2025-01-01 Rainy morning. There was a very black and shiny crow making a lot of noise on a neighbours washing line when I dumped the rubbish this morning. Round the front the traffic is sparse. Across the street, in a pollard, a blue tit is calling. 2025-01-02 Clear blue skies and frost. High tide, at the end of a small rocky outcrop a heron hunches away from the sea and cold. A starling perched high by drain hole under the eaves making experimental sounds. 2025-01-03 Sparking hill day, snow. A lot of deer. Deer seem less inclined to run off in the winter. Fox track all over. A glimpse of an eagle, later watched for 10-15 minutes as it circled back and forth along the skyline above. 2025-01-04 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, stonechat & 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. 2025-01-05 a day inside. A dunnock sang from the hedge on the way to the co-op 2025-01-06 Back to work this morning. Well before dawn a song thrush sings a simple song in the dark street. 2025-01-07 didn't see the light of day, came out of school to clear skies a quarter moon and a bright Jupiter, I need to check an app for that. 2025-01-08 3pm dusk in the playground as small group of starlings had a mini murmuration in a clear, frosty blue sky. 2025-01-09 driving home into an amazing sky. 2025-01-10 -8 when I arrived at school this morning. lots of "frost fattened" sparrows in the playground puffed up against the cold. 2025-01-11 Kilpatrick's , Loch Humphrey & The Slacks frosty with mist filling the Clyde. Not much life other than runners around today. Coming down past the covered reservoir a brown hare ran across the rough ground. Ginger looking against the frost. First hare I remember seeing here. Later a bright green patch of watercress stand out. 2025-01-12 Greenside, still quite frosty, not much moving. Reservoir a bit frozen, reflective ice. 2025-01-13 2025-01-14 2025-01-15 warm day, bees coming out of the hive at midday. Doubt they would have much luck finding food. 30 or so geese clamouring above the playground. Coming out of school clear sky & sunset. Starlings glowing red flying into the conifer. 2025-01-16 2025-01-17 2025-01-18 2025-01-19 Walk to Greenside, overcast & slightly colder than it has been. A few wee birds out. Ravens croaking and a couple twisting along together. Buzzard posing on lamp post and then fence post beside the car. 2025-01-20 2025-01-21 2025-01-22 2025-01-23 2025-01-24 Storm. Day inside not much sign of life out of the window. 2025-01-25 One large and a smaller tree down on the way to the coop. Heavy flurry of snow large wet flakes. 2025-01-26 on the Greenside track. A few trees large and small down. Dusting of snow freezing a bit. Not much fauna. A buzzard working up and down the burn. A meeting of ravens. 2025-01-27 2025-01-28 the class stops to listen to geese overhead. 2025-01-29 jackdaws and street pigeons in a bright blue sky. Crowds of sparrows in the hedge. 2025-01-30 clear dawn gradient sky. A heron comes down into the trees, a twisted silhouette. 2025-01-31 late afternoon stubble covered with geese. 2025-02-01 2025-02-02 Ardinning, drizzle and misty. Goosander, golden eye, tufted duck, 3 teal and the odd mallard. 2025-02-03 2025-02-04 so much rain lots of flooded fields. Rivers of snow drops through the woods. 2025-02-05 At Dow's wood with class. One spots some ice hair. 2025-02-06 robin singing out against a bright blue late afternoon sky. 2025-02-07 2025-02-08 Kilpatrick muir, 2 pairs of grouse on the heather. A couple of ravens flying with full beaks & purpose. 2025-02-09 Greenside, cold & quiet. Some geese changing fields. 2025-02-10 2025-02-11 After the kids are gone a cock pheasant picks its way across the playground 2025-02-12 2025-02-13 2025-02-14 lots of geese around over my morning commute. A couple of mallard pitching into the reeds needed the road home. 2025-02-15 2025-02-16 2025-02-17 Victoria Park for the first time in a while. Quite a lot of fallen trees from the storm. Big and small. 2025-02-18 2025-02-19 2025-02-20 2025-02-21 warm rainy morning. Blackbirds and robins singing in the dark. 2025-02-22 Warm sunny, for February, day. River running brown and high. I spent a few minutes sitting, watching a kingfisher across the river. Dived a few times and came up lucky a couple. One wee fish took a bit of subduing and was bashed off a branch a few times. 2025-02-23 another fisher, a dabchick, on a quiet stretch of pond, dives for sticklebacks, coming up again and again with sliver in its beak. 2025-02-24 I had to jam on the brakes, a pheasant crossing the road, it was not it a big hurry. 2025-02-25 Three roe, legs spread wide, crop rough grass in a damp dawn. 2025-02-26 A excitement of geese, groups or various sizes cross the roads and fields, a huge flock filling one field, almost bubbling. 2025-02-27 Sunny day. A tree bumble bee bumbling around the car park croci 2025-02-28 2025-03-01 metrological spring; a storm toppled tree still blossoms; the first frog spawn in the small pond; feels like there might be frost tonight. 2025-03-05 buzzard on a fence post 2025-03-06 3 roe in the brownfield, Kirkintilloch 2025-03-07 a roe tail slipping into the mist and tall grass. Roadkill maybe a badger. 2025-03-08 Slackdhu, bright, sunny & warm. Lots of birds song lower down in the trees, blue, coal & great tits, dunnocks and more. A dead dear near the pipe track. On the hill, larks singing and chasing each other. 2025-03-09 The Pipetrack, Merlin identified a nuthatch call, & we caught a glimpse of a couple flitting through the trees. Coltfoot flowering. 2025-03-12 in the fields on the way home, roe deer in new barley, geese on rough grass. Seagulls and a pheasant on new ploughed furrows. 2025-03-13 bright morning, geese, golden in the dawn sun, feeding on a frosty field. 2025-03-14 dark buzzard on a fence post in the middle of long pale grass stalks. 2025-03-15 Greenside, bright warm March morning. Lots of wee birds, robins, chaffinch, goldfinches, blue, great and long tailed tits, blackbirds and thrush, reed bunting and a stonechat. 2025-03-16 Ardinning morning, some goldeneye and teal on the loch as well as mallard, tufted and a couple of Canada geese. A raven's croak made me look up. Very high, a buzzard hovered. Even higher, a raven circled. After a moment or two, the buzzard dropped quickly down, and the raven sailed off. 2025-03-17 2025-03-18 2 wood pigeons sunning themselves in a cherry tree. On the highest branch the first blossom. 2025-03-19 light frost, hazy pastel pink & blue morning 2025-03-20 2025-03-21 2025-03-22 A couple of magpies building a nest. One has a long thin curved twig in beak. As it goes up from branch to branch the end of the twig hooks rounds each branch in turn. Each time it tug the twig free and hops to the next branch and entanglement. Finally flys to the top of a neighbouring tree and then flies to the nest from above. 2025-03-23 along the canal blackthorn blossoms 2025-03-24 2025-03-25 tail back on the commute this morning. Slow along the blackthorn. Silver lining. 2025-03-26 A couple of coal tits flitting and calling 2025-03-27 2025-03-28 Roadkill badger. I've seen more dead than alive. Two this week. 2025-03-29 Wet squally Saturday. Victoria park almost empty. A few birds calling. A blackbird shelters under cut twigs from a fallen tree. 2025-03-30 Ardmore bright and warm. Step off the path into young trees and gorse. Bird song, greenfinch, chaffinch, goldfinch, chiffchaff, blackbirds, robins, song thrush & wood pigeons. 2025-03-31 geese and their shadows in early morning fields 2025-04-01 first lambs, warmest day yet. 2025-04-02 jackdaws in the street tearing tissues. Nesting time? 2025-04-03 kids bug hunting in school. Two butterflies, the first of the year. A peacock and a small tortoiseshell. 2025-04-04 out of the corner of my eye a peewit dips its beak. 2025-04-05 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. 2025-04-06 Barassie, a few peacocks, two circling and rising quite high before dramatic drops. Some sand martins I think. Very blue sky. 2025-04-07 Greenside, warn and clear. Lots of birdsong, goldfinches, lots of chiffchaff. Stonechat, wrens, tits, and more. Butterflies, peacocks, Small Tortoiseshell & orange tips. Primroses are out. 2025-04-08 Walking round the loop above Finlas Water. Another blue sky day. Tops still brown but pretty dry. Deer and skylarks around most of the day, a few ravens. Some bumble bees looking for nests. Some green veined whites flying between the reservoir & the car. 2025-04-09 Out to Duncolm & Fynloch hill with C. Blackthorn well out, primroses & violets. Larks & ravens on the moor plenty of wee birds singing. Heard a nuthatch while on the metal road. Peacocks & a few Orange tip butterflies. 2025-04-10 Round Gartnavel, A fox on the railway line, lots of goldfinch singing. A heron in the reeds on Bingham pond and a bullfinch near the station on the way back. 2025-04-11 Glen Douglas trio. Hills very dry. Mostly dead grass. Very quiet. A few flowers, wood anemone , louse wort, lesser celandine. Most on the south slope of Ben Reoch and among the tree planting at the bottom of Tullich hill. Larks, pipets & ravens on the hill. Only 3 deer, stags with newish antlers. Some nice new sundew and a wheatear by the road. 2025-04-12 Ardinning a few bluebells out, lots of Wood anemones. A few orange tips. 2025-04-13 the Kelvin, watching a kingfisher, quite high in a conifer. 2025-04-14 dabchick in the middle of the pond. Lots of singing around fossil grove, according to Merlin.app: Goldcrest, Robin, Blue Tit, Chiffchaff, Goldfinch & Wren 2025-04-15 Greenside, lots of birdsong, mostly goldfinch, chiffchaff & willow warblers; Reed bunting by the water. Butterflies: peacock, green veined white & orange tip. FIRST CUCKOO of the year. 2025-04-16 ran inside day 2025-04-17 Ardmore, lots of singing. First swallow. 2025-04-18 Meall an Fhudair, started bright, drizzle later. Cool breeze. The higher munroes had some snow. A few Cuckoos. Saw Greenshank and Golden Plover on the higher ground. Some frogs spawning in a pool in a wee burn, not on the hill pools yet. Still little growth of heather or grass. Very few flowers. primrose lower down. Some violets, wood anemones and Purple Mountain Saxifrage. 2025-04-19 Inside day 2025-04-20 On the path to Greenside Reservoir. Lots of butterfly around. Orange Tips, Green Veined Whites, Peacocks, Small tortoise shell & Comma. Plenty of willow warblers & chiffchaffs, Wheatear beside reservoir. Cuckoos calling. Stonechat. Also a weasel just to the side of the path, on hind legs, upright looking at us, disappeared down a vole tunnel in the grass. 2025-04-21 Blackbird in a hedge sounds gorgeous. 2025-04-22 2025-04-23 some white butterflies crossing the road as I drove home. 2025-04-24 Dows wood with the class. While the kids drew bluebells I watched butterflies including a speckled wood. 2025-04-25 2025-04-26 round Gartnavel. Lot of flowers coming out and bird song. A large fish splashed in Bingham's pond. 2025-04-27 2025-04-28 apple blossom in the school garden and by the road 2025-04-29 morning mist in the low ground. A hare hirpled over a slope into the white. Around lunchtime a swallow flew in, around and out of the classroom. 2025-04-30 filling at the garage, looking up to the blue sky a heron lumbering above the road. 2025-05-02 a curled hedgehog dead in the gutter. 2025-05-03 Walk to Greenside: cuckoos calling & cuckoo flowers. Lots of green, lots of singing birds. The Sun came out and so did green veined whites & orange tips. plenty of Goldfinches. 2025-05-04 Walk to Ben Oss, lots of tiny flora. Cuckoos calling. Grasshopper warbler. a Snipe, a greenshank, wheatear, a couple of grouse. Orange tips and a peacock on lover ground later on. 2025-05-05 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 Green Hairstreak. Eventually saw 3. Lot of warblers. A jay crossing the path. 2025-05-06 two hares on the curve of fresh barley 2025-05-07 2025-05-08 swallows around a farmyard as I drove around the bend. Summer? 2025-05-09 hot afternoon. Starlings slim & iridescent search the playground. 2025-05-10 Milngavie to Broomhill, a hawthorn walk, lots of flora & warblers singing. A flash of kingfisher twice. Lots of orange tips flying. A few small tortoise shells and peacocks. I might have seen a couple of fritillary butterflies zooming past. 2025-05-11 Barassie Beach, A Sedge Warbler singing loud and clear, IDed by Merlin, got a photo. Super song. 2025-05-12 2025-05-13 in the morning a roe 'canters' across a field. Evening by the Clyde, sunny & warm, the swallows are out. 2025-05-14 sitting in the playground watching butterflies & sparrows. 2025-05-15 2025-05-16 rabbit roadkill, a young one, this morning. Teaching in the playground an oystercatcher calls. 2025-05-17 Barassie the same sedge warbler singing on the same spot. A few gannets far out. Sky, sea and Arran all blue. 2025-05-18 out to Duncolm lots of whites & the first this year, for me, small heaths. A painter lady or two. Several small coppers did not pose. An osprey fishing on Humphrey watched it circle for 20 minutes to half an hour. One half dive, no catch. Very exciting. 2025-05-19 2025-05-20 a lapwing flys ragged across the morning road. Two male bullfinch bright red; skinny fox crosses Cleveden Road 2025-05-21 Outdoor learning with my class today. We saw some lovely creatures. Green Veined White, Large Red Damselfly & Speckled Wood butterfly. The later two repeated returning to a sunlit tree. 2025-05-22 A magpie chases a grey squirrel across the street. 2025-05-23 Greenside, First fritillary I've photographed this year, there were a few feeding on Fox & Cubs, colour match meant I nearly missed them. 2025-05-24 after several weeks of sunshine it rained. Started last night overcast with showers today. Didn't stop the blackbirds singing this morning. 2025-05-25 Ardinning. Out of the corner of my eye I say a movement. Turned round to see an osprey folding its wings and diving into the loch. Came out quickly and flew round and off. I couldn't see if it had been successful. 2025-05-26 Jaw Reservoir overcast raining quite hard. A few Canada goose families on the loch. A black throated diver out in the middle. Good view at zoom. Just grooming. 2025-05-27 A few rabbits grazing in a filed I pass in the morning. They never seemed to have really recovered from myxomatosis. 2025-05-28 a young blackbird badly pecked on the back of the neck by a magpie. 2025-05-29 2025-05-30 on the way to work, a roe stretches it's head high above the long grass. On the way home it's or another's back humps out of the grass. 2025-05-31 2025-06-01 Greenside, blustery day with heavy showers. We missed most. A chubby vole flashed across the path. Winchat on the wire. Lots of fox & cubs by the track. Spotted a couple of cuckoos in the distance, heard more. 2025-06-03 Dow's wood with the school, kids found a Common Spangle Gall Wasp gall 2025-06-04 8:00am really heavy downpour hailstones! 2025-06-05 2025-06-06 failing to get the nature watch camera catching anything. Corvids tipped the makeshift tripod & the only photos were of wind blown branches behind the feeders. 2025-06-07 pouring rain. 2025-06-08 Walked up to Jaw at around midday. Quite a few small heath butterflies out. Watched a buzzard hunting over the newish trees. Quite a lot of small bird song. A whinchat in the branches of a dead larch posed nicely. 2025-06-09 the car in front stops at the bend at the bottom of the hill. As I draw up a hare comes out from the front and hobbles stiff legged down a farm lane. 2025-06-10 2025-06-11 a snail crossing the pavement this morning, it left a dotted trail. Quite mysterious. 2025-06-14 several herons at the park feeding with the pigeons, gulls & ducks. 2025-06-15 round the university. Eyes peeled for falcons, nothing noticed. A mum and young gossamers on the Kelvin. River running high. 2025-06-16 2025-06-17 by the Clyde a warm breeze and quite heavy sea. Lesser black back gulls cruise along the shore. Crows look like they are waiting for the tide to drop. When it does starlings appear. 2025-06-18 2025-06-19 2025-06-20 blazing hot. A ringlet flying around the playground, first I've seen this year. 2025-06-21 Barassie, lots of Small whites (on wild radish) & small tortoiseshells( sea rocket) along the shore. The Tortoiseshells zooming along. Some heading quite directly out over the beach. Watch a couple of common blues circling around never settling. Hot day veering to muggy. 2025-06-24 a heron wading through the waves. Iron sea. 2025-06-25 a freshly dead badger on the commute this morning. Arrived in school to find a soaking bat in the boys bathroom, put in a box with paper towels, phoned SSPCA, by the time they arrived wee guy was looking well. Last fire pit with the class, a red admiral landed on a pice of wood where we were sitting. 2025-06-27 Greenside track this afternoon. The weather ranged from almost dry through smirr, drizzle, to quite heavy rain. Quite dull and dark, brightened by lots of wild flowers. Including 3 species of orchid. 2025-06-28 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. 2025-06-29 Ardinning, dozens of ringlets, hundreds of common blue damselflies. Butterfly and common spotted orchids. A few ravens crossing in front of us. A meadow pipet with a beak full of caterpillars, calling from a tree. 2025-06-30 Kilpatrick Braes. Warm and cloudy. Dozens of ringlets. Quite a few other species of butterfly, photos of dark green fritillaries & meadow browns. A few painted ladies and whites escaped me. Met a fox up the steep field. A sparrow hawk flew throw the woods near the big fallen beech. 2025-07-01 Glen Douglas, started clear, got cloudy as the day went on. Warm. Lots of tiny wild flowers among the grass. 3 types of heather. Not much fauna, stonechat, quite a few pipets & larks, a snipe. One ringlet, Ione small heath. 2025-07-02 Greenside, plenty of ringlets. A comma on hogweed allowed me to get a few photos. A dead lizard by the loch had just lost its tail and looked pregnant. 2025-07-05 Kelvin running brown & high. Watching swifts and sand martins hunting in the breeze. One green veined white. 2025-07-06 Greenside, dull rain threatened but never arrive. Some warmer spells. Lots of ringlets, a few meadow browns and whites of some sort. A red Admiral & one green fritillary. Gold finches flitting & singing all the way. 2025-07-07 lots of wild flowers round Bingham pond. Thistles, monkey flowers, woundwart, forget me nots, bulrushes and many more. Carder bees on monkey flowers and vetch. 2025-07-08 Victoria pond, bright clear morning. Lots of stickleback fry, a blue damselfly. A young looking fox, all long legs & ears, runs out of a garden across the road, doubles back from the traffic. It runs between a couple of gardens so I cross the road & keek, the fox is sitting in the border, looking straight back. A quick blurry phone pic & I leave quietly. Later Ardmore, green veined whites, curlew, and an osprey heading across the Clyde. 2025-07-09 Creagan hill flora ; Mostly grass and deer grass, sparkling with wee flowers today; Heather both ling and bog ; Heath bedstraw, cow wheat, tormentil, bog asphodel, bog cotton. Blaeberries.; Sphagnum and many other mosses ; Yorkshire fog and other grasses. 2025-07-11 Loch Humphrey walked the faint track round the loch. Heatwave, plenty of butterflies. Ringlets, Green Veined Whites, Meadow Browns for the most part. Some Small tortoiseshells and dark green fritillaries. 2025-07-12 Ardinning evening. First harebell of the year, some fritillaries, meadow browns and lots of whites around. A roe in the long grass. 2025-07-13 Barassie Beach, evening. Tons of whites around, large, small & green veined. A painted lady, a few meadow browns, I think a small heath. Goldfinches, a greenfinch, stonechats a few linnets, sand martins among the birds. 2025-07-14 2025-07-15 2025-07-16 Glen Fruin watched a golden ringed dragonfly laying eggs in a tiny hill burn. It pogoed up and down dipping its end in the water. Flora: Marsh Thistles; Buttercups; Thyme; Harebells; Bog asphodel; 3 heathers; Tormentil ; Marsh orchards; Meadow sweet, I or two sprigs half way up!; Bog cotton ; Starwort 2025-07-17 Ardinning, muggy, rained as soon as we left. Few butterflies about at the start, green veined whites, meadow browns and ringlets. Lotos of common blue damselflies and a few cleggs. 2025-07-19 Saturday morning shopping: bin lane, gulls and young calling, couple of squirrels & a wood pigeon. Jackdaws on the lawn. Higher up street pigeons and a lone swift. Marlborough gds a noisy coal tit & some sparrows. 2025-07-20 Victoria Park some dabchicks calling. Lots of bees. 2025-07-21 Greenside, watched a couple of buzzards flying around across the burn. 2025-07-22 Ardmore, a couple of little egrets shining. Lots of white butterflies 2025-07-23 Meall an Fhudair via Troisgeach. Hills sparkling with tiny spots of colour. Heather well out all 3 types. First Scotch Argus I've seen this year. 2025-07-24 We had a walk up to Greenside today and spotted quite a few species of butterfly. : Red Admiral; Comma; Small Tortoiseshell ; Small Heath; Map; Meadow Brown; Peacock; Another Meadow Brown; Green-veined White. There were a couple of multi-species hotspots, couldn't see the difference between these and other patches of thistles. 2025-07-25 Kilpatrick, caught a glimpse of a fox in cover at the tiny burn near the edge of the wood. Looked big and light ginger, snaked round a tree and disappeared. 2025-07-27 A dabchick feeing its chick on sticklebacks in Victoria Park. 2025-07-28 Ben Oss, a lovely common hawker, quite a few Scotch Argus despite the clouds. Some interesting flora on the peak, a very big stonecrop, alpine ladies mantle & what might be parsley ferns. 2025-07-29 Down at Helensburgh, a few white butterflies. 2025-07-30 Victoria park in the morning, dabchick feeding chick again. A heron croaking from the Scots Pine 2025-07-31 2025-08-01 Kilpatrick, short loop. Overcast and warm, mostly quiet, little life to see. A meadow brown, and a few green-veined white butterflies. Coming off the moor a group of around 20 linnets, flying around, landing on bracken & heather. From one spot on the first field, flowering: Knapweed; Lesser stitchwort ; Rest Harrow; Harebells; Angelica; Ladies bedstraw; Yarrow; Hawkbit; Thyme; Plantain. More nearby. 2025-08-02 Lots of white butterflies round the houses on the way to the park, more in the park & a red admiral basking on ferns near the fossil grove pond. Peering in the main pond water snails & boatmen. 2025-08-03 2025-08-04 Storm Floris 2025-08-05 Ardmore, some of flora blooming along the path and shore: Scabious; Harebells; Knapweed; Birds foot trefoil ; Angelica; Pig nuts; Honeysuckle ; Thistles gone to seed; Brambles some ripe; Sea radish ; Rose bay willow herb; Yarrow ; Scentless mayweed; Ragwort; Meadowsweet ; Nettles; Marsh woundwort; Himalayan balsam ; Loosestrife ; Sow thistles ; Vetch; Mugwort. 2025-08-06 Watching the bees on oregano and lavender at Victoria park. Mostly buff tails with a few common carders I think. 2025-08-07 2025-08-10 bit of a gap after shingles vaccine. Around the park today. Adult dabchick on this own. 2025-08-11 swifts above the Crow Road tenements & traffic. 2025-08-12 Ardmore a cormorant struggles with a flat fish. Repeatedly dive under with the fish in its beak. Plenty of butterflies. Green-veined, small and large whites, peacocks and small tortoise shells. A few dragonflies common darters I think. 2025-08-13 Bellahouston park while my wheel getting fixed. A chubby vole dashed across my path. Speckled Wood butterfly. Peacock on bush near Ibrox. Afternoon on Kilpatrick Braes. Very hot. Buzzards mewing and raven croaking in a blue sky. Quite a lot of peacock butterflies, mostly on thistles. Thistles very downy. A couple of red admiral & fritillaries flying by. A few white by the road on the way back. Heather fully out, braes purple. At the turn a common lizard wriggled over bent grass. 2025-08-14 Jaw Reservoir warm day again. More of a breeze. Not much about, few whites, one certainly a Green Veined White and one very battered Meadow Brown Butterfly. 2025-08-15 2025-08-16 2025-08-17 Barassie Beach: quite a few whites, some read admirals & a painted lady butterfly or two. Linnets washing in the streams on the sand, a few stonechats. 2025-08-18 walked from Milngavie down the Kelvin. Saw a nice trout below the army bridge on the Allander water. Plenty of green-veined whites around all day. The Stink & pink of Himalayan Balsam along most of the banks. A couple of kingfishers passed. 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. Back in Glasgow I saw a couple of spotted wood butterflies, I think they are my favourite this year. 2025-08-19 on the front in Helensburgh, watching a cormorant dive and dive. Got a few flashes of silver when it came up some times. 2025-08-20 Greenside, lots of butterflies, small tortoiseshells, pained ladies, red admirals & green veined whites. A few darters along the path. Got a nice photo of a female black darter. Possibly a spotted wood flitting around. 2025-08-21 Vale of Leven hospital grounds, some huge oak trees. Followed a red admiral butterfly for a while. 2025-08-22 Greenside, still lots of small tortoiseshell butterflies. A couple of speckled woods, got quite a nice photo. 2025-08-23 2025-08-24 2025-08-25 Greenside again. Bright and pretty blowy. Lots of small tortoiseshell butterflies sunning on the path out of the wind. Green-veined whites and red admirals too. Plenty of darters on the path too. Kestrel high over the hill beside the reservoir. Blackberries and hawthorn fully out. Rose-bay willow herb and thistle down all over the place. Autumn certainly feels early. 2025-08-26 Walked the RSPB site at Ardmore. Highish tide & a strong breeze. The path was often protected by windward bushes. Lots of small tortoiseshells & some painted lady butterflies basking. Devils-bit scabious flowering. Some whites too, mainly green-veined. 2025-08-31 Ardinning, bright an blustery day. Chanterelles peaking out beside the burn wall. blue damselflies & common darters along the path. Read Admirals & small tortoiseshells getting blown about. A few painted ladies butterflies near the gate, on devils-bit scabious. 2025-09-01 Kilpatrick Braes the blackberries and hawthorn as ripe and heavy as I've ever seen them. Sloes too. Gusty breeze. The bracken mostly brown and the heather turned. It all feels too early. Mixed bunch of corvids mobbing a buzzard and enjoying the wind. At the end a vole runs right across the road. 2025-09-02 Ardmore, several Little Egrets in West bay. Lots of butterflies. Red Admirals on Japanese knotweed, Green-Veined & Small Whites on sea radish. A spot with a lot of sun and devils-bit scabious lots of Small Tortoiseshells, a few more Red Admirals & a Painted Lady or two. One Spotted Wood sunning on a bramble leaf. Family groups of goldfinch scattering along the path. 2025-09-03 in the bin lane a bright blue-black crow feather stands out in the dust. 2025-09-04 A red admiral butterfly passed our window while the train is in a station. A green-veined white outside the National Gallery. 2025-09-05 2025-09-06 Greenside, blustery warmish. Still some butterfly about. Green-Veined White, Small Whites, tortoiseshell & Red Admiral butterflies. watched a kestrel near the reservoir hunting. I finally perched on a outcrop. Took a long zoom photo, which showed a wee vole being eaten. 2025-09-08 Walking down from Ben Reoch, l notice a ginger bundle off to the right. Looking at it through my camera's zoom and it is a fox, head buried in the grass. After a moment or two its head comes up and stares intently into the grass. After a couple of moments and snaps the fox turns and looks at me. A few more moments while we look at each other then it turns and runs off. As I move down the slope I can see over the ridge the fox went over. A few sheep stand around, moving off when they see me. They don't look to have been worried about the fox. 2025-09-09 Ardmore, still a few butterflies about. A red admiral on Japanese knotweed. A large white on sea radish. Lots of bees on scabious. Quite a few curlew on south bay as the tide went out. 2025-09-10 2025-09-11 2025-09-12 2025-09-13 Victoria Park, sunshine & heavy shower. A red Admiral butterfly being blown in the wind. 3 dabchicks on the pond, quite separate, if one is this years chick it is looking independent. 2025-09-14 Kilpatrick muir, out past Humphrey, meadow pippets and sky larks, a few grouse grousing. Cloud low, very wet underfoot. 2025-09-15 2025-09-16 Finlas loop, Sun and showers came and went quite a blustery wind. A red admiral butterfly flew above as I left the car, saw a couple more and one white later in the day. Saw quite a few red deer in larger groups. Plenty of meadow pipets, lots of wooly bears. Heard a couple of ravens, spotted one pair hassling a much bigger bird. 2025-09-17 2025-09-18 2025-09-19 2025-09-20 A couple of blackbirds might have started on the rowan berries outside our close. 2025-09-21 The Hermitage lots of fungi. The tail of a red squirrel and a nuthatch on bird feeders in car park. 2025-09-22 looking up through the skylight of our holiday cottage I see a red admiral butterfly flying by, then up & up beside a tall silver birch, finally setting in a group of leaves turned yellow & lit by the morning light. Later in another garden, I see one nectering on flowers. I am taking a photo, its wings closed, a bee flys by, the wings flash open. 2025-09-23 filled the bird feeders in the holiday garden, the first bird I see in the morning is a nuthatch. At breakfast, lots of wee birds, mostly coal tits and chaffinch, blue & great tits, blackbirds, robins & dunnock over the day. I've only seen nuthatch a few times before. A neat wee bird. 2025-09-24 in the Scone gardens, a Red Admiral over the chrysanthemum. Getting time to see the last butterfly of the year? 2025-09-25 walk from Dunkeld to the Loch of Lowes. A few ravens about, one being pursed by crows. One croaking in a different accent than west coast ones. Maybe a specked wood butterfly near the loch. A red squirrel on the path ahead went up a large beech tree. 2025-09-26 watching a bat in the twilight. 2025-09-27 packing the car, a jay overhead flys to the top of a tall larch. 2025-09-28 Kilpatrick Braes lots of folk so less wild life. A dead shrew, couple of ravens, flocks of pipits. 2025-09-29 Greenside nearly all the bracken turned, autumnal, few flowers open, fox & cubs the exception. Flock of 20-30 goldfinch feeding on grass seeds. 2 crows chasing a buzzard. 2025-09-30 Ardmore several little egrets on north bay. Tide coming in. Bar tailed godwits, a Herron & curlew. 2025-10-01 crossing the Kelvin at Queen Margaret Drive, the trees turning nicely. 2025-10-02 Victoria Park pond, an dabchick following a parent round calling. Begging still? 2025-10-03 Storm Amy heavy rain this afternoon, high winds in the evening. 2025-10-04 Victoria Park in the wind, a couple of trees down. 2025-10-05 Greenside after the storm, occasional breaks in the clouds, duriog one a Red Admiral basking on a dyke. Later a white butterfly flutters around the car. 2025-10-07 Ardmore, lots of birds: bar tailed godwit, curlew, heron, wigeon, goldfinch, greenfinch and more. A small white butterfly. 2025-10-08 A dull afternoon, breezy with the treat of drizzle. Walked round the short loop on the Kilpatrick braes. As I came back on the road by the cattle grid I heard a harsh call from the 'hawthorn field' next to the gate. It kept going and Merlin suggested a jay. I watched for a while and saw one, moving from bush to bush, looking and calling. I could hear a crow and buzzard too. I wonder if they were getting worked up at a cat or fox. Quite a good view through my camera, the distance and dull weather making for a blurry shot. I've not seen jays here very often and mostly retreating. Further down in the horse field, near the drainage ditch I saw a little egret! I've seen a few down the Clyde recently but never away from the shore. Another blurry photo. 2025-10-09 2025-10-10 a dead fox beside the switchback. 2025-10-11 Finlas Loop. Sunshine & mist. Lots of red deer, rutting, stags roaring. Stags moving around quite a lot. Bracken & deer grass red orange. Little flora blooming, a few scabious, ling and one or two bog asphodel still twinkling. Very few insects, daddy long legs, one or two bees and a Red Admiral Butterfly near the farm cottage 2025-10-12 Walk to Jaw a few stonechat, buzzards and ravens lower down, reservoir in mist. 2025-10-14 Round Ardmore lots of widgeon at the far end of south bay when I walked along. 2025-10-15 Greeenside quite afternoon, wrens, dunocks, fox and cubs. A pair of kestrel about the path getting close. Dead shrew and toad on the path. 2025-10-17 Calm & windless but bright yellow lime leaves still fall. 2025-10-18 Strathblane to Slackdhu, flock of fieldfare over the pipe track, one of goldfinch on the hill. Further up the hill pipes, crows, two kestrels and ravens. Some interesting fungi. Possible Golden Spindles which I don't think I've IDed before. On the way back a raven flew round in a large circle, folding its wings, gliding and croaking from time to time. Back at the track and a sparrow hawk over head. The trees are all fully autumnal, would look wonderful if the sun shone. 2025-10-19 2025-10-20 2025-10-21 2025-10-22 walking up the path to our close a house mouse runs across and disappeared into a leaf filled corner. 2025-10-27 walking to Greenside a jay or two in the beech trees keep some branches and orange leaves between us. 2025-10-29 Greenside then onto Cochno hill. A raven & a buzzard near the top the raven came over us & briefly landed on a nearby pylon. Not a lot of life but some gorse in bloom. 2025-10-30 2025-10-31 2025-11-01 2025-11-02 2025-11-03 2025-11-04 over the road jackdaws swarm in the dusk ducking and diving. Together. 2025-11-05 2025-11-06 2025-11-07 2025-11-08 Greenside path. Very overcast and low cloud and rain made the last yellow leaves jump out. Later a low sun. Watched a goldcrest moving around in the bushes. Ravens kronked above. 2025-11-09 2025-11-10 2025-11-11 2025-11-12 Kilpatrick braes, short loop. Low clouds, some drizzle and a few bright spells. Quite warm. Paths like burns after yesterday's heavy rain. On the first field a buzzard hunting. A couple of ravens appeared & moved it off. After the deer fence, under the trees, I saw them again, or another trio. Again the ravens chased the buzzard off. I could hear them kronk and also making an almost electronic 2 note call I've not heard before. Later a jay retreating through the woods. I noticed a few young Scots pines at the edge of the trees & some stonechats on the Muir. Nice walk. 2025-11-13 2025-11-14 2025-11-15 2025-11-16 2025-11-17 2025-11-18 2025-11-19 frosty and clear. Heading to school a jumble of geese moving around the morning sky. 2025-11-20 Frosty again Victoria park pond mostly frozen, gulls and waterfowl clustered around a clear section. By the fossil grove pond quite a few wee birds near a spot clear of ice, blackbird, chaffinch, blue & great tits and a goldcrest seen in a minute or two. 2025-11-21 2025-11-22 along the train tracks on frozen flood and stubble a surprisingly large number of ducks. 2025-11-23 2025-11-24 four male bullfinches in a cherry tree shine in the late afternoon sun. 2025-11-25 Ardmore as the sun was going down, clear sky, high tide, no wind. Shelducks and one egret in north bay, quite a few widgeon around, some whistling. A few herons including one high in a bare tree. Curlew calling. 2025-11-29 Ardinning goosanders on the pond. A raven flew around us low, folding and diving. 2025-11-30 Greenside a wee flock of mail bullfinches. Lots of ravens calling. I watched two land on the field across the Loch Humphrey burn. Zoomed in a dead/dying sheep. A couple of magpies leaving the ravens to it. 2025-12-01 leaving school, a bunch of bullfinches in the beech hedge. Bright sparks in the winter gloom. 2025-12-03 A walk out to Duncolm via Loch Humphrey & Fynloch hill today. Drizzle & mist but pretty mild. A couple of egrets in the horse field. A lot of wee birds in the trees beside the metalled road. I stopped to look for a nuthatch I head but didn't spot it. A gothic looking raven croaking from a bare winter tree on the way back. 2025-12-04 2025-12-05 2025-12-06 2025-12-07 2025-12-08 2025-12-09 2025-12-10 2025-12-11 2025-12-12 2025-12-13 2025-12-14 2025-12-15 2025-12-16 2025-12-17 hedge full of sparrow chatter 2025-12-18 watching blue tits flitting about the magnolia across the bin lane. 2025-12-20 sunny in the park, the Mallard green reflected. One dabchick. 2025-12-22 Dusk, across from the close a blackbird singing in a lime tree 2025-12-24 Just before dawn, song thrush singing loudly in the lime tree across from our close. 2025-12-26 Watched a couple of dabchicks fishing on the park pond this afternoon. 2025-12-27 Ardinning, very close to the edge a male goosander swimming around, head under, then dives. 2025-12-28 A blue tit calling & singing from the top of the pollards over the traffic. Greenside a few bullfinches. A raven lands in a few tufts of sheep's wool, where we saw a couple beside a dead sheep 28 days ago. 2025-12-30 Ardinning, a few mallards & one tufted. A little ice over at least half the loch.