CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
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Lots of seals of various sizes basking on the low tide rocks off the Musselburgh lagoons yesterday. Also on a sandbank near the same location a seagull struggling to eat a very large starfish. The first time I've seen gulls not fighting over food.
After watching for about 15 minutes, I got bored and cycled on/ I'm pretty sure the other gulls were just mocking the poor bird.
Lots of photographers nearby looking for an American Duck.
“We never saw rats or mice up until seven or eight months ago.” said Mr Meneghini.
I'm fairly sure there's at least one mouse in every building within 200m of Holyrood Park.
A/The big, plump male pheasant along Little France Drive.
“
“The insects are the bottom of the food chain and there are so many things that eat them,” he says. “Since they have come back we have seen a huge increase in birds: skylarks, flocks of yellowhammers, kites, buzzards, and we are not doing anything special to attract them – they just love the fields, the system we have here.”
“
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/24/farmers-save-earths-soil-conservation-agriculture
I bicycled to a crag this weekend to look for a peregrine nest of which news had reached me. Spotted the female in an old raven's nest when she stood up to stretch.
As I watched her a juvenile white-tailed eagle flopped through the field of view of my telescope. Which was nice. Doubt the sheep with tiny lambs all around appreciated its presence.
Also a displaying hen harrier couple. Sky-dancers.
Also an immature golden eagle that floated just overhead as we cowered from the unfeasible wind on the Cairngorm plateau. It seemed not to mind the blast and just half-folded its wings.
You are just trying to outdo my Arctic skuas!
I counter with two bonxies and a sand martin at Skaill, and swallows & skylarks at Ring of Brodgar.
There can be no outdoing with wildlife? We are just sharing the joy?
I would like to see an arctic skua, also dotterel and red-necked phalarope. Bit of tundra-wandering required.
Lesser redpoll in the garden. You (well I) don't see many of them in town.
Just escorted a very vibrant bumble bee the size of a mouse from the sitooterie
The Totally Unreasonable Blue Tits have stopped banging on the window after madame veiled them.
They're nesting in a crack in the garden wall where I can sit on the sofa and see the female sitting through my binoculars which is nice.
I've been enjoying the smell of the gorse just north of the FRB. Just one of the benefits of the billion pound neighbour.
operating an avian apartheid regime this year
all finches slow and relaxed oot the back yard > nygar seeds | sunflower hearts
everyone else at the HI-NRG disco up front on the mixed seed | peanuts | fat balls
rocky robin and bobby blackbird get a free pass between zones
seems to be a popular arrangement thus far
A pair of Mute Swans with nine cygnets on the canal at Harrison Park last night - much cuteness.
A female Wheatear on the moor road to West Linton today, and many Curlews and Lapwings encouraging us over The Granites.
Cheers
Colin
Inverleith Park swans not in usual configuration. The last of last year's brood is still hanging around - seemingly resistant to being expelled? One of the pair was apparently incubating on the usual nest spot, but when s/he stood up to rearrange things, no eggs were to be seen. The other half of the pair was also sitting - on the nest heap by the fence that seperates the "marsh" from the rest of the pond. So, perhaps eggs there?
@jdanielp Wester Hailes canal swan not in her nest anymore. I don't know what that means.
Large heron above the canal at Ratho yesterday. Probably perfectly normally sized for a heron, but it was flying fairly low directly above me and looked enormous.
The Harrison Park cygnets are very cute.
Skylarks in the Pentlands.
Lots of flattened wildlife on yesterday's ride, including an adder, a few hares and a couple of hedgehogs. On the positive side, countryside is bursting with spring: cascades of birdsong, bouquets of flowers ....
Lots of hares seen, a lonesome roe deer and a relatively long view of a stoat.
@bill it looks like the eggs have hatched and the family has migrated east - I spotted them between Harrison Park and Meggetland this morning. I only counted eight cygnets so hopefully that was just a miscount while cycling given that Colin counted nine of them at some point yesterday...
There were definitely 9 cygnets post-PoP on Saturday afternoon.
8 tonight.
Canal Cygnets_1 by Anthony Robson, on Flickr
Canal Cygnets_2 by Anthony Robson, on Flickr
Canal Cygnets_3 by Anthony Robson, on Flickr
The big heron probably took one
Cute pics
Very cute pics.
Does anyone know the domestic set up of the mallard duck? I saw a mama with 6 tiny, very new ducklings and she was being escorted by 3 male companions. Is this standard? Could they all be the daddy like with cats?
Monogamous though male will try it on with other females in unpleasant way
But not an evolutionary tactic by female for more food providers
Cats?
Oh ducks will do it with anyone. There’s a thing called the ‘manky mallard’ where they’ll produce offspring by pouncing on a different species. And the males will do so aggressively, despite a female escorting ducklings. Have seen a female chased from her brood by males, and losing half to gulls.
Wildlife is harsh.
We had a Mandarin in the park for a loooong time a couple of years back. Tried it on with all the female mallards. Apparently incompatible though - no known Madarin x Mallard produce.
So less being escorted by and more being stalked by. Oh.
Still nine cygnets this evening (I did miscount) around the Lift Bridge area.
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