Last Sunday, I went on a late trip up the Cairn Valley to the area I have indentified as being likely for redstarts. It was a very dark evening, very little about - plus the path to Netheryett lead me through some lush meadow, which quickly brought on a hay fever attack.
I did manage to identify a couple of chimney sweeper moths in the aforementioned meadow. There were some samll white ones drifting around as well but I'm not good enough on moths to know which of many species they could have been. Otherwise a heron and a couple of wagtails were about all I saw. I spent some time wondering about the difference between white wagtail and pied wagtail. I really think I'd need to be with an expert to be sure of it.
This week's bike ride was a bit more interesting. For the first time, there was a really large number of sand martins on the River Nith and they made a fine spectacle swooping around (unfortunately no picture as was still awaiting new camera). Then I stopped at Lochrutton to see if there were any birds moving in the reeds. There were - sparrows and a couple of blackbirds. But heading along the military road on a fast downhill section, a bird momentarily settled in the hedgerow and, from its profile showing a dark tail with white edging and a mottled breast, I was able to identify it as a female linnet. Not bad for a two second sighting at 20 m.p.h!
Approaching Kirkgunzeon, I heard - not for the first time here - some birdsong I could not recognise and, eyes streaming with hay fever again, the only indistinct sighting I got looked like a chaffinch with wing bar but chaffinches don't sing like that. Stopping at the stream there, oddly known as Kirkgunzeon Lane, I did momentarily think I'd seen a female redstart among the sparrows drinking at the water's edge. It wasn't.
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