I dropped Rachel at her cheerleading competition at the Kelvin Hall for 11:30 am and made my way up to the Endrick Mouth on Loch Lomond. This is a site I have known for years but have only visited on a few occasions. It is part of a National Nature Reserve but the the problem has always been the access. There are few places to park and lots of private signs and keep out and overall you get a distinct feeling of 'I shouldn't be here'. There are not a lot of houses but the ones that are are very posh with expansive grounds and no doubt cost a fortune. Probably, the last thing they want is for Joe Public to camp or light fires or perhaps even look into their properties in search of birds ! Assuming you can sneak past the Alsatians and the Rottweilers and reach Loch Lomond it actually is a splendid area. Because of the lack of proper car parking facilities, there are few people and it is altogether a peaceful oasis.
Most of the habitat is mature oak and ash woodland and as a consequence there are lots of birds. As a bonus it runs along the side of Loch Lomond and affords the opportunity for things like Common Sandpiper, 2 of which I heard today. The woodland was full of young Blue, Great & Coal Tits as well as Great Spotted Woodpecker and Willow Warbler. Bullfinch was also frequently heard. Once you get through the woodland it opens up to provide pleasant views over Loch Lomond towards Balmaha. Being Loch Lomond, Ospreys are almost expected and today did not disappoint with up to 6 seen with 4 circling together at one stage.
Best today however, were the Redstarts, at least one male and a juvenile. The male was fairly loyal to one patch of woodland and presented the opportunity for some shots:
Other notables included both Whitethroat and Tree Pipit. A large raft of Canada Geese and 3 Shelduck were on the loch.
On the way back I also found a single Spotted Flycatcher :
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