Watch out for wildlife

During the past two weeks there have been several sightings of colourful Cinnabar caterpillars in Milngavie, one of which was in the Mains Estate.

The brightly coloured Cinnabar moth is mostly a southern species in Britain but is also found near the coast in Scotland and more rarely inland. Its usual food plant is the much maligned Ragwort, which is also the primary food plant for several other moth species.

Kingfishers are rarely seen in the area, but I happened to see one of these brightly coloured but normally shy birds fly under the bridges between the Tesco store and car park, despite the presence of numerous shoppers.

The river outside Tesco's is also a good place to see Dippers. These white-chested birds are as happy in the water as on land.