by Donald Wilson
Week 1 (Jan 1st - 5th)
Hawfinch © Andrew Russell
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The first notable bird of the year on the grapevine for 2025 was a Great White Egret recorded by Rick Bolton who is a regular at RSPB Lochwinnoch. This was followed later in the day by a brilliant record of a Hawfinch seen by another local patch watcher Dave Ritchie off New Trows Road, Lesmahagow. This is only the second record for South Lanarkshire.
With generally milder winters the Clyde region has increasing numbers of overwintering warblers such as Blackcap and Chiffchaff. A female Blackcap was reported frequenting Jim Coyle’s Anniesland garden on the Wednesday 1st. Clyde region hosts a number of breeding Peregrine and anyone wishing to get their New Year list off to a flier can visit the University of Glasgow Spire where the Glasgow Peregrine Project is based and this is where the female “Bonnie” was seen on Thursday 2nd. The overwintering Snow Goose was again seen leaving its Lochwinnoch scrape roost as dawn broke on the 2nd before David Horsburgh struck patch gold again with a superb find of the 3rd record of American Wigeon for Balgray Reservoir. With an American Wigeon regularly reported at Newshot Island again this winter, this gave us the distinct possibility of two drake birds being in Clyde this winter. Later in the day, the Newshot bird was still present and confirmed by John Sweeney. |
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In 2024 it is thought there could have been 7 pairs of breeding Hen Harrier, however all I believe failed to fledge. Despite this we have good areas to observe this magnificent bird and two males were seen by Linden at RSPB Loch Lomond on Sunday 5th.
As we reached the end of the first weekend of the year, the Snow Goose and Hawfinch were still being reported and two male Blackcaps reported in a Giffnock garden courtesy of Barbara Grimmond. In South Lanarkshire one male Brambling was reported in a Lanark garden and a female seen on feeders in Ewan Stevenson’s garden in Symington, Biggar. |
Kestrel © Frank Gibbons
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Once you take all the resident species that had been recorded in the first few days of the year, the running total of bird species recorded by the end of week one January 2025 was 118* (117 confirmed)
Baron’s Haugh continued with its superb record of wintering Green Sandpipers with four being recorded by regular patch watcher John Dryden along with an over wintering Little Egret. This once rare, then scarce bird is now a regular at many sites in Clyde. John also reported an unseasonal Black-tailed Godwit also at Baron’s Haugh. The same day, a drake Pochard was recorded at Barr Loch by Kevin McCormick.
Anyone looking to observe some of the scarcer gulls locally can’t go wrong with an early morning or pre-dusk visit to Strathclyde Loch. A 1st -winter Mediterranean Gull and the local Little Egret were reported by Andrew Russell on Friday 3rd. John Sweeney had one of the overwintering Yellow-legged Gulls at Newshot (to be assessed by SBRC) as well as an adult winter Mediterranean Gull.
You can’t go wrong with a winter visit to Ardmore point to get your new year birding off to a good start and Alex Nicol is a regular observer at Ardmore. He reported an adult Peregrine successfully hunting a Razorbill on Saturday 4th and a minimum count of six Slavonian Grebe. Ardmore North Bay is a very
good spot to see Peregrine. Sandy McNeil was in the same vicinity and reported Clyde's first Red-necked Grebe of 2025. This species remains a scarce bird in Clyde with perhaps only one or two records annually. From the 4th it became clear there were two Hawfinch at Lesmahagow.
Anyone looking to observe some of the scarcer gulls locally can’t go wrong with an early morning or pre-dusk visit to Strathclyde Loch. A 1st -winter Mediterranean Gull and the local Little Egret were reported by Andrew Russell on Friday 3rd. John Sweeney had one of the overwintering Yellow-legged Gulls at Newshot (to be assessed by SBRC) as well as an adult winter Mediterranean Gull.
You can’t go wrong with a winter visit to Ardmore point to get your new year birding off to a good start and Alex Nicol is a regular observer at Ardmore. He reported an adult Peregrine successfully hunting a Razorbill on Saturday 4th and a minimum count of six Slavonian Grebe. Ardmore North Bay is a very
good spot to see Peregrine. Sandy McNeil was in the same vicinity and reported Clyde's first Red-necked Grebe of 2025. This species remains a scarce bird in Clyde with perhaps only one or two records annually. From the 4th it became clear there were two Hawfinch at Lesmahagow.
Week 2 (Jan 6th-12th)
Throughout the week a blanket of freezing temperatures swept the country and within Clyde it remained bitterly cold all week with temperatures down to at least minus six or lower. Whilst it was very cold, the high pressure meant bright clear days with little wind, and it made for good birding - although it did mean that many of the local inland water tables, lochs and ponds were completely frozen over, with many waterfowl dispersing.
Monday 6th saw the Snow Goose roosting in the Lochwinnoch area, this time at Castle Semple Loch, flying off at 08.18am. However, similar to when RSPB Lochwinnoch froze in December, the Snow Goose has since moved away. Will it be back again when the milder
weather returns?
Scott Black had two Barnacle Geese along with an approximate count of 1,300 Pink-footed Geese near Loudon Pond, Douglas Water in South Lanarkshire. The Hawfinches continued to be reported daily throughout the week, although elusive at times.
David Ritchie reported the drake Smew at Broadwood Loch, on an ever-decreasing body of water due to the freezing temperatures, while Tony Baker reported at least seven Tree Sparrows with accompanying Lesser Redpolls coming to feeders on the Linburn/Millfield footpath in Erskine. The
former species is definitely on the up in Clyde due to the various Tree Sparrow projects within our region. A true conservation success story for a species that was rapidly disappearing and with the prospect of becoming locally extinct. Well done to all those involved!
The female Mandarin Duck was recorded at Rouken Glen Park along with four Wigeon via Ian Doig, and the popular american Ring-necked Duck was again seen at Victoria Park Pond reported via Jim Coyle from the Victoria Park Facebook page.
Sandy McNeil reported up to six Mandarin (four males) on the River Leven at Balloch on Tuesday 7th while now sixteen Wigeon were still at Rouken Glen (reported by David Clugston). Another bird that is increasing in Clyde is Raven and Gary Williamson had one over Broadwood roundabout, Cumbernauld. All records of this corvid are greatly received especially of birds on territory or breeding.
An adult Yellow-legged Gull was reported at Strathclyde Park. Once these records are assessed* it may prove to have been a good winter for this
species in Clyde. I have been reliably informed there is less than sixty records of this species in Scotland with Clyde (and in particular John Sweeney) supporting a considerable percentage of all Scottish records!
Wednesday 8th, the middle of the week, saw Ian Fulton reporting the wintering Great White Egret at Net Bay, Loch Lomond. Newshot on the Clyde again proved to be a rewarding site with a putative second winter Iceland Gull seen in flight and photographed by John Sweeney, along with a great
record of eight Yellowhammer. South Lanarkshire again proving to be a hot spot for Brambling with David Edgar finding 50 near Symington and Scott Black finding seven male birds at Broadfield Farm, Symington. A visit to Lanark Loch produced two Water Rail while John Forbes saw the Ring-necked
Duck at Victoria Park.
Monday 6th saw the Snow Goose roosting in the Lochwinnoch area, this time at Castle Semple Loch, flying off at 08.18am. However, similar to when RSPB Lochwinnoch froze in December, the Snow Goose has since moved away. Will it be back again when the milder
weather returns?
Scott Black had two Barnacle Geese along with an approximate count of 1,300 Pink-footed Geese near Loudon Pond, Douglas Water in South Lanarkshire. The Hawfinches continued to be reported daily throughout the week, although elusive at times.
David Ritchie reported the drake Smew at Broadwood Loch, on an ever-decreasing body of water due to the freezing temperatures, while Tony Baker reported at least seven Tree Sparrows with accompanying Lesser Redpolls coming to feeders on the Linburn/Millfield footpath in Erskine. The
former species is definitely on the up in Clyde due to the various Tree Sparrow projects within our region. A true conservation success story for a species that was rapidly disappearing and with the prospect of becoming locally extinct. Well done to all those involved!
The female Mandarin Duck was recorded at Rouken Glen Park along with four Wigeon via Ian Doig, and the popular american Ring-necked Duck was again seen at Victoria Park Pond reported via Jim Coyle from the Victoria Park Facebook page.
Sandy McNeil reported up to six Mandarin (four males) on the River Leven at Balloch on Tuesday 7th while now sixteen Wigeon were still at Rouken Glen (reported by David Clugston). Another bird that is increasing in Clyde is Raven and Gary Williamson had one over Broadwood roundabout, Cumbernauld. All records of this corvid are greatly received especially of birds on territory or breeding.
An adult Yellow-legged Gull was reported at Strathclyde Park. Once these records are assessed* it may prove to have been a good winter for this
species in Clyde. I have been reliably informed there is less than sixty records of this species in Scotland with Clyde (and in particular John Sweeney) supporting a considerable percentage of all Scottish records!
Wednesday 8th, the middle of the week, saw Ian Fulton reporting the wintering Great White Egret at Net Bay, Loch Lomond. Newshot on the Clyde again proved to be a rewarding site with a putative second winter Iceland Gull seen in flight and photographed by John Sweeney, along with a great
record of eight Yellowhammer. South Lanarkshire again proving to be a hot spot for Brambling with David Edgar finding 50 near Symington and Scott Black finding seven male birds at Broadfield Farm, Symington. A visit to Lanark Loch produced two Water Rail while John Forbes saw the Ring-necked
Duck at Victoria Park.
Brambling © Alistair Fleming
Winter is a good time to see Woodcock with several being reported in flight particularly at dusk. Tony Baker reported one near the Inchinnan Bus Depot. Our resident birds are supplemented by wintering birds from the continent and hence the winter being a good time to record this species. There are not
many records of breeding Woodcock in the region so this is another species to look out for on an evening moorland walk later in the year.
The adult Ring-billed Gull was reported via Birdguides at Strathclyde Country Park for the first time this calendar year - this one is proving to be somewhat elusive so far this winter. A drake Ring-necked Duck was found by Mark Hartshorne on Woodend Loch, opposite Drumpellier Park, North Lanarkshire. Does this mean there could be two male birds in Clyde this winter?
Thursday 9th saw a Ring-necked Parakeet reported at Millichen along with four Tree Sparrows. Both species are breeding in this area and increasing within Clyde. At Bishopbriggs Park, Stuart Watson had a record of two Little Egrets which remained for several days, and Dan Snowdon, warden at
RSPB Lochwinnoch, also had one there.
Friday 10th saw John Sweeney visiting Blackstoun Farm, Linwood which is now under threat from a proposed solar farm, and had, surely, a nationally significant count of at least seven hundred Skylark. Accompanying them were minimum counts of three hundred Chaffinch, and seven hundred Linnet,
another significant record. Of course it’s no wonder with so many passerines present the area attracts raptors such as Peregrine, Sparrowhawk and wintering Merlin.
Again a first winter Mediterranean Gull at Strathclyde Country Park was reported by Scott Black and an adult at Cardwell Bay by John Sweeney. A ringtail Hen Harrier seen and photographed by John Hutton over the Allander Walkway, Milngavie was a welcome record and again any sightings of this species are very important and submission would be greatly appreciated. Do include as much detail as possible such as direction of
flight and whether it was seen hunting, perched, roosting etc. Any records can be added to Birdtrack and marked confidential so only the local recorder/s can see the record.
As we reached the weekend, Allan Russell recorded the drake American Wigeon back at Newshot Island on Saturday 11th after it hadn’t been seen for a few days (as well as a nice record of a wintering Black-tailed Godwit), while David Clugston had another drake American Wigeon at Waulkmill Glen
Reservoir. Saturday also saw a superb find by Stuart Watson of a Pale-bellied Brent Goose at Lochwinnoch, and a male Hen Harrier at Longhaugh Point recorded by Brian Gallacher. South Lanarkshire patch watcher Scott Black had a first winter drake Scaup on Mainshill Quarry Pond, Douglas.
many records of breeding Woodcock in the region so this is another species to look out for on an evening moorland walk later in the year.
The adult Ring-billed Gull was reported via Birdguides at Strathclyde Country Park for the first time this calendar year - this one is proving to be somewhat elusive so far this winter. A drake Ring-necked Duck was found by Mark Hartshorne on Woodend Loch, opposite Drumpellier Park, North Lanarkshire. Does this mean there could be two male birds in Clyde this winter?
Thursday 9th saw a Ring-necked Parakeet reported at Millichen along with four Tree Sparrows. Both species are breeding in this area and increasing within Clyde. At Bishopbriggs Park, Stuart Watson had a record of two Little Egrets which remained for several days, and Dan Snowdon, warden at
RSPB Lochwinnoch, also had one there.
Friday 10th saw John Sweeney visiting Blackstoun Farm, Linwood which is now under threat from a proposed solar farm, and had, surely, a nationally significant count of at least seven hundred Skylark. Accompanying them were minimum counts of three hundred Chaffinch, and seven hundred Linnet,
another significant record. Of course it’s no wonder with so many passerines present the area attracts raptors such as Peregrine, Sparrowhawk and wintering Merlin.
Again a first winter Mediterranean Gull at Strathclyde Country Park was reported by Scott Black and an adult at Cardwell Bay by John Sweeney. A ringtail Hen Harrier seen and photographed by John Hutton over the Allander Walkway, Milngavie was a welcome record and again any sightings of this species are very important and submission would be greatly appreciated. Do include as much detail as possible such as direction of
flight and whether it was seen hunting, perched, roosting etc. Any records can be added to Birdtrack and marked confidential so only the local recorder/s can see the record.
As we reached the weekend, Allan Russell recorded the drake American Wigeon back at Newshot Island on Saturday 11th after it hadn’t been seen for a few days (as well as a nice record of a wintering Black-tailed Godwit), while David Clugston had another drake American Wigeon at Waulkmill Glen
Reservoir. Saturday also saw a superb find by Stuart Watson of a Pale-bellied Brent Goose at Lochwinnoch, and a male Hen Harrier at Longhaugh Point recorded by Brian Gallacher. South Lanarkshire patch watcher Scott Black had a first winter drake Scaup on Mainshill Quarry Pond, Douglas.
Wigeon © Ian Doig
John Dryden had an excellent count of 175 Wigeon at RSPB Baron’s Haugh along with two Green Sandpiper. Allan Taylor re-found the presumed Broadwood Loch drake Smew on the River Clyde at Uddingston.
Sunday 12th saw Alex Nicol report an adult drake Scaup at Dumbarton Rock while Allan Russell reported the same bird as part of his WeBS count on the other side of the Clyde at Langbank. Allan also noted one Knot at West Ferry, a single Greenshank at Finlaystone Point, another at Parklea and
one Slavonian Grebe off Newark castle.
An adult or second calendar year male Hen Harrier at Net Point, RSPB Loch Lomond was seen by John Dryden and one Little Egret remained at Bishopbriggs Park from Peter Hodgson. Rounding off the week, Andrew Russell reported a superb five Mediterranean Gulls at Strathclyde Park
just before dusk.
So another busy week in the Clyde. What will the remainder of January bring?
The Clyde list for 2025 now stands at 133* (132 confirmed) with the following additions this week:
Sunday 12th saw Alex Nicol report an adult drake Scaup at Dumbarton Rock while Allan Russell reported the same bird as part of his WeBS count on the other side of the Clyde at Langbank. Allan also noted one Knot at West Ferry, a single Greenshank at Finlaystone Point, another at Parklea and
one Slavonian Grebe off Newark castle.
An adult or second calendar year male Hen Harrier at Net Point, RSPB Loch Lomond was seen by John Dryden and one Little Egret remained at Bishopbriggs Park from Peter Hodgson. Rounding off the week, Andrew Russell reported a superb five Mediterranean Gulls at Strathclyde Park
just before dusk.
So another busy week in the Clyde. What will the remainder of January bring?
The Clyde list for 2025 now stands at 133* (132 confirmed) with the following additions this week:
| Brent Goose | White-fronted Goose | Smew | Red Grouse | Jack Snipe |
| Greenshank | Turnstone | Knot | Ring-billed Gull | Yellow-legged Gull* |
| Iceland Gull | Green Woodpecker | Goshawk | Merlin | Twite |
A full current species list, month by month for 2025, can be viewed here - the order and nomenclature follow the Clyde list.
We welcome any corrections (e.g. if we have credited the wrong person with a sighting - please do get in touch at: https://www.birdsinclyde.scot/contact-us.html