Wednesday 18th February

The weather forecast for today looking poor, I decided to have another go at looking for goshawks yeaterday.  Started off to aforementioned forest in mid-Nithsdale but somewhat put off by "Private Keep Out" signs. In spite of  the fact that there is no privacy law in Scotland, more and more

Looking back along the path to Auchencairn Hill

"Private" signs are popping up in the countryside.

Anyway I relocated to Loch Ettrick to look over the forest area around Auchencairn Hill. For a long time I thought I was going to see absolutely nothing apart from a couple of crows, but a pair of crossbills briefly appeared in the trees above the road approaching to the hill.  One was certainly a male and the other probably female as well as I could tell in poorish light.  The paths in the neighbourhood of the hill itself are a very pleasant walk with a lot of baby conifers growing right next to them.  So I was a little suprised to spot an unidentified deer running through the forest on the way back to the loch.  Otherwise did not even see a bird of prey or a coal tit, though there were plenty of the latter to be heard.

A sudden improvement in the weather meant that I took a late decision to cycle to New Abbey today.  I had time for a brief excursion to Airds Point, another very pleasant run until the chemical storage tank comes into view.  This seems a promising area for birds as I quickly sighted grey heron, goldfinch, bullfinch and most pleasingly, a goldcrest. I'm not sure when I last spotted a goldcrest as they were certainly a species badly affected by the awful winters a few years back.