Friday 27th March

Wednesday's bike ride to Kirkcudbright was much like the one before - nice bright weather but no particularly oustanding sightings.  On the way out startled a red-legged partridge, which did sort of settle an argument I've been having with myself as my bird book suggests grey partridge is more likely in this part of the country.  However, this one did have very red legs, so I think I've been getting that one right.  I think they're bred a lot for game.

Between Old Bridge of Urr and Clarebrand followed a hare for nearly a mile along the uphill road before it finally ran off into a field at the top.  Unfortunately there was a dead one a little further

Carlingwark Loch

along.

Stopped at Carlingwark Loch for a break and disturbed a heron, but everything on the water itself was pretty usual stuff and there were no warblers yet.  On restarting did hear my first chiffchaff of the year.  From talking to someone else it seems they've been on the coast for a week and have just started to move inland.

On the way back it was pleasing to encounter two kestrels at seperate locations, perhaps showing their numbers were starting to grow again.  One was hovering over the road hedgerow, just like they used to do. Yesterday there were also a couple of greenfinches in the trees on the estate as I walked back from the shops so hopefully they are doing better as well. Today I saw another bumblebee.

Friday 20th March

Visited Geltdale RSPB with my sister on the day of the partial eclipse, which I managed to view nicely through a thin veil of cloud (and my sunglasses!) shortly before setting off.  On the way the birdlife was quite active during the rest of the eclipse, if not unduly disturbed.

On parking up at Geltsdale, soon heard skylark and saw kestrel and curlew.  There were plenty more curlew as we followed the path over the moor and a number of canada geese and lapwing nearer the cottage, plus a couple of oystercatchers.  The lapwing were displaying occasionally without producing spectacular acrobatics.  And at this point I did see a skylark, though only because my sister pointed it out!

The Woodland Walk

On the lake were a number of teal, coots and tufted ducks plus swans and gulls and a couple of kestrels and more lapwing above.

Once again followed the sparsely treed "Woodland Walk" and, as before wondered why as there was nothing much up there apart from a single distant buzzard, but on the way back along the tarn I glimpsed another field vole and it proved there was a whole series of holes through the long grass where they were obviously burrowing.

So a good day of activity although nothing very remarkable appeared. Meadow pipit was notable by its absence and I have still to see the first butterfly of the year.  Otherwise four eyes is definitely better than two for birdwatching!

Wednesday 18th March

Today's bike ride was really all about the weather - warming sun picking out the shades on the trees to herald the approach of summer.  There were plenty of birds early on but again had difficulty making them out with no sunglasses!

Anyway I did manage to see a vole, a heron and a buzzard, and again only hear a skylark, though this time others did see it.

On the way back to New Galloway, stopped off at the bridge over the Black Water of Dee, as I often have before.  This little weir looks seductively fishy to me and I'm always surprised that no-one's fishing it.  Maybe it's private but I haven't seen the signs.

Black Water of Dee

Saturday 14th March

In an attempt to finally see a goshawk, joined the goshawk walk offered at Kielder Forest and led by ornithologist Martin Davidson.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a very good day - generally cold and not much breeze to encourage birds of prey to go on the hunt.  Eventually we managed a few circling buzzards, a kestrel and a couple of ravens.Technically we did actually see a male goshawk too but it was at a range of about a mile and the bird soon disappeared into the clouds.  I managed to spot it as a dark silhouette in the binoculars for about three seconds and had absolutely no idea what it was beyond the evidence of others.  It certainly didn't fit the images one has of birds displaying above a nest or flying adroitly through the trees.

At least there was plenty to learn about goshawks.  It seems there are better chances of seeing them if there is a breeze and that they are seldom seen in the afternoon and hardly at all after the end of March.  Displays are actually quite rare and only result if other birds threaten the nesting territory. Apparently the best plan is to look for buzzards rising above the horizon and look for birds that are stockier, lighter in colour and have longer tails.

Other birds seen were crossbills, siskins, tits, a jay and mixed flock of starling, redwing and fieldfare that was seriously disturbed by the appearance of two army helicopters - though apparently birds of prey take no notice of military operations.  Sightings were virtually all at distance and left me feeling a little disappointed as I had seen all but the redwing at closer range on my recent tours around Dumfries and Galloway.  The main learning in this respect was that, in spite of upgrading my binoculars a couple of years back, others have far better equipment and can identify birds I can only view in outline.

I don't think I'm keen enough to upgrade my gear still further but it is clear that I have about 15 days if I decide to improve on that fleeting goshawk sighting.

Tuesday 10th March

As Wednesday's bike ride looks like a rain off, took advantage of bright weather to head east, biking to Annan via Ruthwell Station, Dalton, Hoddam and back along cycle route 7.  Partly my own fault I didn't see that much as I ended up looking straight into the sun for much of the run with no sunglasses on.

Nice however to see a male yellowhammer fly across my path just before Carrutherstown, the first for a good while. On the way back a relaxed female kestrel and siskin showed in the area of

Unusual cows at Dalton Pottery

Priestside and a first bumble bee of the season at Ruthwell Village.

There were also a couple of gaggles of swans and geese in farmers' fields at Brow Well and near Bankend.  However the most memorable nature sightings were the two strange cows seen in the grounds at Dalton Pottery, seemingly undisturbed by the badly parked beetle nearby.

Also heard but did not see curlew, oystercatcher and skylark but no lapwing.  There must be some reason why skylarks are hard to see at this time of year.  Maybe they are on the ground?

Wednesday 4th March

A pleasant day and resulting enjoyable bike ride to Haugh of Urr, but not much to report on the wildlife front.  The standard birds of prey (buzzard, red kite) were in evidence, though not as much as last week and just before Crocketford there was a good sighting of a male kestrel that wheeled back around me and settled in a tree behind a wall.  I tried to sneak up unobserved to see if I could get a photograph but it must have detected my presence as it had moved on back down the road.  A march hare also ran away from me for about three hundred yards across a farm field between Crocketford and the military road.

The main event of the day was seeing the first squirrel of the spring, which ambled across the road on the hill after Bogle Bridge.  So I stopped at the point where I had found a lot of squirrels feeding on seed left for them on the wall.  This time there were no further squirrels, but several blue tits and great tits turned up in nearby trees as if expecting some sort of action.  I also noticed several nesting boxes of the sort often favoured by pied flycatchers nailed to the beech trees, but it seemed to me they were placed far too low and in easy reach of various predators.

Wednesday 27th February

Rain and wind held off long enough to enable a pleasant cycle ride to Crocketford via Glenkilns, if slightly hurried in the early stages.

It proved to be a day dominated by fleeting sightings, starting with a brief backend view of the male of a pair of siskins crossing the road just before Terregles and several other small birds that did not hang around long enough to offer a clear view.  In contrast a red kite obligingly turned and hovered East of Shawhead - more evidence that they are spreading further from the Loch Ken area.  There were several more over the Glenkilns as well as a good few buzzards.  I had my eyes skinned for hen harrier or merlin but nothing materialised apart from a couple of passable harrier imitations by a low
flying kite.

Splashing greylag

On a shaded lochan just over the highest spot, a series of determined splashes revealed a pair of greylags having fun.  A couple of jays on the edge of Craigadam Woodland were identified as much by their shrieking as by their retreating rumps.  Then on the way down to Bogle Bridge, there was one of those typical bird of prey experiences when a dark hawk wended its way hastily through the trees when I had stopped to look for red squirrels. I decided there was no reason to suspect that it was anything other than another buzzard.

On the return journey, a small brown bird of prey flew ahead of me at some speed along the road before finally detouring past a farmhouse away into the fields - probably a smallish kestrel rather than a merlin.

Only a few minutes after I stopped again after a very large-bodied, brown flecked bird rose from a tree and flew rather clumsily towrds a clump of trees, whose resident rooks complained considerably but were not sufficiently disturbed to take flight.

On wondering what on earth I had just seen it occurred to me that I had not gained a clear view of its head and that, if I had, I would have clearly seen that it was a tawny owl of the russet variety.  I have accidentally flushed out owls in daytime before but not for many years.

Following the hasty start and perhaps reflecting an upturn in my level of fitness, I maintained a lively pace almost throughout today's ride.  This has the advantage that you tend to catch birds unawares but the disadvantage that they tend to disappear as soon as you see them.