Well it has been another amazing week for sightings this week on the reserve. I think the main highlight for me this week is seeing a fox on the reserve, it took me ages to see one and now I have, I can confidently say it was well worth the wait to see one.

For birds on the reserve we have had dipper, grey wagtail, goosander, and grey heron on the river. Flying above we have had buzzard, raven, sand martin, swallow, and swift. Then in our woods we have robin, chaffinch, blackbird, great tit, blue tit, tawny owl. I got to hear the calling of the common sandpiper out of the window which is great as I have not heard them for a while.

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. I also got great views at dusk of both pipistrelle and daubentons bats

We still have plenty of wildflowers blooming on the reserve including 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, herb robert, pink purslane, yellow pimpernel, germander speedwell, water forget-me-not, meadowsweet, ragged robin, heath bedstraw, common cow wheat, slender St John’s wort, bush vetch, valerian and red campion. There are now huge numbers of brambles starting to ripen on the reserve. So in a few weeks there will be plenty of food for the birds.

Off of the reserve we have reports of greenshank and green sandpiper at Barons Haugh accompanied also by a comma butterfly. There have also been sightings of two osprey at south end of Barr Loch

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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