Wednesday 16th December

I'm enjoying this time more than usual but it's still a bit depressing to see how little decent daylight we are getting - a maximum of around four hours here. No wonder primitive man thought the world was coming to an end.

Went out for an experimental walk yesterday in the area of Barwhillanty Forest and Loch Roan, experimental in the sense I had no idea how attractive the area would be in any respect. Initial impressions in terms of wildlife would have confirmed the notion that the world is coming to an end as nothing was around for the first 45 minutes at all.  In terms of scenery, it was however an extremely attractive stretch of mixed wood and moorland and profoundly still.  I would imagine it to be a beautiful area in the summer and the numerous ponds would probably mean lots of dragonfly and insect activity.

Loch Roan

After nearly an hour I did manage to see a couple of pairs of bullfinches - or possibly the same pair twice about half a mile apart.  They seemed almost to be unwisely limbering up for the mating season, perhaps a reflection of the ongoing mild temperatures that have produced only one frost to date.

Apart from that there were only a few coal tits in the conifers and a couple ofwrens muttering in the undergrowth.

On the way back from Loch Roan (private fishing only) as dusk approached, things did liven up a little.  A reluctant buzzard shuffled around the trees, and half a dozen pipits emerged from the rushes to circle around a bit overhead as if irritated by my presence.  Just I was reflecting that I hadn't seen a single crow or gull all day, a crow wandered lazily across the skyline as the car came into view.  The last bird I saw was a single dunnock.

Wednesday 5th August

Continuing cool, damp and windy weather is confirming my suspicion that a lack of any consistent warmth by the end of July means that Autumn will start by mid-August, and so it is already proving this year when the temperatures have struggled to reach 20 Celsius since June.

Currently the Big Butterfly Count is still on hold as far as I am concerned as I cannot guarantee the 15 minutes of sunshine required.

This week's bike ride has also been a rain off, but I did manage on of my rare twitches yesterday in response to the news of two pairs of bee eaters breeding in a quarry near Brampton. Now obviously I managed to see bee eaters in Provence in June but this was a definite news item and I vaguely hoped that it might be possible to see them closer to.

The temporary site put up by RSPB has been really heavily visited and I wasn't too surprised to see a number of twitchers on arrival.  It was also no real surprise to find that the observation post was in fact at some distance from the nest.  However we did catch several sightings of bee eaters flying to and from the nest and occasionally perching on the fenceposts above it. They were too far away to photograph without top-notch equipment but I could make out the colours through my binoculars and it was possible to see them in reasonable detail by telescope. You could also see the hole they were nesting in perfectly clearly.

Twitchers Twitching

The Nesting Hole

Apparently, the only time that bee eaters have nested further North than this was in 1922 at Musselburgh. The chicks are expected to be on the wing in about a fortnight's time, so it may be that even better viewings will result then.

Also in the area were many sand martins, some linnets (spotted by twitchers with very powerful lenses) a couple of crows as well as a kestrel that arrived to interrupt proceedings for a while.

Wednesday 24th September

Sunny bike trip to Haugh of Urr.  Not much around apart from isolated butterflies, a dead badger, one female bullfinch, a few pipits and notably only a couple of birds of prey - two buzzards that were flying over the Rover Nith on the way back into Dumfries.  Swallows seem to have departed, though Tony saw some on the move while coming from Castle Douglas.

In the garden, a carrion crow was a rare appearance on the bird table - looking even more inelegant than the occasional wood pigeons that visit.

Saturday 30th March

Yesterday two greenfinches in trees next to Oakfield Brae.  Must be the breeding season.

Trip to Castle Loch for attempt on willow tit again.  None seen, none heard, though a nature watcher with huge camera and camouflage jacket told me he saw six on the banks of the Annan the other day.

Did however see nuthatch, treecreeper, long-tailed tit, red squirrel, wren, tufted duck and reed bunting (first one this year).  Wren caused me to think how long it is since I saw a goldcrest.

Inspired myself to take a run up to Poldivan area but all quiet.  No goshawk noise.  Sum total of sightings:  dead shrew, two crows on the trees that used to be favoured by great grey shrike and one unidentified raptor flyover.

On the way back a couple more probable redwings (didn't stop to confirm) and one meadow pipit by Amisfield Moor.