Falls of Clyde Nature Notes

The greys, browns and blacks of winter begin to transform into greens and blues and yellows, with wildlife and plants both taking part in this extreme change.

Here at the Falls of Clyde nature reserve that shift is more obvious than usual. Already some interesting wildlife is being spotted by walkers or even from the viewing windows in our visitors centre.

One of the more interesting sightings recently has been grey wagtails spotted on the rocks along the Clyde at New Lanark. More colourful than their name suggests, their breeding season is from around April to July and they tend to nest close to fast flowing rivers making our reserve ideal territory for them.

Blue tits, bullfinches, chaffinches, robins and even honey bees could all provide a flash of colour to your walk.

PEREGRINES

It is less than week now until the grand opening of our peregrine falcon viewing outpost at the Scottish Wildlife Trust managed Falls of Clyde reserve. Saturday March 24 is the big day and we will have staff and volunteers at the nest site with scopes for viewing the nesting pair.

The peregrine falcons are showing pair bonding behaviour which indicates that it will not be long before they choose this year’s eyrie. SWT will post up-to-date news of the peregrines on their website and the webcam will soon be focused on the nest site.

For information on wildlife, to volunteer at our peregrine falcon site or to report a sighting contact the SWT at our Falls of Clyde Visitor Centre at New Lanark on 01555 665262 or email [email protected].