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Scotland North Lanarkshire

You will notice that there is no introduction to this section yet.

I would like to fill this gap with an introduction from a local birder [or someone who is a frequent visitor] for every one of the geographical pages. The many thousands of birders now regularly using these pages prefer to read something written by someone who can see the place from an insider's point of view. They know the best spots, not just the ones that first time overseas visitors usually visit or that are on the normal birding trip itineraries.

Each introduction carries the e-mail address of the contributor so that birders can get in touch with them if, for example, they are planning a trip [unless the contributor is unable to do this].

Please get in touch if you feel you can contribute an introduction to this page - you don't have to be an expert; I'm not!

top sites

Baron's Haugh RSPB Reserve

(NS754554)Baron's Haugh is situated south of Motherwell and bordered on the south side by the River Clyde and has 4 hides overlooking the main Haugh. The reserve has all year interest but the winter produces large numbers of waterfowl, which have included American Wigeon and Green-winged Teal in recent years. Good numbers of Wigeon, Teal, Gadwall, Shoveler, Pochard, Tufted Duck and Goldeneye are present most winters as well as variable numbers of Whooper Swans. The Marsh Hide is the best site I know of to see Water Rails, sometimes feeding in the open if there is mud showing, Kingfisher are also fairly regularly seen at the pool to the right of this hide. Raptors seen at the reserve regularly include Peregrine and Sparrowhawk as well as Short-eared Owl and the occasional Hen Harrier. Large flocks of winter thrushes can be present in the winter and also occasional Willow Tits, mainly around the Phoenix Hide area. In spring/summer Common & Lesser Whitethroat, Garden Warbler, Blackcap and Grasshopper Warbler come in to breed, as well as the breeding water birds, which include Little & Great Crested Grebe, Gadwall, Shoveler and Kingfisher. Spring occasionally produces Garganey; a pair was present during May 2002. Autumn migration can be superb if the water levels are right and has included Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Little Stint, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, Snipe, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin and Redshank as well as large numbers of Lapwing. Spotted Crake have also been recorded from the Marsh Hide during this period.

county recorder

Iain Gibson
8 Kenmure View, Howwood, Johnstone, Renfrewshire PA0 1DR
01505 705874
c/o jim.val@btinternet.com

useful reading

Where to Watch Birds in Scotland

Mike Madders and Julia Welstead - 297 pages, b/w illus, maps - Christopher Helm
ISBN: 071365693X
Buy this book from NHBS.com

reserves

RSPB Reserve - Baron's Haugh

http://freespace.virgin.net/jimmy.maxwell/
Baron's Haugh is an important community nature reserve on the edge of Motherwell (Map Sheet 64 Grid ref : NS755548). Managed since 1983 by the RSPB (present site manager � Mike Trubridge) it comprises 107.3 hectares of richly varied habitats. The main water body (20 hectares) is controlled by a sluice enabling waterfowl to nest in safety and also areas of mud to be exposed for passage waders. The other habitats include marshland, woodland, meadows, parkland, areas of scrub and a section of the River Clyde.

trip reports

Travelling Birder
http://www.travellingbirder.com
The Travellingbirder.com birding trip report search engine guides you to 7,000+ birding trip reports on the Internet. You can search for trip reports from a specific country and time of year. Not all these reports are in English. So, if you can�t find the trip report you want on this Fatbirder page� give them a try!

places to stay

Rosslee Guest House

http://www.ukbed.com/glasgow+clyde/rosslee.htm
Rosslee Guest House is a former Victorian church manse which is now a comfortable, family run guest house situated between Glasgow and Edinburgh. The town of Airdrie is situated 12 miles from Glasgow, 35 miles from Edinburgh, 17 miles from Stirling and 14 miles from Lanark. The M8, M80 and M74 are all within 10 minutes drive of the house which makes it an ideal central location for exploring the Central Belt and the Borders of Scotland. Pam and Alan McFadzean look forward to welcoming you to Rosslee and to making your stay comfortable and enjoyable.

Bean Geese in Central Scotland

http://www.bean-geese.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk
Bean Geese were once the most common of the grey geese to visit Scotland in winter. At the turn of the century however their numbers started to decline sharply and they are now uncommon.

Clyde Birds

http://www.clydebirds.co.uk
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.