Tuesday 27th January

Bad weather has restricted activities for the past couple of weeks, so I decided to get out for a walk on the basis of a better forecast today.  I haven't been out walking much lately and I think the reason was that I don't really have much in the way of birdwatching targets.  One bird I would like however to see during the remainder of my stay in Dumfries and Galloway - however long that may be - is the goshawk.

The path by Kennick Burn

So I plan to target a few forest areas on the run-in to Spring when they are most active, starting today with Laurieston Forest.  As it happened I hardly saw anything at all in dark and drizzly conditions, just a couple more low perching buzzards on the way, and a kite hovering on the way back. The only clear sighting on the walk itself were some male bullfinches, as is common for this time of year when I think they move in to feed on young tree buds.

Still the walk back by the Kennick Burn was pleasant and a lady jogger reported seeing a snipe further up the hill.

Wednesday 14th January

Took advantage of another bike ride to Caerlaverock in the hope of seeing the egret. Nothing at first sight and a bit cold to hang around.  Tide was out, which may have made some difference.  Did however sight a raven flying and calling over the grounds at Caerlaverock.

Saturday 10th January

After the fun with the starlings, I went on a bike ride on Tuesday with fitness in mind and so no binoculars. Noted from a distance three more young buzzards that were sitting in very low trees and bushes, and had the impressiona that this was either a sign of desperation or supreme confidence but wasn't sure which.

Dusk at Caerlaverock

No binoculars meant I couldn't check the flight of a darkish bird that flew in harrier-like fashion across the merse at Caerlaverock but then landed on the shoreline more like a gull, visible at 400 yards.  But just a few hundred yards further along the road towards Glencaple I couldn't escape seeing that the swan I momentarily thought I had glimpsed in the nearby rushes next to the Nith was in fact an egret.  I stopped to get the camera out and it immediately flew off downstream, but its neck position gave final confirmation that it was no swan.

I should have hung around for a further sighting but was on a sort of schedule and rode on. I meant to go back on Thursday but at the last minute drove instead to the sites at Southerness and Carsethorn where I saw the twite three years ago (only seeing a few redshank and a couple of wigeon for my troubles) since when the weather has deteriorated.

The Dumfries and Galloway Birding group on yahoo indicates that little egrets are now quite often seen in the area, which gives me a slight problem as I thought it was too big for a little egret and that it probably had a yellow beak. Great egrets are still rare here but it could just have been a cattle egret in winter plumage.  Either way, it's my first definite egret sighting in this country.

Monday 5th January

A bit of a strange one today...

Decided to go to Gretna Gateway with my son Alex and his girlfriend Vicki to do a bit of after-Christmas shopping. We planned the visit so that we might have a chance of seeing the Gretna starling roost following my previous failed attempt. Except that the main shop we were looking for had closed down, so we decided to abandon the starlings and head instead to Carlisle and finish the shopping trip there.

On the way into Carlisle, Vicki noticed a small flock of starlings by Junction 44 but we thought no more of it.  After minor parking hassles we parked the car at Portland Square and hit the shops.  If we hadn't stopped for a burger, we would have missed it...

We were making our way back to the car at 4.30 p.m. and, just after duskhad fallen, Alex noticed a congregation of starlings was building up in the sky above.  We watched as the birds swept from side to side and the flock grew in size to circle more tightly over Portland Square.  That sight alone was spectacular.

Then, just before five they started to swoop down and we could watch as they all landed on the trees in the Square itself with a tremendous amount of twittering and, as we shortly discovered, a considerable amount of bird lime that covered the pavements and the cars on the Brunswick Street side of the square.

Finally having witnessed a large murmuration of starlings, I have to say it was much more exciting than I had ever anticipated. Was this the whole of the Gretna starling roost?  We reckoned there were certainly thousands of birds and it certainly seems they vary their roosting location from night to night - possibly to avoid the attentions of birds of prey?

P.s. My car was more fortunate than most, but hopefully picked up enough good luck to last me the whole of 2015!