Not Much About

Spent this afternoon doing local spots at Cathkin Braes & the Heritage Loch.

Cathkin being elevated enjoys great views over the city and in Spring gets Wheatears. This is what I was hoping for today but I was out of luck. Indeed it was particularly quiet, with only the 2 Jack Snipe that I flushed from Windlaw Marsh being of any real interest.

Reed Bunting - also in the marsh

I swithered about going to Heritage Loch because I thought it would be too busy but it was not as bad as I had thought.

There was little of interest however although this did not stop me using the camera:

BST - "Bloody Stupid Twats"

The clocks have now gone forward and it is now glorious BST. BST stands for "Bloody Stupid Twats.".................... and applies in particular to people in boats on the Heritage Loch scaring off all my birds.

A visit early morning confirmed that all the Tufted Ducks have gone, no doubt scared off by BST. Very little indeed remained. I was completely gobsmacked to find that the 2 Wigeon that I found last week were still present.

Awaiting BST

The other 'notable' thing this morning was that 3 of the memorial benches had been vandalised. Heritage Loch has a number of memorials that families have dedicated to departed family members. These memorials include trees and park benches with name plaques etc. At least 3 of the benches had been smashed up. Who, I ask you, can be so low to do such things ? A nearby discarded cheap cider bottle perhaps held some of the answers !

The nature reserve at least has some birds, including a Snipe, 1 Little Grebe and a Heron. There was a further Little Grebe on the loch.

In search of Sand Martin I headed to Hogganfield where there were none. A Great Crested Grebe however, showed quite nicely:

Exotic Ducks also provided some interest. What I really mean is that they were in range of the DSLR:

More Fun With My New Lens

Early morning in Glasgow was dull and a touch misty, but it was warm, I was weeding the garden in a tee shirt. Another Chiffchaff was singing from the railway embankment.

After dropping Rachel at the Mitchell Theatre I went down to Lochwinnoch. It was bright but still a tad hazy but it did not stop me making use of the photography hide.

The Drake Smew remained on the Aird Meadow but was distant and there was also a mixture of Goldeneye and Tufted Duck.

A check at the Barr Loch failed to find any Sand Martin.

Chiffchaff - 7 Days Earlier Than Last Year

1 Singing in Cambuslang late afternoon

Sigma 150-500 Zoom Lens

Bought one of these to mark a milestone birthday. Not saying which one, but it's got a 5 in it !

Tried it out for the first time at Hogganfield at lunchtime today:

Aside from trying out my new lens I was also able to note that all the wintering Whooper Swans now appear to have departed. There were 3 Oystercatchers present and a Buzzard caused all the Gulls and Feral Pigeons to take flight.

There were also at least 3 Great Crested and 1 Little Grebe present. Increased numbers of Lesser Black Backed Gulls were also a sign of the advancing Spring. Clocks go forward on Sunday !

Two Wigeon on the Heritage Loch - Patch Tick !

With Spring happening as I write this (first frog spawn in my garden pond yesterday) & despite the numbers of wildfowl dropping alarmingly on the Heritage Loch (there was only 8 Tufted this morning) the site still yielded a patch tick in the form of 2 Wigeon (drake & duck).

The 1st Winter Drake Scaup also remained. 1 Little Grebe, 1 Goosander & 2 Cormorants were present. The fields at the West end held at least 8 Fieldfare. This field looks good for a Wheatear over the next few weeks ?

 3 flyover Redpoll were also notable, there have also been a number around Cambuslang of late.

A patch tick !

Garden Pond Frogspawn

Heritage Loch Scores Again.....!

My first day back at work was relatively short. My meeting in Hamilton finished refreshingly early and allowed me to make my way home via the Heritage Loch.

An initial scan through the Gulls picked up a 1st Winter Iceland Gull, presumably the same one as yesterday and I also noticed the 1st Winter Drake Scaup on the far side of the loch still associating with the Drake Pochard. My second scan picked up a small neat gull with seemingly black wing tips about 2/3rds of the way across the loch. I immediately thought "Kittiwake" but wondered if I was imagining it and started to look round for a Common Gull to compare with................... there were none.

My initial doubts were quickly dispelled when the bird was harassed by a Herring Gull and took to the air confirming jet black wing tips and black legs. It quickly settled again and began to wash and preen. A good inland record and I wonder if it was the same bird seen at Baron's Haugh at the weekend ?

Other notables today included 4 Oystercatcher and the 2 Canada Geese.

Unfortunately, more boat activity today including some idiot in a dingy scattering everything just as I left.

Adult Iceland Gull

Went to the cafe at the Heritage Loch with Patricia to celebrate spending a lot of money on a new bathroom !

Had the binoculars in the boot, so scanned through the Gulls. The 1st Winter Iceland was still there, but  an adult was also present making it 4 or possibly 5 different Icelands at Glasgow's 'Gull Capital' this winter. 

Iceland Gull Again

Last day of my long weekend & so went up to the Heritage Loch for a look.

The Drake Scaup was still present, associating with the single Drake Pochard rather than with the 30 Tufties that remain present. More significantly, the 1st Winter Iceland Gull was again with the small group of loafing Gulls :

2 Oystercatchers were on the island and a Little Grebe was heard trilling from the 'nature reserve'.

I hesitate to call the Heritage Loch my 'patch' but it is handy, not a big area to cover and I have found it interesting to watch it over the past few months. As we move into Spring however, there is likely to be a lot of boating activity (indeed there was an inflatable there today) that will undoubtedly create disturbance and make it less attractive to birds. So how long I continue to watch it is open to question. 

Scaup & -no- Goose

Have been on holiday for the past few days but the time of year and the dull weather have done nothing to entice me out. However, eventually ventured up to the Heritage Loch to see if there was anything of interest.

All winter I've been scruitinising the Tufted Ducks in the hope of a Scaup................ and today.........:

1st Winter Drake Scaup

Of course I did not have the camera. These were taken the following morning!

Face On

Best of the rest included at least 40 Fieldfare in the fields adjacient to the loch, 1 Cormorant and 1 Goosander. The 2 Canada Geese remained and presumably the Drake Pochard that has been present off and on all winter had returned. In total there were 30 Tufted Duck. The following morning when I took the photographs a single Oystercatcher was present and Skylark were singing from the surrounding fields.

Having a little time in the afternoon, I ventured down to Douglas Water for a look at the Snow Goose that was found a couple of days ago. There were impressive numbers of Pink Feet and a few Greylags, but despite the Snow Goose apparently being with them it just disappeared and in 2 hours there was no sign. The only other birds of note were 30 Whooper Swan on Douglas Water.

Great Crested Grebes Displaying

Went up to Hogganfield at lunchtime. There were at least 5 Great Crested Grebe present with 2 displaying close to the car park.



Displaying Great Crested Grebes

Other notable signs of Spring included an increased number of Lesser Black Backed Gulls, Heron activity on the island and the trilling of at least 1 Little Grebe.

On the debit side the numbers of Whooper Swan had dropped to around 10 as presumably some of the flock that numbered 20 in January are starting to move North again.