Along Troon shore, stared rainy and cold, got a little warmer and changed to dull. Lots of dog walkers. But I saw quite a few birds. Greenfinch, stonechats & linnets on the dune side. Turnstone, sanderling and redshank at the edge of the sea. Took blurry photos of them all. Good enough for id & iNaturalist. Also a small dead porpoise washed up on the sand.
A walk to Greenside Reservoir this afternoon. We saw a speckled wood, possible the last butterfly this year and a hawker dragonfly.
Half an hours drive from Glasgow. About an hours walk so far. Sun is shining, stags roaring and a raven croaks. Good start to the September weekend. No one else around.
Walk with Christine yesterday afternoon. Unusually quiet, only a couple of folk around. Map & photos:
walkmap
Butterfly Day. Walking to Greenside Reservoir this afternoon. Felt like summer. Lots of butterflies. I’d guess over a hundred ringlets, a few meadow browns, some dark green and small pearl-bordered fritillaries, a couple of common blues.
Beinn Bhreac & Ben Reoch yesterday.
Flora:
Bog Asphodel
Bog Myrtle
Bog Cotton
Tormentil
Fox gloves
Marsh orchid
Eye bright
Bedstraw
Milkwort
Bog heather
Bell heather
Saxifrage
Lousewort
Marsh thistle
map & notes
Small Heath Butterfly on Thyme, seen on the walk up to Greenside Reservoir today. Lots of Ringlets and Goldfinches.
Walked to Loch Humphrey this morn. Warm, cloudy a slight breeze. The ground sparkling with flowers. Meadowsweet coming out. Plenty of birds too. Whitethroat singing in the new trees. A skylark bathing in the path dust. Butterflies: Meadow Browns, Ringlets & a Small pearl-bordered Fritillary.
Short walk along the pipe track at Strathblane this afternoon. Quite warm and sunny. Lots of Orange Tip butterflies & a few whites around. A few more photos on flickr.
Walk to Greenside: First Orange Tip Butterfly this year. A couple of peacocks too. Singing: cuckoo, willow warblers & chiffchaff, goldfinches. Lots of primroses in damp places.
