Friday 28th April

Sometimes I wonder if I should rename this blog "Nature and Cycling" since all my trips out now seem to be cycling trips. In particular, I haven't been out fishing for a year and a half. Incidentally I forgot to say I saw a hare last Wednesday, lying in a field.

Anyhow, this Wednesday's run was pretty much the opposite to last week's in that the weather started out fair but didn't last. On the way out I was pleased to see that the sand martins are back and busy on the Nith just downstream from the cycle bridge.  It looked to me almost as if they were already feeding young though more likely they were lining the nests or some similar activity.

Sand Martins - nesting area

It was also pleasing to see a single lapwing playing over a farm field between Shawhead and Crocketford, not normally an area in which I expect to see other than common birds.

At Bridge of Urr, I continued my interest in the developing flowers and was struck by a purple flower next to the wall on the way out of the village.  Again, after consulting the Book of Flowers, I'm not sure what it is - common mallow perhaps?

Common Mallow?

Before setting out I had wondered what would be the likeliest: to see or hear a cuckoo or to see two butterflies.  I deliberately rode back through the Glenkilns, which has in the past been a regular home to cuckoos, but, in increasingly overcast weather, there wasn't the least sign of any cuckoo. However I did catch two brief sightings of male wheatears in flight, the first of the season, and so was happy to settle for that.

Once over the hill there was a buzzard and red kite taking stock of each other in the sky, some nice goldfinches, and right on the edge of Dumfries, literally adjacent to the first houses, a skylark could clearly be heard.

And then, going back along the cycle track in a last burst of hazy sunshine, there was a single small white butterfly - just like last week.

20th April

It really has been a pretty drab April here this year.

Through the overcast weather my nature activities have been a bit patchy but I did manage a nice few minutes watching a buzzard as it flew alongside me as I cycled, a close up of a stonechat from the car and, after hearing several scores of them over a couple of weeks, the year's first sighting of a chiffchaff.

As a result my attention has been drawn more by the flowers that are starting to spring up.  One I have been seeing virtually everywhere I go has been this little pink item.  It's not one I recall seeing in previous years.  Presumably it's very common but a quick run through my Book of Flowers has me unable to put a name to it.

Pink item

Another one I noticed was this strange looking bush with the bulbous fruits but I suspect it's not worth trying to find a name for, as it probably originated in someone's garden.

Bush

Yesterday was another dull and dreary day and not made any more attractive by a chilly wind.  I was somewhat surprised to see a swallow for the first time this Spring, though it didn't look any too happy trying to hold its position on a bouncing telephone wire.

Then on the way back from Kirkcudbright, the skies lightened and diffused sunlight nudged the temperature up a few degrees.  I saw another swallow and, at the bridge at Glenlochar, about half a dozen swooping around plus a grey wagtail amongst the rocks down in the river.

Then there was a complete surprise as a small white butterfly fluttered by briefly just South of Crossmichael, after I had decided there was no chance of seeing any kind of butterfly that day.

A couple of kites and buzzards also appeared as well as many goldfinches and, just after Kirkpatrick Durham I caught a male reed warbler in the binoculars.

It's amazing what a difference a bit of sunshine makes!

Thursday 6th April

We progress slowly into Spring though not with much warmth. A female siskin made a brief appearance at the bottom of next door's garden on Monday.  It's good to see they appear occasionally and it was a frequent occurrence when there were more conifers about.  Further west a lot of redpolls are being seen in gardens but I think that's a forlorn hope where I am.  I did hear a greenfinch today.

Swan and apple

Wednesday's bike ride was a little murky and windy, but there were one or two things about.  I stopped for a break on the observation platform at Lochfoot, where a couple of mute swans were feeding in shallow water. By way of a scientific experiment, I decided to see if they would like the remains of my apple.  The result was inconclusive but they did have a bit of a go at it.

The military road to Castle Douglas does tend to be a bit plain.  As usual there were a few wagtails knocking about on the stretch after Milton to Haugh of Urr.  I've often wondered if I could spot a white wagtail among them if one appeared.  Recently however I did a photo identification test on a birdwatching act and found the white wagtail much easier to identify than from book illustrations. There were a few buzzards around of course.

Better luck was to come.  Just before Ernespie there were some skylarks to be heard and I got a very good view of one flapping and singing like crazy right next to the roadside.

Stonechat

I had decided I would come back through the Glenkilns thinking there might be a chance of seeing an early whinchat or a wheatear.  As usual I stopped at the place on the road up where there is usually a good deal of bird and squirrel activity but today there was absolutely nothing. The same was true of the wheatear and the whinchat but I did get some good views of a meadow pipit and a couple of stonechats perching on old grass stalks.  The stonechats hung around for some time.

The other things I didn't see were any swallows or - unremarkably - butterflies.  Interestingly there wasn't a single red kite either.