Chatterbox - Lochwinnoch

Summer Events at
Muirshiel Centre
This summer saw a few different things
happening at Muirshiel during the Nature
Notes and Wildlife Watch events run by
the Ranger Service. The Hen Harrier
day resulted in some giant ‘nests’ being
constructed on the ground near the path to
Windy Hill, as children tried to create
their own nests after watching the Hen
Harrier live cameras at the Centre.
The Water Wildlife event had several
families exploring the ‘dipping’ pond at
Muirshiel and producing many squeals of
delight when they uncovered what they
had caught – Dragonfly larvae and Great
Diving Beetles being the largest creatures.
Hidden Worlds encouraged the participants
to look closely at their surroundings
– trying to find numerous hidden objects –
including a couple of the Rangers who
were camouflaged to the point where the
group walked right by them when they
were hidden! The session finished off
with a little face painting.
Natural Artworks was a session inspired
by the art of Andrew Goldsworthy and the
group managed to construct three sculptures
from the sticks left behind after the
rhododendron clearance at Muirshiel.
The poor weather this summer didn’t deter
everyone and the Rangers would like to
thank all those who came along to the
sessions and joined in the fun.
“New Homes Constructed
at Muirshiel Centre!
On Wednesday the 13th August 2008,
several new homes were constructed in a
very short time at Muirshiel. They are
highly desirable and will no doubt
attract a lot of attention, especially in the
spring.
This was the final event in the
Wednesday Wildlife Watch series and
was fully booked.
The construction crew consisted of 16
children with 4 adults and some of the
Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park Rangers,
and the new homes are nestboxes suitable
for a variety of birds from Blue
Tits, Great Tits, Robins and Spotted
Flycatchers.
The nestboxes will be put up in suitable
sites around the Park over the next
couple of weeks, ready for occupation in
the spring. Each box has been
numbered so that the ‘builders’ will be
able to identify their boxes.
This is part of the plan of woodland regeneration
at Muirshiel, gradually replacing
the old conifer plantations and
former rhododendron areas with native
trees, to encourage a diversity of wildlife
in the area.”
Pirate Day
at Castle Semple Centre
On Sunday 10th August 2008, several
hundred pirates ‘invaded’ the
sleepy village of Lochwinnoch.
Castle Semple Visitor Centre was renamed
pirate headquarters Port
Royale for the day as 50 families
searched for clues in the Treasure
Hunt competition. The treasure was
a full day of visits to the hills and
beaches of the Regional Park and
water sports activities.
The clues were to be found by scaling
the Fire Mountain; rowing out on
the loch to search for the message in
a bottle; walking the plank over a
shark infested tarpaulin; solving
the Pirate Crossword; decoding the
treasure map and finally discovering
the last clue at the top of the
Lookout Tower.
The winners were the Farquhar family
from Foxbar.
Contestants dressed like pirates and
each chose a suitable name for their
pirate passport; such as Griff the
Gruff, Freya the Fierce, Erin the Enchantress
and Cutthroat Pete Pintle.
Face Painters Isobel McColl and her
niece Kate Dowson were kept busy all
afternoon. There was an exhibition on
‘How to Talk like a Pirate’ and a ‘Best
Dressed Pirate’ competition.
The event was a joint venture featuring
the Regional Park’s Rangers and
Instructor staff, and Andy Pollock of
North Boat Hire.
It was such a success that a further
event is being contemplated.