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Iain,hi.

Thanks for this. I had no idea the reserve existed there. I always thought that it was part of the old quarry site when reading about it on here.

I'll make a point of checking it out when I'm over in the summer. I'll be staying at my brother's who lives in the Mount Pleasant, only about half a mile away.

JD.

PS; Might be nice if you could give me a guided tour when I come. I'll buy the first round in the Shell afterwards.

PPS; Maybe an idea for the reunion organisers to put that on the list of activities.

Hi,

I’d be very happy to give you - or a bunch of folk - a guided tour of the reserve. Do feel free to get in touch closer to the time.

Iain

A tour would be a super idea. Iain, I will PM you separately once I talk to the other organisers.

Meg

A pair of Common Frogs making their way to Gavin’s Wee Pond about three or four years ago. Unless the weather is cold, March is frequently the month when Gavin’s Wee Pond is at its busiest, with hundreds of frogs and toads present in and arond the pond.

Looks like frog porn to me.

Hi 5eulbdog7,

I actually thought there was a 10% chance that someone would say something like that - and a 99% chance that someone would be you!

Frogs don’t get up to any hanky panky until they’re actually in the water (it would be biologically impossible, because the eggs are fertilised after they’re in the water). However, some sneaky males pounce on females en-route to the breeding ponds in order to guarantee at least one breeding opportunity when they arrive (and a free ride to the pond doesn’t hurt either!).

Attached is a photo of a sea of Viper’s Bugloss growing on the Ardeer Peninsula a couple of years ago. On summer days, these wildflowers are synonymous with the pleasant humming (or ominous droning, depending on your outlook!) of hundreds of Honey Bees and bumblebees. One of the pictures shows a ‘fasciated’ plant (details of the phenomenon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasciation).

Froggie went a-courtin and he did ride,mm-hmm. Froggie went a-courtin and he did ride in Gavin's pond by the road side mm-hmm.

I walked through Kerelaw Glen today and spotted two dippers together. Both sitting on the rocks where the overhanging tree with the swing is.

Also a grey wagtail a bit further along.

Hi,

That sounds promising. I guess that upstream and downstream of the riverside path there's quite a bit of habitat that's relatively undisturbed and might act as a bit of a refuge when nesting gets underway. However, birds being birds, it wouldn't surprise me if they did something daft and nested within a few metres of the tree swing!

Iain

In the sixties dippers were often seen in the burn. They regularly nested in the stretch below the High Kirk. The water quality of the burn declined and Kerelaw glen could easily have been called airgun alley.They are very conspicuous and hence were easy targets. Glad to say that to-day the water quality is much improved and the attitude of the police to all guns has made the place safer for all of our fellow creatures.

A suburban Roe Deer in a Stevenston garden about three years ago. Stevenstonian Roe Deer are famous for being particularly brazen!

ebbe_skovdahl wrote:I walked through Kerelaw Glen today and spotted two dippers together. Both sitting on the rocks where the overhanging tree with the swing is.

Also a grey wagtail a bit further along.

I was there on Saturday too!! My first spot was a grey squirrel.

Who is responsible for removing trees from rivers by the way?? The ones in the Kerelaw Glen have been there a wee while now.