Friends of Holmhills Wood Community Park

09/09/2026

This is one of three Painted Lady butterflies feeding on water mint beside the pond.

04/08/2026

There's something strange on some alder trees around the pond!
We found this pink growth on some alder cones. Aptly it's known as 'Alder tongue' and is caused by the fungus Taphrina alni.

22/07/2026

Big Butterfly Count is now running until 9th August. Weather could be perect to make a contribution to this worthwhile survey.

11/07/2026

📣A new species for Holmhills' butterfly species list! 🦋📜
Spotting this Small Skipper was a highlight during our weekly butterfly survey. It wouldn't land nicely on a flower to get a good photo but the image taken through a butterfly net is probably good enough to verify identification.
Small Skippper has only recently expanded it's range into Lanarkshire.
For more info and ID help check out Butterfly Conservation
https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/small-skipper

19/06/2026

Tadpoles with legs seen this week.

10/06/2026

We have a busy moorhen family on the pond. Come quietly to watch the goings on.
The first brood of youngsters with brown plumage can be seen feeding the newly hatched fluffy black chicks. This gives the adults (black with red beaks) a bit of time off while they are likely preparing for a third brood.
Thanks to Clare for sharing these charming images

06/06/2026

Lasr week we had great fun exploring the life below the surface of our ponds...

30/05/2026

Jane Smith, wildlife artist and author of inspiring book "Community - People and Wildlife on the West Coast of Scotland" is giving a talk in University of Glasgow on Thursday.
We're looking forward to this free event (no booking required).
Its a taster session for Saturday's conference exploring various natural history topics bookable with this link - https://www.gla.ac.uk/events/sciencefestival/gsf2026/cheers/programme/allevents/headline_1230770_en.html

A week to go until we kick of our 175th birthday celebrations with Science Festival!

We will be hosting a talk from Jane Smith, author and wildlife artist, where she will explore Community: People and Wildlife on the West Coast of Scotland.

This event is FREE and no booking is required. Come along for a fascinating talk, and a chance to ask Jane questions about her work.

27/05/2026

Some of the colourfull damselfies from the Holmhills ponds this week.

13/05/2026

🦡🦔🦡🦔🦡🦔
We'd love to know if you've seen either badgers or hedgehogs in or nearby Holmhills.