Club News
South Ayrshire Ramblers On Saturday, May 27, the group are organising a 9 ½ mile linear walk from Priestland to Hurlford. The group will park their cars at Hurlford and take the bus to Priestland, from where they will follow a farm track to Ranoldcoup Bridge in Darvel, and then continue on Brown’s Road, which runs alongside Lanfine Estate. The route continues to Newmilns and follows the river to Galston before joining the final section of the Irvine Valley Trail, which leads to Loudoun Kirk and ends in Hurlford. This walk is on paths and tracks. Remember travel passes, if appropriate! For more details, contact Kate Graham on 01292 822533. Those interested in joining the walk should meet at Prestwick Town railway station car park for an 8.50am departure. Ayr & District Rambling Club On Sunday, May 28 are offering a tenmile walk starting at the bowling club car park at Dunaskin. The route crosses the River Doon and heads uphill past High Keirs Farm, continuing south on open hillside to Grimmet Hill and onwards to the trig point on Auchenroy Hill ( 367m). From there the walk descends gradually to Auldcraigoch, joins the track to Craigengillan, and continues to the school in Dalmellington. The final section is along the old railway track back to Dunaskin. For details, contact David Wood on 01292 531519. To join the walk, please meet at the Millbrae car park in Ayr at 8.50am. Bridge For the second week running, Sandy Anderson and Stewart Duguid took first place in the Pollok Williamson Summer competition with a creditable 61.93 per cent. John McManus and Jim Hanshaw had an excellent result, 14th place overall and winners of the handicap prize. Jim continues the series; Signals and Discards: J 5 4 3 2 You are defending against a Spade contract. Declarer is drawing trumps, after the second Spade you are out and now want to convey to partner that you would like him to shift to a Diamond if he gains the lead. Using McKenney discards, Diamonds can be shown either by a high Heart ( indicating higher ranking of the two remaining suits – Diamonds and Clubs) or a low Club ( asking for the lower ranking of the two remaining suits – Hearts and Diamonds). If it is unsafe to play a Club then you might have to discard a Heart. Here the 5 might be the highest you can afford. You might have agreed with partner that 6 and above is classed as ‘ high’ but you can’t rigidly stick to that. Partner will need to watch the spots and ask himself ‘ Where are the 2, 3 and 4 of Hearts?’ No Signal/ Discard system is flawless, if it were, we’d all be playing it. Stair SWI The group held it AGM at The Coylton Arms. Ellen Dunlop, President, opened the meeting by welcoming members and presenting the Silver Salver to Hannah McNae, runner- up Alison Tobias, and the Housewifery Goblet to Alison Tobias. The Handicrafts Goblet was won by Ellen herself. Ellen then stepped down as President, having served three years in the role, and handed the reins over to Vice President Hannah McNae. Alison Tobias was elected as the new Vice President. A delicious meal, served by the staff at The Coylton Arms, was greatly enjoyed by all and Hannah McNae wished members well for the summer recess. Rotary Club of Ayr On a bright, perfect Friday, at 9.30am on the sound of an air horn, 20 teams teed off simultaneously by a shotgun start, for the annual Rotary Club of Ayr charity golf event at Belleisle, having fuelled themselves with bacon butties beforehand. A calm, still day, coupled with warm sun and a mild south westerly wind aided even the occasional players on the greens. Swinging, slicing, perfect putting, Members of RSPB Central Ayrshire Local Group invited anybody interested in nature to join them on one or all of this year’s Dawn Chorus Bird walks through Rozelle and Belleisle Park, writes Gerda Scott.
These walks have become well established for many years but in the past the weather was not often quite as favourable with bright sunshine every morning.
While a chilly wind subdued some of the song birds a little early on, they treated the participants eventually with the richness of their combined voices.
Sunday, May 7, was International Dawn Chorus Day when people in over 80 countries participated in this worldwide celebration of nature’s symphony.
It was, therefore, a very appropriate time to hold the walks and they proved the most successful so far with an excellent turnout on all walks. Around 30 people slowly processed through the park on each walk – stopping, looking, listening to the bird song – and to Jim.
Jim Thomson guided the walks. His expertise and dramatic driving and the occasional mild swearing, were all in evidence as the teams strolled across beautiful greens in splendid sunshine to the new clubhouse for drinks and sandwiches, to await their positions in this keenly fought, but friendly match. Stories and anecdotes about ‘ missing a sitter’ or a ‘ drive as straight as a die’ were overheard being exchanged. Even an ‘ I was rubbish today’ was voiced more than once. At 2pm, the clubhouse chatter evaporated into a silence and MC Douglas Haddow and Golf Convenor Jim Nelson, announced the winners. W G Walker & Co ( Ayr) Ltd won the trophy, led by the first ever lady winner team lifelong involvement with nature meant he was able to find the birds and identify their song, deciphering the cacophony of so many voices. Jim also had some interesting stories to share and happily answered questions.
Watching birds in our parks is easier than in a lot of other places. The parks are well visited by people and birds are used to them.
This makes a lot of them quite confiding, even shy species can be spotted with relative ease. Altogether 28 species were seen on both days.
This is by no means a comprehensive list of birds which call Rozelle and Belleisle their home or are summer visitors to both parks.
There are always some encounters which are especially remembered. A few years ago, it was a nest high up on a beech tree near the pond which aroused curiosity.
Could it be the nest of a raptor? Which raptor? No, it turned out that a pair of mallards opted for this high rise nest, quite safe from predators.
Another year stood out with excellent views of a jay, the most colourful and very shy member of the captain Louise Thomson. The team won a fourball over Royal Troon and four polo shirts. RESCU Solutions Ltd and Doonvale Nursery were second and third. A raffle was then conducted in conjunction with Tara Cameron of ML Williams, the event’s sponsor. Delighted winners emerged from the crowd to claim their prizes, which comprised of excellent donations from local businesses. In excess of £ 9000 was raised and the main beneficiary of the day was Ayrshire Young Carers. Ayr Rotary Club thanks to the many companies and individuals who supported this year’s charity event. crow family. This year people were enchanted by watching treecreepers in Rozelle, flying in and out of their nest which is safely hidden under the loose bark of a beech tree. Undisturbed by the spectators they were driven by the need to feed their young.
Another delightful encounter was with goldcrests in Belleisle. They are our smallest bird and quite confiding.
They are not easy to watch, however, because they move about restlessly.
These birds eventually led the watching eyes to their well- hidden nest in an overhanging branch of a fir tree. Patient and careful observing paid off!
In the woods of Belleisle, the angry alarm call of a tawny owl alerted Jim, and he quietly advised to retreat as he suspected that the owls were protecting their territory and their young. Birdwatching should never interfere with the welfare of the birds.
Rozelle and Belleisle Park again confirmed the asset they are to our town, beautiful oases with diverse and rich birdlife.
Members of RSPB Central Ayrshire Local Group thank all participants and hope the experience will be useful during further visits to parks .