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.

Waxwings

Have you seen this bird?

There is currently an invasion of waxwings along the Clyde and some were seen in Milngavie on Friday.

Waxwings are rare visitors from Scandinavia which come here when the food supply gets low at home. Invasions have become more frequent in recent years. The birds are normally seen in flocks, often perched in a medium-sized tree and flying down to bushes such as cotoneaster and pyracantha to feed on the berries. They are about the same size as starlings and can be easily recognised by their crests and colours.

If you see any, please send details of the number seen, location, date and time if possible to the webmaster, Sarah Longrigg, at the email address shown on the MERA website.

For more information, see the Milngavie Herald

Bird lists, January to March 2010

Birds seen in the Mains Estate during January to March 2010

There were more unusual visitors in the early part of this year including Bramblings and large flocks of Redpolls. The largest number of Redpolls was seen on 5th February, when 84 were counted.

Blackbird (Jan, Feb, Mar)
Black-headed gull (Jan, Feb)
Bluetit (Jan, Feb, Mar)
Brambling (Jan, Feb)
Bullfinch (Jan)
Buzzard (Jan, Feb, Mar)
Carrion crow (Jan, Feb, Mar)
Chaffinch (Jan, Feb, Mar)
Coal tit (Jan, Feb, Mar)
Common gull (Jan)
Curlew (Jan)
Dunnock (Jan, Feb, Mar)
Geese (unidentified species) (Jan, Feb)
Goldfinch (Jan, Feb, Mar)
Great spotted woodpecker (Feb, Mar)
Great tit (Jan, Feb, Mar)
Greenfinch (Jan, Feb, Mar)
Herring gull (Jan)
House sparrow (Jan, Feb, Mar)
Jackdaw (Jan, Feb, Mar)
Long-tailed tit (Jan, Feb)
Magpie (Jan, Feb, Mar)
Mallard (Jan, Feb, Mar)
Mistle thrush (Jan)
Redpoll (Jan, Feb, Mar)
Redwing (Jan)
Reed bunting (Jan, Feb)
Robin (Jan, Feb, Mar)
Rook (Jan, Feb, Mar)
Siskin (Jan, Feb, Mar)
Song thrush (Jan)
Starling (Jan, Feb, Mar)
Wood pigeon (Jan, Feb, Mar)
Woodcock (just outside the estate)
Wren (Jan, Feb, Mar)

Unusual birds

If you are interested in birds, look out for some unusual visitors following the recent cold spell.

There has been a large flock of Redpolls this week, with up to 50 visiting nyger feeders along with Siskins.

Redpoll, Mains Estate, 18th Jan 2010

Watch out also for Bramblings. Several have been seen in the estate this week. They look rather like chaffinches and often mix with them, but are more orange, with a white rump, and with a pattern like scales on the back. The male has a darker head than the female.

Female Brambling, Mains Estate, 22nd Jan 2010

Fieldfares became frequent visitors to gardens all over the country, including the Mains Estate. These birds are quite common in the countryside, but do not usually visit gardens as much as in the recent cold spell. They may still be around.

Please let us know if you see any unusual birds in the Estate. We would love to know about them.

Bird list, December 2009

Birds seen in the Mains Estate during December

During the cold spell of weather we have had some more unusual visitors, including Redpolls and Fieldfares.

Blackbird Black-headed gull Bluetit Bullfinch Carrion crow Chaffinch Coal tit Common gull Dunnock Fieldfare Goldfinch Great tit Greenfinch House sparrow

Jackdaw Magpie Mallard Pied wagtail Redpoll Robin Rook Siskin Snipe Song thrush Starling Treecreeper Wood pigeon Wren

Bird list, November 2009

Birds seen in the Mains Estate during November

Blackbird Black-headed gull Bluetit Carrion crow Chaffinch Coal tit Dunnock Goldfinch Great tit Greenfinch

House sparrow Jackdaw Long-tailed tit Magpie Mallard Robin Rook Starling Wood pigeon Wren

Craigton Woods bird list

The following species have been seen in the woods:

Blackbird
Bluetit
Chaffinch
Chiff Chaff
Dunnock
Great spotted woodpecker
Jay
Long Tailed Tit
Pheasant
Robin
Rook
Tawny owl (live permanently in woods)
Tree creeper

nearby - Dipper

Please let us know if you spot any further species

Bird list, October 2009

Birds seen in the Mains Estate during October

Blackbird Black-headed gull Bluetit Carrion crow Chaffinch Coal tit Collared dove Dunnock Goldfinch Great tit Greenfinch

House sparrow Jackdaw Lesser black-backed gull Magpie Mallard Robin Rook Starling Wood pigeon Wren

Bird list, September 2009

Blackbird Black-headed gull Bluetit Carrion crow Chaffinch Coal tit Dunnock Great tit Greenfinch House sparrow

Jackdaw Lesser black-backed gull Magpie Mallard Robin Rook Starling Wood pigeon Wren

Bird lists, February to August 2009

This is an archive of the bird lists published on the website for the past 6 months. In future, these will be published monthly. Please contact us with any additions to these lists.

Birds seen in February

Blackbird Black-headed gull Bluetit Bullfinch Carrion crow Chaffinch Coal tit Dunnock Goldfinch Goose Great tit Greenfinch Heron

Herring gull House sparrow Jackdaw Long-tailed tit Magpie Mallard Robin Rook Snipe Song thrush Starling Wood pigeon

Birds seen in March

Blackbird Bluetit Carrion crow Chaffinch Coal tit Dunnock Goldfinch Great spotted woodpecker Great tit Greenfinch House sparrow

Jackdaw Long-tailed tit Magpie Redpoll Robin Rook Siskin Song thrush Starling Wood pigeon

Birds seen in April

Blackbird Bluetit Carrion crow Chaffinch Coal tit Dunnock Goldfinch Great tit Greenfinch House sparrow Jackdaw

Lesser black-backed gull Magpie Mallard Redpoll Robin Rook Siskin Song thrush Starling Wood pigeon

Birds seen in May

Blackbird Bluetit Carrion crow Chaffinch Coal tit Dunnock Goldfinch Great tit Greenfinch House sparrow

Jackdaw Lesser black-backed gull Magpie Mallard Redpoll Robin Rook Siskin Starling Wood pigeon

Birds seen in June

Blackbird Bluetit Buzzard Carrion crow Chaffinch Chiff-chaff Coal tit Collared dove Dunnock Goldfinch Great tit Greenfinch Heron House martin

House sparrow Jackdaw Lesser black-backed gull Magpie Mallard Oystercatcher Robin Rook Siskin Starling Tree creeper Willow warbler Wood pigeon Wren

Birds seen in July

Blackbird Bluetit Buzzard Carrion crow Chaffinch Chiff-chaff Coal tit Collared dove Dunnock Goldfinch Great tit Great spotted woodpecker Greenfinch Heron

House sparrow Jackdaw Lesser black-backed gull Magpie Mallard Oystercatcher Pied wagtail Siskin Starling Tawny owl (heard) Tree creeper Willow warbler Wood pigeon Wren

Birds seen in August

Black-headed gull Bluetit Buzzard Carrion crow Chaffinch Coal tit Dunnock Goldfinch Great tit Greenfinch Greylag goose Heron House martin

Jackdaw Lesser black-backed gull Magpie Mallard Robin Sparrowhawk Starling Swift Tree creeper Willow warbler Wood pigeon Wren