Week ending: 30th November: Stevenston, Saltcoats, Irvine Harbour

The weather for the week was predicted to have only one sunny day - Tuesday. I was keen, therefore, to get out on that day and decided that I’d prefer somewhere on the North Ayrshire coast.

Cloud	Rain	Tides

Tuesday, 25th November: Stevenston

The weather presenters got it right - I awoke to clear blue skies and that didn’t change for the whole day. I headed for Stevenston Point and before long I was photographing a magnificent panorama - the Firth of Clyde with the backdrop of the Island of Arran which wasn’t, for once,
capped with thick grey cloud!

I spotted Ringed Plovers and Dunlin scampering along the beach to the south. Frustratingly, they started to move nearer to the Point and would get fairly close before dashing back to where they started from. I snapped a shot of the distant Ailsa Craig and then walked around the peninsula and took a snap of anything  with feathers. First up was a lone Herring Gull.

Dunlin (Foreground)	Ringed Plover
	Herring Gull

Next, I noticed a huge flock of gulls on the beach to the north.

Tucked in the rocks on the north east corner of the Point I found a few Oystercatchers and a single Curlew. Black-headed Gulls were continually flying overhead - as were a series of noisy paragliders. However, they didn’t seem to bother the birds. After photographing a pair of Carrion Crows that were perched of the back of a bench, I returned to the car and made my way off of the Point. There were Rooks on the grass field on either side of the access roads.

Oystercatcher	Curlew
Black - headed Gull
Carrion Crow	Rook

My next stop was the car park at the Auchenharvie Golf Course. The area surrounding the course often has interesting birds. At the wee pond at the end of Moorpark Road W, there were Moorhens, Mallards and Mute Swans.

Moorhen	Drake Mallard
Mute Swan	...Juvenile

A few minutes along the convenient footpath that runs the length of the course, one finds the Auchenharvie Loch and the rather scenic ruins of a pump house. Note the fifteen grazing Mute Swans.

The Loch had mainly Herring Gulls (not shown), but there were more Mute Swans, Goldeneyes and female Lesser Scaups. I also spotted a Redshank tip-toeing across the fairways.

Mute Swan	Goldeneye
Female Scaup	Redshank

Tuesday, 25th November: Saltcoats

Just up the road from the golf course there is the seaside town of Saltcoats. I parked at the harbour and immediately noticed a large flock of small waders on a long narrow exposed rock at the north side of the harbour.

They were Dunlins and Ringed Plovers, although I was surprised to find a solitary Common Snipe in their midst. Just beyond the harbour mouth, some Shags were drying their wings after diving for fish.

Dunlin...	....Ringed Plover
Common Snipe	Shag

Herring Gulls and Great Black-backed Gulls were standing on other rocks with more preening Shags.

Herring Gull	Great Black - backed Gull
	Shag

I relocated to The Braes car park and began a walk along the north side of the sea wall. I photographed a singing Starling that was perched on a chimney stack on the row of houses on Windmill Street. I managed closer shots of the Snipe and Ringed Plovers I’d seen from the harbour. I also snapped a snoozing Redshank.

Starling	Common Snipe
Ringed Plover	Redshank

Below is the view of the harbour as seen from the north side of the harbour mouth.

There were Oystercatchers and Purple Sandpipers  on the rocks north of the harbour mouth, near “Salcoats Tower”. A young Herring Gull on the sea wall watched me at the tower as I observed a group of six Turnstones  snoozing on a sun-licked boulder by the outdoor paddling pool. On further inspection I realised that there are five Turnstones plus a single Purple Sandpiper. I got another couple of shots on my way back to the car: a moody picture of a Redshank foraging in the shallows, and big chip-hungry Herring Gull on the sea wall, looking at me longingly.

Oystercatcher	Purple Sandpiper
1st Cycle Herring Gull	Turnstone / Purple Sandpiper
Redshank	Herring Gull

My final shot at Saltcoats was of birds on a rock that was soon to disappear beneath waves as the tide continued to rise. A pair of Cormorants, adult and juvenile, had joined the half-dozen Shags and Great Black-backed Gull I had photographed earlier.

Tuesday, 25th November: Irvine Harbour

On my way home I decided to pop into Irvine Harbour for a cup of tea. I had visited there on the previous week and didn’t really intend taking any photographs. However, I spotted a couple of Shags diving in the amber sunlight, by the Scientist’s Bridge. And I rather liked the Mute Swan
that was moving in the same light. Things got interesting when a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers paddled into the same section of the estuary. The female was diving for fish, but it was being harassed by Herring Gulls that were keen to rob her of any fish brought to the surface.
Turns out the gulls were watching the wrong Merganser. The drake , which was about 20m away from its partner, brought up a flatfish and began chewing. Eventually the gulls noticed and chased the drake away. A Grey Heron then flew in and settled on the far bank at the confluence of the
Rivers Irvine and Garnock. Finally, the lighting conditions seemed to increase the reach of my camera since I managed to take some clear shots of a trio of Common Seals that were lounging on some kind of floating platform that is at least 200m from the harbour promenade.

Shag	Mute Swan
Female Red - breasted Merganser	Drake Red - breasted Merganser
Greay Heron	Common Seal

Talking of lighting conditions, the shot below is a backlit, moody picture of a small fishing boat that was anchored beyond the viewpoint at the end of the estuary.

With 28 species photographed I consider my Tuesday outing to the North Ayrshire coast to have been a success. My favourites are the unexpected Scaup, Snipe, Purple Sandpipers, Redbreasted Mergansers and Common Seals. Next week’s weather forecast is reasonably good for
Monday to Thursday in Central Scotland, but will change for the worse by Friday. Sounds like I need a repeat of this week's strategy.

Week ending: 23rd November : Troon, Irvine Harbour, Broadwood Loch

On Sunday night, the weather prediction for the week ahead indicated that Monday was to be the best day for nature photography: sunny, mild, but a bit cold. The rest of the week would have a few sunny spells, but would generally be cloudy and damp. I decided that a Monday visit to Troon
and Irvine Harbour was a good plan - get out when it is sunny.

Monday, 17th November: Troon

The prediction proved correct and after a relatively stressless journey down the M77 I found myself in dry, sunny Troon, specifically at the south edge of the North Bay where the tide was high but receding.

Cloud	Rain	Tide

There was a large number of Oystercatchers massed on a long ridge of exposed rock.

On the shoreline, Redshanks were feeding. A closer look at the Oystercatchers showed that most were preening. There were a few Curlews on the shoreline and some Mallards paddled in from the harbour…

Redshank	Oystercatcher
Curlew	Mallard

… and snuggled down beside the Oystercatchers and Curlews.

I walked around the Sea Buckthorn trees that line that part of the coast, south of the North Shore car park. I immediately came across, and just managed a shot of a flighty Song Thrush. Next I was very pleased to photograph a male Blackcap, the first we’ve recorded there. We always though, see a Robin, which is usually singing, and House Sparrows.

Song Thrush	Blackcap
Robin	House Sparrow

I relocated to the sea-facing car park off Harbour Road where I found Shags occupying the exposed rocks about 40m from the parked cars. Note the stunning view of the Isle of Arran.

Below is a magnified shot of some of the Shags. A few were diving for fish….

…. and then returning to the rock to dry their wings. A Starling was singing its heart out from a chimney of the row of houses by the car park. I walked along the small sandy beach north of the car park and nearly got a good shot of a very busy Rock Pipit. A rather lonely-looking drake Eider was on the beach and I wondered if it was injured or ill. But it seemed ok. There was a juvenile Black Guillemot bobbing up and down in the waters and calling for its mum just beyond the end of the beach.

Shag	Starling
Rock Pipit	Eider...
	Juvenile Black Guillemot

A wee Robin appeared on barbed wire that runs along the perimeter of the timber yard, adjacent to the car park.

A friendly fellow-birder beckoned me to join him on the rocks as there was a group of Purple Sandpipers  half-hidden on the sea-facing side of the rocks. I very carefully picked my way across the slippery rocks, saving the NHS a new hip (Ed.),  to join my friend, who had an excellent view of the birds. I also saw a few Turnstones with the Purple Sandpipers. After snapping the elusive birds I managed my way back to the car where I came across a White Wagtail that was skipping across the grass.

Purple Sandpiper...
Turnstone	White Wagtail

Next I drove to the Titchfield Road car park and walked along by the sea wall to view a large flock of Dunlins that were feeding on seaweed piles. The low Autumn sunlight backlit the birds but I managed some decent shots.

Below is a more detailed crop of the the previous picture. I also spotted a lone Ringed Plover moving across the sands.

Dunlin	Ringed Plover

My final shot at Troon was of the shore adjacent to the Titchfield Road car park. Note Ailsa Craig in the distant horizon.

Monday, 17th November: Irvine Harbour

After leaving Troon reasonably happy with my haul of pictures, I visited Irvine Harbour, keen to add to that list. Below is the the view of the mouth of the River Irvine estuary.

I passed a handsome Black-headed Gull that was perched on top of a tall wooden pole at the edge of the river. I spent some time observing a young Shag as it made repeated dives in the river. Unfortunately it didn’t bring up any fish.

Black - headed Gull	Juvenile Shag...

On the opposite bank of the river I watched a Curlew and then a Grey Heron as they waded along the river’s edge. The Curlew seemed to catch something long and thin - perhaps an elver. There were several passes of Oystercatchers flying downstream. On my way back to the car I
photographed my long shadow to emphasise how low the Sun was in the sky.

Curlew	Grey Heron
Oystercatcher

My final shot was of the famous Scientists’ Bridge.

Thursday, 17th November: Broadwood Loch

Poor weather on the next two days prevented me from getting out with the camera. It did though brighten up on Thursday and I visited the beautiful Broadwood Loch in Cumbernauld.

After parking at the car park at the south end of the loch, I was impressed with the sight of thirteen Moorhens foraging on the grassy area by the car park.

Other birds in the same patch of grass included Black-headed Gulls and Canada Geese. On the water were Goldeyes, Goosanders, Mute Swans and more Canada Geese.

Black - headed Gull	Canada Goose
Female Goldeneye	Drake Goosander
	Canada Goose

I walked around the loch and found even more Canada Geese…..

….. and lots of Herring Gulls and Black-headed Gulls.

There were also quite a few Wigeons dotted around the whole loch. The wee island hosted a few Cormorants drying their wings after spells of diving. It turned out that most of the bird “action” was at the start of my circuit - but it was a satisfying walk.

Drake Wigeon...
Female Wigeon...
Cormorant	Mute Swan

It was a quiet week in terms of the number of times I got out and about, but even so, I managed to photograph 26 species, all birds, not to mention some satisfying scenic shots. My favourite birds were the Purple Sandpipers, Blackcap, Goldeneye, Starling and White Wagtail. My favourite
scene was the shot of Ailsa Craig. Next week’s weather is to be milder but wet and changeable - but I’ll get out when I can though.

A slight delay in this week's blog...Scotland 4 Denmark 2...nuff said

It was yet another dreary start to the week but cooler and brighter conditions were possible from Wednesday onwards.

Monday, 10th November: Baron's Haugh.

At the Marsh Hide the water level on the Haugh was raised by the plentiful rain, so I wasn’t expecting small waders such as Sandpipers or Snipe. Of course the relatively high water level wasn’t a problem for the trio of Whooper Swans  that were cruising on the water to the left of the scrapes.

However, there were longer-legged waders, namely Curlews. A dozen or so were snoozing on the grassy banks of the scrapes…

…. and a few were foraging at the water’s edge, along with another long-legged wader, a Grey Heron. There were a few Teals and Wigeons dabbling in the gloomy light. I spotted a lone Roe Deer in long grass beyond the scrapes. I relocated briefly to the Causeway Hide only to find more Whooper Swans but little else of note.

Curlew	Grey Heron
Teal	Female Wigeon
Roe Deer	Whooper Swan

At the edge of the woods by the car park, I found the very pretty Crimped Gill bracket fungi sprouting generously from a rotting felled tree trunk.

A few of the smaller branches of the rotting tree were infested with a newby, Coral Spot, a fungus that is sometimes found in decaying trees that are already weakened with another fungus. I also found a Shaggy Inkcap standing around of the leaf litter.

Coral Spot	Shaggy Inkcap

Wednesday, 12th November: Dalzell Estate

A couple of days later, the weather brightened a bit, but there were frequent showers. I did though manage to get out with my camera for an hour to Dalzell Estate (which neighbours RSPB Baron’s Haugh). I entered the estate from the Baron’s Haugh car park, and a wee Robin was singing a
welcome at the entrance. Several minutes later I captured a shot of a Nuthatch high in a tall tree. As I crossed the wee bridge over the Dalzell Burn I noticed clump of Oyster Mushrooms growing on a fallen tree at the edge of the burn. There were quite a few fallen trees in that area of
the woods, and they were great places to look for fungi. Before too long I had another four: Candlesnuff, Birch Polypore and another newby,  Flaming Scalycap ...

Robin	Nuthatch
Oyster Mushroom	Candlesnuff
Birch Polypore	Flaming Scalycap

….. and Hairy Curtain Crust,

Sunday, 16th November: Hogganfield Park LNR.

Sunday’s weather proved to be the best of the week: dry, sunny and warm, as you can see from the picture below, at Hogganfield Park . The swans were Mute Swans. There are usually Whooper Swans among them by this time of year but, sadly, there were none - as yet. Perhaps they
preferred Baron’s Haugh this year.

I thought I’d give a mention of an often ignored bird, but which is, arguably, the most common gull in the park, the Lesser Black-backed Gull . Many Feral Pigeons are also found in the park and they too are often overlooked or are even considered to be pests . Black-headed Gulls are also very common in the park, and also are held in some contempt by park visitors who like to feed the swans and ducks only to see these gulls pinch the food. A big Grey Heron was on the pontoon that is opposite the car park. I watched it chase the gulls off of the pontoon, so it would seem that the dislike of gulls is not confined to humans. Great Crested Grebes also hate gulls because they harass them and attempt to rob them of the fish they catch, so the juvenile in the picture below will have to learn how to evade the harassment.

Lesser Black - backed Gull...	...1st Cycle Juvenile
Feral Pigeon	Black - headed Gull
Grey Heron	Juvenile Great Crested Grebe

It was obvious to me that the birds were enjoying the fine weather as much as the humans walking around the loch. The Coots and Moorhens were moving freely along the edges of the loch without the usual disputes with each other. I saw only a few Goosanders moving individually
across the loch. I was lucky enough to get fairly close to a Little Grebe that was diving for fish behind one of the small artificial islands. I also got a quick, sneaky close shot of a Carrion Crow that was drinking from a puddle, when usually the crow flies off if it sees me stopping.

Coot	Moorhen
Male Goosander	Female Goosander
Little Grebe	Carrion Crow

Below is the view looking north from the south side of the loch. The amber shades across the scene are typical of Autumn.

I snapped a Magpie catching it just as it flew off one tree and photographed it again once it settled in the next tree. I got a second flight shot when a Black-headed Gull hovered over an  unseen swan, presumably to relieve it of something it was eating. A solitary Canada Goose was working its way around the edges of the lochs it searching amongst the reeds.

Magpie...
Black - headed Gull	Canada Goose

As usual, I took a detour east of the loch to view the “hidden” pond.

As I scanned the pond I heard the call of a Redwing in a tree behind me. Unfortunately it was backlit by the low Sun. A prowling Grey Heron appeared at the right side of the pond and then a drake Gadwall came out of the reeds at the left hand side. Soon after that, a pair of
Gadwalls emerged from behind the island.

Redwing	Grey Heron
Gadwall...

Pleased with my few shots at the pond, I returned to the north side of the loch.

I spotted a group of Fieldfares  in a tree and although they were a good 50m away, I got a reasonable shot of one of them. And then I noticed a big bird sitting in a tree in the park but by the main road. It was a Buzzard. I paced along the park road nearer to the Buzzard and got a few decent shots. On my way back to the car I got some pleasing shots of a drake Mallard, a couple of Feral pigeons and a close shot of a Feral Pigeon.

Fieldfare...
Common Buzzard	Mallard
Feral Pigeon	Jackdaw

It was an enjoyable week with 36 species photographed. My favourites are the Buzzard, Gadwalls and the fungi.  
Next week is to be cold, with snow possible, so I’ll put on my long johns.

Week ending: 9th November: Aberlady, Longniddry Bents, Port Seton & Morrison’s Haven

After another week of mild weather which was disappointingly dull and damp, my spirits were raised on Friday when it brightened up across Central Scotland, especially in the east. So my plan was to visit the Lothian coast between (and including) Aberlady and Morrison’s Haven. The tide would be low and rising.

Cloud	Rain	Tides

Friday, 7th November: Aberlady

When I arrived in Aberlady I drove through the High Street, turning down Sea Wynd and round onto Gullane Road where Aberlady Bay came into full view. There were two large sea vessels on the Firth of Forth: a ship carrying large cylindrical components, likely monopiles or foundations for
offshore wind turbines and a newly-built ferry ship intended for service in Tasmania.

There were hordes of birds on the sands of the bay. I stopped the car since I wanted to photograph them, especially the nearer ones on the meandering Peffer Burn. Shelducks , Wigeons and Herring Gulls made up most of the flock and their numbers were about to be added to by the Greylags I could see circling in the distance.

The Shelducks were drinking between their foraging. I could also see Teal but they were mainly snoozing and there were also a few Mallards cruising along the stream. I was pleased to see a few Little Egrets on the Burn.

Shelduck	Teal
Mallard	Little Egret

Eventually I moved on to the car park for the Aberlady LNR. The reserve is accessed via a picturesque wooden bridge.

A Little Egret flew in from upstream on the right…,

…. and began feeding close to the bridge. However, it was interrupted by walkers crossing the bridge and it flew onto the bank and expressed its disgust in an inappropriate manner, before taking off and flying over the bridge to feed in less threatening surroundings further downstream.

The Greylags I’d spotted landed during the short distance I’d driven to the car park and they were gathered on the bare sands on the other side of the Burn where a sizeable number of Wigeons were congregating.

There were more Wigeons on the salt-marsh on the near side to the left of the car park. I also noticed Redshanks and Black-headed Gulls on the river. The Greylags were getting a bit restless, for no apparent reason. Perhaps they were dissatisfied with the feeding opportunities at the Burn.

Wigeon	Redshank
Black - headed Gull	Greylag Goose

Friday, 7th November: Aberlady Point, Kilspindie Golf Club

My plan did not include exploring the Aberlady reserve since past experience of autumn visits have been relatively fruitless. So I decided instead to have a quick look at the bay from Aberlady Point which is just north of the Kilspindie Golf Club. I did just that. Again though, it seems the Greylags had taken to the skies whenever I’m in the car because I could see them flying northeast towards the prominent North Berwick Law.

From the Point I could see there were more Wigeons gathered and a few Lapwings on the sands. Since there was nothing more of interest, I decided to set off for Longniddry. However just as I started the car, a male Stonechat landed on the roof of a neighbouring parked car. I hastily
lowered my window, calmly reached for my camera and managed a fairly decent shot of the handsome wee fellow.

Wigeon	Stonechat

Friday, 7th November: Longniddry Bents

Longniddry Bents enjoys a wonderful panoramic view of the Firth of Forth with Fife to the north and Edinburgh and the Pentland Hills to the west.

However, the bird count was a disappointment, with only a big Herring Gull on show, though the view east to Gosford Sands and the gateway to Gosford House, with a line of World War II tank traps in the foreground - was quite fine.

Friday, 7th November: Port Seton 

I didn’t hang around Longniddry Bents for long and drove the couple of miles east to Port Seton where I parked at our usual place, the Wrecked Craigs car park. The tide was still out and there were only a few distant Cormorants drying their feathers on the rocks. I decided to walk to the
harbour and found there were more birds on the exposed rocks just before there, including a Curlew and some Oystercatchers. At the harbour a Herring Gull was looking down from its  rooftop perch.

Cormorant	Curlew
Oystercatcher	Herring Gull

The Port Seton harbour was a fine, colourful sight filled with working fishing boats.

I spotted a Turnstone  on top of the tall seawall, and, from the top of one of the fishing boats, a Rock Pipit was calling. There was much noise and excited behaviour coming from gulls flying beyond the the seawall, which made me think there were other birds diving in the waters and the gulls were alert to the possibly of nicking some food. I walked around the harbour to the harbour mouth and when I had the full view of the waters beyond the wall, there were indeed Eiders diving for shellfish and the Herring Gulls were circling over then, waiting for opportunities to rob the Eiders of their catches. A small Shag surfaced at the harbour-mouth as I was photographing the eiders.

Turnstone	Rock Pipit
Male Eider	Female Eider
1st Cycle Herring Gull	Shag

Friday, 7th November: Morrison's Haven

Satisfied with my short time at Port Seton, I moved on a mile or so west to to my final location, the romantically named Morrisons Haven. I was hoping that the tidal water would still be low enough to leave exposed the rocks that the Seals like to lounge on. Sadly the waters had already
covered the rocks. But I still managed to get some interesting shots, starting at the sea wall where a tweeting male Pied Wagtail was playing hide-and-seek with me just as an immature Herring Gull circled overhead. From the wall I could see a young Cormorant and some sleeping
Turnstones on a rocky outcrop by the shore. A Curlew came into view at the opposite end of the rocks and then a Carrion Crow flew in and took up a position on a low rock. The crow had brought a nearly bare fish skeleton from which it was picking off the remaining flesh.

Pied Wagtail	3rd Cycle Herring Gull
Juvenile Cormorant	Turnstone
Curlew	Carrion Crow

Most of the wildflowers in the areas I’d visited have died back, but there were a few exceptions. I found a few patches of flowering Sea Mayweed, Oxford Ragwort and White Campion. And if you thought that this was going to be the first blog in a good few weeks that hadn’t mentioned fungi,
then you’re very much mistaken, because my final find was indeed a fungus, most likely a Field Blewit  mushroom sprouting though low grass by the seawall.

Sea Mayweed	Oxford Ragwort
White Campion	Field Blewit

It had been a rather speedy sweep of the main birdwatching areas of the coast between Aberlady and Morrison’s Haven, with 24 species photographed, not as many as usual but it was bit of a “flying visit”. My favourites were the Aberlady Little Egrets, the Port Seton Stonechat, Turnstone, Rock Pipit and the Morrison’s Haven Curlew. There’s to be more inclement weather next week so I'll be careful to find the sunny days - or even half days.

Week ending: 2nd November : RSPB Lochwinnoch, Strathclyde Country Park

Another week of changeable weather loomed and I was determined to seek out any sunny intervals during which I could take my camera for a walk.

Monday, 26th October: RSPB Lochwinnoch

The week got off to a good start on Monday. After a gloomy morning, the weather turned out sunny by late morning and early afternoon. I thought I’d check out RSPB Lochwinnoch for birds and probably fungi. The Sun was just beginning to break through the cloud when I arrived at the Channel Hide.

The scrapes weren’t packed with birds, but there were quite a few Teal scattered around the site.

A few paddled fairly close to the hide and some settled in the middle distance. A few Lapwings flew in and mingled with the Teals. The only other bird I spotted was a Grey Heron in a tall tree away to the left boundary of thew reserve. When I left the hide, at the start of the Aird Meadow Trail, I found my first fungus, a Trooping Funnel, a very common mushroom across the UK.

Teal...
Lapwing...
Grey Heron	Trooping Funnel

There was a newly erected bird feeder outside the new visitor cabin and there were birds in the surrounding trees waiting until I got out of the vicinity before they started to use it.

I sat at one of the picnic benches and watched and waited. First in was a big Collared Dove but it didn’t hang about about. When it left, the small birds piled in: Great, Blue and Coal Tits nipping in, selecting a seed and carrying it back to consume on a high branch. Also on the branches, but less keen to venture onto the table, were House Sparrows.

Collared Dove	Great Tit
Blue Tit	Coal Tit
Male House Sparrow	Female House Sparrow

Also raiding the feeder were some Chaffinches and Goldfinches. They seemed more assertive, facing up to interlopers. Before I moved on from the visitor cabin, a tiny Wren caught my attention as it moved through the low branches of the trees.

Male Chaffinch	Female Chaffinch
Goldfinch	Wren

There is another feeder about 50m into the Aird Meadow Trail trail. It is beside a children’s play area that seems to have grown with each passing visit. That feeder has also been renewed and was being well used as I approached the viewing screen.

The species there were the same as on the previous hide, with Chaffinches predominating. However there was one bird I didn’t see at the last hide, a Nuthatch. It made repeated visits, even pausing on the table to eat some seeds - providing me with nice photo-opportunities. Also, there were far more Coal Tits at that hide, perhaps signs of big broods.

Male Chaffinch	Female Chaffinch
Nuthatch	Coal Tit

I proceeded along the trail keeping my eyes open for fungi. However my attention was first drawn to moss that was covering branches of fallen trees. I am guessing that it could be Hypnum cupressiforme, Cypress-leaved Plait Moss . Growing out of the green moss there are many red stalks topped with small capsules are called “sporophytes”. These are part of the reproductive system that produces spores which, when the capsules dry, are dispersed by the wind. The spores act like seeds in plants from which new moss can grow.

I continued along the length of the Aird Meadow Trail trail but, sad to say, there were no birds to see. But I did find more fungi. Almost every section of the trail had trees hosting Honey Fungi, a parasitic fungus that can do immense damage to forests; it attacks both coniferous and broad-leaf trees. By the time the mushrooms appear, the damage done to the tree is fatal. I also found Candlesnuff, which is small but has medical uses that include fighting viruses and is active against cancerous tumours. Another very common fungus I came across was Turkeytail. It has no apparent uses but can be very nice to look at. Near the Channel hide I discovered a decaying log out of which were growing Peeling Oysterling fungi, an inedible, and perhaps poisonous mushroom that used to be called the Soft Slipper Mushroom due to its shape.

Honey Fungus	Candlesnuff
Turkeytail	Peeling Oysterling

On my way back along the trail I popped into the quite picturesque Fen Hide …..

….. but only found a feeding Coot and, hiding in a pile of rotting cut-down branches, a small Conical Brittlestem  mushroom, ( a new addition ). These mushrooms are “hygrophanous”, i.e. they change colour depending on whether they are wet or dry. They are more vibrant when wet.

Coot	Conical Brittlestem

Thursday, 30th October: Strathclyde Country Park

On Thursday I visited Strathclyde Park and explored a route that followed the course of the South  Calder river between the Calder Bridge at the south end of Bellshill (Orbiston) and the Roman Bridge. Locals call that route, “the nature trail”. At the start of the trail I found a Shaggy Inkcap fungus poking through tall grass. As the path passed Bellshill Golf Club there was a Buzzard high on a tall tree, watching me approach before flying off. Where the trail passed alongside the golf course I photographed a few Woodpigeons who were also keeping an eye on my progress. I noticed one of the was a juvenile (which has no distinctive white neck patch) - another new addition.

Shaggy Inkcap	Common Buzzard
Wood Pigeon...	...Juvenile

On the route down to the Roman Bridge I passed several more fungi: Trooping Funnel, Clouded Funnel  and Turkeytail.

Trooping Funnel	Clouded Funnel
Turkeytail...

By the road bridge near the old Roman Bridge, a female Goosander and a few Mallards were foraging around. I decided I needed a cuppa at M&D’s cafe and walked there through the woods hoping to find more fungi. On an old tree stump under some bushes, Sulphur Tuft mushrooms were sprouting. These are sulphur-yellow in colour - hence the name. Nearby there was another fungus that is named after its colour - Blushing Bracket , a rust-coloured fungus. My final fungus find was a Glistening Inkcap , another hygrophanous mushroom that glistens when it is wet. After my tea and biscuits I strolled back to the car passing a Grey Heron hunting in the moat at the starting tower at the north end of the loch.

Female Goosander	Mallard
Sulhphur Tuft	Blushing Bracket
Glistening Inkcap	Grey Heron

I paused to photograph a gathering on birds on the footpath. Someone must have thrown them bread since Greylags were there, with Carrion Crows and Mallards also in attendance.

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