When you begin birdwatching, the sightings of different species roll in thick and fast. As time goes on, you reach the point where unique spots are hard to come by. Therefore it's always nice to see an unfamiliar bird (or two), particularly on home turf. On a drab winter Sunday, we crossed the Firth of Forth and headed for the Grangemouth lagoons. A journey of less than six miles as the crow flies, but three times as long by car.
We parked close to a water treatment plant and it was just a short walk to the point where the River Avon empties into the Forth. The enormous oil refinery stood nearby. It is the only such facility in Scotland and the vast majority of the country's petrol and diesel is produced here. Despite the industrial landscape around me, I was able to point my camera towards the Ochil Hills and take the serene shot pictured right. Many of the usual suspects were out in the main estuary: teal, redshank, shelduck and black headed gulls. The odd oystercatcher flew by and a few godwits were splashing around. Nicole had brought her new spotting scope and she soon picked out the red-breasted merganser. A striking duck with a serrated bill, the merganser dines on fish and is equally at home on fresh and saltwater. We walked downstream past the lagoons, where we had seen flocks of knot on our last visit. All was quiet today and there was just the ubiquitous mallard in evidence. The lagoons are the result of the intertidal zone being reclaimed in the 1960s. A seawall was constructed and a series of large pipes permit seawater to come and go during each cycle. The habitat offers an important high-tide roost for water birds and is now an integrated part of the Inner Forth ecosystem. Today was also an opportunity to try out the Birda app. Somewhat akin to the birding Facebook, you can log the date and location of sightings on your profile and the software keeps track of your various lists. Badges are awarded periodically and challenges can be taken up. You can add a new session and record your spots in real time. A useful little tool and one that's easy to operate. As we began making our way back to the car, we encountered a couple of fellow enthusiasts armed with scopes. One chap pointed out a whimbrel on the mud flats. This large wader looks very similar to the (more common) curlew but the legs and bill are shorter. The plumage is also a shade darker. It could well be the case that I've seen whimbrels before but just wasn't able to positively distinguish them. The whimbrel breeds in north Scotland and is a passage migrant to other parts of the country in spring and autumn, on its way to and from wintering grounds in Africa. Like the curlew, the conservation status is red.
A new spot for the life list, duly logged on Birda. If that wasn't enough, someone else pointed out two scaup in the middle distance, among a mixed group of birds on the water. Another first-time sighting! A diving duck not dissimilar to the tufted variety, scaups feed primarily on aquatic invertebrates. A mere handful of scaup breed in UK waters and around 6500 spend the winter here. We were certainly in luck today and it seemed as if a hat-trick might be on the cards. The same chap who had pinpointed the scaup thought he saw a spotted redshank on the lagoon fringe but we were unable to confirm this. Nature is full of surprises. The walk alone was a worthy exercise but to register two new spots was a real bonus. We wandered back to the car with a spring in our step and drove along to the Falkirk Central Retail Park for a bite to eat. I decided to check out the old forgotten football stadium, sandwiched between the shopping complex and adjacent housing. Home of East Stirlingshire FC until 2008, Firs Park has become increasingly overgrown following the club's controversial departure. The grandstand and enclosure roof have been removed but the boundary walls remain and the outline of the ground is obvious. Meanwhile the pitch is slowly transforming into a nature reserve. Known affectionately as the Shire, the club competed in the Scottish Football League between 1900 and 2017, spending nearly all of that time in the basement division. They did however win promotion to the top flight in 1963 (for a single season) and also had a spell in the middle tier back in the early 80s. With the advent of the national pyramid structure in the 21st century, Shire eventually slipped out of the SFL and now ply their trade in the Lowland League, sharing the council-owned Falkirk Stadium with the more illustrious Falkirk FC. The fortunes of football teams go up and down but what makes Shire's story interesting is the fact the club was deliberately run into the ground and ejected from the stadium as the owner attempted to piggy-back on the regeneration of the surrounding town-centre land.
Former player Alan Mackin gained control of the club and he reduced costs to the bare minimum, paying the squad almost nothing. This provoked a mass exodus and meant the club thereafter struggled to attract players of sufficient quality. It was a unique example of a Scottish League club effectively choosing to be uncompetitive. Unsurprisingly Shire plunged to the bottom of the table and with the new play-off system looming, the club was living on borrowed time in terms of SFL membership. Mackin's grand plan was to sell Firs Park and pay a substantial dividend to shareholders (mainly himself), while moving the team to an athletics stadium in nearby Grangemouth. In the meantime, Shire began a temporary ground-share arrangement with local rivals Stenhousemuir as Firs Park was vacated and put on the market. Mackin never made his money as residential planning was ultimately refused. He is now stuck with a plot of land for which no used can currently be found. Just deserts, one might say.
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