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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Some insects from the Inverclyde coast today: Andrea bee species; Hummingbird Hawk-moth; Common Red Soldier Beetle and Eurasian Clearwing.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

A few sightings from today's walk through Pollokshaws.

Pale mauve Broad-leaved Helleborine flowers.

Broad-leaved Helleborine growing against a wall.

Red Valerian flower head made up of a cluster of tiny, shocking-pink florets.

A black bodied and winged caddis fly with very long antennae clinging to a ragwort leaf.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Some highlights in the accompanying montage. Best birds were Spotted Flycatcher, Crested Tit, Tree Pipit, Raven, Peregrine and crossbill sp.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Sunrise from the Queen's Park flagpole at 04:32. Sunset in Central Glasgow at 22:06. In between, a good walk between Nethybridge and Glenmore.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

Some beetles from Culter Glen yesterday... first two are Click Beetles, third is a Heather Beetle.

Dark olive-green beetle resting on a finger.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

Some of the Rhododendrons in Rosshall Park, Glasgow today.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

A female Goosander with eight ducklings was a nice find back on my old patch of South Cardonald. Also had my first local Swifts of the year - two over Shawlands at tea time.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

The Rhododendrons at Balloch Country Park were looking amazing today. A Stoat was an interesting addition to the day's sightings.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

It is peak Rhododendron season in Queen's Park, Glasgow. Some lovely colours on show.

A montage of sixteen photographs of showy blooms ranging in colour from white through cream, yellow, pale pink and mid pink to cerise.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Still the local daffodils keep giving - these three were near Crookston Castle in southwest Glasgow.

A primrose-yellow daffodil flower with a "double" centre.

A white daffodil with a very short, orange-fringed yellow trumpet. This variety is probably Pheasant's Eye (Narcissus poeticus 'recurvus').

A daffodil flower with a pale yellow corona and a deep yellow, very full "double" centre.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

Really great to meet the @Walking4hope team doing their epic John o' Groats to Lands End walk near Grotaig, Highland yesterday. Great efforts from John and the boys for a very important cause. www.walking4hope.org

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

The progress of spring in the north of Scotland is a little behind that in the south, so I was able to enjoy my second bloom of late daffodil cultivars in the Highlands today.

A montage of nine photographs of daffodil flowers with yellow, pale yellow or white petals and yellow, orange or white trumpets.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Some flowering plants in Lunderston Bay, Inverclyde today....

The cluster of white flowers of Garlic Mustard surrounded by it's red-tinged, jagged-edged leaves.

The pink, bottle brush-like inflorescence of Common Butterbur.

The intense cerise flowers of Salmonberry.

The leafless, bract-covered stems and composite, golden-yellow flowers of Coltsfoot.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

...however a Comma butterfly nearby (my first in Scotland) was a more positive example of species expansion.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

The Cherry blossom on the Meadows in Edinburgh was more or less at its peak when I visited yesterday.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Moschatel - not an easy plant to find in the Glasgow area in my experience. Therefore great to find these in Capelrig Glen, Newton Mearns today.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Some woodland flowers from the weekend: Few-flowered Leek; Ramsons; Bluebell; Wood anemone. Kelvingrove Park and Linn Park.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

I have now found Snake's-head Fritillary flowering at five sites around Glasgow in the past two weeks. All deliberately introduced, I'm sure, but apparently persisting with little or no active cultivation.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

With the Daffodil season nearly over, I took the opportunity of a short trip to Gowanbank, East Ayrshire to capture just some of the variety still on show...

A montage of sixteen photographs of single daffodil flowers, eight with yellow coronas and either yellow or orange trumpets and eight with white coronas and either yellow, cream, orange or white trumpets.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

... I also came across two bamboo hedges. I didn't know there was such a thing!

Both images show hedges made up entirely of bamboo plants, roughly trimmed to chest height.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Having come back to Glasgow overnight, I got a surprise today at how much more colour there is around Queen's Park and Strathbungo....

A collage of colourful flowers - most of them garden escapes including Flowering Currant (pink), Grape Hyacinth (blue), Lesser Celandine (yellow), Darwin's Barberry (orange), Japanese Kerria (golden), Honesty (fuchia), Boissier's Glory-of-the-snow (white), Fritillary (plum) and Marsh Marigold (yellow).

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

A few flowers were fully open when I checked today...

The characteristic, bell-shaped, purple and pink checked flower of Fritillary.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Also in Queen's Park today, the buds of a couple of Pear trees are beginning to burst. A great excuse to enjoy again the lovely 'crocodile-skin' bark of these old trees.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

The flowers of the Snake's head Fritillaries in Queen's Park, Glasgow are just on the point of opening. They are in a little glade that was created as a memorial to adopted southsider Moira Jones.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

Flowering plants from RSPB Loch Leven and LNR Hogganfield Loch: Lungwort, Winter Aconite, Daffodil and Marsh Marigold.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Today's spring colour came in the form of Elfcups (possibly Scarlet) and flowers of Barren Strawberry, Snowdrop and Abraham-Isaac-Jacob.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Everyday there seems to be a little more colour around southwest Glasgow. Here are some of today's finds (1/2).

Deep blue, long-petalled flowers of a Squill species borne on long, black stems.

A yellow, dandelion-like flower of Coltsfoot borne on a bare stem with no leaves but covered in olive green, scale-like bracts.

A delicate, white flower of Blackthorn with its five oval petals, green sepals pushing through between them and a jumble of many long, white, yellow-tipped anthers projecting from its centre.

The familiar yellow flower-head of a Dandelion species against a background of dead leaves and green ivy.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

Some of the plants I found in flower in Queen's Park, Crosshill, Govanhill and the Gorbals today (1/2).

A montage of white, yellow, blue and pink flowers (nine in total). Names in next message.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

... and the last four. They are Euphorbia, Lungwort, Lenten Rose, Common Chickweed, dandelion agg., Cherry Plum, Common Snowdrop, Lesser Celandine, two Daffodil cultivars, flowering Quince and Blackthorn (3/3).

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

Some plants in flower in Pollokshaws from the past few days...(1/3)...

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

A few pairs of Common Frogs were spawning in the nature pond in Queen's Park, Glasgow today, trying to stay under the radar of any Grey Heron, Magpie or other, would-be predator.

The two greyish-brown heads of a pair of frogs only just breaking the surface of a pond, surrounded by Iris shoots and already-deposited spawn.

A similar photograph but taken from behind the pair.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Oh, and here's the view from up there - an amazing reward for a fairly short climb.

View over rough grass and gorse bushes to the southern suburbs of Edinburgh with Edinburgh Castle standing out in the middle distance and the coastline of Fife beyond the River Forth in the background.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Crocuses and Snowdrops continued to provide the main botanical interest during a walk in the Braid Hills, Edinburgh today. However Winter Aconite and Giant Butterbur were welcome additions.

A montage of colourful spring flowers consisting of Sping Crocus (purple), Winter Aconite (yellow), White Crocus (white), Giant Butterbur (pale green), Common Snowdrop (white) and Gorse (yellow).

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Spring colour in Clarkston today... and the view from the Aiden's Brae viewpoint.

Partially-open, cup-like flowers of a yellow Crocus with spikey, narrow, dark-green leaves, each with a pale green stripe down the middle.

Two white Snowdrop flowers, their outer petals splayed to reveal the inner petals with white-bordered, green tips. A tiny fly is standing on one of the flowers.

An open, pale-purple Crocus flower with orangey-yellow stamens.

A view over much of south Glasgow with blue hills in the distance, all under a cloudy but partly blue sky.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Just a few glimpses of colour in Langside, Glasgow today: Common Snowdrop and Yellow Brain fungus.

Two nodding Snowdrop flowers, each suspended by a thin green stalk with white outer and inner petals and a green "hoseshoe" on each inner petal.

An oraney-yellow growth of fungus on a thin branch, the growth being roughly spherical in shape with folds and indentations like the fissures of the brain.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

Daffodils at last coming into flower in south Glasgow. These are possibly Narcissus 'Tête-à-Tête' and Narcissus 'Rijnfeld's Early Sensation'.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

Some photos from Pollok Country Park @friendsofpollok.bsky.social this morning. A short report here naturalconnections.blogspot.com/2026/02/w-it...

Delicate white flowers with multiple yellow-tipped anthers belonging to Cherry Plum. The living branch is held in the hand to aid the photograph.

A big, shaggy, ginger-coloured Highland Cow with large, spreading horns standing in a woodland setting.

Yellow and green catkins of Alder hanging down in a bunch with the trunk of the tree in the background.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

Arran in the sunshine from Lunderston Bay today.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

The best sighting of the day was the hugely impressive Jerviston Railway Viaduct towering above Caldervale.

Multiple spans of a pale sandstone viaduct with a path running under it.

One of the spans showing it's impressive height.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Some natural highlights from today's @slowwaysuk.bsky.social walks from Hamilton to Bellshill and from Bellshill to Motherwell...

Intricate and complex flower of a double Snowdrop with yellow anthers and white petals striped with green.

Two cup-shaped fungi with cream exterior and scarlet interior. The common name is Scarlet Cup or Scarlet Elf Cup.

Bullrush seed head with the dark brown outer case split open and the fluffy white seeds pushing out.

Plum-coloured, velvet-textured growths of Jelly Ear fungus on a mossy branch.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

A rather late #TheWinter10 (only nine Im afraid) for #WildFlowerHour tonight. All photographed in south central Scotland this week.

A collage of photographs of nine flowers: Cherry Plum; Oxford Ragwort; White Dead-nettle; Hazel (male catkins); Primrose; Winter Aconite; Golden Crocus; Herb Bennet; Hazel (female catkins).

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

Mistletoe growing near Port Seton, East Lothian today. Not an easy plant to catch up with in Scotland.

A tall bare tree (a Poplar) with at least eight clumps of Mistletoe of various sizes distributed amongst it's branches.

A clump of Mistletoe silhouetted against a grey sky showing the wishbone-shaped pairs of leaflets characteristic of this species.

A clump of Mistletoe against a background provided by the trunk of the host tree. The green colour of the Mistleoe is in stark contrast to the relatively colourless branches and twigs of the tree itself.

A view across fields towards a row of tall Poplars, four of which are bearing Mistletoe.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Some Scarlet Elf Cups growing in Darnley Woods, Glasgow today.

Bright scarlet, cup shaped fungi growing on a moss-covered log.

More Elf Cups framed by intense green moss.

A newly emerged, cream and pink Elf Cup with a scarlet interior.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Winter Aconite flowering today in Darnley Woods, Glasgow. I have been checking on this patch for about ten years. As adjacent trees have died or suffered storm damage, the canopy has opened and grasses have moved in, potentially making the site less suitable for this locally scarce species.

A small group of bright yellow flowers, each with a "collar" of lime green leaves, growing on a damp, leaf-covered woodland floor.

A single plant unfurling from the woodland floor, with the yellow flower peeking out from its covering of leaves.

More plants unfurling as they emerge from the soil on the woodland floor.

A small patch of Winter Aconite flowers showing the encroachment of grasses.

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Stuart Milligan @stuartmilligan.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Some ferns growing on an old wall in Troon, Ayrshire today ... and the view over South Bay.

Rustyback fern fronds with "leaflets" in a zig-zag arrangement rather than the more typical opposite arrangement of other ferns.

Haphazard tufts of Wall-rue sprouting from the gap between dark grey bricks.

Green fronds of Maidenhair Spleenwort made up of a dark brown central stalk and numerous small, oval "leaflets" in oppositely-arranged pairs.

A cloudy, orange and light blue sunset over a flat sea with a dark beach in the foreground.

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