A Very Unremarkable Afternoon

I sloped off from work at 1pm and went firstly to Hogganfield. Very little of note apart from 'year tick' Lesser Black Backed Gull in the form of 2 adults and a 3rd winter.

Highlight of the visit

Onwards to the Heritage Loch to see if the Iceland Gulls were still present.................. they appeared not to be. A marauding Sparrowhawk caused panic amongst the 35 Lapwings, the drake Pochard remained and there were 4 Great Black Backed Gull present with a large number of Herring & Black Headed.

Facing the opposite way from the LBB

Iceland Gull Update

2 Juvs/1st Winter still on the Heritage Loch this afternoon. 1 close into the cafe car park & coming to bread. Drake Pochard still also present. Really crap photos coming up:

Using a Blackberry

Using a Blackberry through Leicas

Mum's Gone to Iceland

Saturday was a dull with a light drizzle when I left the house at 9:30 am. Cathkin was quiet with very few birds and my counts of only 5 Tree Sparrow & 1or2 Reed Bunting at the feeding site being really low in comparison to the previous two winters when the weather was far worse.

14 Pink Feet flew over and there were 2 Stock Doves. 12 Snipe were flushed from Windlaw Marsh.

2 years ago I counted c150 at this site. None today, presumably due to the mild winter ?

Up at the Heritage Loch there was lots of Gulls drinking & bathing presumably after having come over from the tip. I quickly got on to a Juvenile Iceland Gul, then another and another. Typically I had no camera ! These birds are presumably part of the large UK influx that followed the Atlantic gales of 2 weeks ago.

Other notables included 1 'Argentatus' Herring Gull, 90 Tufted Ducks, slightly up on last week, 30 Lapwing at the West end and a single drake Pochard, presumably the one that was here earlier in the month.

Returning with the camera early afternoon, I discovered what was probably a different one from the ones in the morning making four for the day.

After the hospital I finished at Cathkin Marsh in the late afternoon. Hoping for a SEO or such thing I was limited to c10 Reed Buntings, 3 Yellowhammer, 2 Skylark and c20 Chaffinches.

Out to Lunch

I don't often take a lunch break. Occasionally I walk into Glasgow City centre but usually I just wallow at my desk, eating my fruit and yoghurt & look at the internet (usually other people's blogs !) for all of 10 mins.

New Year's resolution 1: Take a meaningful break & do something with it from time to time.

My intension is to go up to Hogganfield every Friday. Goodness knows how long it will last, but today I actually did go.

A nice crisp day, I was away from my desk for a good hour and a quarter & I felt better for it and had quite a productive afternoon.

Away from the throng around the car park, Hogganfield was quiet with only 6 Pochard of note. Closer to the car park, I counted 59 Grey Lag Geese, 20 Whooper Swans and 2 Goosander.

Hogganfield is the best place bar none in Glasgow to see these wild Swans

More from the Heritage Loch

Have spent a lot of time up at Hairmyres Hospital over the past 2 days. Stopped in at the loch for a short while at lunch time today coinciding with about 150 Herring Gulls coming off Cathkin Tip. 2 adult GBB amongst them.

Last few days 2 Pochards appeared to have dropped to 1 (drake still present). 24 Lapwing roosting at the North end, 80+ Tufted Duck.

Heritage Loch

After the New Year celebrations & the 90mph winds of yesterday this was my 1st run round the loch in 2012 !

As usual it was raining & scanning from the car I noted that the 2 Pochards remained. There was also 70+ Tufted Duck, 1 Goosander & 1 Grey Heron.

And we're off and running in 2012

Today looked to be by far the best day weather wise this week before I have to start back to work. Keen to start off my 2012 list in positive fashion a trip down on to the Solway was decided.

The 1st stop was Kirk Loch at Lochmaben where I hoped that a drake American Wigeon would be forthcoming. It was being reported most of last week but not yesterday and I could not locate it today either. There was a cold wind coming off the loch and so I did not scan too long but long enough to count 80 Eurasian Wigeon and a similar amount of Canada Geese. Other than that there were a handful of Tufties & Goldeneye and a few Gadwall.

Round at Castle Loch at least 2 Willow Tit were very vocal & quickly showed but I could not locate Nuthatch.

Willow Tit

On the loch itself there were up to 40 Tufted Duck and a Tufted/Scaup hybrid.

The foreast for the day was increasing wind and by the time I reached Caerlaverock it was quite strong. There had been a drake GW Teal on the Folly Pond since before Christmas & indeed yesterday a 2nd was discovered. Despite all my scanning from Farmhouse Tower today I could not locate it. As far as I know it was not seen today.

Most of the usual stuff on the reserve. 2 Black Tailed Godwit were on the Folly Pond, Tree Sparrow & Sparrowhawk. The Barnacle Geese showed quite closely from the Silver & Gold Hide in the afternoon:

Creative Blur going on here............I think !