CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Leisure

Wildlife highlight of the day

(7161 posts)

  1. 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.

    Posted 4 years ago #
  2. Frenchy
    Member

    “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.

    Posted 4 years ago #
  3. Trixie
    Member

    A/The big, plump male pheasant along Little France Drive.

    Posted 4 years ago #
  4. chdot
    Admin

  5. chdot
    Admin

    “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

    Posted 4 years ago #
  6. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    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.

    Posted 4 years ago #
  7. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Also a displaying hen harrier couple. Sky-dancers.

    Posted 4 years ago #
  8. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    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.

    Posted 4 years ago #
  9. unhurt
    Member

    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.

    Posted 4 years ago #
  10. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    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.

    Posted 4 years ago #
  11. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Lesser redpoll in the garden. You (well I) don't see many of them in town.

    Posted 4 years ago #
  12. gembo
    Member

    Just escorted a very vibrant bumble bee the size of a mouse from the sitooterie

    Posted 4 years ago #
  13. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    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.

    Posted 4 years ago #
  14. acsimpson
    Member

    I've been enjoying the smell of the gorse just north of the FRB. Just one of the benefits of the billion pound neighbour.

    Posted 4 years ago #
  15. minus six
    Member

    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

    Posted 4 years ago #
  16. Colin
    Member

    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

    Posted 4 years ago #
  17. unhurt
    Member

    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?

    Posted 4 years ago #
  18. bill
    Member

    @jdanielp Wester Hailes canal swan not in her nest anymore. I don't know what that means.

    Posted 4 years ago #
  19. Frenchy
    Member

    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.

    Posted 4 years ago #
  20. fimm
    Member

    The Harrison Park cygnets are very cute.

    Skylarks in the Pentlands.

    Posted 4 years ago #
  21. amir
    Member

    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.

    Posted 4 years ago #
  22. jdanielp
    Member

    @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...

    Posted 4 years ago #
  23. fimm
    Member

    There were definitely 9 cygnets post-PoP on Saturday afternoon.

    Posted 4 years ago #
  24. 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

    Posted 4 years ago #
  25. gembo
    Member

    The big heron probably took one

    Cute pics

    Posted 4 years ago #
  26. Trixie
    Member

    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?

    Posted 4 years ago #
  27. gembo
    Member

    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?

    Posted 4 years ago #
  28. 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.

    Posted 4 years ago #
  29. Trixie
    Member

    So less being escorted by and more being stalked by. Oh.

    Posted 4 years ago #
  30. jdanielp
    Member

    Still nine cygnets this evening (I did miscount) around the Lift Bridge area.

    Posted 4 years ago #

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