A very quick walk over lunchtime produced two Goldeneye on Murdieston Loch. Other birds were more-or-less as usual, the winter build-up still awaiting some hard frost.

Forty Whooper Swans were beside the M8 on the way to Erskine this morning. Later, a walk along the Cart produced a Moorhen (not that common locally) and a Kingfisher within 5 minutes of leaving the house.
Clydebirds is reporting that two Green Sandpipers were seen in flooded fields beside the Hurlet yesterday. The list of birds seen in "my" area (Hawkhead / Crookston / Ralston / Arkleston and the Cart Corridor as far as Pollock Park) that I haven't yet recorded is getting quite long:
Jay in Hurlethill Wood
Golden Plover at Arkleston Farm
Green Sandpiper beside the Hurlet
Must try harder!

Today started with two Collared Doves at the entrance to the glade (surely not thinking about nesting already!). Later, a walk along the Cart revealed several flooded sections and a whole collection of unusual occurences and assemblages. Most notable were the following:
At least 17 Collared Doves in one flock (I have never seen more than two together locally)
Several large tit flocks including one containing at least 12 Long tailed Tits
A Dipper on an exposed log near the Leverndale bend
A Kestrel rising with prey from the rough grass in front of Leverndale Hospital
A Goosander under Howford Bridge
Gangs of Fieldfares with some Mistle Thrushes hanging on
An unprecedented 24 Mallards in a tight group
Three to four hundred corvids on stubble.

The flooding threatened by recent heavy rain was not helped by the highest tide I have ever witnessed (reaching almost to the top of the harbour wall at Greenock). As a result, the A8 was partially flooded at Cappielow.
This evening, the Cart was lapping over several sections of the Moulin riverbank, and one stretch of the path was under ankle-deep water.

Wind, Rain, Darkness. More or less says all there is to say about a busy winter's working day in Paisley.

The winds continue to blow from all points, bringing with them lots of rain, unseasonally warm temperatures and a much-twitched Wilson's Phalarope at Musselburgh.

Managed to squeeze in a short stroll along the central Paisley section of the Cart during a very late lunch break. The Mute Swan pair still have their 7 young in tow. I wonder how long it will be before they are driven off.
Collins are publicising their forthcoming title in the New Naturalists series: Books and Naturalists by David Allen (artwork below).