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Whitelees Windfarm & Eaglesham Moor

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The high upland of Eaglesham Moor straddles the border between the South Lanarkshire, East Renfrewshire and East Ayrshire council administrative districts. Covering a massive area, it encompasses moorland, wetland and woodland, with a diverse range of bird and animal species co- existing with Whitelees Windfarm- the largest facility in Europe. While not a nature reserve as such, the operators of the windfarm have taken steps to mitigate the impact of their facility, at least to date. The impact of their latest expansion remains to be seen, and windfarms in general remain contentious issues for birders. The on- site Ranger service is a major plus- point for the site, however, and have been happy to answer queries regarding birding visits. As of July 2011 their site list was 95 different bird species. The car park at the windfarm offers a good starting point for a day’s birding and walking, heed the car park closing times though. Skylark are in abundance in all areas, becoming more bold farther away from the visitor centre. Meadow Pipit are also present in good numbers. Wheatear have been recorded on the vicinity of the turbines themselves.

The major water bodies are recommended for waders and wildfowl, with snipe and curlew recorded. Raptors, as expected, are present, with kestrel and buzzard being the obvious ones. Less common, but still recorded, are hen harrier and peregrine. Finches have been recorded near the visitor centre and at the wooded areas on site. The forests are worth a look for visiting great grey shrike. The path system covers over 70km in total, although by no means all offers birding opportunities. If you are intrepid enough, there are, though, areas to go ‘off trail’, - care should be taken in areas of marshy ground (I was once mobbed by a pair of curlew while stranded knee deep in a marsh) The site is used extensively by walkers and cyclists, although it could not be described as crowded. In short, a more than decent site, which provides good birding in perhaps an unexpected setting.

Where to Watch Birds in Scotland

Mike Madders and Julia Welstead - 297 pages, b/w illus, maps - Christopher Helm
ISBN: 071365693X
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RSPB Reserve - Lochwinnoch

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RSPB Lochwinnoch Reserve - Largs Road, Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire PA12 4JF - Lochwinnoch RSPB Nature Reserve is situated within Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park, and is one of the largest remaining wetlands in west Scotland. The reserve is ideal for all the family, as the trails and hides and the visitor centre are all easily accessible. Whilst in the centre, you can enjoy a light snack or browse in the RSPB shop which specialises in optics, natural history books and wild bird care products.

Clyde Birds

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Welcome to John Molloy's Clyde Area Wildlife site. The idea behind this web site is to bring together a wealth of information about the Clyde area and I am more than happy to display meeting/outing programmes of any wildlife group within the area and promote any events they organise. This site is not meant to compete with other organisation's sites but complement them by bringing all groups events together and make information available without moving from site to site, which can be time consuming. Links will be placed on the links page to all available relevent web sites, if there are any sites which you feel should be included in the links, please let me know. If you have your own web site and would like to have a link from this site drop me an email and it will be included.