Allan Russell
@arnaturegeek
Scottish birding and nature liking person plus B.Sc and M.Res ecology graduate. All views expressed are my own. He/him 🐦⬛🐺🐋🐍🦋🌱🍄🏴
Eclipse update: cloud. Love living in Scotland where we rarely get to see astrological phenomena!
The Red-footed Falcon at Aberlady Bay was just too tempting so popped over on Friday morning. A very pleasing lifer for me!
It's been getting on my nerves that I haven't been able to find any Quail this year despite the huge influx into the UK. This one singing away unseen today near Newshot Island was found by someone else last week, so I'm pleased it did the decent thing and lingered #BirdingScotland #ClydeBirding
A nice wander last weekend around the Hamiltonhill Claypits in Glasgow, and good to see plenty of butterflies including multiple Small Skippers. Always amazes me that this site is a stones throw away from the city centre!
Always great to hear the 'spinning coin' song of a Wood Warbler, from Muirshiel Country Park a couple of days ago #BirdingScotland #ClydeBirding
Singing Reed Warbler hiding in the reedbed at Newshot Island this morning. With Sedge Warblers also back here plus Garden Warbler elsewhere on the local patch and an overnight arrival of Whitethroats, that makes all the regular local patch warblers back this year #BirdingScotland #ClydeBirding
Finally snapped and went to twitch the White-billed Divers in Fife, and lucked in with 2 showing distantly but clearly from Dalgety Bay this morning. A lifer for me, very impressed with them as they looked like Great Northerns on steroids! #BirdingScotland
A blustery and very quiet WeBS count on the Clyde Estuary last Sunday. Numbers of everything were ranging from poor to non-existent, with most numbers staying low all winter. At least this pair of Wigeon were showing nicely #BirdingScotland #ClydeBirding @webs-gsmp.bsky.social
A nice day yesterday leading the SOC local group outing to Linwood then my local patch at Newshot Island. Good patch birds present at the latter in the form of a female Long-tailed Duck and 3 female Scaup but couldn't pick out the American Wigeon among the Wigeon horde #BirdingScotland #ClydeBirding
None too shabby totals for the RSPB #BigGardenBirdwatch in Erskine on Friday. Good to see the finch horde making an appearance
and very welcome successful breeding by Spotted Flycatchers. Also a superb bird and reptile-filled holiday to Morocco! Hope you all have a great bird and nature filled 2026 when it comes!
View over the rhubarb fields at Blackstoun Farm this afternoon on a lovely, crisp early winter day. 1000+ Chaffinches, 400+ Skylarks and 170+ Stock Doves around these fields, plus managed to eke out at least 3 Bramblings among the finch hordes #clydebirding #birdingscotland
Surprised to see this tame Shag during my Clyde Estuary @webs-gsmp.bsky.social count on Sunday. Seemed alert and active so hopefully not afflicted with avian flu. Slavonian Grebes, Great Northern and Red-throated Divers and Greenshanks among the best of the rest noted #birdingscotland #clydebirding
Fair to say I was surprised when this Glossy Ibis appeared today at Castle Semple Loch when I was about to head home #birdingscotland #clydebirding
A decent few days on North Ronaldsay last week. Sunshine was welcome but gusty south winds made it tough going at times. Some good birds seen, including Quail, Barred Warbler, Black Redstart, Snow Buntings, Pied Flycatchers plus Hen Harriers and plenty of waders #birdingscotland #orkneybirding
It's been a really strong autumn so far on the local patch. This Willow Warbler at Newshot Island recently was one of good numbers noted across the local patch within the last month, along with large nos of common warblers and small nos of Whinchats, Tree Pipits and Spotted Flycatchers #ClydeBirding
Local patch birding recently has been all about return passage waders, but there's also plenty of butterflies to keep me distracted. This was one of about a dozen Commas on the local patch on Sunday (a recent colonist), plus found a couple of new colonies of Purple Hairstreaks recently
Pleased to finally confirm my 1st Narrow-bordered 5-spot Burnet moth on the local patch yesterday! Plenty of 2nd gen Small Tortoiseshells, Meadow Browns and 1 very fresh looking Comma also noted
One of 135 flowering spikes of Greater Butterfly-orchid I counted in a local grassy patch today. I had previously thought there were only a handful there! @bsbibotany.bsky.social
Visit to Lochwinnoch RSPB in the pouring rain this morning, likely my final visit before the visitor centre closes later this month. Little Ringed Plovers, Redshanks, Lapwing, Mandarin Ducks, Shovelers, Wigeon, Teal and Spotted Flycatcher among the birds noted #clydebirding
Nice but damp trip to Inversnaid today. Pied Flycatchers and Redstarts showed well despite the midge hordes, plus plenty of breeding songbirds and common migrants. Gladdened the heart to see lots of dead rhododendron there, hopefully the clearance work will be successful!
Lovely views of a pair of Whinchats (record photo of male) at Muirshiel CP on Saturday. Multiple Cuckoos and Spotted Flycatchers about there plus good numbers of butterflies, which included some frighteningly early Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries #clydebirding
An overall decent bank holiday weekend of birding. East Loch Lomond-side on Saturday produced my 1st Pied and Spotted Flycatchers and Wood Warblers of the year, but bird numbers fairly low there (Wood Warbler/Tree Pipit nos worryingly so)
Good if dreich day at the Crom Mhin and Loch Lomond RSPB. An injured Greenland White-fronted Goose was unexpected, otherwise good numbers of the common warblers, a few Tree Pipits, Redstarts, loads of displaying Snipe and still 130+ Pink-footed Geese present #clydebirding
1st butterfly and 1st bumblebees of the year today! Amazing how much better everything is with a bit of nice weather #spring
Nice to catch up with the male Ring-necked Duck in Glasgow yesterday in Victoria Park, 1st time I've seen him in a few years #BirdingScotland
Today's @rspb.bsky.social Big Garden Birdwatch totals. Good variety and a Song Thrush was a real highlight, but just 1 Chaffinch was poor and a continuing worrying lack of House Sparrows
A decent @btobirds.bsky.social WeBS count on Sunday on the Clyde Estuary. A drake Scaup and a Slavonian Grebe were welcome highlights, while these Wigeon and a Redshank friend showed well at Parklea #birdingscotland