Spotlight on park history


THE MAGNIFICENT DARNLEY SYCAMORE SITS JUST north of the country park, opposite the Ashoka restaurant on Nitshill Road. A plaque on the tree reads ‘According to legend Henry Stewart, Lord


Darnley and Mary Queen of Scots, his cousin, sat under this great sycamore tree when she nursed him back to health from an illness.’ Lord Darnley and Mary Queen of Scots were married in 1565, but it seems unlikely they ever sat beneath the tree. For the Darnley Sycamore to have been large enough to encourage the couple to sit beneath it the tree would probably have needed to have been around since about 1450, making it over 550 years old. This does not seem to be the case. The Darnley Sycamore is nevertheless an important tree. It is identified by Forestry Commission Scotland as one of the nation’s ‘Heritage Trees.’


The Darnley Sycamore.


Separating swallows, martins and swifts


THESE BIRDS HAVE LOTS IN COMMON. ALL ARE summer visitors making the 6,000 mile trip from southern Africa to the UK each year to feed on the bounty of insects. All are exceptional aerial birds, feeding and spending most of their life on the wing. Swifts are kings of the air and eat, sleep and mate while flying. Here are some of the key characteristics to look out for:


Swifts are sooty brown all over and appear black against the sky. Their wings are long and narrow, allowing speed and efficient gliding. Their tails are forked, but not as much as a swallows. Listen for their piercing, screaming call. They fly low and fast around buildings, hunting or going into their concealed nest holes. As they have tiny legs and can barley walk they never perch on wires or fences.


Swallows have dark, shiny blue backs, wings and heads, with a red throat and white underside. Their slender bodies have long pointed wings and long forked tails known as ‘streamers’. A twittering song can be heard when they perch on fences, buildings or wires. Often their mud nests are found in buildings, sheds or porches, but unlike house martins, not in the eaves.


House martins like swifts tend to live in urban areas. They build their nests in the eaves making a cup shape using mud and leaving a hole in the top. Their bodies upper parts are a glossy dark blue, like that of swallows, but they have pure white under parts and dark under wings. Their forked tail is not as pronounced as a swallows. If you hear a ‘jik, jik’ and some twittering, it may be a house martin.


Sand martins are similar in shape to house martins, but they have dark brown upper parts with a white underside, divided by a brown chest band. As the name implies they nest in sand banks so are not generally associated with buildings. They have a buzzing call.


Report any problems


Report any fly-tipping, graffiti or antisocial behaviour to the countryside ranger service 0141 577 4053/54.


Outwith office hours call Clean Glasgow 0800 027 7027 or East Renfrewshire ‘Ring and Report’ 0800 013 0076.


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