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…

Recent sightings blog Lochwinnoch 15 Dec 2014 - 7 Jan 2015

The old year finished up on the reserve with some nice sightings though there were no additions to the yearlist, the total for 2014 thus ending on 122 species. The slavonian grebe was seen again on the Barr Loch on 23 - 28 Dec with a ringtail hen harrier also there on 27 - 28 Dec, a woodcock by the River Calder on 28 Dec and 34 whooper swans were at Aird Meadow…

The proper winter finally arrived with weather to match, snow, hail, wind, rain, thunder and lightning all in the mix. Some good birds were seen though despite this with the yearlist even managing to increase by one, taking the total to 122 species, courtesy of a barnacle goose seen amongst canada geese at Castle Semple Loch on 8 Dec. The day before this two long-tailed ducks were present there, not a first for the year…

       The end of November proved to be just as much a bird-filled period as the start of the month. The highlight was, like the bittern in early Nov, again only seen by two observers - a little egret that flew over towards the Barr Loch (viewed from the Aird Meadow hide) on 22nd. This is only the second record for the reserve and mirrors ,almost exactly, the first record - one seen very briefly at the Aird Meadow on Nov 6…

     The highlight of the week was definitely the Bittern that was seen by two fortunate observers by the Millbank Burn at the Barr Loch on 9 Nov. Since the formation of the reserve this is only the sixth ever record, the last being in 1994. In common with the rest of Britain the Bittern would once have been a common sight around Lochwinnoch but persecution led to its extinction in the UK by 1885. Amongst other things it…

     With the clocks going back and the main organized events on the reserve in the period taking place in the hours of darkness (Fright Night and Astronomy Evening) you could be forgiven for thinking that it was close of play as regards any worthwhile birdwatching was concerned. As it turned out nothing could have been further from the truth with some great birdwatching to be had once again, indeed arguably we are now entering…

Winter is definitely approaching at the reserve, and with all the recent rain the ducks are enjoying the newly flooded channels.  Sightings of a Slavonian grebe on the Barr Loch on the 15 & 17 October have bumped our year list up to 119 species.    

Slavonian grebe by Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com)

Slavonian grebes are a fairly rare winter visitor, with around 1100 recorded in the UK each year, so it’s great to…

Yet again it was another fantastic week for birdwatching on the reserve, the main focus continuing to be at the Barr Loch. An estimated total of 1000 waterfowl were present on the loch there on 30 Sept (attracted by the continuing waterweed bloom as mentioned in the previous blog). This got me rummaging through old bird reports and reserve records this week. These periodic waterweed blooms over the years on the Barr Loch…

The main bird interest this week was at the Barr Loch where wildfowl numbers were on the increase. A bloom of waterweed there is providing good feeding for grazing wildfowl, particularly wigeon with at least 200 birds present from Monday 22 September - the highest September numbers since reserve records began in 1974. Also picked out amongst them were four gadwall on the same day and three shoveler on the next. An early…

     Signs of early autumn were evident on the reserve, the ever popular photographic competition (now finished)  and second hand book sale (running from 14 -20 September with some great bargains to be had)  being two examples of this.Other signs, on the bird front, were meadow pipits heard over-flying  the Barr Loch and Aird Meadow, finches flocking up (including 40+ goldfinches on 29 August), wildfowl numbers increasing on…

    Ah the dog days of summer, schools are going back and a glance outside your window for a large part of the week would have seen you greeted with wind and rain, a sure sign that autumn is not too far away. A glance outside the viewing windows at the reserve visitor centre recently would have had you wondering whether you were in China or the west of Scotland in late summer as a mandarin duck, a drake in eclipse plumage…

From scorching sunshine to pouring rain and wind, we’ve almost seen it all weather wise this month. It’s difficult to plan anything ahead of time because the weather is so changeable. Even in the same day! On one of the sunny, blue sky days a few of us were discussing the fact that it was perfect conditions for an osprey sighting. Sure enough we were right! Later that day we were treated to amazing views of an osprey…

Well we have had an eventful month at RSPB Lochwinnoch. We celebrated our 40th Birthday on the 14 June and even with a power cut just as the festivities were kicking off we all had a great time.

40th Birthday Party at Lochwinnoch by Jason Verity

I have been playing the detective in our mute swan tragedy that occurred last week. Our mute swan family that had taken to our small pond right in front of our windows are…

We are celebrating our 40^th birthday this month! The RSPB established the reserve here in 1974 and have been protecting homes for wildlife ever since then. With Springwatch well under way at RSPB Minsmere it gives us the chance to highlight the wonderful wildlife that we have all over the country. Nature reserves are a great place to learn more about nature on our doorstep and even give you the opportunity to see something…

This past month has seen our species list grow with the summer migrants arriving in the UK. It’s a great time of year to get out and about and listen to these birds singing as they arrive after their long journeys from Africa. Willow warblers were one of the first summer visitors to arrive at the reserve with the first being recorded along the Aird Meadow trail on the 1 April. These small birds are very similar to chiffchaffs…

We’ve had quite an exciting time this month as the days start to become longer and the nights brighter. March kick-started with our first kingfisher sighting of the year on 1 March on Dubbs Water Trail! Always a lovely one to look out for!

Kingfisher by John Bridges (rspb-images.com) 

Our drake smew has been delighting visitors daily throughout March. The latest recorded smew at the reserve is 28 April, so chances…

It is certainly starting to feel a bit more like spring these past few days as we leave behind an extremely damp and grey February. The snow drops along the trails and around the visitor centre are gorgeous, and brighten up some of the darker corners on a dull day.

Our wildfowl population has begun to shift into more spring-like behaviour, with goldeneye starting to display on the loch, throwing their heads back and…

January at the reserve has been an example of sightings of regularly seen species mixed with a few unusual surprises. The most unusual has to be the kittiwake we had on 12 December on the Aird Meadow Loch. This marine gull must have been exhausted because of the terrible weather conditions at the time meaning it had to touch down and rest. Subsequently the bird was seen in a bad way over at Castle Semple where the ranger…

Well December certainly got off to a great start on the bird front – 145 goosander were recorded between the Aird Meadow Loch and the Barr Loch on 1 December which is the highest count we’ve had since back in the 1990’s! Fantastic stuff and a special thanks to Angus Murray for all his determination to get an accurate count in the gloom! Latterly we’ve been treated to great views of this gorgeous bird in the channel in…

It is my privilege to announce on this month’s blog that November brought with it a new species for the reserve! That’s right; on the 6 November we had a little egret perched in a tree on the western side of the Aird Meadow Loch! Very well spotted by our eagle-eyed volunteers Alan and Carol.

This time of the year, as you would imagine has been great for action on the water itself: a high count of 140 wigeon…

Well, the weather certainly has taken a turn for the fresher and the cooler and I even had to scrape the windscreen of my car for the first time this autumn today. Where does the time go? But enough of the ponderous questions....there’s far too much fantastic wildlife to see right now! Autumn has always been my favourite time of year, perhaps because I was born in October, or perhaps because of the beautiful light at…