Midweek Outing – Threave Nature Reserve 5/6/24
I was feeling a bit apprehensive as this was my last trip as Midweek Outings Organiser and the weather was not looking good. At best we would be having showers.
After picking up the minibus, we arrived at Anniesland quite early but there were some of the group already waiting there and all but two arrived a good bit before the 9.30 deadline. Sarah, being new, texted to say her bus was stuck in traffic and not to go without her, which left Seona still to come. I knew Seona would have let me know if she was going to be late and sure enough, she arrived dead on 9.30. We started off our list with birds seen at Anniesland – Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Lesser Black-backed Gull and Feral Pigeon.
The trip down to Galloway was uneventful, with no new birds identified due to the showers. They were not as frequent as expected until we got to Loch Ken, when a heavy shower decided to accompany us all the way to Threave. Much to our surprise (and delight) it stopped raining as I was parking the minibus and apart from one shower in the afternoon, it remained dry and sometimes sunny as well.
After everyone had dispersed to the toilets and checked out the birds round the Visitor Centre buildings, we started off walking back the way we had come in on the path that led to Threave Gardens. From both sites we added Barn Swallow, Buzzard, Great Tit, Blackbird, Red Kite, Starling, Tree Sparrow, Black-headed Gull, Rook, House Sparrow, Swift, Mallard, Wren, Song Thrush, Robin, Chaffinch, Willow Warbler, Dunnock and Blue Tit to the list – and all before lunch!
After lunch we headed down to the first hide beside the River Dee spotting Reed Bunting, Cormorant, Pheasant, Sedge Warbler, Common Sandpiper and Treecreeper on the way, but the best bird as far as I was concerned, was the female Peregrine sitting on top of the old castle. I had heard peregrine calls on my recce the week before but didn’t see any. From the hide we could also see the nest of the non-breeding pair of Ospreys, with one of the birds in view. From there we walked along by the river, then along the boardwalk over the wet grassland to the hide with a view of the breeding Osprey nest. We could see one bird sitting low in the nest, which must have been quite deep, and while watching, it came up to the edge of the nest looking about as if it had seen or heard something. We saw a bird approaching which we thought was its partner, but it turned out to be a Red Kite, which the Osprey chased off – exciting stuff. We waited a while but the partner didn’t appear so we visited the two other hides in the woods which gave high level views across the reserve, but only added Mute Swan and Goldfinch to the list. The walk back to the Centre through the woods was quiet with only Chiffchaff and Blackcap heard. Back at the Visitor Centre we added Herring Gull and House Martin to the list.
On the way back (via the café at Threave Gardens for tea/coffee and cake) we saw Great-crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Collared Dove and Pied Wagtail from the minibus so ended up with a very credible total of 43 species seen & heard.
Finally, I would like to thank the group members who have turned up to Midweek Outings through all weathers for their support and good company. They have made the outings very enjoyable regardless of how many birds we see.
Agnes Gunn