Mike is away on holiday so I am reporting on this weeks sightings. It’s been a busy one and I’m always happy to tick another bird off the Falls of Clyde bird list that I haven’t seen yet this year. This weeks new bird was the tree sparrow which I’ve seen come to my parents bird feeders quite regularly but finding on the reserve is never easy.

Wildflowers

Wild garlic, herb robert, yellow pimpernel, sanicle, redcurrant, dandelion, great wood rush, dog’s mercury, red campion, common dog violet, wood sorrel, bluebell, wild strawberry and pink purslane, wavy bitter cress, creeping forget me not, white dead-nettle, meadow saxifrage, water avens, crosswort, greater stitchwort, pignut, wood avens, wood cranes-bill, daisy, broad-leaved willowherb, woodruff, marsh hawks beard, germander speedwell, cow parsley, red clover and globe flower. It’s worth noting that most of these flowers can be found labelled along out boardwalk, only a ten minute walk from New Lanark and our visitor centre.

Invertebrates

On Wednesday we spent the morning with a local invertebrate expert looking for a special beetle found in the gorge that hasn’t been recorded since 1975. We didn’t find the special beetle but we did find lots of other things > Beetle – Elaphrus cupreus, Beetle – Asaphidion flavipes, Beetle – Bembidion tetracolum, Soldier beetle (black) – Cantharis nigricans, Soldier beetle (yellow) – Rhagonycha lignosa, Leaf beetle – Gonioctena pallida, Two click beetles – Athous haemorrhoidalis and Dalopius marginatus, Mustard beetle – Phaedon armoraciae, Rove beetle (small black) – Quedius auricomus, Rove beetle (tiny black) – Lesteva longoelytra. A selection of flies > St Mark’s Fly – Bibio marci, Bibio pomonae, Bibio leucopterus and Bibio lepidus and a moth Micropterix aureatella. On our butterfly survey this week we also saw green-veined white and orange tip butterflies.

Mammals

Sadly with the awful weather we had on Saturday we had to cancel our Badger Watch, the only mammal I have begrudgingly seen this week was a grey squirrel.

Birds

Tree sparrow at West Lodge carpark on the Corehouse side of the river. More garden warblers singing again on the Corehouse side of the river under the wayleave where all the trees have been coppiced under the powerlines. Elsewhere on the reserve we have the common sandpiper, dippers, grey wagtail, mallard and grey heron on the river. In the woods we’ve had blackcap, wren, robin, wood pigeon, blue tit, great tit, song thrush, blackbird, chaffinch, great spotted woodpecker, chiff chaff, willow warbler. I’m sure there’s more but with the warm weather the reserve has felt pretty quiet. Probably just all the birds busy feeding their young to be singing and entertaining me!

I have however been lucky enough to see lots of nest boxes in use across the reserve. If you see an adult bird carrying food just be patient and follow it until you find where it is nesting. You don’t want to watch them for too long though or you could begin to interfere with the birds feeding their young. I found a great spotted woodpecker nest just beyond the peregrine watch site on Saturday on the right hand side in a big oak tree. If you are up there in the next couple of days have a listen out for the chicks. I managed to catch a glimpse of one of the parents bringing food to the nest.

Send us your sightings – fallsofclyde@scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk

Laura Preston, Falls of Clyde Ranger
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