Newark Castle. Kelburn. Parklea. Ships. Shoreline Birds.

                                                ALL PHOTOS CLICK FULL SCREEN

 

A rainbow. For a change in the blueskyscotland universe it was a decidedly mixed day with heavy showers forecast. As neither Alan or myself fancied getting soaked up a hill we decided on a flat walk from Newark Castle (Fyfe Shore. A small car park just a half km up river from castle, yet still next to the water's edge) Although we've both been in Port Glasgow numerous times neither of us had walked from Port Glasgow up river towards Glasgow the full way. (heading for Langbank) It's a busy photograph.

 

This is taken from the car park with a view of Ferguson shipyard. What made this walk special was the unexpected river traffic heading up and down the River Clyde Estuary on that particular day and also the bird life. It was full high tide so all the birds that would normally be out feeding on the low tide exposed sandbanks were waiting it out in sheltered bays. It was also a very windy day which in mid winter also put us off a hill walk yet surprisingly sheltered and warm along this stretch of coastline. The sunshine coast of Inverclyde! Happily out the wind for most of it.

 

Chemical/ oil tanker Arsland passing us on the walk.

 

At the start of the walk it's a straight flat romp along this boardwalk but once this section is completed it opens out into a series of small sheltered bays.

 

Then a wider expanse of shoreline with playing fields and small woods.

Thought at first these ducks were Pochard due to the brown head...

 

But consulting my bird book they turned out to be Wigeon, a duck I've only seen once before, same as Pochard.... in 50 years of coastal, pond, and river walks. 

 

The small white wing bar and the jaffa orange crest on the head being the giveaway.

 

Further up we spotted what I thought was a large flock of sandpipers but it was hard to get a photo of them as tree branches in front were what the lens always focused on.

 

Turned out to be Redshanks, (I think,) a bird I've seen feeding on the sand and mud flats but always on its own, never in flocks. As I don't go to nature reserves normally and I'm not a dedicated bird watcher, only photographing them on walks, this was a good day's haul of bird life for me. You would think in 50 years of being highly attuned to capture any wildlife encountered though and the number of coastal walks I've done during that time I would have seen a wider/ better range of species.

 

For instance.....Teal... above.  Only spotted twice. Once near Ayr and once in the River Carron marshlands.

 Bullfinch. Spotted only once... that I can remember....in Fife.

Grey Partridge... only once... same Fife day.

Golden eye. Again only once. I know many UK birds have been in sharp decline for decades but at this rate of spotting that puts them in the same extremely rare bird category as Little Egrets. I'm excluding Green Parakeets here as I've seen and photographed them on four occasions now. Yet all the preceding species mentioned are supposed to be fairly common in the UK.

 

Two birds I do see a lot of near the coast are Oystercatchers and jackdaws... and again on this walk.

 

Timber ponds and Dumbarton Rock. In the days before steel hulled ships timber was stored here to season in salt water before it could be used in the various River Clyde shipyards, the skeletal remains of which can be seen to this day.

 The broad green sward at Parklea....

 ...and looking back at our shoreline walk.

 The Serco passing Westcliff in Dumbarton.

 

A rainbow up close. Although we observed various rain showers over the hills and mountains at times we stayed dry all day so a good result.

 

A tug escorting a large ship up river.

On the same route back we stopped off at Port Glasgow's Coronation Park where an impressive modern sculpture sits. A tribute to the shipyard workers of the past... and present.

 

Hammers away. If it doesn't fit always use a big heavy hammer on it. Or even better two hammers. That's my advice.

 

 

With the clouds scudding past at speed due to the wind strength you had the disconcerting illusion, standing directly under this giant, that it was the sculpture that was moving slightly and just about ready to swing it down on you. A very good sculpture for Port Glasgow and a highlight of a modest heritage trail in the town. 

 

On this walk you also get good views of Dumbarton Rock and Castle. And you can visit the nearby Newark Castle. A pleasant jaunt of a few hours duration.

Even though I'm not posting videos anymore... now and again a song I've not heard totally captivates me. This is one. A real classic yet I've never heard it before. This should be as well known as any Beatles song to my mind yet I've never heard it on the radio. I would have remembered it. Although it's easier to get songs on the internet many catchy but fringe modern tunes never get the same airplay on radio or TV, still dominated by previous decade classics, especially the 1960s to the 1990s, probably because they still had a proper music industry then with teams dedicated to promoting all the established acts. This is a real slow grower. Sweeping... epic... sad... but beautiful.   and I've already heard Eleanor Rigby dozens of times in every decade. I live for good new songs I haven't heard before. Miley Cyrus also does a great version of it as well but this is the original....as far as I'm aware.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2m2et4