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[edit] Overview

Situated within the Clyde-Muirshiel Regional Park, Lochwinnoch is one of the few remaining wetland sites in west Scotland.

[edit] Birds

[edit] Notable Species

The visitor centre, with its viewing tower and telescopes, gives good views over the marshland and loch, where in the winter you may see a wide variety of wildfowl and goosanders. In the spring, Great Crested Grebe and Northern Lapwing can be seen displaying and Sedge Warbler can be heard singing in the marshland.

[edit] Rarities

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[edit] Check-list

Birds you can see here include:

Fieldfare Grey Heron Cormorant Mute Swan Mallard Tufted Duck Goosander Treecreeper Goldfinch Buzzard Blue Tit Great Tit Coal Tit Robin Goldeneye Greenfinch Long Tailed Tit Snipe Whooper Swan To do

[edit] Other Wildlife

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[edit] Site Information

[edit] History and Use

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[edit] Areas of Interest

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[edit] Access and Facilities

The reserve is ideal for all the family, as the trails, birdwatching hides and visitor centre are easily accessible. A programme of events is run throughout the year. You can also enjoy a light snack or browse in the RSPB shop.

Grid reference: NS358580

[edit] Contact Details

Tel: 01505 842663

[edit] External Links

• RSPB Lochwinnoch
• Lochwinnoch on Streetmap

Content and images originally posted by glasgowbirder

[edit] Reviews

glasgowbirder's review

I've stressed the pros above as I don't want to be overly critical of Lochwinnoch. It would be a fantastic place to take a young family or someone who was maybe in a wheelchair as there is a good viewing area where you can see a good variety of garden birds and the woodland walk is pleasant and but not very long.

The large feeding area in front of the window in the visitors centre does attract a large number of birds but it�s a bit like feeding time at the zoo. To my mind its not the same as a spot "out in the wild".

You would think that the up close birds would make for good digi-scoping (especially for me -then on my second outing with all my kit). The staff though seemed to think I was just in the way. There's a recently built photographic hide but it also housed a wasp's nest (now boxed in) and I'd already set up and was ready to to start snapping away when I was asked on no less than 3 separate occasions if wanted to move through to the new hide. It wasn't particularly busy and I wasn't in anybody's way so I politely declined. Subsequently one of the members of staff was rude to me when purchasing a Mars bar. Bizarre.

There is also limited viewing from the other hides. There's just not much in the water. I have seen Grebes displaying here but quite how that justifies the amount of money the RSPB have pumped into this place I don't know.

Unless you're stocking up on bird food or on a toilet stop give this place a miss. Barons Haugh reserve is a bit more rough and ready, doesn't have a visitor centre, or a warden it is about equi-distant from Glasgow Central Station and has friendlier twitchers and more importantly more numerous and rarer birds. Pros

• 5 minutes from Lochwinnoch station. RSPB Shop. Telescopes. Good for children. Bird feeders bring dozens of excellent garden birds up close. Toilet and food facilities.

Cons

• Almost no birds to look at on the loch. No circular walk. Staff attitude to digiscopers (see below)

gordon mid's review plenty of wildfowl on the loch in autumn and winter months, tufties, pochard, wigeon, teal, golden eye,etc. and the occasional scaup . closer views from the hide than the visitors centre. Always found staff pleasant and helpful. Pros

• good paths
• good views from the two hides on the trail

JTweedie's review

This was the first place I ever visited which made me realise there were more to birds than Feral Pigeons and Starlings (although nothing wrong with them!) On my first ever visit a Pheasant was seen running along the path just ahead of me, a bird I hadn't seen until that time. I've got plenty of other lifers there too, birds that I would see very often now, including Reed Buntings, Goldeneye, Goosanders, Pochard, Teal, Wigeon, Little Grebe, Snipe and many more.

There does seem to have been a lot of change to the area in the past few years, especially to Aird Meadow. First of all, one of the hides got burnt down - this hide was a good alternative to the present two hides as it gave you a real alternative view of the reserve, including viewings of parts of the reserve normally hidden away. The water appears to be much higher now, I don't know if this has made it less attractive to some birds - Great Crested Grebes used to be easily seen - apparently they're still there, but I've only seen them once in the past year. A couple of artificial islands seem to have been removed too - these used to hold Black-headed Gulls, but you only see these now as they pass over from the neighbouring Castle Semple Loch.

For me, the best thing about the reserve is not the loch itself, but the small strip of woodland running around it - I've seen many species here, including Spotted Flycatcher, Treecreeper, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Bullfinch, Goldcrest, Great Spotted Woodpecker and many others. I see people rushing along the paths to get to the hides, but they're missing out on a rich abundance of birdlife around them.

The reserve is good for Common Buzzards, and occasionally Hen Harriers visit.

I too wish the path went right around the loch, that way you could also see into Castle Semple Loch, but this may not be done as this part of the reserve may be to give some shy birds space to nest.

If you're concentrating on what's on the water, then you're best visiting in the winter when there's normally a lot of wildfowl, including occasional Whooper Swans. Pros

• Ease of access
• shop facilities

Cons

• Very quiet in summer
• can get very noisy when school groups are in