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| 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.
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| 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.
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