Clyde Muirshiel - Scotland Largest Regional Park

A busy week at Greenock Cut

rangers gcc — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:48:20 +0000

School visits, rockpooling, wildlife surveys, interesting wildlife sightings and 4 seasons worth of weather since Monday have made this week another busy one for the ranger team at Greenock Cut!

About 70 1st year pupils from Johnstone High School visited the Greenock Cut Centre on Wednesday to do pond-dipping, minibeast hunting, games and a quiz around the nature trail. The pupils enjoyed their visit, even though there was lots of squealing from the girls at spiders! At Lunderston Bay, Moorfoot and Treetops Nurseries came along on Thursday and the P1 class from Bishopton Primary School visited on Friday to do some rockpooling with the rangers. They saw some of the colourful residents of the rockpools such as the Beadlet Sea Anemone (pictured on right). Amazingly both groups were able to enjoy actual Spring-like sunshine during their visits!

At the moment it’s sunny and 15°C up here, which is a welcome relief considering there was sleet and snow here on Monday! Now the weather has improved we have resumed vole and butterfly surveys around the area. There still isn’t too many butterflies out yet but if the weather holds then we can expect species such as Green Hairstreaks and Orange-tips to emerge in numbers soon. Summer migrant birds are now back in numbers here too with Swallows, House Martins, Cuckoos (picture on right), Wheatears and Willow Warblers present. Look out for all of these and much more when walking around our trails!

School photography workshops going well

wildlife officer — Fri, 17 May 2013 08:32:00 +0000

Well i’m almost half way throught the delivery of the school workshops. The kids have been learning about the animals that i film as part of the WoW project and developing photographic skills. This week with some classes we have been focusing on macro photography with minibeasts. However, one group of pupils found this newt and as you can see they are really getting to grips with the cameras.

Push the Boat Out

dmosupport — Wed, 15 May 2013 09:35:51 +0000

Ever fancied trying out a new watersport or joining a new club? Well this weekend at Castle Semple Loch is your chance! Try any sport you see out on the water for FREE!!! Choose from sailing, kayaking, canoeing, windsurfing or rowing!

This event is being held in conjunction with all of our local clubs so you can meet representatives and get a feel for club life! Drop in anytime on Saturday between 10am – 3pm.

If you want to try Rowing please let us know what time you will be down by calling 01505 842 882 Ex 20. It’s the same number if you want a little more info on what you will be letting yourself in for! See you there!

Push the Boat Out this Saturday!

dmosupport — Wed, 15 May 2013 09:27:51 +0000

This event is being held in conjunction with all of our local clubs so you can meet representatives and get a feel for club life! Drop in anytime on Saturday between 10am – 3pm.

Moth Night Rescheduled

coa — Mon, 13 May 2013 10:54:59 +0000

The moth night due to take place on Friday 17th May has
now been rescheduled to the 31st May. The event will still
take place at Barnbrock Farm but at the slightly later time
of 9pm-10.30pm.

The cooler temperatures this week would probably reduce
both the amount of moths trapped and the variety of species.
Hopefully we’ll have more suitable conditions towards the
end of the month and you’ll be able to see how colourful
and pretty these little creatures can be.

For further information on booking a place please contact us at
Barnbrock Farm on 01505 614791.

IOM Model Yacht Championships

dmosupport — Sat, 11 May 2013 12:35:34 +0000

Last weekend was the IOM (International One Metre) Model Yacht Championships at Castle Semple! Unfortunately though this is a photograph of last year as the weekend was not very photogenic… The 21 skippers competing were in danger of getting their feet wet due to the rising loch waters!

Still the competition was fierce, the races just as thrilling. The event provided a welcome distraction for those brave enough to face the conditions.If you want to see the yachts in action there are loads of clips from the organisers on Youtube. Simply search for ‘Castle Semple Yachts’.

Water Sampling at Castle Semple Loch

coa — Fri, 10 May 2013 09:54:41 +0000

The staff at Clyde Muirshiel have started the annual summer
monitoring of the water quality at Castle Semple Loch.

The samples were taken on the 7th May and as is usual for this time of
year the most abundant algae species found was asterionella. There are
no health concerns with this type of algae and no trace of blue-green
algae, which can form algal blooms during warmer weather, in May’s
water sample.
Other algae species found included pandorina and scenedesmus pictured
on the right.

Seaside School Visits

rangers gcc — Thu, 09 May 2013 08:50:38 +0000

Last week down at Lunderston Bay, the Greenock Cut Ranger Team recieved visits from 4 different school groups between Tuesday and Friday. But they weren’t just there for the fresh seaside air: they came to take part in that most awesome of beach activities, rockpooling!

First, the P2 class from St Peter’s Primary School visited on Tuesday 30th April. The children were fortunate enough to see some of the inhabitats of Lunderston Bay’s rockpools such as blennies and butterfish plus enjoy glorious spring sunshine! Next came two groups from Moorfoot and Tree Tops Nurseries on Wednesday 1st May, who were shown lots of stafish hiding under the rocks by our Ranger Team. P1 and P2 classes from St Anthony’s Primary dropped in on Thursday 2nd and they enjoyed finding sea anemones, shore crabs and lots of seashells! Finally the P2 class from St Ninian’s Primary in Gourock made the short trip down to the beach on Friday 3rd where they braved the worst of our fickle Scottish weather to find sea urchins, hermit crabs and many more starfish!

All the children from each class enjoyed their time at the beach and we hope to see them visiting here again!

Grasshopper warbler heard at Greenock Cut Visitor Centre!

rangers gcc — Fri, 03 May 2013 09:27:16 +0000

A nice surprise this morning as the three seasonal rangers at the Greenock Cut Visitor Centre got out of their cars to hear a grasshopper warbler singing or ‘reeling’ from the field next to the car park. The song, which gives this species its name, is a monotonous mechanical insect-like reeling. Even when singing this wee bird is hard to locate due to its ventriloquial effect, throwing its song when moving its head when singing. It is a summer visitor to our shores coming here to breed and it eats insects while creeping through dense vegetation although it is rarely seen.

It is a Red Listed species, which means a species that is globally threatened, whose population or range has rapidly declined in recent years. When you visit the Greenock Cut Visitor Centre listen out for this rare bird. No it is not a locust or a grasshopper, it is a grasshopper warbler!

Butterflies and tiger beetles!

rangers gcc — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:04:56 +0000

The first butterfly survey was completed of 2013 at the Greenock Cut Visitor Centre on Tuesday afternoon. This was the first time it has been warm enough to actually walk the survey route! Butterflies seen were one green veined white and two small tortoiseshells. The sunny and warm weather had also enticed out 4 green tiger beetles seen along the Kelly Cut. Look out for the lovely iridescent green beetles scurrying along the sandy stretches of the Kelly Cut path.