Glasgow's Urban Wildlife - Parks, Rivers & Canals (Day trip)

Summary

Glasgow is affectionately known as the ‘Dear Green Place' – the literal translation of its name from the Gaelic, and the city has a proud history of creating and protecting parks and greenspaces. 

Join tour leader, Bob Elliot, in the west end of the city as he takes you to some unknown corners and hidden gems on this 6 mile walk to discover what can be found in the parks, by rivers, and along the canals on the edge of this major city.

Starting from Kelvinbridge Park and Ride, we will stroll along the banks of the River Kelvin, following it upstream past the Botanic Gardens. Along this stretch we hope to encounter Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail, Grey Heron and a variety of woodland birds. From here we will continue along the river, passing under the Forth and Clyde Canal aqueduct, into open grassland meadows, here the river starts to become more dynamic, with natural rapids and man-made weirs created back in the days of heavy industry. Again, we have very good chances of Kingfisher and Dipper with a possibility of otter sightings.

We make our way over the stone footbridge into Dawsholm Park; this lesser-known green space is fringed by more industrial type buildings, however it’s possible to find a variety of wildlife here, Mallard, Goosander and even Otter have been seen here recently. Despite the proximity to urban Glasgow, there is a real sense of being away from it all, and we will meander our way around the park woodland and open glades, keeping our eyes open for Rose-ringed Parakeets, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Treecreeper, Nuthatch and various other woodland species. A short stop at a small, secluded pond may yield Palmate Newts, if the weather has been mild.

At this point we leave the river and parkland behind us and move down through some new woodland planting. We will scan for Roe Deer which can often be seen in this area.

We may catch sight of the highland cattle resident in the scrubby pastures, the cattle used as part of a conservation grazing project. 

Our return journey will take us along the banks of the Forth and Clyde Canal as it wends its way back towards the city centre. Alongside the path grow a variety of wildflowers in the spring and summer months creating splashes of colour along our route. In the late winter we may see groups of goosander, tufted duck and other wildfowl species; otter have been seen on this section of canal, often in the early afternoon.

We will pause at the side of the canal and scan the old gasometer structures for the early nesting Raven pair, and perhaps catch site of a passing Peregrine. This is another good site for close views of foraging Grey Wagtail around the canal lock gates and Moorhen and Mute Swan in the quieter sections. We shall scan the far bank of the canal for Foxes which are often seen sleeping here during the day and a scan down into the water can often yield sightings of large Pike and Roach.

We will make our way along the canal before cutting through for our return leg alongside the River Kelvin and re-joining our vehicles at Kelvinbridge.

• River species including Grey Wagtail, Grey Heron, Dipper and Kingfisher possible
• Woodland species – Great-spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Eurasian Treecreeper
• Chance for more unusual sightings such as Otter, Palmate Newt and Peregrine