The RSPB Community

Recent Sightings - 25 April-7 May 2013

Agnieszka Magierecka — Wed, 08 May 2013 10:48:00 GMT

What an exciting time at Lochwinnoch! It looks like spring has finally arrived and the whole reserve is getting greener and greener with every day. Birds are singing aloud all over the trails and you may see them displaying and collecting nest material. There’s an increasing number of butterflies, bumblebees and flowering plants and with the arrival of spring migrants our bird species list is now up to 107!

The highlights of the past few days include a male and female blackcap regularly visiting the feeders, a chiffchaff on 25 and 30 April, a common sandpiper seen on several occasions on the newly created channels, a pair of shovelers and three redshanks at the Aird Meadow Loch on 28 April, a grasshopper warbler at the Barr Loch on 29 April, 26 wheatears and two greenshanks at the Barr Loch on 30 April, 11 black-tailed godwits flying over the Aird Meadow on 1 May, an osprey on 2 May, a garden warbler on 5 May, a whitethroat at the Barr Loch Trail on 6 May and a water rail near the new channel on 7 May. However, probably the most exciting bird seen recently is a wood warbler, seen during our Dawn Chorus event (5 May) on the Aird Meadow Trail – it’s our first record of this species since May 2002!

Wood warbler by Val Firminger

Up to 50 swallows, 30 sand martins and 5 house martins were seen hunting for insects over the Aird Meadow, and a first swift of the season was recorded on 29 April. Willow and sedge warblers were regularly seen and heard all over the reserve. Plenty of siskins, goldfinches and lesser redpolls are common visitors to the feeding stations now and a pair of great crested grebes is still present on the Aird Meadow Loch. In addition a pair of lapwing was seen displaying over the meadow on 7 May. A flock of over 120 pink-footed geese flew over the reserve towards the Muirshiel hills on the same day whilst closer to home two female mallards with ducklings are regularly coming to the feeders. There are also several pairs of mute swans nesting on the reserve.

Lesser redpoll by Gerry Alvarez-Murphy

Other bird sightings include little grebe, grey heron, greylag goose, Canada goose, teal, tufted duck, goldeneye, goosander, buzzard, sparrowhawk, oystercatcher, snipe, moorhen, great spotted woodpecker, pied wagtail, white wagtail, wren, blackbird, song thrush, robin, goldcrest, treecreeper, starling, greenfinch, bullfinch and reed bunting. Non-avian sightings include a stoat running across the feeding station on 3 May, orange-tip, peacock, large white and small tortoiseshell butterflies and a buff-tailed bumblebee. Wild flowers in bloom include wood anemone, marsh marigold, dandelion, cuckooflower, butterbur, selfheal, forget-me-not and primrose.

Orange-tip butterfly by Paula Baker

Recent Sightings - 14-25 April 2013

Agnieszka Magierecka — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:39:37 GMT

After a seemingly endless winter we all long for a proper spring to finally come. Unfortunately, the weather can’t make up its mind and keeps alternating spells of bright sunshine with the wintry showers. However, there is a little light of hope as the spring migrants start to arrive and the reserve is filled with bird song. An increasing number of swallows is observed over the Aird Meadow, with occasional sand martin and house martin joining the gang. 70 swallows were seen over the meadow on 17 April – the highest number so far! Also on 17 April we’ve recorded our first willow warbler and since then many more were seen and heard all over the place. A male blackcap is regularly showing up at the feeding station – it seems to prefer suet balls over any other kind of food. There’s also an increasing number of chiffchaff sightings.

Chiffchaff by John Bridges (rspb-images.com)

In addition to the long awaited migrants, other highlights of the past few days include a peregrine on 16 and 17 April, a kestrel on 20 April, two common sandpipers on the north end of the Barr Loch on 21 April, displaying great crested grebes at the Aird Meadow Loch on 25 April, as well as several sightings of a white wagtail (up to three birds at the same time). A smew was last seen on 14 April, and the last brambling was recorded on 15 April. Newly created channels on the Aird Meadow attracted mallards, mute swans, white and pied wagtails, black-headed gulls, oystercatchers, lapwings, Canada geese and greylag geese, with the latter venturing as far up as the feeding station! With few geese left in the area, we believe these ones may stay on the reserve throughout the spring and summer.

Great crested grebes by Zul Bhatia

Other bird sightings include little grebe, cormorant, grey heron, whooper swan, tufted duck, goldeneye, teal, goosander, sparrowhawk, buzzard, snipe, curlew, common gull, herring gull, lesser black-backed gull, great spotted woodpecker, wren, robin, blackbird, linnet, song thrush, meadow pipit, goldcrest, reed bunting, siskin, goldfinch, bullfinch, greenfinch, treecreeper, starling and raven. Non-avian sightings include stoat, common toad, peacock and small tortoiseshell butterflies, as well as some bumblebees and hoverflies.

Linnet by RSPB (rspb-images.com)

Recent Sightings - 26 March-13 April 2013

Agnieszka Magierecka — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 14:19:50 GMT

It’s been a while since our last blog update and a lot has happened in the meantime. The works on the Aird Meadow are now completed and three new channels are slowly being colonised by wildlife. Mallards, greylag geese and mute swans were all seen in the area, as well as a lapwing, a moorhen, a grey heron and a pied wagtail. We put up some perches to attract kingfishers, so hopefully we’ll get some colourful guests pretty soon. With the weather being wetter and warmer, the vegetation will soon start growing and covering the muddy banks, making the entire area even better for birds and people alike.

Lapwing by Brian Orr (rspb-images.com)

With spring migrants finally coming back to Renfrewshire, our species list is expanding with each passing week – the current number is 93 species. Some highlights of the past few weeks include an osprey fishing the Aird Meadow Loch on 31 March and 5 April, a redshank on the Barr Loch on 3 April, two skylarks flying over the car park on 28 March, a male hen harrier over the Barr Loch on 5 April, a chiffchaff perched on the willow in front of the visitor centre on 8 April (and several others heard all over the reserve since then), a white wagtail at the feeding station on 9 April, two sand martins on 10 April and swallows regularly seen since 13 April. A drake smew is still present in the area, but since the latest smew recorded on the reserve was on 16 April (in 2004) we don’t expect him to stay much longer.

Osprey by Mark Molloy

Waterfowl species still present on the reserve include mute swans, whooper swans, wigeons, tufted ducks, teals, goosanders and pochards. A whopping 170 goldeneyes were recorded roosting on the Barr Loch on 3 April. A female scaup was seen on 2 April, as well as a gadwall on 13 April. Waders are seen mainly around the Barr Loch, with up to 52 curlews and up to six oystercatchers recorded in this area.

Oystercatchers by Zul Bhatia

Other interesting bird species seen over the past few weeks include great crested grebe, greylag goose, Canada goose, white-fronted goose, pink-footed goose, sparrowhawk, buzzard, water rail, snipe, lapwing, kingfisher, great spotted woodpecker, redwing, meadow pipit, brambling, reed bunting, bullfinch, goldcrest and siskin. Non-avian sightings include otter, fox, mole and roe deer, as well as a flowering lesser celandine.

Lesser celandine by Chris Reynolds, geograph.co.uk (CC-BY-SA-2.0)

Recent Sightings - 13-25 March 2013

Agnieszka Magierecka — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:44:15 GMT

It’s nearly the end of March but winter doesn’t seem to be giving up. We all miss these long, warm and sunny spring days, but it looks like we will have to wait for a little longer. In the meantime, visiting Lochwinnoch brings some new wildlife surprises each day and we are never bored! We’ve recorded some amazing birds over the past two weeks, including our famous drake smew, still present on the loch, up to 50 mute swans on Aird Meadow Loch, two ravens on 17 March, a dipper near the Barr Loch on 18 March, 40 curlews flying overhead on 21 March, a kestrel perched near the feeding station on 23 March, as well as a peregrine and a woodcock on 25 March.

Male kestrel by Steve Knell (rspb-images.com)

Numbers of waterfowl are falling, but there are still some tufted ducks, goldeneyes, wigeons, teals, pochards and goosanders present. Large flocks of greylag geese (one numbering over 300 individuals) were seen flying over the Aird Meadow Loch, making an unforgettable spectacle. Six pink-footed geese were recorded on 23 March. Great crested grebes are now in their beautiful breeding plumage and we keep our eyes peeled for their elaborate mating dance, during which they grab bits of weeds in their beaks and shake their heads at each other.

Great crested grebes performing "weed dance" (Gordon Langsbury, rspb-images.com)

There is a lot of action on and around the feeders. Colder days bring fieldfares, bramblings, blackbirds and robins to the feeding station. Other birds easily seen from the visitor centre are chaffinches, goldfinches, siskins, greenfinches, blue tits, great tits, long-tailed tits and reed buntings, as well as occasional house sparrows, bullfinches, wrens and starlings. Pied wagtails and black-headed gulls have enjoyed tasty grubs from freshly excavated ground near the new channels. Great spotted woodpeckers are regularly seen and heard on the feeding station and reserve trails.

Goldfinch by Steven McGrath

Other bird species seen over the past two weeks include little grebe, cormorant, grey heron, moorhen, coot, buzzard, sparrowhawk, lapwing, song thrush, dunnock and treecreeper. Soon the winter migrants will leave for their breeding grounds and first swallows, swifts and warblers will begin to arrive. We’re looking forward to see them!

Aird meadow works news

Rita Gries — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 16:06:57 GMT

I’m sorry to announce that this will be my last blog for Lochwinnoch, as I am leaving to work for the RSPB in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs national park. Although I am excited about my new role, I will be missing a lot of things about Lochwinnoch, and one of them will be seeing how the works progress in the next couple of weeks!

The team has continued working weekends, (some of them haven’t had a day off in a month) to catch up the delay incurred because of bad weather and machinery breakdowns. I am sure though, that wildlife will appreciate their efforts. In fact, mallards and herons have already started using the new water channels.

The deeper middle of the channels have been dug up, but the shallow edges are still dry, since they haven’t been connected with the main loch yet. The third (and final) channel is also starting to take shape. A couple of bits have been dug up but have not been joined together yet, in order to leave some soil for the trucks to drive on!

The contractors are not the only ones working hard though; our volunteers Natalie and Kathy spend one afternoon stomping about clay and mud to bring a finishing touch to the pond renovation. They seemed very happy to be stomping about in the mud!

The beginning of the end

Rita Gries — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 15:45:05 GMT

Recent Sightings - 4-12 March 2013

Agnieszka Magierecka — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:03:46 GMT

After a short spell of wintry weather the spring is back on track, with beautiful sunshine and pleasant temperatures. New channels at the Aird Meadow are now taking shape as the works are due to be finished in a couple of weeks. And there is plenty of wildlife of course! Highlights of the week include our magnificent smews (a drake and a red head) regularly seen on both lochs, a kingfisher on 5 and 10 March, a flock of 45 linnets on 6 March, European white fronted goose on 11 March and five pink-footed geese on 12 March, as well as an otter seen on Dubbs Water on 5 March.

Kingfisher by Mark Hamblin (rspb-images.com)

During the WeBS counts this week our volunteers counted 55 mute swans, 85 teals, 70 mallards, 62 tufted ducks, 59 goldeneyes, six gadwalls and three pochards, as well as some coots, moorhens, great crested grebes and goosanders. Thirteen whooper swans were recorded on the Aird Meadow Loch on 10 March, and the record number of wigeons this winter (330 birds) was recorded on 5 March on the Barr Loch. A female scaup was seen on Castle Semple Loch on 5 March. Large flocks of greylag geese (at least 150 birds each) were present on Aird Meadow Loch on 11 and 12 March.

Male goosander by Eric Woods (rspb-images.com)

The number of reed buntings has reached it’s annual peak, with at least five birds seen daily on the feeders and many more being seen and heard along the trails. Fieldfares, bramblings, bullfinches and siskins are also regular visitors to our feeding station, along with the commoner (but not less exciting to watch) blue tits, great tits, chaffinches and goldfinches. Flocks of lapwings were recorded on 5 and 9 March, the latter consisting of over 50 birds. On 10 March a male sparrowhawk spent at least two hours perched right in front of the visitor centre to the delight of visitors and photographers.

Male bullfinch by Zul Bhatia

Other bird species seen this week include cormorant, great crested grebe, grey heron, Canada goose, snipe, oystercatcher, curlew, black-headed gull, lesser black-backed gull, buzzard, great spotted woodpecker, pied wagtail, grey wagtail, dunnock, robin, song thrush, long-tailed tit, treecreeper, house sparrow and starling.

All hail the bogmaster!

Rita Gries — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:33:00 GMT

To be honest, our habitat work so far seemed to be an arduous, time-taking, meticulous enterprise. Diggers and dumper trucks have been working very hard and the habitat work had been progressing slowly but surely.

However, this all changed when the new kid in town arrived. For four days only, we had the lease of a brilliant machine, designed to manoeuvre on boggy ground without sinking, hence it’s epic name: the bogmaster (tah dam!)

The bogmaster is basically a digger with a larger base, designed to spread its weight and avoid sinking. This wide base meant that it had to be transported by special convoy, with a police escort. It also has a bigger shovel than our usual diggers. The bogmaster was thus able to go were no digger had been before, and get a lot of work done in a flash! See the difference a few days made for yourself!

Before:

After:

Recent Sightings - 22 February-3 March

Agnieszka Magierecka — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 13:07:31 GMT

After a long, cold and gloomy winter we can finally say – spring is in the air! Some parts of the reserve are carpeted in snowdrops and first daffodils have started to come out. Other sure signs of spring are the catkins on willows, first green buds on dog rose bushes and, off course, a beautiful birdsong. The weather in the past couple of weeks has been spoiling us, and so has the wildlife. With a sighting of a European white-fronted goose on 2 March the number of birds seen so far this year is now up to 86. A drake smew was joined by a “redhead” on 2 March – “redhead” is a term used to describe a female or immature smew, which are hard to tell apart. Other highlights of the week include up to four bramblings in bright breeding plumage seen daily on the feeders, a linnet near the Castle Semple Loch on 1 March, a kingfisher on the Barr Loch on 2 March and two otters on the Dubbs Water on the same day.

Linnet by Chris Gommersal (rspb-images.com)

Still up to 27 whooper swans and 18 mute swans are present on the reserve, mainly on the Barr Loch. Other water birds recorded last week include mallards, tufted ducks, goldeneyes, goosanders, wigeons (up to 280), teals (120 on 2 March) and goosanders. Five pochards were seen on the Aird Meadow Loch on 25 February, and six gadwalls were recorded on the Barr Loch on 2 March. A flock of over 240 greylag geese was seen flying overhead on 21 February – smaller numbers were seen throughout the week. Several Canada geese were present on 22 and 24 February.

Gadwall by Zul Bhatia

There is a lot of action on our feeding stations. In addition to the usual chaffinches, blue tits, great tits and robins we also had regular visits from reed buntings, long-tailed tits, house sparrows, starlings, blackbirds and fieldfares. We’ve also been observing an increasing number of goldfinches and siskins coming to the feeders. A flock of 25 fieldfares was seen near the Barr Loch on 2 March. A song thrush was regularly seen (and heard) in the trees surrounding the car park and on the Aird Meadow trail.

Song thrush by Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

Other bird species seen last week include cormorant (19 individuals on the Aird Meadow on 22 February as well as smaller numbers throughout the week), grey heron, sparrowhawk, buzzard, great crested grebe, moorhen, coot, lapwing, curlew, oystercatcher, snipe, black-headed gull (up to 31 on the Aird Meadow Loch), lesser black-backed gull, great spotted woodpecker, pied wagtail, treecreeper, skylark, bullfinch and raven.

Black-headed gull by Zul Bhatia

Pond makeover

Rita Gries — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 17:01:00 GMT

Most of us would have forgotten -or never realised-, but the little patch of scrubs and bushes behind our feeding station was originally a pond. Over the years though, soil and fallen leaves have built up enough substrate to sustain the shrubs and reeds that now hide the little amount of water remaining. But since we had a couple of diggers available on site, we thought this was the opportunity to restore the pond to its original state.

As the rain and the raised water levels ad once again delayed the Aird meadow works, the contractors have had to come in to work at the weekend to catch up. This is why this Saturday, instead of a flurry of birds, visitors could see a digger in action at the feeding station.

The birds didn't stay away for long though. Maybe because they have become used to heavy machinery in the last couple of months, or maybe because it was a very cold day with little food elsewhere, the birds quickly came back to the feeding station. A robin, in particular, seemed to enjoy the extra help in digging up worms and sat by the digger, waiting for juicy grubs to be delivered.

A lot of material had accumulated in the old pond, and it took almost all day to get it all out and remove the old pond liner. The shrub on the left hand side of the pond, where the sparrowhawk likes to perch, was of course preserved. Instead of a plastic pond liner, the contractors lined the new pond with clay which has the same waterproof properties and the advantage of being natural and freely available in the newly excavated channels of the Aird meadow.

Overall, the habitat work is still progressing well, with the first two channels now complete. You can see in the photograph below the gently sloping edges with will hopefully attract lots of wetland wildlife.

Recent Sightings - 13-21 February

Agnieszka Magierecka — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 11:38:03 GMT

It’s been another fantastic week at the reserve with beautiful weather, loads of visitors and some “first of the year” bird sightings. The number of species seen this year is now up to 85. The highlights of the week include a drake smew, which finally arrived on 21 February and is enjoying the company of goldeneyes at the Aird Meadow Loch. It is easily seen from both the visitor centre and the Aird Meadow hide, so if you haven’t seen one before it’s a perfect time to visit the reserve. A male hen harrier was seen over the Aird Meadow on 14 February and bramblings in beautiful breeding plumage are regularly visiting our feeding station. Other highlights include a water rail on Aird Meadow on 16 February, a kingfisher on 19 February and a jack snipe on 21 February (both on the Barr Loch).

Water rail by Mike Richards (rspb-images.com)

Large numbers of wigeons, teals, mallards, tufted ducks, goldeneyes, goosanders and coots are still present, mainly on the Barr Loch. Other species of water birds include whooper swan, mute swan, pochard, pink-footed goose (a flock of 13 was seen flying overhead on 14 February), greylag goose and Canada goose (up to 200 on 15 February). Several great crested grebes in breeding plumage were recorded on the Barr Loch, some of them already displaying.

Great crested grebes by Zul Bhatia

It’s nearly the spring time and the morning air is filled with bird song. Singing song thrushes, blackbirds, robins, great tits and other small birds make it worthwhile to get up early and visit the reserve in the morning. Fieldfares, reed buntings and siskins are regularly seen at the feeding station. Other bird species seen this week include little grebe, cormorant, grey heron, moorhen, sparrowhawk, buzzard, snipe, lapwing, oystercatcher, pheasant, greater black-backed gull, lesser black-backed gull, great spotted woodpecker, dipper, grey wagtail, pied wagtail, meadow pipit, linnet, long-tailed tit and redpoll.

Siskins by Geoff Cooper

If you haven’t planned your weekend yet, why not come to visit us at Lochwinnoch? We have a lot to offer, including loads of wildlife to watch, cosy visitor centre, photo hide, kids activities, friendly staff and volunteers and a shop selling variety of gifts and bird food. We’re looking forward to seeing you here!

Recent Sightings - 6-12 February

Agnieszka Magierecka — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 11:49:03 GMT

Hello from snow-covered Lochwinnoch! It’s beautiful today – everything is covered in a white layer and there’s a lot of birds on the feeders. Despite the snow, our brave contractors are working hard to finish habitat project on time. The rest of the week was very exciting too, with fair weather and many interesting bird sightings.

A male hen harrier was seen hunting over the Aird Meadow on 6, 10 and 11 February. Other birds of prey this week include a male merlin on the Aird Meadow on 9 February, a sparrowhawk at the feeding station on 10 February and a buzzard on 11 and 12 February.

Sparrowhawk by Mark Molloy

Still plenty of waterfowl on the lochs and surrounding fields. Up to 45 whooper swans, 30 mute swans and 196 wigeons were recorded on the Barr Loch, as well as numerous mallards, tufted ducks, goldeneyes, teals and goosanders. Five great crested grebes were seen on 11 February. A pair of pochards was present on Aird Meadow Loch on 12 February. There are also many geese present, mainly greylag (up to 119) and Canada geese (up to 200). Several pink-footed geese were recorded on 7 and 11 February, and a single barnacle goose was seen feeding amongst Canada geese on 11 February. Other birds species seen on or around the lochs include grey heron, cormorant, moorhen, coot, lapwing, little grebe, black-headed gull and lesser black-backed gull. There’s still no sign of a smew.

Greylag geese by George Kennedy

Six waxwings were seen flying overhead near the Barr Loch on 7 February, and fieldfares are regularly visiting both feeding station and the Aird Meadow. Pied wagtails are regularly seen searching the excavated ground for tasty worms. Other birds seen at the feeding stations include great spotted woodpecker, brambling, chaffinch, long-tailed tit, great tit, blue tit, goldfinch, greenfinch, bullfinch, reed bunting, siskin, house sparrow, starling, blackbird, robin, wren and dunnock. A single snipe was seen at the Aird Meadow Loch on 7 February, and a dipper was recorded on River Calder on 9 February.

Brambling by Dean Bricknell

Late winter is a perfect time to get your nestbox ready. Join us on Saturday 16 February to build and decorate your own nestbox, then take it home and hopefully you will get some new feathery neighbours this breeding season (for more details visit http://www.rspb.org.uk/events/details.aspx?id=tcm:9-337779)

Working on the edge

Rita Gries — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:59:00 GMT

A week of grim weather slowed down the habitat work slightly, but thankfully it wasn’t to last and the contractors have been back hard at work almost as soon as the rain stopped.

The temporary tracks

They have progressed well since then, and even started working on the northern side of the Aird Meadow loch. Using a raft they created themselves (move over McGyver), and which was pulled into position by a canoe, they planted two lines of stakes in the bottom of the loch, some ten metres away from the edge. They will then place bundles of branches between those two rows of stakes, dump the spoil from the new channels and cover it with turf (also removed from the Aird Meadow). This will create shallow, gently sloping edges which are the favourites of dabbling ducks and waders.

The work has also progressed well on the Aird meadow itself. The second channel is being dug through the highest point of the meadow, and is therefore taking a bit longer to complete than the first. The contractors have been at it tirelessly, digging and ferrying the spoil to the northern edge of the loch on their little caterpillar trucks.

The second channel, overlooking the visitor centre

Meanwhile, the birds seems to have become very familiar with all this agitation and are visiting the feeders as if nothing had changed!

Recent Sightings - 29 January - 5 February

Agnieszka Magierecka — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 11:48:24 GMT

What a beautiful day at Lochwinnoch! After a miserable week, the sun is finally shining and it’s nice and warm. Even though it was a rainy and windy week, wildlife didn’t disappoint us and we had several “first of the year” sightings, bringing the number of species seen this year to 79.

A highlight of the week was the flock of 16 waxwings, feeding on the cotoneaster berries right next to the office window on 31 January. We were waiting for them all winter! Other highlights include a male hen harrier quartering the Aird Meadow on 31 January, two dippers on the River Calder, a scaup on the Aird Meadow and a gaggle of 150 pink-footed geese overhead on 2 February, as well as a male merlin near the Barr Loch on 3 February.

Waxwings by Val Firminger

The waterfowl on both lochs include mallard, teal, wigeon, tufted duck, goosander, goldeneye, mute swan, whooper swan, Canada goose and greylag goose. Two gadwalls and a pair of pochards were recorded on the Barr Loch on 3 February. Other Barr Loch sightings include great crested grebe, grey heron, lapwing and song thrush. Aird Meadow sightings include little grebe, cormorant, buzzard, sparrowhawk, lapwing, black-headed gull, herring gull and greater black-backed gull. Species seen at our feeding stations include great spotted woodpecker, brambling, reed bunting, long-tailed tit, fieldfare, blackbird, robin and siskin. An otter was seen swimming in the Aird Meadow loch near the bund on 4 February.

Lapwing by Brian Orr

Recent Sightings - 23-28 January

Agnieszka Magierecka — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:39:28 GMT

It’s been raining a lot recently and water level at the Aird Meadow is very high, giving us a taste of what it is going to look like when the habitat work is completed. If you haven’t been to the reserve recently you might be very surprised how quickly the works are progressing! It was also a very good week in terms of wildlife, with many interesting bird sightings. Highlights of the week are a kingfisher flying across the Aird Meadow Loch on 23 January, a male and a female stonechat seen around the mounds of excavated soil between 23-and 26 January, a gaggle of 30 pink-footed geese over the Aird Meadow on 24 January as well as five gadwalls, four woodcocks and a water rail on 26 January.

Female stonechat (Wikimedia Commons)

It was a very good week for bird of prey sightings. A male hen harrier was seen hunting over the Aird Meadow on 26 and 29 January. Sparrowhawk regularly visited its favourite perch in front of the visitor centre, waiting patiently for unwary tits or finches. A kestrel was seen several times on 26 January, in the trees next to the car park and on the Aird Meadow. Other bird of prey sightings include two buzzards near the Barr Loch on 26 January and a peregrine on 29 January.

Kestrel by Carl Jones (rspb-images.com)

Waterfowl numbers remain high, with up to 30 whooper swans, 26 mute swans, hundreds of ducks (mallards, tufted ducks, wigeons and teals), as well as goldeneyes, goosanders, coots, greylag and Canada geese. A first pochard of the year was recorded on 28 January. Large flocks of lapwings (up to 70 individuals) were seen over the Barr Loch and the Aird Meadow Loch.

Bird species seen at the feeding stations include a variety of tits, reed bunting, brambling, goldfinch, siskin, house sparrow, starling, robin, blackbird and fieldfare. A flock of 50 fieldfares was seen at the Aird Meadow on 25 January. Other bird species seen this week include grey heron, cormorant, snipe, great spotted woodpecker, dipper, pied wagtail, song thrush, mistle thrush, redwing and raven. Non-avian sighting include a water shrew at Dubbs Water on 27 January and a mink at the feeding station on 28 January. Tracks of otter, roe deer and fox were seen in the fresh snow on 26 January.

Water shrew (Wikimedia Commons)

Brilliant progress on habitat work!

Rita Gries — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 16:41:00 GMT

What an amazing weather we’ve been having the last few days! Granted, not all of us enjoy freezing temperatures; but a cold, dry spell is best for our habitat work. Low water levels and hard ground meant that the contractors have been able to make a lot of progress.

One of the new water channels (the one extending in front of the centre) is already completed, whilst the second (the one extending towards the Loch) is well underway. All the spoil created has attracted a lot of hungry birds. It’s not easy finding worms and insects when the ground is frozen, so a bunch of freshly upturned ground is like an oasis in the desert for birds such as stonechat, pied wagtail and fieldfares.

stonechat

Fieldfare

There has been a slight change in the way this spoil is going to be moved to the North edge of the loch. The initial plan was to create a temporary crossing over the Aird Meadow ditch, using a floating pontoon. However, this would have been troublesome when the water level fluctuates. It has therefore been decided that the spoil would be moved around the ditch instead. The contractors have already created a temporary path to take them safely through the marshland. (See map below).

The resilience and motivation of the contractors has to be commended. Even today, they kept working hard through what can only be described as a blizzard.

Recent Sightings - 16-22 January

Agnieszka Magierecka — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 12:37:01 GMT

It was another very exciting week at Lochwinnoch, with sparkling new shop re-opened on Sunday, a lot of work done on the Aird Meadow and a temporary crossing (which will be used to move spoil to improve the bund) completed. Cold weather has forced birds to seek food provided by humans, which means that our feeding stations are swarming with hundreds of feathered visitors. Chaffinches, blue tits, great tits and coal tits are feasting on sunflower hearts, whilst apples and pears attract blackbirds, robins and up to four fieldfares every day. Fieldfares are very aggressive towards other birds and are often seen chasing them away with their wings down and their tails bobbing. Other birds regularly seen at feeding stations are long-tailed tits, reed buntings, house sparrows and dunnocks, as well as occasional brambling, song thrush, starling, goldfinch, siskin and greenfinch. Large number of potential prey attracts a sparrowhawk, though it doesn’t seem to be very successful.

Fieldfare by Zul Bhatia

Still many waterfowl present on the lochs, majority of them wigeons, tufted ducks and mallards, as well as mute and whooper swans. Other species present include goosander, goldeneye, teal, coot and moorhen. Two gadwalls were seen on the Barr Loch on 17 January, and three pink-footed geese were roosting on the Aird Meadow with greylag geese on 22 January. Up to 50 Canada geese were also reported.

Coot by Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com)

Other bird species seen this week include buzzard, little grebe, great crested grebe, cormorant (up to 14 on the Aird Meadow), grey heron, lapwing, snipe, dipper, great spotted woodpecker, grey wagtail, pied wagtail and treecreeper. A male hen harrier was hunting over the Aird Meadow on 17 January.

Buzzard by Zul Bhatia

If you want to brush up your bird identification skills before Big Garden Birdwatch, it’s not too late to visit us at the reserve and find out more about common garden birds - especially that there’s plenty of them just outside visitor centre window for you to practice on.

Drumroll please...

Rita Gries — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 17:04:00 GMT

It’s a shame we did not have any ribbon to cut nor champagne to pop. After much planning, quite a bit of paperwork and a week of hard work, we finally opened our new-look shop late this afternoon. What a difference a week makes!

This is the result of the hard work and dedication of Robert the electrician and Robert the fitter, who tore all the old shop fittings down before carefully refurbishing it. Retail staff also put in a lot of effort, working late into the night to get the shop prepped and ready. “I’m really grateful to all my staff” said Sam, our retail manager, “they’ve been working very hard but always with a smile on their face”.

All this hard work was not in vain, our shop now looks fantastic: cleaner, brighter, younger and cosier! If you don’t believe me have a look at the photos below, or better yet, come and see for yourself!

Before:

After:

Before:

After

Recent Sightings - 9-15 January 2013

Agnieszka Magierecka — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 11:25:00 GMT

It is a beautiful, crisp and frosty day here at Lochwinnoch, one of the days that are perfect for wildlife watching. There has been a lot of movement around the reserve, with diggers working on our new pond and contractors sprucing up the shop. We also had some amazing bird sightings in the past week, which brought the number of species seen this year up to 71! One of the highlights was a tawny owl, seen at dusk of 9 January over the Aird Meadow. In addition, a kestrel was seen that same day, hovering over the meadow. A kingfisher was recorded in the Barr Loch area on 12 January, and dippers were seen on several occasions at both Barr Loch and River Calder. Other highlights include a jay over the Barr Castle fields on 14 January and two skylarks therein on 15 January, as well as a gaggle of pink-footed geese over the Castle Semple Loch on 15 January.

Tawny owl by Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

Loads of waterfowl are still present, mainly on the Barr Loch. Up to 68 whooper swans, 256 wigeons, 100 tufted ducks and 30 goldeneyes were recorded this week, as well as mute swans, teals, goosanders, mallards, Canada geese (circa 320 in the fields past Castle Semple on 15 January) and greylag geese. Three gadwalls were recorded on 13 January.

Greylag geese by George Kennedy

On 14 January one of our volunteers surveyed birds in Barr Castle fields area, where he recorded 178 wood pigeons, a pied wagtail, 28 fieldfares, six redwings and a raven. Bramblings, blackbirds, reed buntings, long-tailed tits, wrens, robins and a great spotted woodpecker were regularly seen on the feeding station. Treecreepers were seen feeding on the old trees along the Aird Meadow trail on several occasions. Other bird species seen this week include cormorant, grey heron, little grebe, great crested grebe, coot, lapwing, snipe, sparrowhawk, buzzard, song thrush, mistle thrush, bullfinch, goldfinch, siskin and goldcrest.

Pied wagtail by Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

If you want to take part in Big Garden Birdwatch on 26-27 January, but don’t know your blue tit from your blackbird, pop into the reserve this weekend (19-20 January) and take part in our bird ID workshop, designed for those who want to learn more about common garden birds. We hope to see a lot of you there!

Diggers digging!

Rita Gries — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 17:04:00 GMT

After a wee seasonal break due to loads and loads of rain chucking down and almost drowning the digger (the machine, not the person), our habitat work is now progressing really well.

The little map below shows, in more details, what is going to happen to the Aird Meadow within the next few months. As you can see new channels will be dug up and the pond will be enlarged, thus creating more wildlife habitats, closer to the centre. I mentioned in my last post that the equivalent of two Olympic swimming pools full of soil would be removed. It is not going to be wasted though.

The banks of the Aird meadow loch, especially on the bund separating it from Castle Semple loch drop quite steeply. This is a shame as ducks, geese and other waterfowl usually favour slowly slopping edges, where they find loads of food. The spoil from the Aird meadow work will therefore be used to create some shallow, gently slopping edge habitat on this bund.

After a forced new-year break, work started again on the meadow on Tuesday. The first thing the contractor did was to scrape off the turf on the area where the new channel will be dug up. Again, this will not be wasted. Once we have created the new edge habitat on the bund, the turf will be laid on top of the new ground, to consolidate it. In order to move the turf easily, it has been laid out on a giant net, which will then be folded over and fastened. This will create a giant net bag which will then be attached to a tractor and dragged to the other side of the reserve.

The diggers have now started digging the turf-less area. Hopefully, the cold spell predicted for next week will give them a boost! (Frost is apparently the perfect condition for that kind of work!) We are all looking forward to further developments (it’s quite fascinating watching other people work!) and to our new-look shop after next week’s refit.

Recent Sightings - 1-8 January 2013

Agnieszka Magierecka — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 11:14:55 GMT

After an amazing 2012, with 124 bird species recorded, it looks like we are set off for another record breaking year! Between 1 and 8 January 2012 we have recorded 52 species, this year it’s already 63! Barr Loch is still teeming with waterfowl – several hundred of wigeons were seen most of the days, as well as numerous tufted ducks, mallards, goldeneyes, teals and goosanders. Six gadwalls were seen on 3 January. Numbers of swans are also high – as many as 60 whooper swans and 50 mute swans were seen some days. Species of geese seen on the reserve include Canada (up to 300 individuals) and greylag goose. A single barnacle goose was seen amongst the gaggle of Canada geese on 4 January, and a group of 11 pink-footed geese flew over the Aird Meadow on 6 January.

Barnacle goose by Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

It is also a good time for bird of prey sightings. A male hen harrier was seen on 4 and 5 January. Sparrowhawk is regularly scaring garden birds off the feeders, often perching in front of the visitor centre for as long as half an hour. It’s a great opportunity to get a really close look on this small but powerful bird. Buzzards were seen on 4, 6, and 8 January. We also had a peregrine falcon on 8 January.

Peregrine falcon by Mike Langman (rspb-images.com)

Unseasonably warm weather has caused robins, blackbirds and other birds to start singing. Also, blue tits and great tits have started checking the nestboxes – apparently they think that spring is near! Great spotted woodpeckers, reed buntings, wrens, dunnocks, bullfinches and long-tailed tits are regularly seen at the feeding station. A flock of 25 meadow pipits was seen over the Aird Meadow on 2 January. There was a single sighting of brambling at the feeding station on 4 January. Dippers were seen on 1, 4 and 5 January near River Calder.

Reed bunting by Jim Duncan

Other bird sightings this week include little grebe, great crested grebe, moorhen, coot, lapwing, grey heron, grey wagtail, treecreeper, goldfinch, starling, redwing, song thrush, goldcrest, redpoll and siskin. Non-avian sightings include roe deer at the Aird Meadow, and a very beautiful early spring fungus known as scarlet elf cup.

Scarlet elf cup fungus (from geograph.co.uk, Wikimedia Commons)

2012

Rita Gries — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 14:57:31 GMT

At this time of the year, all magazines, mewspapers and TV shows run “Best of 2012” stories (spoilers: this year it’s all about the Olympics). We decided to do our own retrospective and look back at all the things that happened at Lochwinnoch in 2012. I have to say, it’s been a pretty good year.

Reserve improvements: Over the last twelve months, we’ve built two new viewpoints over the Aird Meadow, one new path by the Barr Loch, and launched a very popular nature play area!
Habitat works finally underway: Some of my colleagues had been working on this project for years, and there were quite a few hiccups along the road, so saying we were very pleased when the first shovelful was dug up on the Aird meadow is a bit of an understatement. On the other side of the A760, the Barr Loch part of the work was completed within a week in October, and has already been used by otters!
Most birds in a year... ever! 2012 was a bumper year, with a record-breaking 124 different species of birds seen throughout the course of the year. That’s the highest number since records began in 1974. Highlights included smew, brambling, hen harrier, marsh harrier, Slavonian grebe, garganey, merlin, knot, barr-tailed godwit, guillemot, tree pipit, jay, waxwing and exceptional numbers of waterfowl (mute and whooper swans, mallards, goldeneyes, goosanders, wigeons, tufted ducks...)
New “firsts” for the reserve. 2012 was also a bumper year for unusual birds, including several first-ever records for RSPB Lochwinnoch. A white stork was seen in May, a bird seldom seen in the UK, let alone in Scotland. Nuthatches have been spotted in the village for the last year, but the first ever record of a nuthatch on the reserve was this May, during one of our breeding bird surveys. Finally, last week, our volunteer Angus sat in the hide on a very wet day and was rewarded with our first-ever sighting of a Mediterranean gull!
Successful shop: It is no secret that the recession has hit the retail sector hard, and this sadly includes RSPB shops. It is therefore even more amazing for Lochwinnoch’s shop to be in the top 5 RSPB shops when it comes to profit made! This has meant that a little sum was awarded towards shop improvement. Starting the 14^th of January, the shop will be closed for a major refit (the centre remains opened and bird food, snacks and drinks are still available). We hope it will re-open for business on Saturday 19th, do come and check it out! As all profits go to help wildlife, we would like to thank all our customers for helping nature through their purchase. We couldn’t do it without you!
Plenty in line for the New Year. A big bit of 2012, especially the last few months, has been spent planning stuff for 2013. We have a lot of exciting things lined up: exciting events, habitat work, and more improvements to the reserve’s infrastructure. 2012 has been great, let’s try and make 2013 greater!

And then, of course, there’s the countless little stories which would be too numerous to recall here but which make Lochwinnoch what it is: the more common, but no less appreciated wildlife whether it is newts, butterflies, hogweed or blue tits; our lovely volunteers, without whom we couldn’t function, and of course our many visitors.

Very happy hogmanay to all of you and see you next year!

Diggers in action

Paula Baker — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 10:26:00 GMT

We've all had a very welcomed Christmas present this week - the diggers have been in action on the Aird Meadow! It has mostly been preparation work so far, but it seems like we've waited so long for this to finally happen, we should be popping the cork on the champagne to celebrate!

Digger in action on Aird Meadow

Alas, the weather has hampered any further progress but so far Don Plant (Our contractors) have installed the access route for machinery to get onto the site (including the exotically named 'Bog Master') and they've started to create our new future access path, for us to get on the meadow once the channels have been dug out.

The ducks have been providing us with some entertainment. Don Plant have erected a fence around the worksite, but the ducks couldn't work out how to get to their usual food supply. Yesterday they just flew over the top but we'll have to wait and see how hungry they get before they decide whether to do that today as well - if they looked slightly further along there is a gap. Perhaps we should install a duck tunnel??

We held the first of our project meetings on site, to review our progress every couple of weeks. Gerry supplied us with the usual stash of cookies (I do love those oatmeal raisin ones!) and we talked about timetables, marking out points and changes to the design of the channel lay out.

Project team hard at work

We'll keep you updated with photos and information as the project progresses, but for now we're all pleased to see those diggers in action!

Paula

Recent Sightings - 4-10 December 2012

Agnieszka Magierecka — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 14:14:00 GMT

What a beautiful, frosty and crisp weather! Sun is shining brightly and all vegetation is covered in a layer of sparkling frost, turning the reserve into a really magical place. There is a lot of action on the lochs and at our feeding stations. Even though the weather was not always that good this week, we had a lot of amazing bird sightings.

Large gaggles of greylag geese, numbering well over 100 individuals, were seen on the Barr Loch on 5, 7 and 10 December. Canada geese were seen flying over the Aird Meadow on 9 and on the Barr Loch on 10 December. Large numbers of mute and whooper swans tend to concentrate on the North end of the Barr Loch, where they are easy to see from the trail. Other interesting waterfowl sightings include gadwalls on 9 and 10 December, pochards on 8 and 10 December, as well as tufted ducks, wigeons, teals, goldeneyes and goosanders.

Greylag geese by Zul Bhatia

Other sightings in the Barr Loch area include numerous lapwings on 5 and 9 December and a curlew on 7 December, as well as sparrowhawk, buzzard, meadow pipit, mistle thrush, fieldfare and an interesting hybrid of greylag and Canada goose. A male hen harrier was seen hunting over the Aird Meadow on 6 December.

Lapwing by Chris Gommersal (rspb-images.com)

Our feeding stations attract a variety of birds, such as coal tit, long-tailed tit, goldfinch, chaffinch, robin and reed bunting. Bramblings were regularly seen from the visitor centre, as well as a very striking male bullfinch. Fieldfare visited the feeding station on a daily basis, feasting on the juicy apples and plums we provide. As many as 15 blackbirds were also seen from the visitor centre. Such a large number of these birds is a sure sign that resident blackbirds were joined by the migrant individuals arriving from Scandinavia. Sparrowhawk was also a regular visitor to the feeding station this week. It seems that a mossy log right in front of the visitor centre is its favourite perch. Other bird sightings in the past week include kingfisher, little grebe, grey heron, great spotted woodpecker, treecreeper, goldcrest, wren, redpoll and grey wagtail.

Brambling by Dean Bricknell

If you want to find out more about Lochwinnoch birds, why not pop into the reserve on Sunday 16 December for our “Birds for beginners” guided walk? It’s a great opportunity to learn more about both resident and migrant birds you can find on the reserve during the winter season. For more information or to book your space e-mail lochwinnoch@rspb.org.uk or give us a call on 01505 842663

Recent Sightings - 28 November - 3 December

Agnieszka Magierecka — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 11:42:07 GMT

The first snow of this winter has fallen this week and the lochs are now frozen. Our Young Volunteers have decorated the visitor centre with the Christmas tree and colourful garlands, getting us all into a festive mood. On top of this the wildlife is not disappointing us. What else would we need to start the winter season with smile?

Numerous waterfowl were seen around the lochs in the past week. Flocks of several hundred Canada geese were seen on the Aird Meadow Loch on 29 and 30 November. We also had greylag geese on both lochs on several occasions and a pink-footed goose flying overhead on 28 November. Other interesting water birds sightings this week include a scaup and three teal on 28 November, six gadwalls, 255 wigeons and 45 whooper swans on 2 December, as well as regular sightings of mallard, tufted duck, mute swan, goldeneye, goosander and coot.

Teal (Andy Hay, rspb-images.com)

Flocks of lapwings were seen over the Aird Meadow most of the days this week. We also had regular sightings of a dipper on the Dubbs Water and River Calder. A kingfisher and a water rail were seen on 1 December. Birds of prey include a sparrowhawk, a buzzard and a merlin. The latter flew over the Aird Meadow on 28 November, perched on the trees near the Dubbs Water trail and remained there for quite a while, to the delight of our visitors.

Kingfisher (Mike Richards)

Cold weather (and juicy apples) attracts birds to come closer to the visitor centre. Regular visitors to the feeders include brambling, reed bunting, bullfinch, goldfinch, redpoll, long-tailed tit and blackbird. Fieldfares and redwings are regularly seen near the Barr Loch and at the Aird Meadow trail. A couple of fieldfares were also seen in our car park on 29 November.

Blackbird (Jim Duncan)

Other bird sightings this week include grey heron, little grebe, snipe, great spotted woodpecker, wren, robin, dunnock, goldcrest, grey wagtail and a variety of tits.