Our book to mark the 50th anniversary of the club has been published and is available from A.M.Grieves, Newsagents, High Street, Moffat and a few other outlets. Alternatively you can order by post and for this you should contact Iain directly for an order form and pricing information. We also have souvenir button badges (50p each) and car window stickers (£1.50 each) showing the new club logo. These are only available from A.M.Grieves and, again, mail order can be accommodated if you contact Iain.

15th January 2012
From Iain -
December 2011 - Lost most sightings so the only records that I have are 3 Black Grouse seen by Garry Tait between Tweedhopefoot and Tweedsmuir on the 7th. A Red Kite was seen around Kilbrook Farm, Wamhray and a male Blackcap was seen by Mr Scott in the Frenchlands Drive/Crosslaw Burn area.
2012 January - Two Mute Swans appeared at our reserve on the 4th to join the 50 Mallard and 12 Teal and before the rest of the team arrived Garry Tait watched the "tagged" male Golden Eagle pass by. A male Lesser Redpoll was seen by Jessie Watson in her garden up St Ninians Road on the 6th. While leading a guided walk on the 7th Garry watched a Short Eared Owl in the Cauldholm area near Beattock and Ms Sharp of Dundanion Road had her first ever sighting in her garden of a Great Spotted Woodpecker and was also being visited by a hen Pheasant like a number of people in the town. A male Goosander paid a brief visit to our reserve on the morning of the 7th.
At the Club meeting on the 13th there were a number of records including two Otters seen along the River Annan north of the Station Park towards the former Sand Martin colony near the old School Playing fields, while in the Annanside area a Rat was seen and a Fox visited a garden in the Mill Burn area. Different locations for the "tagged" Golden Eagle were reported including Kinnel Head, Talla, Fruid and now at Tweedsmuir. Scott and Janet Little were down at the Quarry that day and saw 14 Canada Geese, 2 Mute Swan and 2 Grey Herons. While working at the reserve on the 14th the Kingfisher paid a visit only to find a large part of the reserve was frozen though there was enough open water for the bird to fish.

And from Dave Bradshaw on 8th January - 10 Fieldfares 1 Redwing in the field in front of our house this morning. And (date unknown) - went on to Caerlaverock, no Green Winged Teal but had 4 European White Fronted Geese, Tree Sparrow, Yellowhammer, etc. Had both Green and G S Woodpecker at Ae Forest with 8 Crossbills

8th January 2012
Despite the poor weather, our stalwarts have been busy down at the reserve. More unwanted trees have been felled. An industrial wood-chipper has been hired and used to chip up a considerable quantity of the branches from the felling and the smaller trunks. The fair old quantity of woodchips obtained is now being used to refurbish footpaths.
For those of you who wondered what the effects of two hard winters, followed by the prolonged wet spell from the summer of 2011 onwards, may have on our bird population then the answer seems to be 'not a lot'. Records for the last three years of bird sightings at 18 Greenwood Close have been compiled. You can view the results by clicking here. (This is a 242kb PDF file so you should be able to view it easily)

29th November 2011
The unidentified moth reported on 15th October (below) is now identified! Keith Naylor, County Moth Recorder for D&G, confirms it to be a 'Beautiful Plume' (Amblyptilia acanthadactyla). Apparently only eight had been recorded in D&G prior to 2011 but this is the 12th recorded this year! Our thanks to Peter Norman, Bioversity Officer for D&G, who alerted Keith and of course to Keith for his confirmation.

22nd November 2011
Dave Bradshaw reports a Barn Owl alongside forest at Gilberts Rig (just before the Beef Tub) on the 12th and then on the 20th at Earshaigs 42 Fieldfare, Mistle Thrush, Sparrowhawk, 6 Crossbills, Bullfinch, Siskin, Coal Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Chaffinch and a Dipper from the Earshaigs road bridge.

And a summary from Ian -
"Sandra Wilson from Newbank Farm, Beattock reported seeing a single Tree Sparrow at her bird feeders on the 10th. At the Quarry Reserve on the 12th were the following : 3 Grey Heron, 2 Buzzard, 3 Little Grebe, 24 Mallard, 22 Teal, 2 Goldeneye, 10 Common Snipe, 2 Meadow Pipit and 2 Goldfinch. A couple of days later Red Squirrels were reported from two locations in the Roundstonefoot and Shortwoodend area up Moffat Water, though the observer also reported that she had seen Grey Squirrels at Dumcrieff. Garry heard a Barn Owl calling from the Ballplay Road area on the evening of the 16th and earlier in the day had seen 3 Pochard and a Tufted Duck at the Quarry Reserve and the following day there were 7/8 Canada Geese at the same location.
On the 19th at our reserve there were over 20 Teal, 40-50 Mallard and the Kingfisher was heard, while over at the Quarry were a Cormorant on the raft, a Little Grebe, a male Tufted Duck, a female Goldeneye and 2 Teal.
Three Greyhens were seen above the Snow Wood, or Geddeshaw plantation to give it its proper title, on the 19th and though two were shot I hope that there are more and some Blackcock too. A number of sightings in the area "suggest" a reasonable population but one does have to really get out and look hard for them.....wish I had the time.
One or two Bramblings appear to being seen at a small number of locations in the area which is good and Coal Tits seem to be a more regular garden visitor and also in better numbers. So keep your eyes open for something different."

20th November 2011
A couple of new items have been added to our website. You should see two new buttons on the left. The first is one for 'local weather' and uses a free gadget from the Met Office - may be useful to some of you! Then there is a new 'Articles' one giving you access to two new articles, one on wasps and the other about the 'Lint Pool' down at the Community Nature Reserve. Hope you enjoy them.

17th November 2011
From John - our garden in Greenwood Close can sometimes throw up surprises. This morning we had a Treecreeper, not exactly a rarity, but a bird we usually see only a few times a year. While watching it climbing the pine tree I became aware that one of the wee birds up in the branches was different from the usual collection that use the branches as a 'staging post'. Grabbed the binoculars and saw it was a Goldcrest! First one I've seen this year and very much a rarity in the garden. Not to be outdone, my brother, Bob, then saw a male Blackcap dotting about! Rather late in the season for them but there does seem to be some overwintering now. An exciting day!

10th November 2011
From Peter Dreghorn -
All change at Borders Forest Trust. We have a new Director and are looking for a new Site Manager, in the meantime come planting on Saturday 19th November. Meet at the Moffat Ram at 9.45.am bring lunch and warm/waterproof clothes. Let me 07810505323 or Nic Hunt 07939177511 know if you are
coming.

And from Andy Riches (County Mammal Recorder) -
There will be a Badger Blitz in the Torthorwald area, east of Dumfries next week (Monday 14th to Friday 18th November). Anyone can take part. Whether you have previous experience of badger surveying and would like to help or if you have never seen a badger sett but would like to learn how to find one. There MAY also be a visit from Brock Vaccination, a group that work in England trapping and vaccinating badgers against Bovine TB which should be very interesting.
If you would like to take part, for a day, half a day, or the whole week than please contact Andy Riches, Scottish Badgers Advisory Group at slioch69@aol.com or 07792-142446 for further details. If you are unable to make this one then a further blitz will be taking place in February/March next year.
Although the primary target is badgers we will also be looking out for signs of other mammals to add to the county records.
This is a good opportunity to get some free training (Normal IEEM cost £150) completely free and to help find and protect wildlife in D&G.

2nd November 2011
From Iain today -
"I went down to the reserve at 10am and heard some small birds "chirping" around the feeding station at Jocks Hide and when I put my binoculars on them to my delight I saw a Tree Sparrow, then another and was well pleased as we have been hoping that we could attract this lovely wee bird to the reserve and is obviously a new record for our reserve.
Also around the feeders were 3 Nuthatch, 5 Coal Tits, a female Reed Bunting and numerous Great Tits, Blue Tits and Chaffinches. On the wetland area were 50-60 Mallard, 16 Teal, 8/9 Moorhen, 1 Grey Heron and an elusive Kingfisher was in the vicinity, heard but not seen. Two Jays were in the wood and three Buzzard overflew the reserve. Three Water Voles were seen in the wetland area.
A visit to the Quarry reserve produced a female Goldeneye."
From Dave Bradshaw on Saturday, 19th Oct - flock of 41 Fieldfare over Hope Johnston Park in the afternoon.

17th October 2011
Updates from Iain -
7th - Garry heard a number of Whooper Swans moving over during the night and while down at the Reserve, Jock reported 4 Teal on the middle pond and a Lesser Redpoll feeding on Rosebay Willowherb.
8th - While working at the Reserve in the morning Iain, Garry and Scott saw 4 Whooper Swans fly over, 5 Teal on the middle pond with over a dozen Mallard, with a Jay, three Buzzard and a flock of over thirty Siskin thrown in for good measure.
On arriving home a count of Chaffinches in the garden amassed to over 250 and the Bramblings have not even arrived yet !!
A Red Kite was seen in the Wamphray are.
11th - A juvenile Whooper Swan hit cables in the Dyke Farm/Barnhill area and probably the surviving sibling was seen on the Quarry lochan.
12th - A Grey Squirrel was seen at Valenciennes, Auchen Castle by Mary Morham and another reported the following day up the Gallow Hill, which is disappointing as the Reds have started to make their way back to this area after a long absence with a number being seen including a youngster just recently.
15th - A flock of 145 Fieldfare and 3 Jay at the reserve with good numbers of Redwing around and Meadow Pipits also on the move. 60 odd Mallard and at least 6 Teal on the reserve. The Lapwing flock over the Quarry reserve numbered 50 birds. A flock of 20 Long Tailed Tits moved through the trees on the High Street in the early morning.

(date unknown, possibly 16th) - Stella reports a flock of over 20 fieldfare yesterday on Lambhill walk near golf course at 2pm. Today flock around 25 long tailed tits on hedge at Kirkburn at 8.30am

And from Ken Hines - Approx 50 fieldfares around football pitch at Beattock on 15th Oct and Red Kite seen flying across M74 Near Johnstone Bridge on afternoon of 16th

16th October 2011 (updated)
From John - visited both reserves this afternoon as it was a nice sunny pm, not the best time to see birds! On our reserve, main pond had about 30 Mallard, 2 Teal and 2 Moorhen. Middle pond had 8 Mallard and 2 Moorhen. Woodland pond had 2 Mallard that took flight as soon as I appeared. This is the first time I have seen ducks on all three ponds on the same day. Perhaps our new flight paths and vegetation clearing is having a good effect! Not many small birds around, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit and a Robin. Was surprised to see a Buzzard parked on top of an Alder at the side of the flight path we opened up between the Woodland Pond and the field! This is the first time I have seen one actually ON the reserve. Over at the quarry (Community Reserve) there were 2 Mallard, 1 female Tufted Duck, 8 Goosander and 1 Cormorant. There were 3 Jays in the trees by the car park and a fourth busy chasing a crow away over the meadow area. One Red Admiral butterfly dotting about. Iain said there was a flock of about 20 Lapwing over there yesterday but no sign of them today.
Update - should also have mentioned that, on both reserves and on the farm, there was quite a few rabbits obviously suffering from myxomatosis. This unpleasant disease will undoubtedly have a devastating effect on the number of rabbits in the area.

15th October 2011
Our new book was launched at last nights meeting with Jock signing books for an hour before the start of our 'normal' meeting. Attendance was unusually high with additional people coming in to purchase books. The adjacent image shows Jock signing books for David & Betty Colville. When our normal session got under way, Jock gave a talk, accompanied by his excellent photographs, on owls to start off the evening. Instead of our usual 'tea break', the meeting then adjourned for an excellent buffet and the remainder of the evening gave the opportunity for everyone to chat. A very enjoyable evening.

And today John photographed a very pretty micromoth that had paused briefly on the car. No identification at this time. Day-flying by these doesn't seem to be all that common but, not being an expert, perhaps they are! Click on the image for a bigger version.