It has been another great week for sightings on the reserve. I’ve seen so many amazing plants and animals during my internship this summer and my last week was no exception. I was lucky enough to see a grey heron catching a fish right outside the office window!

Other birds observed on river this week have included grey wagtail, dipper, mallard and goosander. In the woodland we have had reports of robin, wren, blue tit, great tit, coal tit, siskin, long tailed tit, blackbird, song thrush, raven and buzzard.  Some sand martins and swallows can still be seen catching insects to prepare for their long journey south in the next few weeks.

Our penultimate badger watch of the season was a great success with visitors seeing three badgers, Daubenton’s bats and lots of rabbits.

The recent damp weather is helping our amphibians to travel further in search of food as I have seen two frogs this week.

We are coming to end of the season for our summer wildflowers but there are still many beautiful flowers to enjoy on the reserve including hedge woundwort, marsh woundwort, yellow flag iris, tormentil, oxeye daisy, black knapweed, broad-leaved willowherb, marsh hawk’s-beard, herb robert, pink purslane, meadowsweet, heath bedstraw, common cow wheat, slender St John’s wort, bush vetch, valerian and red campion. The birds are now having a feast on all the ripe brambles and our Rowan trees have started to produce bunches of bright red berries.

I’ll miss working at the Falls of Clyde but I plan to visit later in the year and see the reserve in all it’s beautiful autumnal colours.

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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