Stirlingshire and Clackmannanshire (1 Viewer)

I hope everyone who lives in Stirlingshire and Clackmannanshire or who ever goes birding here will share their experiences in this thread.

For my first 'Local Patch' walk I went from the house up to the old cemetery at Logie Kirk. Swallows flew over my head while I watched three Buzzards soaring on thermals where the Ochils rise up. That's always a good place to see Buzzards. Pigeons also zoomed over with even greater urgency than usual. I wondered if the buzzards made them nervous. I couldn't see what sort they were.

Then I went into Stirling University grounds for a circuit of Aithrey Loch. A lot of the winter visitors are gone now and it's mostly the old lags - Mallards, Coots, Moorhens, Mute Swans. There was a solitary male Goosander, who seems to have opted for the easy life pinching bread from under the noses of the mallards. Can't be good for him. Also a Wren and Dunnock by the water's edge. The Swan Goose is still there, but seems to have matured and become less noisy and greedy. Lots of Orange Tip butterflies and a Green-veined White, which obligingly sat down near me with its wings folded up so that I could get a good look at the green veins.

On the way home I walked along the Allan Water, hoping the first House Martins had arrived, but either they hadn't or I missed them.

Well, not a day that will live in the history of birding; I'd hoped to get the thread off to a more fruitful start, but at least it's off to a start.

Michael.

Thanks for starting this thread Michael, I'll follow it with interest as I know so little of the birding scene in that area.

D

The Darn Walk

The Darn Walk is, along with Airthrey Loch, our local fall-back walk and we take it a bit for granted. But on a sunny, spring, bluebelly day like today I was reminded how beautiful it is.

The second part of the walk, though away from the river, is mostly bordered by stone walls and often stony under foot, which makes it a sun-trap. On a warm day you pass large numbers of butterflies, bumblebees, hoverflies and other insects. I wish I could identify more of them, but I think there are more insect species than I have brain cells. There were Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Orange Tip and Green-veined White butterflies, Red-tailed and Buff-tailed bumblebees and (I think) a Sphaerophoria Scripta hoverfly.

As for birds, I was starting to think it was going to be one of those days when a few Mallards, Chaffinches and corvids were all I was going to see, but as often happens after thinking that, some more unusual birds eventually did appear. The first was a Song Thrush. (Both kind of Thrushes used to be regular visitors to our garden, but I haven't seen any there for quite a while). Then a trio of Tits close together, Great Tit, Coal Tit and Blue Tit. I'm still looking for a Long-tailed Tit for my online list, but no luck so far. The real highlight of the way out was a male Bullfinch.

I stopped for lunch in the Beech Tree Cafe in Dunblane and one of the waitresses, seeing my bird book, told me that they had seen an Osprey in Ashfield.

On the way back I got a good look at a female Yellowhammer. I'd stopped on the bridge over the Wharry Burn, leaned on the guard fence and just stood and stared. One of the good things about birding is that you're often rewarded for being idle.

Michael.

Kilmahog (Yesterday)
Walked the bike path between Kilmahog and Strathyre, impressed by how beautiful the woods are along the way. Saw a couple of Bullfinches on the path and a Willow Warbler in a willow. I also saw something flitting in tree, that I only managed to get the bins on for a fraction of a second, but it had a pink breast. Brambling maybe? Goosanders on the Garbh Uisge (Rough Water).

Bridge of Allan
Sand Martins along the Allan Water today. I don't think I've seen them here before. Also a pair of Pied Wagtails and a Mallard. A gala day in B of A.

Michael.

Edit: The above was a bit terser than my usual inconsequential ramblings, but it was my third attempt. My first two ended when I tried to type Willow Warbler and hit Control-W instead of Shift-W! Trying to type faster than my fingers can follow. Each version was shorter and more to the point than the previous one.

In the last week of march there was a scaup on aithrey loch. It's a bit late. I guess it's buggered off now.

craigthirlwell said:

In the last week of march there was a scaup on aithrey loch. It's a bit late. I guess it's buggered off now.

Click to expand...

I'm sorry I missed them, Craig. I did see Scaup at Vane Farm in March, but not any of the times I've been in April.

Michael.

Hermitage Wood
The first Chiffchaff of the year and the first Cuckoo. The highlight of the walk, however was the stoat. Walking along the road, we saw a stoat carrying a rabbit at least twice its size. Just then a car came by and it dropped the prey and disappeared through an old gate into the University grounds. We walked on for a bit and then turned to watch the stoat reappear, grab the rabbit and then disappear again. It seemed to move about as fast with the rabbit as without. On the way back we had excellent views of a Kestrel manoeuvring in a near gale-force wind.

Michael.

MacGee said:

The highlight of the walk, however was the stoat. Walking along the road, we saw a stoat carrying a rabbit at least twice its size. Just then a car came by and it dropped the prey and disappeared through an old gate into the University grounds. We walked on for a bit and then turned to watch the stoat reappear, grab the rabbit and then disappear again. It seemed to move about as fast with the rabbit as without.

Michael.

Click to expand...

Moments like that are really special - while the birds might be our main focus, I see far more other wildlife in close views than I did as a child as a consequence of simply quietly 'birding'.

Ps Just found out that Control 'M' takes me straight to my Outlook Express :'D

deborah4 said:

I see far more other wildlife in close views than I did as a child as a consequence of simply quietly 'birding'.

Click to expand...

Me, too. I had an urban upbringing and birds, etc were things I read about in books.

:'D

deborah4 said:

Ps Just found out that Control 'M' takes me straight to my Outlook Express

Click to expand...

I have Control-M configured to automatically sign my name. Like this

Michael.

Bridge of Allan to Dunblane

I took the Darn Walk on the way out and stopped on the bridge over the Allan Water, where I watched a Dipper collecting food for its chicks. Above my head a Willow Warbler was singing powerfully on a wire. I saw both these birds appear to leap into the air, flycatcher-style and grab a passing fly. The air was thick with mayflies.

Further along, by the golf course, a Small Copper dallied long enough for me to get a very close look at it. What a pity I came out without the Papilios.

Nothing much to report on the way back: just a couple of Song Thrushes having a territorial battle—and a guanaco.

Michael.

Flanders Moss

On the way in we saw 4 Yellowhammers on a fresh dungheap; I guess dung must be particularly favourable to yellowhamming.

As soon as we left the car we heard a Willow Warbler singing out. Then all the way round there were Cuckoos calling. My wife saw a Cuckoo flying across the path in front of her, but I was busy looking at something else and missed it.

The Moss is a magical place at any time of year, but today it was looking particularly well, with cotton grass blooming everywhere. A pity about the north east wind. I was zipped up to my chin and had my winter hat and gloves on, but still wished I'd brought my scarf.

We were peering at some sundews when a Whinchat flew up, which turned out to be the first of several sightings. I was particularly pleased about that, because it was one I could add to my list.

Back at the car we saw a pair of Buzzards, one of them being bombed by a corvid. We had planned to go on somewhere else for a longer walk, but as we were driving away, it began to rain heavily and freezingly, so we settled for going to the cafe in Buchlyvie for a coffee and a read of the Sunday papers.

Michael.

Great Crested Grebe on Loch Rusky near Callander last night. Not sure how common they are locally, but I've not seen one in 4 years living in the area.

lee_hesp said:

Great Crested Grebe on Loch Rusky near Callander last night. Not sure how common they are locally, but I've not seen one in 4 years living in the area.

Click to expand...

Welcome to the forums, Lee. I've not seen Great Crested Grebe in the area either. Let's hope they're extending their range. Since I've been living near Aithrey Loch (over 20 years) Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Cormorants, Goosander and Little Grebe have appeared. Great Crested Grebe would be a nice addition.

Michael.

Back to Flanders Moss today. We called in past on our way back from the Kilmahog-Strathyre walk. It was windless and we had the place to ourselves. Again there was lots of Cuckoo song as we walked round. Lots of Stonechats and Whinchats flitting about and a smaller number of Reed Buntings. One Common Gull. There were quite a few Green Tiger Beetles jumping on the path and a Latticed Heath moth.

Michael.

Gartmorn Dam

I decided to get out of Fife today for a rare change and took the trip over to Gartmorn Dam, just outside Alloa this afternoon. I've been there a few times, mainly as a walker and mainly during the summer. This was probably the first time i've really experienced it during the winter months.
As i left the car park, there wasn't too much about. Just the usual Mute Swans, Mallard and plenty of Black-Headed Gulls that you would expect at a place where people feed the ducks. It gets a bit different as you start to walk away from the car park, though. It didn't take long till the wildfowl changed to Coot, Moorhen, Tufted Duck, Little Grebe and a good few Goldeneye.
The sides of the path are lined with trees, so there were plenty of other birds to be seen, such as Chaffinch, Robin, Blackbird and Redwing
A little bit further round, as I was approaching the nature reserve, i saw a couple of Cormorants on the island. Duck numbers seemed to increase tenfold in this area, too. Large numbers of tufties about here. I'm pretty sure there were over 100 of them just in this area. There were also 4 Whooper Swans here.
There is a hide at the nature reserve, quite well placed since it is where the largest concentration of birds appears to be. Unfortunately it is locked by default and you have to get the key from the visitor's centre. According to the sign on the hide itself, during the winter months it is only open 1pm - 4pm, weekends only during the winter months. They've also just built a Sand Martin bank here, which will hopefully start getting used next year.
The path moves a little bit away from the loch for a bit and through some woodland and along the edge of a field. Plenty more of the woodland birds here, with Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit and Wren added to the list above. There was also a Buzzard sitting in a large tree at the edge of the field.
Further round you have the option of continuing to walk around the edge of the loch or going up into the woodland. Well, you don't go into the woodland, but stick to the edges of it. It was quite a pleasant little walk, although i did nearly have a heart attack when a Roe Deer jumped out in front of me, no more than 15 feet away! The birds seen were much the same as seen previously. There were a couple of Woodpecker Nest boxes up in some oak trees, though no woodpeckers were seen. Just as i was returning to the main path round the loch, I saw a couple of Bullfinches in the trees.
As i returned to the loch, a quick scan revealed yet more tufties, but in addition to this there were a couple of Great Crested Grebes to be seen. As i walked towards the area referred to as the Sunken Garden, I noticed a small flock of Siskin darting about amonst the trees, and nearby a Grey Squirrel - sadly, these things get everywhere! On entering the Sunken Garden, i noticed that an Owl Box has been put up, but I have no idea if anything will be resident or not. I did, however see a Treecreeper darting from one tree to another, climbing about hunting for grubs. I stood there and watched it for a good 5 minutes. At one point it must have been no more than 6 feet away from me. Wishing i'd thought to take my camera with me now!
After the sunken garden, there was the dam itself. Three new additions seen from here. There was a small group of Pochard, a couple of Greylag Geese and a lone Sparrowhawk flew across the loch, only about a foot above the surface.
All in all, it was a great walk, with plenty to see. Nothing particularly unusual, but i got of the best views I've had in a long time of Goldeneye, Tufted Duck and Treecreeper - had i thought to bring my camera, I would almost certainly have had pictures to show you! Typical!
I've attached a photo i took of the map, if anyone is interested in the area.

I was starting to lose the light now, but i wasn't quite ready to go home yet. On the road between Tillicoultry and Dollar, there is a small car park, which has a path leading onto the Devon Way. I decided to take a bit of a walk while there was still a little bit of light left. I was only there for about 10 minutes, but i saw plenty. There was Moorhen on the river, along with 2 Goosander. On the other side, a Kestrel was hovering. There was blackbirds, Fieldfares, Blue Tits and Robins in amongst the trees, and just as i was returning to the car, i had a perfect view of a Grey Heron flying past in silhouette with a red sky as the backdrop. Priceless!

All in all, i had a great afternoon, and i will definitely be returning!

You did have a good day, Graeme, nice report too, thanks.

D

llendorin said:

All in all, i had a great afternoon, and i will definitely be returning!

Click to expand...

You were luckier than I was. Last time at Gartmorn, I not only didn't see much, I also got a tick bite.

Michael

I've been a few times. It's always a good place for Great Crested Grebe and Tufties... not good re the tick bite, though!
It's surprising how many dog walkers there are there, if there's ticks about...

This afternoon I took a walk round my local haunt, Airthrey Loch. It's quite well populated at the moment. Heron, Goldeneye, Tufted Duck, Cormorant, Goosander as well as the usual inhabitants. The highlight came while I was watching a couple of female Goldeneye. A small bird flashed across my view, which I watched onto a branch overlooking the water. A Kingfisher. I noticed that its orange front blended in quite well with the autumn foliage around it. As I watched, it twice dived and caught something (I couldn't see what) took it to a lower branch to eat, before returning to the fishing branch. In the end, I was driven to move on by the cold and by the thought that I would get an even better view from further round, but I couldn't find it again.

That was the longest and best view I've had of a Kingfisher by far. Of course, I'd decided to take the small, lightweight binoculars instead of the really good ones. And as I picked them up and went through the front door, I thought, "If I take these, I'm bound to see something wonderful." Then I thought, "Na, it's only Aithrey Loch."

I think these gorgeous birds must be expanding their population. Before this year, my wife and I had never seen one in Scotland; this year, between us we've seen six.

Michael

Railway Station Birds

I'm travelling by train between Stirling and Bromley, which involves getting a bus from Falkirk to Edinburgh (and from Newcastle to Darlington). I was standing in the car park at Falkirk (waiting for the bus drivers to finish their breakfasts) when I noticed a pair of Goldcrests in an evergreen bush (laurel?). They were close enough to identify easily with the naked eye. That brightened up a long and tedious journey. Being able to use the train's wifi to post this helps as well.

Michael