Milngavie to home via the Kelvin. Blue sky, sunshine & a cool breeze. Lesser celandine, wood anemones & lots of few-flowered leek. The blackthorn well out, some willow catkins.
A few peacock butterflies & a green veined white. A glimpse of a kingfisher on the Allander water. Bit of bird song, chiffchaffs, blue & great tits, goldfinches & more. A couple of peewit in the distance.
My wife said listen to the grasshopper, I can’t hear them, but heard this. so I opened my phone and the Merlin app: Common Grasshopper warbler. No sight of it.
Lots of orange tips butterflies. Plenty of bird song, D saw a weasel. Warm afternoon.
Had a short walk around Kilpatrick Muir this morning. Heard but didn’t see green woodpeckers. Did spot a couple of peacock butterflies. The first this year for me.
Heading for Meall an Fhudair, but very poor visibility so we turned back at Meall nan Caora just after Troisgeach. Still a great day, highlights lots of Scotch argus & a couple of eagles. Map: walkmap
Today’s walk round the Glen Douglas Trio, with photos and map walkmap
Braeval To Stank number 6 walkmap
Part of the Rob Roy Way.
Cloudy & warm, getting brighter. Butterflies out later.
Very quiet, saw one couple on the way out, a few more coming back. Spider, nest & young.
Walk over Kilpatrick Muir to the trig point on The Slacks and over to Dumcolm, notes and photos on a map: walkmap
Meall an Fhudair today walkmap
Dead Rosebay Willowherb in the mist.
I’d spent the previous few hours walking without seeing much wildlife. The caw of a few crows and a buzzard in the mist. A couple of grouse on the braes and the odd raven, one with what looked like a lump of meat in its beak. Pigeon and tits in the trees.
Joining the metalled road from Loch Humphrey at the cattlegrid and round the next corner. A buzzard left a tree on the right of the road 10 yards in front. As I watched it glide off some goldfinches went over head. To my left two more sat chatting. My eyes were pulled by fieldfares leaving the trees. A woodpecker was silhouetted on a dead stump like a classic cartoon. It flew to the top branches and clung letting me have a good view.
