It has been another brilliant week for sightings on the reserve.  As we get further into the summer we have seen more and more fungi sprouting up alongside the footpaths. This week we spotted the aptly named Stinkhorn mushroom. This pungent fungi attracts flies to spread its spores. If you are on the reserve you may well smell one of these before you see it! Phew!

We have had lots of interesting moths in our moth trap including large yellow underwing, mottled beauty, smoky wainscot, spruce carpet, beautiful golden Y, flame shoulder, dark arches and July highflyer. We have had sightings of green veined white butterflies and plenty of bumble bee species including white tailed, buff tailed, common carder and garden bumblebee.

We have reports of wren, blackbird, chiff chaff, robin, song thrush, blue tit, great tit and great spotted woodpecker and we have heard blackcap singing in the woodland. On the river we have had sightings of common sandpiper, dipper, grey wagtail and grey heron. This week we have seen four buzzards soaring through the sky on sunny days and ravens flying through the fields.

We have seen plenty of rabbits and grey squirrels this week, with two grey squirrels making a lot of noise as they fell out of a tree and landed in the bushes underneath!

For our flowering wildflowers we have hedge woundwort, marsh woundwort, dog rose, yellow flag iris, common spotted orchid, tormentil, oxeye daisy, black knapweed, yellow rattle, creeping buttercup, common hogweed, broad-leaved willowherb, marsh hawk’s-beard, fox glove, daisy, dandelion, herb robert, pink purslane, wood avens, yellow pimpernel, germander speedwell, thyme-leaved speedwell, bramble, meadowsweet, ragged robin, heath bedstraw, common cow wheat, slender St John’s wort, bush vetch, valerian and dog rose. Our blaeberries and wild raspberries are starting to ripen providing lots to eat for hungry birds.

Feel free to send in your local sightings to fallsofclyde@scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk.

Rebecca Pincott –  Volunteer Assistant Ranger, Scottish Wildlife Trust
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