GO WILD – CENTRAL SCOTLAND FALLS OF CLYDE
A shelduck dips its bill in the water Inset: a goosander with its chicks
WINTER In winter, the Wigeon Hide comes into its own. Te views across the salt marshes might give you a glimpse of shelduck, eider and not surprisingly, 2,500 wigeon. Another winter treat is the goosander, which can be seen from the hide. Although closely related to wildfowl and ducks, the goosander belongs to the saw bill family which have a long, serrated toothed like beak, ending in a small hook. Tis hook is used to catch their favoured and staple diet of small fish and trout fry – something of which there is plenty in the area’s natural basin.
Te osprey, a vision in black and white, surprised wildlife experts when it returned to breed in Scotland of its own accord in the 1950s. Since then, the population has recovered and currently stands at about 200 pairs. Ospreys tend to arrive back at their nest sites in April, in time to lay their eggs. Tey remain here throughout late spring and summer, returning south to their wintering grounds in mid September.
2012 SCOTTISH HOSTELLER 43
Spot them
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