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)

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)

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!

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!

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!

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.

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:

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

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.

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!

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)

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!

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

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)