%x3 grid, 14 photos round a map where they were taken. From Top Left: Water Avens, bare tree branches in silhouette, looking back to wards Glasgow; a cuckoo on a post; orange tip butterfly, male with wings outspread; Green-veined white on cuckoo flower. Post with a loch behind; MAP; violet flower; primroses; bog cotton; two stonechats; small copper butterfly; painted lady butterfly; speedwell flowers.

Walked out to Dumcolm on Sunday morning. A quiet day, although it looked as if it was getting busy later. Lots of birds singing, lots of flowers showing. Warm, sunny until 9am or so, then light cloud.

As I came back to Loch Humphrey from Duncolm an osprey was fishing over the loch. Didn’t get a great look or photo, exciting anyway.

Green Woodpecker calling from the trees below the muir. Lots of cuckoos all morning, finally got a half decent snap along the fence around the native trees before the Loch. Butterflies, from about half eight lots of green-veined whites & orange tips. Less when the sun was behind clouds.A painted lady on the muir and then another on the paths above the wood. A small cooper sunning on the paths, while I watched it left and flew low over the herbage beside the path, a green hairstreak came up out of the grass and they circled around. Didn’t manage a snap of the hairstreak, first I’ve seen here. I stepped off the path to avoid a cyclist and saw a wee lizard wriggle away in the heather & moss at my feet.

Despite being a holiday weekend the paths were relatively quiet. There seemed to be some flora or fauna of interest all the way. lovely morning, 15 minutes drive from the city.

Map, notes & photos: walkmap

3x3 grid of images, photos with a map in the centre. From topleft: The moon setting behind some trees, a sun lit orad, a sunling path trough bracken, a winter tree with the rising sun behind, the map, a raven wings outspread agaist a blue sky, an oak tree, a ranve perched on a rock, a buzzard in a hawthorn tree.

I arrived at the Kilpatrick hills car park at dawn this morning. It was already pretty full. Frosty with a clear sky. The full moon going down. More folk than usual on the tracks and paths. Saw a few redwing feeding on hawthorn along with blackies & thrushes.
Beautiful warm light to start, long shadows.
The frozen ground was much nicer than the usual bog between Loch Humphrey and Duncolm.
On Duncolm a raven circled diving & twisting with quiet croaks. Seemed unfazed by me and came quite close, shining in the sun. Saw a few more on the way back. A little egret in the horse field. I wonder if they come to the field when the tide is high. I saw this one at 12:30 and high tide at Old Kilpatrick was at 12:40 today. I’ll try and keep a note.
Nice view of a buzzard in a hawthorn near the road and a flock of fieldfares on the field and hawthorn.

Photos on flickr & on the

walkmap