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 24th (a new bird for me!). It was spotted by Norman, one of our volunteers, as it flew in across the Aird Meadow. The bird landed on the edge of the channel and then flew off towards the Barr Loch after a few minutes. Although it was a brief visit, this was a very exciting sighting for us, as it was only the second sighting EVER for the reserve (the first being in 2013). Another interesting sighting on the 24th was a female shoveler, which was spotted swimming in the channel later in the afternoon.
On the 21st there was an unexpected visitor outside the centre – a young cuckoo landed on a post and gave staff and visitors great views before flying off.
During July we have had several water rail records, with individuals heard calling on the Aird Meadow on the 24th and 25th, and a juvenile was actually caught on one of our camera traps on the 18th. This was very exciting as water rails are such shy and secretive birds and so it is generally very difficult to definitively prove breeding – so it is fantastic to have confirmation that they have successfully bred on the reserve this year.
Other interesting sightings for the month include an osprey over the Aird Meadow loch on the 1st, and fishing over the Castle Semple loch on the 14th; a kestrel over the Barr Loch on the 4th; and a whitethroat singing along the River Calder on the 11th.
On the 5th a scaup was recorded on the Barr Loch within a group of tufted ducks, and 4 common sandpipers were also seen.
It has also been fantastic to see a variety of fledglings visiting the feeders outside the visitor centre, with young goldfinches, house sparrows, siskins and great spotted woodpeckers all enjoying the sunflower seeds on offer. It was a delight to see a family of woodpeckers visiting the feeders together, with a male, female and a juvenile.
Our year list is currently at 112, here’s hoping for some interesting species passing through the reserve next month as the breeding season comes to an end!
Claire