This week we had an absolutely superb week for sightings. We had some very lucky visitors on our Badger Watch. Not only did they see one adult and one cub, but on their way back along the boardwalk they had sightings of an otter which is amazing for them all to witness.

This week we saw one adult and one badger cub on our badger watch. Other mammals include our roaming roe deer, grey squirrel and rabbits. There were also both pipistrelle and daubentons bats along the river and in the woods.

We still have plenty of wildflowers blooming on the reserve including hedge woundwort, marsh woundwort, yellow flag iris, tormentil, oxeye daisy, black knapweed, common hogweed, broad-leaved willowherb, marsh hawk’s-beard, herb robert, pink purslane, meadowsweet, cow parsley, heath bedstraw, common cow wheat, slender St John’s wort, bush vetch, valerian and red campion. There are now huge numbers of brambles ripening on the reserve. So the birds are now having a feast on all the berries.

I put out a moth trap and got large yellow underwing, lesser yellow underwing and gold spot. For butterflies we have green veined white, comma and red admiral. Then for dragonflies we have common hawker.

For the birds on our reserve we have we have grey heron, grey wagtail, dipper, goosander, mallard and kingfisher can all be found on the reserve. Blue tit, great tit, siskin, long tailed tit, robin, wren, blackbird, song thrush, nuthatch, sparrowhawk, bullfinch, great spotted woodpecker and raven can all be seen within our woodlands. Sand martins and swallows are still present but there numbers are reducing with them starting their journeys.

Finally onto wildlife sightings nearby the reserve we have eleven green sandpipers, a little egret, a little ringed plover, ruff and eight black-tailed godwits at Baron’s Haugh. Ten gadwall have been seen at Hogganfield Loch. There have also been sightings of five water rail showing around the reed beds at Newshot Island.

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

Mike Butler – Falls of Clyde Seasonal Ranger, Scottish Wildlife Trust
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