Birdwatching
and Natural HistoryFacilitator – Glenis Vowles (April - October) tel: 01988 850311 |
Last
updated 27th January |
We have no set day for meeting, preferring to wait on the weather and members' inclinations. We rarely go out together en masse, as different members have different abilities
and in any case a crowd would create too great a disturbance for the birds. Normally
two or three of us will go for a stroll, in woods or along the shore or to the hide at Wigtown, stopping to listen
or just to soak in the peace and quiet of this lovely part of the world.
Initially we tended to concentrate on surveys for the BTO’s Atlas. This not only involved counting breeding birds
but also exploring places that we have never visited before. Lovely walks in forests, along hill paths, by the side of lakes and rivers have been discovered, where an hour’s stroll turns to two as we sit and contemplate the view.
On
10 May a group of eight hardy birdwatchers went to the hide
at Wigtown Bay. Despite intermittent rain, we managed to see
forty-seven species - including this majestic Grey Heron,
photographed by member Alistair Stevenson.
Our June event was catching moths at a small cottage garden
near Sorbie, Newton Stewart. The evening beforehand, Lisa
Ferguson from DGERC came and set two traps - one small one
in the fields and one large one in the garden.
The
weather was not perfect, there being some light rain and
wind during the night, but nevertheless the catch was good.
As well as numberless micromoths and small macromoths, there
were forty-five species of large moths, of which just a few
are shown here.
Left: Elephant Hawk Moth
Right: Poplar Hawk Moth
The moths were caught using MV bulbs over traps filled with
egg boxes. At daybreak, the traps were covered with old
sheets until Lisa and all the members of the group arrived.
At first the number of moths seemed daunting, until Lisa
sorted them out and we soon became familiar with the more
common ones. Some members of the group also belonged to the
Digital Photography Group and they were soon busy taking
photographs of the more photogenic moths.
Left:
Buff Tip
Right: Small Magpie
As well as moths, there were a lot of other bugs too, but
these held only passing interest. The beautiful moths held
everyone enthralled.
Our July excursion was to the Threave Wildlife Festival.
Again, the weather was inclement, but we were well prepared
with waterproofs and it was all under cover in marquees
within the gardens.
The
Festival was well laid out, with experts in different fields
giving talks and/or demonstrations in different marquees
from 11 in the morning till nearly 5 in the afternoon. Even
when there wasn't a talk or demonstration going on, the
marquees had exhibitions of all forms or wildlife with
somebody on hand to answer questions. In between showers,
there were walks in the gardens, identifying "bugs".
There
were experts on bee-keeping, moths and butterflies, and
mammals, as well as the wardens of various reserves and
stalls selling relevant guide books - although there were so
many booklets given away in the marquees, that only the
really special books appealed to our group.
Despite the weather, we had a very enjoyable day and came
away with armfuls of literature and thought-provoking
material.
Through our "mothing" in June and the excursion to Threave Wildlife Festival, we made useful contacts in SWT, DGERC and Buglife.
Our first event in August was with Graham Smith, at the
Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) reserve
of
Knockman Woods, just north of Newton Stewart. Some of us
remembered him from our visit to Knowetop Lochs, where
we had seen so many invertebrates and lizards. In
Knockman Woods, too, we caught a wide variety of
invertebrates which were quickly identified by the
numerous experts on hand.
The event was well attended, with several SWT members
bringing along their children - the next generation of
natural historians!
The
day after our visit to Knockman Woods, we went to Burrow
Head to take part in a nationwide whale-dolphin-porpoise
watch.
We were met by members of
DGERC (
We
had always puzzled over the difference between a dolphin and
a porpoise, but the identification cards soon made it clear.
We didn’t see any cetaceans,
but it was a glorious day, with blue skies and calm seas and
good company.
Also in August, about twenty people attended the
moth-trapping event at Barstobrick on Saturday 20th. Ella
McLellan was our expert. 
Two
traps had been set the evening before, one in the marshy
area below the visitor centre car park and the other,
'Rolls-Royce' Robinson trap, in the wooden tower because of
the wind. Owing to the gusty and rainy conditions overnight,
the numbers and varieties of the catch were probably
affected, but there were still twenty-one species of moths
recorded.
Left: Ear Moth
These included burnished brass, green carpet, rosy
rustic, dark arches and a recent incomer to the area, buff
footman, as well as regulars like yellow underwing. There
were also several interlopers, mainly caddis-flies but also
a sexton beetle. There were no hawkmoths, unfortunately,
but this was an entertaining couple of hours, with plenty of
expert advice on hand and access to books and leaflets.
Note that during Winter and
Spring your contacts are Ann Sackree on 01671 403812 or
Celia Strain on 01465 821333.
Next meeting:
There is no meeting in February but a mini-bus has been booked for Saturday 17th March for a tour of West Galloway to see the geese. Elizabeth Tindall and Paul Tarling will be leading the tour and Ann will need a deposit of £5 to secure places; the final amount will depend on how many attend. Please contact Ann on the above number for further details and to book a place.