Sightings – July 2017

July was a great month to see baby birds. Our camera traps captured some lovely footage of a mute swan with a cygnet and a family of mallards. The woodland feeding station also attracted lots of young garden birds such as chaffinches, blue tits and house sparrows.

We had some fantastic moths turn up in the moth traps too, including the fabulous pink and green elephant hawkmoth, intricately…

We had some very exciting visitors to the reserve in June. We started the month with a visit from a peregrine falcon.

            Peregrine falcon

Although native to Scotland, peregrines are not a common sight here at Lochwinnoch. In addition to this, we recorded our first ever sighting of a pale prominent moth. You can read more about this moth and the moth-trapping technique we use to capture an amazing variety of…

May was a fantastic month, not just weather-wise, but also with a number of interesting visitors that arrived on the reserve.

The distinctive call of a cuckoo was heard and a scaup and a flock of 40 whimbrel were also seen at the beginning of the month.

            Cuckoo

            Scaup

            Whimbrel

Towards the end of May, a Marsh Harrier and Black-tailed Godwit were spotted.

            Marsh harrier

            Black…

Our volunteer Joanna Lindsay shares her experience of being part of the yearly team surveying RSPB's Horse Island reserve.

A few of weeks ago at the end of May, when the sun was shining and summer finally seemed to be making an appearance, a small team of Lochwinnoch staff and volunteers set out on an day-long expedition to carry out our annual nest counts on Horse Island, just 1km off the coast of Ardrossan…

Have you got an eye for a photo? We’re calling all nature enthusiasts to help us showcase our beautiful reserve with their photography skills this summer. Whether you prefer your smartphone for a quick snap, or if you’ve got the latest in photographic kit, if you’re a dab hand at capturing the perfect shot we’d love to see your efforts entered in our annual photography competition.

With a variety…

April highlights

April saw the arrival of some interesting summer visitors, as well as sightings of some elusive resident species.

The first appearance this year of a grasshopper warbler was recorded on April 23rd.  Grasshopper warblers are less common in Scotland than the rest of the UK, and due to recent dramatic declines in their populations they are now a red list species.  Large flocks of up to 300 sand martins were…

RSPB Lochwinnoch is a beautiful place to visit at any time of year, but May and June have to be some of my favourite months. The bluebells are out in force, the wildflower meadow is in bloom, the trees have re-greened and the air is full of birdsong and fluttering butterflies. The swallows have returned for the summer and can be seen darting and swooping over the water, catching insects on the wing, and the occasional…

Hello!

I’m Joanna -  I am 22, a recent Zoology graduate from the University of Glasgow and current Visitor Experience Volunteer at RSPB Lochwinnoch. I have fond memories of family trips to Lochwinnoch as a child, and feel very lucky to spend my free time volunteering on such a beautiful and biodiverse reserve, especially when it’s so close to home. I started volunteering at RPSB Lochwinnoch in November 2016…

Thoughts on the blog? We would be very grateful if you could please take a couple of minutes to fill out our survey.

The habitats found at RSPB Lochwinnoch are an attractive place for a wide range of birds that make a huge effort to migrate here from distant northern shores. The whooper swan is one such example. Their ‘whooping’ call, and yellow bill distinguish them from our resident mute swans, and they will soon undertake…

Thoughts on the blog? We would be very grateful if you could please take a couple of minutes to fill out our survey.

2016 was a record year for RSPB Lochwinnoch with 127 birds recoded on the reserve. One particular bird that has generated a lot of interest is a male hooded merganser that has been around since the late autumn and was still present in late January 2017. A North American species with striking black, white…

The temperature has really dropped in recent weeks, and with flocks of lapwing and pink-footed geese providing some beautiful sights and sounds on the reserve, it feels like we have turned the corner from autumn into winter.

Thankfully it’s been relatively dry and clear and we’ve been treated to some gorgeous sunsets, frosted leaves and icy ponds.

          The Barr Loch on November 5th (© Joe Crossland)…

Those of you following the RSPB Lochwinnoch Facebook page will know all about the excitement caused by a recent visitor to Lochwinnoch. Earlier this month a hooded merganser, an American species, was seen on the Barr Loch by a keen-eyed visitor Robert Allison. We don’t know whether this was a bird from a collection that had escaped, or whether it really had come from the USA, but it was a pleasure to see such a rare visitor…

The seasons are changing and there’s a chill in the air. The trees on the reserve are slowly turning from bright green to brown, red and orange before they tumble to the ground. 

Probably our most exciting sighting over the past fortnight is a juvenile marsh harrier, which first appeared on Friday 16^th and has been seen almost every day since!  The marsh harrier is a large bird of prey, similar in size to a buzzard…

September is off to a strong start with a number of interesting species seen around the reserve. We’re delighted to report that the nuthatch is still being seen regularly at the feeding station on the trail, giving visitors plenty of opportunity to get close to a species which is rare for Scotland. 

We also had a charm of 20 goldfinch at the feeders in front of the visitor centre, and plenty of red admiral and…

We’ve recently had a glut of fantastic bird sightings, with three significant species seen on the reserve, taking our annual species count up to 119 for the year – one more than last year!

Firstly, a male sub-adult marsh harrier was seen hunting on the Aird Meadow three days in a row, and was joined by a juvenile marsh harrier on the third day. We think this younger bird must have fledged this year. Visitors…

As the summer months have approached, we’ve all been looking forward to getting outside a bit more and making the most of the summer weather. Many organisations have been encouraging the public to get involved with various campaigns and activities – whether it’s a two-minute beach clean, a survey of nesting birds, counting bees or the naming of Britain’s favourite fish!

You may have also seen…

The start of a new year is often viewed as a new start. While we may not be able to wipe all things from the past, here at the reserve we can at least clear the species list and look forward to compiling the new one.

By the end of last year we had recorded a total of 118 bird species for the reserve. Although slightly down on the previous years total of 123 this was still an impressive list.

As you know the weather…

After a pretty dismal summer weather-wise, the better weather in August was a welcome relief! It was a great month for raptors, with osprey spotted hunting on both the Barr Loch and Aird Meadow throughout the month, a peregrine over the Aird Meadow on the 14^th, frequent sightings of kestrel, and a male hen harrier over the Barr Loch on the 31^st. However, the osprey wasn’t the only bird that the fish had to worry about…

July has been a strange month, with much more rain than is normal for this time of year. We have however had a few sunny days scattered throughout the month, and also a few exciting bird sightings!

The highlight of the month for me was the brief appearance of a little egret on the Lochall channel on the 24^th (a new bird for me!). It was spotted by Norman, one of our volunteers, as it flew in across the Aird Meadow. The…

June began with the cool and wet weather that seems to have followed us throughout spring.  This unseasonable weather has meant that June was a mixed month for breeding birds on the reserve.  Some species such as blue tits seem to have struggled due to the lack of available food caused by the cold, damp weather.  However some nests were successful so there are still plenty of small birds around the reserve!  Mallards, however…

There have been many ‘highlights’ as there always are this time of year with spring migrants such as swallow and willow warbler arriving at the reserve at the beginning April, followed by grasshopper warbler, sedge warbler and whitethroat all arriving a couple of weeks after. Now another week has passed and the reserve is full of sedge warbler song!

Of course, one of the reasons this time of year is so special…

The weather for the majority of the period certainly suggested that it was still very much winter but there were hints by the end of Feb that Spring may not be too far off. The star bird of the period was definitely the drake smew that graced the reserve from 17 Feb onwards, primarily showing on the Aird Meadow Loch but also making regular trips to the Barr Loch. This is presumably the same returning drake back for his…

The second half of January into February brought with it some beautiful days at the reserve so it has been even more fantastic than usual looking out of the centre for anything that might pop in to say hello.      

We have, of course, been recording all sightings diligently with a view to bolster the ‘year list’ as much as possible in this bountiful time of the year and thankfully, the efforts of staff, volunteers and visitors…