Falls of Clyde Nature Notes

I am a person who likes to listen to music, but recently I’ve been relishing silence.

We live in such a world that makes it seem abnormal just to sit with no artificial sound to fill the void. I’m not talking about meditation; anyone who knows me knows that I do not meditate! And void even sounds like a bad word; an empty, desolate, lonely place.

But silence is a great thing, it has been proven as a stress reliever and one of the best places to hear silence is outside.

Of course we know that it is never truly silent when you are outside. If you’re lucky enough to be high on a hill somewhere often all you will hear is the wind blowing through the grass and a raven calling in the distance.

It is a very soothing thing to do and one of my favourite things about being a ranger is being up at the peregrine watch site of an evening when no-one is around, just me and the birds. They can be rather noisy especially when food is involved.

In just a few weeks’ time the peregrine season will start again.

This will be my third season at the Falls of Clyde and our new ranger team has just started.

Adam is our new peregrine ranger and Katy is our new seasonal ranger. If you see them out and about on the reserve please do say hello!

It’s going to be an exciting season and I’m pleased to announce we are to have a new webcam and the pesky branch that always seemed to get in the way of viewing the eyrie has been carefully removed.

Next week: An update about our sawmill site from the Clydesdale Mills Society vice chairman.

LAURA WHITFIELD,

Falls of Clyde Ranger.