Any poetry for curious squirrels creeping down to peek round the trunk see why I'm not moving?
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Leisure
Wildlife highlight of the day
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Posted 6 years ago #
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Orange tip butterfly in Inverleith Park. Heaps of squeaky coot babies.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Six cygnets on canal, one falling behind
Posted 6 years ago # -
CCE Swiftwatch™ update; IWRATS breaks his duck. Lovely banking turn in the evening light showing the lighter and slightly scalloped belly before it slid behind a tree.
19h55 10/05/2018
Posted 6 years ago # -
Sheesh, you gonna have to write Yersel a Haiku
Posted 6 years ago # -
@gembo
Saw them as well, wee cuties, near that titchy foot bridge that takes you to Craiglockhart. A dozen people were viewing them. Vivat cygni.Posted 6 years ago # -
Scimitar arc traced high
Behind the acid green leaves
Of autumn's bare bonesPosted 6 years ago # -
@iwrats - not of summer's bare bones? You saying the first sight of a swift reminds you of autumn's long lead in time?
Posted 6 years ago # -
@gembo
Yes. The beginning contains the seed of its own demise. Not a new poetic conceit I avow.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Tom Elliot, In my end is my beginning, wind cry, wave cry, petrel and porpoise. East coker innit
Posted 6 years ago # -
The swan family were next to Leamington Lift Bridge this morning after I saw them swimming east around Meggetland yesterday evening, but I only spotted one cygnet today. I assume that the other five were keeping a low profile on or behind their parents or maybe asleep somewhere nearby?
Posted 6 years ago # -
Posted 6 years ago #
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@unhurt aww.
'Lerwick Port Authority, meanwhile, has put up a line of cones near the slipway to prevent people from getting too close to the animal.' Do Shetlanders respect cones?
'... I am slightly concerned as to what will happen later since it is Friday night.' Possibly not if drunk...
Posted 6 years ago # -
The Kingsknowe Rat swimming across the canal by Hailes Quarry Park. The swan family all present and correct near Meggetland.
Posted 6 years ago # -
I stopped to admire the swan family just east of Harrison Park. So much cuteness.
Posted 6 years ago # -
A little grebe and a coot with three ultra-cute cootlets in Duddingston Loch. Much swannage and two greylag geese.
An orange-tip butterfly in Dr Neil's Garden.
A screaming party of swifts over Samson's Ribs which was a relief to see. Swifts getting scarce now.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Multiplicites of swallows in west Lothian and south Lanarkshire. One house Martin attacking Tom's bike. What I thought was an Osprey thermalling from low to high over the WoL from my garden. Only saw under carriage which was black and white and the bird was going way up high. But wingspan shorter and wider than osprey so am down grading to sparrowhawk.
Fox still dead in former garden of former toll house south of tarbrax. Tom's neighbour old sandy who is 90 and still cycle's of an evening around Heriot watt campus, has a tale I want him to write down. When sandy was a boy one warm summer's day, he stopped at the toll house whilst out cycling the Lang Whang with his two pals and the toll keeper gave them a Jerry can of water to share between them to slake their thirsts
Posted 6 years ago # -
Sitting on the stoop with friends a sparrowhawk came by at F1 speed in hot pursuit of something just incrementally faster.
Then she came and sat in the tree at the bottom of the garden for a breather and so that we could admire her, which was nice.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Absolutely no arctic skuas at all.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Meanwhile in Lerwick some nice video of the visiting bearded seal. @jdanielp you'll be pleased to see she was not disturbed by late night cone crossers.
Posted 6 years ago # -
A bunch of red kites, Saturday on Comrie moor, an odd (non roe/red) deer somewhere (forget where), lots of roe deer ...
Today, crouching hare and sad yellowhammer (gradually being built around)
Posted 6 years ago # -
We stayed at Comrie Croft over the holiday weekend and spotted a red kite (maybe more than one based on @amir's post) scouring the hills above the site. Gorgeous sight.
Posted 6 years ago # -
As CCE's resident sparrowhawk-botherer I can report a delectable incident.
Male sparrowhawks are small and utterly discrete - I've only ever seen a handful well enough to be sure of their sex.
This morning though - at the end of our road I was alerted by the kyek-kyek-kyek alarm call and looked up to see two males having a territorial stand-off against a clear blue sky. Deep joy.
@amir
an odd (non roe/red) deer
There are increasing numbers of sika deer in Scotland. They hybridise with the natives too. Odd whistling alarm call.
Posted 6 years ago # -
@iwrats - yes - was larger than roe and fairly pale - companion said bambi-like. So could also be fallow
Probably with cycling is sometimes you don't want to stop and stare plus have to look for potholesPosted 6 years ago # -
I forgot to report the two ducks that were having a snooze on the towpath over Slateford Aqueduct yesterday morning; luckily they were quite close to the water, but it didn't seem like the safest place to have positioned themselves.
Posted 6 years ago # -
On Sunday evening, I watched with interest, streams of bubbles on Slateford Aquaduct. What a delightful sight as an otter emerged from the reeds at the edge on the embankment, then stopped and looked at me before scampering off.
Cheers
ColinPosted 6 years ago # -
@Colin excellent spot! I will keep my eyes peeled.
Posted 6 years ago # -
@Colin @jdanielp on Monday morning I saw something what looked a large, fury beast with a tail in dark brown and light brown colour floating on Slateford Aquaduct. I didn't fancy inspecting it but I am hoping it was grass/weeds rather than a creature.
Posted 6 years ago # -
@bill this brought up a half memory of a poem I think I must have heard or read at school that refers to the Townhead canal basin in Glasgow. Can't find it online but it was something like "They've pit the hems on auld Toonheid / and there's nae more dugs gonnae float by deid".
Posted 6 years ago # -
Oh, yesterday: funny looking rabbit running down the road in front of the car for ages. Finally realised it was a leveret!
Posted 6 years ago #
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