I can't help but notice that I reference the weather in almost every blog I post. I know it is very British of me to be obsessed with the weather, but I do find it has an impact on much of what we do and think! I just looked out of the window, wondering what to blog about, and could only think 'oh no, rain again, better get the waterproofs out for the way home' - no wonder there are so many different outdoor clothes shops in Glasgow, how they ever keep up with the trends of the year and in knowing what to stock, I'll never know. I heard a really interesting piece of trivia the other day about Tesco - Tesco have spent 15 years researching trends in what shoppers buy in relation to the weather. They found when the temperature rises from 68f to 75f (20c to 24c) then sales of hamburgers will increase by 42 per cent! During cold weather sales of cauliflower soup, longlife milk, sausages and root vegetables soar.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2026439/Supermarkets-use-weather-predictions-decide-stock.html#ixzz1WFDwSUI6

Anyway, this blog is supposed to be about wildlife so here it is:

Sunday 21st August: Sunshine and showers, Wildlife: 100+ tufted ducks, 1 female sparrowhawk, 1 GS woodpecker, 6 swallows, 1 whitethroat, 1 blackcap, 1 willow warbler, 43 house sparrows, 1 common darter dragonfly

Monday 22nd August: Clear and calm, Wildlife: Two pochard, 32 tufted ducks, 3 GS woodpeckers, 1 ad and 1 juv spotted flycatchers, 3 bank voles, peacock & red admiral butterflies and the highlight of the day 2 ospreys over the Aird Meadow!

Wed 24th August: Heavy showers and thunder, Wildlife: 2 pochard, 14 tufted ducks, 1 goldeneye, 1 sparrowhawk, 4 snipe, 2 GS woodpeckers, 7 swallows, 1 sedge warbler, a stoat took a chaffinch in front of the photo hide and a peacock butterfly.

Thurs 25th August: Sunny and clear, Wildlife: 1 little grebe, 2 pochard, 38 tufted ducks, 1 goldeneye, 1 buzzard, 1 kingfisher, 6 peacock butterflies, 1 red admiral, 1 small tortoiseshell, 1 large white

Friday 26th August: Clear and calm and then it bucketed it down and we had flash floods and thunder and lightning! Wildlife: 1 little grebe, 1 pochard, 35 tufted ducks, 1 GS woodpecker, 4 greenfinches, 3 short tailed voles, red admiral and peacock butterflies.

Today: Mostly clear and calm, few drips of rain: Pochard, tufted ducks, lots of activity on the feeders inc. the GS woodpecker, sparrowhawk.

Outlook for tomorrow: Nice weather for ducks!

Oh, and the rain has started pouring as I type...

Paula