Ayr and Loch Doon

I have been carrying out a few Upland Breeding Bird Surveys on behalf of the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) over the last couple of years, so I thought I'd share my experience earlier in June.
The area I survey is near Loch Doon on the Ayrshire/D&G border, and I usually  drive down to Ayr in the motorhome the day before the survey.
I spend overnight in the campsite at Ayr then head off to Loch Doon early in the morning. This normally gives me an afternoon in Ayr to explore the town and the surrounding area.
The campsite is near to the University of West of Scotland campus which sits on the banks of the River Ayr. There is a lovely walkway along the side of the river where you can either head East in to the countryside or West in to the town of Ayr.
On this occasion I took the path towards Ayr Town Centre (was he not a racing driver?):

River Ayr near UWS Campus

It was a pleasant afternoon and the birds were singing; I hadn't walked too far before I heard the tuneful sound of a Dunnock in the bushes, and it was happy for me to film it (for a short while anyway):

A little further along the river you come to a series of weirs; downstream of these weirs the river is tidal and upstream it is quite slow moving.

Weirs on the River Ayr

Water flowing over the Weirs

It was just upstream of these weirs that I managed to film this female Mallard with no less than 11 ducklings:

On the downstream side of the weirs there were even more Mallards (mostly males) busily feeding and a Cormorant drying its wings in the sunshine:

Seemed like this area of the river was a bit like a service station (time for food and a wash and brush up); in fact a little further downstream I caught this Oystercatcher having a good preen as well:

Moving on down the river there are several bridges including rail, road and pedestrian:

Pedestrian Bridge across River Ayr

As you get nearer to where the river joins the sea you can even see the remnants of an old stone-built bridge:

Remnants of old bridge

Beyond this is the harbour area, most of the current harbour activity being on the opposite (North) bank of the river from the town centre and beach.
On the South bank of the river there is still some evidence of previous industrial activity, including this old fishing boat (effectively in dry dock) and a sculpture in steel:

Old Fishing Boat in Ayr Docks

Sculpture in Steel (the art of oxy-acetylene burning)

Ayr (like many seaside towns) has suffered decline in recent decades and some parts of the town reflect this. It was refreshing to see that some re-generation is happening with the construction of some beach front apartments:

Fancy new apartments being built

Striking Beach Front Apartments

And what views they have out their windows!................

The Isle of Arran

Looking North along Ayr Beach

Looking South along Ayr Beach

Although quiet on this day a sunny weekend in the summer can see these beaches get very busy.
I then had a walk through the town before heading back to the campsite.
On my way back I was greeted by this singing Blackbird in the grounds of the UWS Campus at Craigie:

The next morning I got up bright and early and drove to Loch Doon on the Ayrshire/Dumfries & Galloway border to carry out my Upland Breeding Bird Survey.

Towards Loch Doon

I parked up the motorhome and made my way to the survey site which was about half an hour away along a farm track; where I had several gates to negotiate and some livestock:

Sheep on track towards Loch Doon

Belted Galloway Cows in field near Loch Doon

I reached the dam at the Northeast end of Loch Doon, which represents the starting point of my survey:

The Dam at Loch Doon

Now the hard work starts!
The first part of the survey is all uphill over moorland dotted with many bogs.............. luckily I had my wellies on............ but it is still rough going.
I have to record any birds I see, hear calling or hear singing/displaying whilst noting where they are in terms of the survey area. I also have to note the weather conditions and the different habitats within the survey area.
This does not give me a lot of time to get photos or videos of anything, but I like to capture what I can. Here are a few birds I managed to video; firstly some clips of a Curlew that was singing/displaying (you might want to turn the sound up!):

One of the most common birds I see/hear during the survey is the Meadow Pipit, however that doesn't make it easy to video them as they are always on the move or in long grass; here is one perched on a rock however:

Skylarks are also pretty common around here but I always struggle to get them on video as they just get higher and higher in the sky until I can barely see them never mind focus a camcorder on them.
After about 45 minutes I have reached the top of the hill and have completed the first part of my survey, time for a snack break and admire the views:

Loch Doon looking Southwest

Loch Doon looking South

Break over it is time to start the second half of the survey.
I have to walk for about 15 minutes to reach the starting point for the downhill part of the survey......... fortunately it is slightly shorter than the uphill part........ unfortunately it is over more boggy and more rocky ground.
Just at the start of the second part of the survey I saw a pair of Ravens taking off from the ground and flying towards the loch. I managed to capture one of them on video:

Towards the end of my survey, at a particularly rocky area near the edge of the loch I saw a small group of Wheatear on the ground, calling to each other. There were four of them, two adults and two juveniles and I managed to video some of them:

It got even better when an adult Wheatear hopped up on to a prominent rock and started to call:

I carried on down to the water's edge, which was effectively the end point for my survey. As I sat on a rock to have a short break before embarking on the 45 minute walk back to the motorhome I noticed that I had been joined by a juvenile Wheatear on an adjacent rock:

It must have popped over to say "bye bye!" or in Wheatear speak "chack chack!"

Almost three hours after leaving the motorhome to carry out the survey I was back; slightly knackered but happy that I had completed the survey and also filmed some of the birds I had seen. Just a two hour drive home now!

Hoped you enjoyed it without having to do the walking!

Take care

Teddyedward