Whiting Bay Glenashdale Walk

Starting and finishing at the car park by the mouth of the Glenashdale burn at the south end of Whiting Bay  NS046252, this walk takes you through a variety of habitats where you should see a range of birdlife in a couple of hours. The walk is on a rough track and then a road. Parts are up hill and parts can be slippy after rain or in freezing conditions. Appropriate footwear should be worn. The walk can be done in reverse.

Around the car park scan the sea and the mouth of the burn.  Divers can be seen most months of the year as well as numbers of Eiders and Red-breasted Merganser. On the shore are usually a variety of shore birds including Curlew, Oystercatcher and Ringed Plover and a range of gulls including large numbers of Kittiwakes in the early autumn.

Take the path sign posted to Glenashdale falls. The initial part of the path is through broadleaf woodland by the burn and it is a good area for Dipper, Grey Warbler and in summer a range of warblers including Willow, Wood, Garden, Whitethroat and Blackcap as well as finches, thrushes and tits. Later the path enters more coniferous wood where species like Siskin, Lesser Redpoll, Coal Tit, Goldcrest and Common Crossbill can be seen and heard.

Enjoy the various view points of the falls before taking the path above the falls and continuing to the right on open forestry track. Check the area for raptors like Buzzard, Kestrel and occasional Hen Harrier.

Follow the forestry track onto the road and continue downhill back to the shore. The descent is through much more open habitat than the ascent. There are extensive hedge rows, patches of scrub and wood and open fields. These are good areas for finches, thrushes, tits, corvids and raptors.

Back on the coast, head south to the car park. Check the shore for shore birds and Grey Heron and check the sea for Gannet, Shag and Cormorant.