Crisp and Clear

Longtailed tits flitting about from one tree to another at Penninghame pond today.

They are fantastic wee birds and with all the leaves off the trees now you have a much better chance of actually seeing them! (this is a picture I took a few days ago)

But wrap up warm, it's still very crisp and frosty out there!

Yogi

WAXWINGS!

My day can't get any better than this, I was treated to a fantastically close up view of roughly a dozen waxwings on the way into the forest park this morning. Fantastic! They hung about for a couple of minutes and then flew off.

So if you're out and about in the forest park this week keep your eyes open for a bird that is rare, roughly starling size with a distinctive crest on its head. Pale rosy in colour and a real treat to spot.

Have a good day!
L

Spring has Sprung, surely?!

I'm convinced spring has arrived, yes its still a little chilly but the bird song in the woods today and frogs busily laying eggs in pools of water means, in my book, spring is here and that's something to get excited about!

Penninghame Pond was particularly nice this afternoon, woodpeckers, tree creepers and long tailed tits all flitting from tree to tree.

Another good trail to visit at the moment is Barhill Woods in Kirkcudbright. Its quite a short trail but if you stop to watch the birds and take photos like I do it could take around 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

Yogi

Home tweet home!

Glentrool is great for wildlife watching and now you can do it whilst having a cup of tea in the visitor centre!

These two Swallows have set up home just outside the centre, conveniently near to a video camera we set up earlier in the year which unfortunately didn't get used - well, it did, but as a prop to hold up the Swallows' first nest! So we didn't get any video images of that brood.





It wont be very long before they all have to fly hundreds of miles to their wintering grounds in South Africa. They usually head off in September/October so not long to go!

Keep checking the blog and we will keep you updated with their progress before they go.

Yogi

Unexpected visitor to the forest!

Last week we had a report from a member of the public that there was a big white bird on one of the trails at Kirroughtree, looking a little confused and maybe injured.

So we went to check it out....

Turns out it was a Gannet!!!

As the crow flies it's not that far from the sea to Kirroughtree and we think that the terrible winds of the night before had blown the Gannet off course and into the woods.

We checked to make sure he was ok and that he wasn't injured. He was just just tired and puzzled, and I'm not surprised! We took him not too far away to somewhere he would recognise, the sea, and released him. He sat on the rocks for a while, said goodbye (I'm sure he must have in a Gannet way) and then he was off.

Gannets are truly stunning birds and at their best when diving in to the sea for their tea, which I'm sure our Gannet is doing right now!

Yogi

Clatteringshaws Visitor Centre

Exciting news from our staff at Clatteringshaws who have told me that they have just spotted a Great Spotted Woodpecker on the peanut feeders for the first time this season. I have heard its call close by recently but it hasnt been brave enough to come down to the feeders, until now! The feeders are just outside the tea room so if you find yourselves that way, call in and keep a watchful eye, you may see our feathered friend too!

Yogi