This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
on park wildlife Spotlight


Eilidh & Joe’s wildlife witter


WHAT STunninG autumn colours we had! As trees go dormant for winter they lose the green food- making chlorophyll in their leaves. As this green fades we can see the orange and yellow colours of the leaves that have been there all along. Reds are created when glucose in the leaves is trapped and reacts with sunlight and cold nights. So this autumn has been


perfect for beautiful colour. Finally the leaves die and brown waste products are all that remain.


When the rain eventually came, mushrooms appeared. On a walk with Scottish Wildlife Trust we identified 34 different species of fungi in the country park (and we did not even make it into Waulkmill Glen woodland)! Thanks to Graeme Walker


Beech jelly disc.


for sharing his fantastic knowledge with us. One species we saw a lot of was beech jelly disc. As the name suggests, look out for this fungi on dead beech trees.


The countryside rangers saw their first jay in the country park at the start of October. These normally elusive woodland birds come out in the autumn to forage for and bury acorns, to be found again in tougher times. One bird will bury


Looking ahead to 2015 A citizen science project from 2014.


WE ARE BuSy PLAnninG for 2015 in the country park. As well as some of our usual events, including the dog assault course, den building and Halloween activities, we are intending to try a few different things for next year. Look out for our events calendar which will be published early in the new year which will list all of our events for 2015. We will be running a few


events next year through the Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) network. OPAL is a UK-wide citizen science initiative that allows the public to get hands-on with nature, whatever their age, background or level of ability. The Glasgow City of Science partnership became a member of OPAL this year. On the days when the countryside rangers are not holding an event, OPAL


will be running some of their own within the country park, through their community scientist, who is based at the Glasgow Science Centre. During the year ahead the countryside rangers are aiming to study the country park’s mire habitat. Mires are marshy areas which are wet at least six months of the year and have their own distinctive flora. We are also hoping to put up some bat boxes in the country park to increase the number of roosting sites. A major project for our volunteers is to clear out the old curling pond. Currently the pond is heavily overgrown and difficult to see.


The countryside rangers will also be promoting access for horses within the country park during 2015, as well as running an event with the British Horse Society. Finally, we also plan to focus upon encouraging responsible dog ownership, in line with access legislation.


REPORT ANY


PROBLEMS


Report any antisocial crimes in progress to the police on 101


Other antisocial problems such as fly-tipping or graffiti should be reported to the countryside ranger service on


0141 577 4053/54


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


several thousand acorns each year. Also in October we


surveyed our new pond which was only completed six months ago. Already we have found 14 different species! These included: damselfly larvae, dragonfly larvae, water boatmen (greater and lesser), mayfly larvae and great diving beetle. Ponds are brilliant for biodiversity, providing a home, food and water for many species.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4