Photos, notes & map from a walk on Tuesday: walkmap


Photos, notes & map from a walk on Tuesday: walkmap
On Monday I was planning a walk but it felt a bit hot to go to the hills. I got the train to Milngavie and walked back down the Kelvin walkway to Glasgow.
Saw the first kingfisher on the Allander water which kept my eyes on every overhanging branch for a while.
Both the Allander and the Kelvin are lined with the pink stink of Himalayan Balsam. The path quite overgrown in places with nettles, thistles & brambles making shorts a poor choice.
Despite the warm weather the rivers are quite full. Less butterflies than I expected, green-veined whites all long the way.
Everything seems to have come to autumn early, brambles, acorns and already red hawthorn berries.
Once back in Glasgow I was looking across the river and saw a reflecting, the colour and shape of a foxes ear. Lying in the balsam above was a young looking fox. It didn’t look quite right, spread and very still. Zooming in I couldn’t see breathing and it was still when I made a loud clap. My second kingfisher of the day arrowed past.
Once I got to the science park I saw a couple of specked woods. Birds along the way: a kestrel, mobbed by wee birds; warblers, and goldfinches. I watched one goldfinch feeding a youngster in those incongruous hawthorn berries.
#silentsunday #butterfly
Glen Douglas, started clear, got cloudy. Warm. Lots of tiny wild flowers in the grass. 3 types of heather. Not much fauna, stonechat, a few pipets & larks, a snipe. One ringlet, lone small heath.
Didn’t get round the 3 hills, I got quite puffed going up first so just did 2.
Blustery and bright. Along the Kelvin, Dalsholm to the Vet School. River high & brown. Butterflies: a few ringlets & whites, a tortoiseshell. A few dippers & finally a kingfisher circled the ‘dog pool’ near Dalsholm. Bright agains the river. Lots of Flowers.
It looked like it was going to rain this afternoon, so we had a quick walk up to Jaw Reservoir. Plenty of small heath butterflies about. Lots of foxgloves and plenty of bird song. A whinchat in a dead larch near the water.
walkmap map, photos & note
Pretty & pretty exciting walk out to Duncolm this morning. Plenty of flora & fauna. First small heath, painted lady & small copper butterflies of this year. Watch an osprey fishing over Loch Humphrey for a about half an hour (that was the exciting bit).
Green Hairstreak. Walking from Braeval car park. Lovely sunny day. Dozens and Dozens of orange tips and Green Veined Whites, but I had my eye out for these wee guys. Eventually saw 3 and this one cooperated for a few seconds.
Walking round the loop above Finlas Water yesterday. Another blue sky day. Tops still brown but dry. Deer & skylarks around most of the day, a few ravens. Some bumble bees looking for nests. Green veined whites flying around between the reservoir & the car.
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.