Newmilns population can be found nearby. To the west of Newmilns, local residents have sighted kingfishers along the riverbank which, although elusive, are a popular aspect of the river's biodiversity. Newmilns is also home to a large bird population. The jackdaw is perhaps the most common resident and can be found nesting and feeding in buildings and gardens throughout the town. Accompanying the jackdaw are its close relatives, crows and rooks (rooks are generally found on the outskirts of Newmilns) alongside a variety of other birds including the swift, swallow, sparrowhawk, wren, dunnock, robin, starling, pied wagtail, spotted flycatcher, magpie, dipper,
The Bird 'Grip' ever after. While the hero in these stories is normally aided by a talking animal, for it to be a ghost is unusual. This is the grateful dead, a common folklore motif, found also in "Fair Brow". The Bird 'Grip' The Bird 'Grip' is a Swedish fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it "The Pink Fairy Book". It is Aarne-Thompson type 550, the quest for the golden bird/firebird; other tales of this type include "The Golden Bird", "The Greek Princess and the Young Gardener", "How Ian Direach got the Blue Falcon", "The Nunda, Eater of People", and "Tsarevitch Ivan, the Fire