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Week ending: 8th December: Strathclyde Country Park, Hogganfield Park LNR, Ardmore
Point, Victotria Park.
It has been another dull, dank, but mild week of weather. I got out whenever the weather allowed,
primarily to get my steps up, but always accompanied by a camera to snap any interesting sights
on the way.
2nd-6th December: Strathclyde Country Park
I visited Strathclyde Country Park several times throughout the week but only managed a handful
of pictures. At the Beach Car Park some of the many resident Greylag Geese were grazing
beyond the children’s play area.
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A common sight, which is always eye catching, is a prowling Grey Heron. The one shown below
was, unusually, on the grass just before the trees at the north end of the park, only a mere 10m
from the footpath. At car park 4, a lovely Mute Swan caught the low, orange, winter sunlight
during a rare brief sunny period. You’re never far from a Cormorant at Strathclyde Loch. They
regularly hunt fish in groups of over 50 and afterwards they perch on the fallen trees at the mouth
of the South Calder River. Occasionally one sees Woodpigeons flying down from the trees to peck
at the short grass looking for insects, seeds, berries and the like. It is a common belief that Grey
Squirrels hibernate. It turns out they don’t. Instead they rely on a steady supply of food from their
underground stores.
2nd December: Hogganfield Park LNR
I visited Hogganfield Park on Wednesday and was delighted that the expected arrival of Whooper
Swans had happened. They spend the summer in Iceland but winter in Scotland. I counted four
adults and four cygnets looking a bit unsettled, like newcomers often do. A circuit of the park
turned up a Grey Heron hiding in the reeds at the wee pond to the east of the main loch. Also in
that area I encountered a Grey Squirrel that rushed across the path before scurrying halfway up a
tree, pausing for quick shot before vanishing into the canopy.
I found four fungi on my circuit: Smoky Bracket, a very variable small-pored fungus, Hoof
Fungus , a persistent tough polypore, a half-eaten Birch Polypore and the aptly named Jelly Ear fungus.
| Smokey Bracket |
Hoof Fungus |
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| Birch Polypore |
Jelly Ear |
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8th December AM: Ardmore Point
In the wake of Storm Darragh, the weather forecast for Sunday was promising for West Central
Scotland: relatively mild, with dry sunny spells with some cloud. That was just the weather I prefer
for visiting Ardmore Point. The tide was to be very low but I figured that the nice sunshine
would encourage the appearance of lots of birds.
As can be seen in the picture below (and in other panorama shots to follow) the skies are mainly
blue and the land is well lit. However the foreground is not well lit. That was because the one big
cloud in the sky was practically stationary and parked over the Sun. It didn’t shift the whole time I
was there.
My circuit around the peninsula produced relatively few sightings anyway. They began with yet
another Grey Heron, followed by distant Carrion Crows at the water’s edge. The only flowers
spotted were ones that bloom throughout the year, the very numerous Gorse bushes. The
only flypast I witnessed was a Shag flying low over the cloud-shaded water.
| Grey Heron |
Carrion Crow |
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| Gorse |
Shag |
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Below is the view across the Firth of Clyde towards Helensburgh. Note the bright conditions there.
I was pleased to see a group of male and female Wigeons dabbling along the shallow
edges of the shore. Sadly though, my walk along the edge of the North Bay was fruitless and I
only got a photo opportunity in the fields just before the car park - a single Oystercatcher that was
probing the grass for invertebrates using its long dagger-like beak. My penultimate shot at
Ardmore was of a distant Buzzard circling above the middle of the peninsula.
The view north shown below shows the sunlit snow-covered peaks on the hills between
Helensburgh and Loch Lomond.
8th December PM: Victoria Park, Glasgow
Very disappointed with the low turnout of birds at Ardmore, I decided to cut my losses and move
to another, hopefully brighter, site. Luckily I read of a Ring-necked Duck that was seen the
previous day in Victoria Park, Glasgow . Since that was on my way home I decided to pop in
to see if it was still there and to get much-needed photographs of some of the other birds.
After parking at the west end of the park, a Blackbird and also a Wood Pigeon were feeding when I
passed through the park gates. I’m pleased to report that the park was bathed in sunshine but
there were clouds uncomfortable near the Sun so I quickened my pace as I headed the couple of
hundred metres to the main pond at the opposite end of the park. On arrival I snapped a couple
of Mallards that were beautifully lit by the orange sunlight of the near-setting sun.
| Blackbird |
Wood Pigeon |
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| Female Mallard |
Drake Mallard |
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The pond is about 80m long and contains a very healthy number of various species of birds. I
scanned the pond for Tufted Ducks, as the Ring-necked Duck was liable to be with these.
The expected common pond birds were very active in all areas of the pond, such as Moorhens
and Coots, but there were fewer Mute Swans than I expected. The few I saw were gliding
across the water making a very pretty picture. I happened to pass a young lad just as he threw a
handful of birdseed onto the path, after which a sizeable flock of Feral Pigeons descended from
the trees onto the path.
| Moorhen |
Common Coot |
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| Mute Swan |
Feral Pigeon |
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Eventually I came upon a small number of Tufted Ducks diving for invertebrates around the
centre of the pond. I walked around the pond several times and came to the unfortunate
conclusion that it wasn’t there (that was confirmed by other visitors later on social media). I even
tried the small pond just north of the main pond but it had only Mallards.
Below is a view of the main pond as seen from the small pond.
I headed back to the car and photographed more birds on the way, including perching Moorhen,
Coot and Magpies. A lovely pair of Mute Swans swam under the footbridge as I passed. A big
Carrion Crow was surveying the site from its perch high in the branches of a tall tree. My final pic
of the week was of the restored four-dial miniature lamp post clock, that was donated by William
Gordon Oswald in 1888. If you look carefully you’ll spot the pair of Mallards flying high above th
clock.
| Moorhen |
Common Coot |
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| Magpie |
Mute Swan |
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| Carrion Crow |
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It had been a pretty run-of-the-mill sort of week, with plenty of run-of-the-mill, but often pleasing
sightings. However my stand-out favourites have to be the Whooper Swans and the fungi I
photographed at Hogganfield. The weather next week is to be mainly dry but will be cold and
foggy across Central Scotland - not good news - but one never knows, they could be wrong
Week ending: 1st December: Strathclyde Park, RSPB Loch Leven, Troon
In what turned out to be a week of cold and sometimes wet weather I was still able to get out with
my cameras to a nice variety of locations to photograph whatever popped up and fired my
interest.
November 25-29: Strathclyde Country Park
Reading in social media that there was a newly-arrived Ring-billed Gull at Strathclyde
Country Park, I made several visits there throughout the week. Of course, I made many other
interesting sightings during my search for the ring-billed gull, such as the very active and plentiful
Greylag Geese that now seem to be permanent fixtures at the park. There were also several
Goosanders fishing the loch, usually seen diving well away from the lochside, but occasionall
they venture close to scramble for bread chucked to the ducks by walkers. I also came across the
Grey Wagtail that I discovered last week and also, at the mouth of the South Calder, there
was a young Cormorant drying its wings during a rare sunny interval.
| Greylag Goose |
Drake Goosander |
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| Grey Wagtail |
Cormorant |
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I scanned the loch for the Ring-billed Gull from the south beach car park where more greylags
were grazing next to the children’s play park.
It was a sunny spell when I photographed the beautiful autumn scene from the car park.
Suddenly, Carrion Crows emerged from the trees as they escorted a Buzzard from the area.
A young Mute Swan toddled over to me, probably expecting bread. The east side of the island
shown above is where I snapped a Little Egret that was foraging at the water’s edge. Also,
on one of my walking routes through the park I spied a trio of Cormorants that were perched on a
fallen tree in the middle of the River Clyde, near the road bridge that connects Motherwell and
Hamilton.
There are a LOT of gulls in Strathclyde Country Park and I think I looked at every one of them
before, after four visits, I finally found the Ring-billed Gull - only about 30m from the lochside
beside car park 2. I had met a chap on the previous day, who had driven up from Birmingham
especially to see that gull, only to be disappointed. The irony was that, when I spoke to him, he
was at the same spot as I saw it exactly 24h later.
Thursday, 28th November: RSPB Loch Leven
There were sub-zero temperatures predicted for Thursday with the brightest skies to be in the
east. So I decided that it was time to revisit RSPB Loch Leven in Fife. Our last visit here was October 2023. Things were looking bright
as I set off around the reserve, as can be seen from the view at the underpass below the main
road.
However, I should have realised that the ponds and waterways would be frozen - indeed the hide
windows were completely iced up. So it would be a very quick visit since the birds would not
tolerate the icy conditions.
The first hide was ok in that it had a bird feeder and there were birds feeding there: Chaffinches,
Goldfinches, Greenfinches , Coal Tits and Blue Tits. But those were the only birdsin
the reserve so I beat a hasty retreat back home, scolding myself for not realising that water birds
need the water in liquid state.
| Male Chaffinch |
Female Chaffinch |
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| Goldfinch |
Coal Tit |
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| Greenfinch |
Greenfinch / Chaffinch / Blue Tit |
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Sunday 1st December: Troon
Luckily the weather for Sunday was predicted to be mild and dry with sunny intervals in the west.
I therefore headed to sunny Troon on the Ayrshire coast. Once again John was unable to join me
on our usual Sunday jaunt.
At the Harbour car park at the north end of the Ballast Bank, I alighted from the car and
immediately realised that I would need my woolly hat, scarf and gloves since the wind was, let’s
say, bracing, as indicated by the birds with beaks underwings in the flock of Oystercatchers and
Redshanks that were on the rocks in front of the car park.
I walked along the wee beach to right of the car park and immediately snapped a Starling that
was rummaging in rubbish on the foreshore. As the sunlight broke through the clouds some of the
Oystercatchers perked up and flew off and I inadvertently spooked a Curlew from its resting
place.
| Starling |
Oystercatcher |
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| Curlew... |
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At the end of the sandy shore I observed the frequent movements of the Shags to and from their
perches on the tall harbour walls. The water was very choppy with a large swell but I was
surprised by the brief appearances of a couple of Common Seals that were diving a mere
20 m from where I was standing. They were difficult to photograph since it was impossible
to predict where and when they would surface and when they did, it was only for a couple of
seconds. However I did manage a few decent shots.
Satisfied that I’d seen the best of what the sandy beach had to offer, I returned back to the car.
On the rocks, the brighter conditions had awakened more birds such as the Oystercatchers. There
was a Meadow Pipit on the grassy areas of the shore, as overhead, a big Herring Gull was
calling loudly. On the island, a young Redshank climbed onto the top of a boulder and started to
preen. As I was photographing it, I noticed a couple of Purple Sandpipers scampering
around it. A few groups of Eider duck flew low over the water just beyond the island.
| Oystercatcher |
Meadow Pipit |
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| Herring Gull |
Redshank |
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| Purple Sandpiper |
Eider Duck |
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I relocated to the other side of Ballast Bank where I found more Oystercatchers and Redshanks
lining the rocks.
As I walked along the foreshore surveying the birds, I was initially irritated by the actions of two
men who were disturbing the birds when they gathered salt water in large plastic water bottles
(later one of them told me they were gathering sea water for their aquaria).
Although the poor birds were upset, the aquarists actually aided my search for birds. I was
pleased to find a small line of Purple Sandpipers among the flushed Oystercatchers.
Also in the aerial mix were a large number of Ringed Plovers ….
…and a solitary Curlew.
| Ringed Plover |
Purple Sandpiper |
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| Ringed Plover / Purple Sandpiper |
Curlew |
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My last stop was Titchwell Road car park . The dramatic view across the Firth of Clyde towards
the Isle of Arran revealed a band of showers coming towards Troon.
On the shore at the car park there were the usual Starlings and Herring Gulls but excited
Turnstones flew in with probably the same Ringed Plovers and Purple Sandpipers I’d been
watching earlier.
The picture below shows the view over the wall looking towards Troon beach. Two kite-surfers
were taking advantage of the windy weather and were fairly shifting across the surf.
A wee walk along the prom beyond the north of the car park revealed yet another Curlew and also
a young Herring Gull with the remains of a crab shell. And my final shot of this week was of
feisty wee Rock Pipit that was foraging on the rocks just below the path. After that, the rain
which had been moving across the Firth finally reached Troon and raindrops started appearing on
my windscreen. I drove home very satisfied with my day in Troon.
| Curlew |
1st Cycle Herring Gull |
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| Rock Pipit... |
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It was an enjoyable week during which I covered a fair bit of Central Scotland and bagged quite a
few shots. My favourites were the Ring-billed Gull, Common Seal and I always like seeing
Cormorants, Shags and Purple Sandpipers. Next week is to be changeable also, so let’s hope I
can negotiate the conditions again and get to interesting places where there are interesting
sightings to be made.
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