A country walk is a great environment in which to observe birds but I also enjoy a visit to a managed nature reserve. The RSPB - of which we are members - have many sites around the country, ranging from unmanned areas of wilderness to tourist friendly centres with full catering facilities and exhibitions. Today we travelled to Renfrewshire to explore the reserve at Lochwinnoch. We had been once before and today we had arranged to meet up with Nicole's friend and her family.
The village of Lochwinnoch can be reached by leaving the M8 just beyond Glasgow Airport and driving another nine miles down the A737. Living in West Fife, a clear run on the motorway allows us to hit the centre of Glasgow in just 45 minutes, which meant it took just over an hour to arrive at the reserve. While the Edinburgh city-bypass adheres to the ring road principle, the M8 barrels right through the middle of our largest settlement and the western part of the Central Belt is readily accessible to us - high speed all the way. It ain't necessarily pretty but it gets you to where you want to go. One of the few wetlands left in this part of Scotland, RSPB Lochwinnoch is the perfect place to watch whooper swans, wigeon and a wide variety of ducks during winter months. It's also a rare example of a reserve directly served by train as Lochwinnoch Railway Station is just a few minutes walk away on the Glasgow to Ayr line. I checked out the RSPB shop as we waited for our companions to arrive. Being members enabled us to avoid the £3 admission charge and I perused the selection of bird pin-badges, plumping for an avocet and a teal. They cost £1 each and I always buy a couple whenever I get the chance. The metal birds are affixed to my woolly hat and I had 24 such emblems at the last count. The ultimate aim is to cover the entire surface and I suppose I'd then have to source an RSPB scarf for the overflow. Jennifer and Colin rolled up in the car park, along with their bairns (or weans as they say in these parts) and we headed out on a trail alongside Castle Semple Loch. We saw several cormorants out on the water along with assorted ducks. One of the main reasons for coming was the sighting of a smew over the last few days, Nether I nor Nicole had ever seen this little white diving duck before. It is described on the RSPB website as a winter visitor in small numbers from Scandinavia and Russia. After scanning the loch with our binoculars, Nicole exclaimed she had spotted it among the goldeneye. I located the distant white figure and attempted to take a photo for ID purposes. I was at maximum digital zoom and the result was a rather indistinct white blob but enough to convince several knowledgeable birders online that they were in fact looking at the outline of a smew. A new life spot for Nicole, and not the only one for the day as it turned out.
A few trains rushed by as we walked to the reserve limit and back again. We passed a pool where the water was stained orange due to iron oxide deposits. A humorous sign informed readers they were looking at the fabled source of our other national drink - Barr's Irn Bru! It was a chilly day and a hot chocolate from the visitors centre was in order. Both children - Morgan and Harley - seemed to be enjoying themselves and they learned a few new facts about nature. Another path led away from the main entrance to an alternative loch viewpoint and we saw a few long-tailed tits buzzing around. Upon our return, we said goodbye to our friends and then climbed the stairs to the observation tower overlooking the reserve. A scope was available for visitors to use and as I was roving across the water through the lens, Nicole asked me to take a look at a bird of prey that was flying across our field of vision. I had it in my binoculars and then reached for my camera bag. By the time I was ready to shoot, I had lost the bird but Nicole was fairly sure it was a hen harrier. We confirmed this suspicion against the illustration chart on the wall and also spoke to the reserve manager downstairs, who said they did indeed get visits from the hen harrier on at least a semi-regular basis. Another life spot duly logged. Who said birding was boring? There's always something doing at a nature reserve.
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