble branch and started “reeling” . Further along the path, where it passes through Hawthorn bushes I snapped, in quick succession, a Whitethroat , a Willow Warbler  and then a Goldfinch.

Grasshopper Warbler	Whitethroat
Willow Warbler	Goldfinch

At the pond there were several pairs of Gadwall ducks, a pair of Mute Swans and a single Canada Goose. The goose was being followed threateningly by the cob which suddenly spread his wings and attacked causing the goose to take evasive action by flying to the other end of the pond. I proceeded further along the footpath and then rested briefly on a wooden chair where I noticed a Bumblebee Hoverfly, Volucella bombylans , resting on a Bramble leaf. Soon after a Dunnock carrying a beakful of moss, probably nesting material, popped up onto a Bramble bush and posed for a picture. Just as I got up to resume my trek a Grey Heron flew in and landed near the pond. 

Gadwall	Mute Swan
Canada Goose	Hoverfly - Volucella Bombylans
Dunnock	Grey Heron

 I continued along the path onto the old Avenue End Road. I headed then for another path that is parallel to the north of the one I’d just left and which leads back to the loch. While walking along the disused Avenue End Road I found a lovely patch of Spanish Bluebells growing between the trees, and also came across some Yellow Archangel flowers growing on the grass verge. Just inside the next park entrance I photographed Cuckoo Flowers and noticed that a couple of Chequered Hoverflies were feeding on the flowers.

Spanish Bluebell	Yellow Archangel
Cuckoo Flower	Chequered Hoverfly

Next I managed shots of a couple of white butterflies: a female Orange Tip  (nb: only the male has an orange wing-tip) followed by a Green-veined White (notice the green vein pattern on the hind wing). There were White Spanish Bluebells growing near the path. A rasping Greenfinch watched me as I snapped a quick shot of some flighty Jackdaws. At the loch, a few Little Grebes were very animated, dashing and diving as they chased each other.

Female Orange Tip Butterfly	Female Greened Veined White Butterfly
White Spanish Bluebell	Greenfinch
Jackdaw	Little Grebe

I made my way along the last section of my circuit, along the north side of the loch. There were very few birds on the water. Below is the view from one of the park benches.

I did though discover that another pair of Great Crested Grebes were nesting on another artificial island well out from the lochside. But further along the road another Great Crested Grebe surfaced very close to the lochside as it searched for fish. Near the car park I spotted a Tufted Duck having a bad-hair day.

Great Crested Grebe...
Wood Pigeon	Drake Tufted Duck

 On my way back to the car I passed a group of Mute Swans lounging in the afternoon sunshine - something I was intending doing soon after.

Canada Goose	Coot...
	Grey Heron
Greylag Goose	Mallard

HOVERFLIES

Beefly	Eristalis Arbustorum
Snouted Duckfly	Tachina Fera

FEEDING TIME

Coot	Drake Goosander
Carrion Crow	Brown Lipped Snail

WILDFLOWERS

Bugle	Common Comfrey
Common Daisy	Crimson Clover
Crosswort	Greater Stitchwort
Green Alkanet	Herb Robert

Silverweed	Water Avens

Canada Goose	Grey Heron
Female House Sparrow	Little Grebe
Mallard	Reed Bunting
Robin	Dunnock

Azure Damselfly	Common Blue Damselfly
Common Pill Woodlouse	Buff-tailed Bumblebee
Dance Fly - Empis Tessellata	Large Red Damselfly
Small Heath Butterfly	Speckled Wood Butterfly

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