Urban Wildlife

Last week we took a wander through Kelvingrove Park in Glasgow’s west end. As expected there were fairly tame grey squirrels snoozing in tree branches and scampering about on the paths.

Pigeons were a common sight as expected too. However, there were some surprises in store.

A small flock of redwings was making the most of holly berries in the park.

Then down at the river Kelvin we saw a pair of goosanders fishing. We saw this male goosander wrestling with a fish the size of a hand. I wasn’t quick enough to capture the fish on camera but this goosander is struggling to swallow it down here.

Then we saw this dipper, perched on a rock before diving under to catch small crustaceans or small fish. It was blinking in this shot and showing its white eyelid.

This striking grey heron was hunting just beneath a footbridge. Its top feathers looked a bit frosted due to the freezing temperatures.

I was also lucky enough to see the orange and blue of a kingfisher dart past up stream. Super to see in the heart of a city and showing that the River Kelvin is healthy and relatively unpolluted.