CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Leisure

Wildlife highlight of the day

(7223 posts)

  1. wingpig
    Member

    Sparrowhawk nomming a pigeon in our front garden.
    Magpie in the tree opposite raising an alarum.
    Crow having a wee go at swooping down and trying to frighten it off, without effect.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  2. wingpig
    Member

    Left most of it when it flew off after half an hour. No pudding for her.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  3. gembo
    Member

    Crow scavenging in the bins near brewhemia, seagulls yes but I thought crows had more class than to lower themselves to. Bin rakers

    Posted 5 years ago #
  4. chdot
    Admin

  5. amir
    Member

    Yesterday's highlight was a harrier near Makkum in Friesland. I couldn't pin down the species as it insisted on flying into the sun.

    Today, many dozen spoonbills on the Wadden sea side of Terschelling.

    Bike spots on Spotted once I have time go through the faff of posting pics

    Posted 5 years ago #
  6. Frenchy
    Member

    Two wee deer in the trees next to NCN 196, just east of Auchendinny on Sunday afternoon. Wouldn't have noticed them if a jogger hadn't been stopped watching them.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  7. gembo
    Member

    500 or so geese heading west over Tinto Hill

    Two dozen pheasants south side of Talla

    Dozen we orange caterpillars own north side of talla

    Posted 5 years ago #
  8. amir
    Member

    Today, near IJlst, more kestrels than I've seen in years. A vole, a connection? Two harriers, about 30 great white egrets, a peregrine diving at starlings

    Posted 5 years ago #
  9. jdanielp
    Member

    What a stoater! As I was cycling along the canal towpath beyond Gogar Station Road Bridge this morning, I spotted a long, furry creature on the towpath ahead of me... It looked at me inquisitively and started to approach me as I was approaching it before scurrying into the foliage beside the path with a flash of its black-tipped tail.

    The Heriot-Watt Stoat has been keeping a low profile of late, possibly due to my suspicion that it was involved in the sudden disapperance of three new cygnets on The Loch earlier in the summer - I assume that this must be a different stoat, in any case, and given that I spotted it near a boat route I will name it Stoaty McStoatface.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  10. chdot
    Admin

    Posted 5 years ago #
  11. jdanielp
    Member

    Lovely sunset this evening. A good number of bats flying around The Meadows - oddly, I can't remember having spotted bats there previously.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  12. chdot
    Admin

    “Lovely sunset this evening”

    True -

    Posted 5 years ago #
  13. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    I was in a meeting in a third floor office and exclaimed 'Sparrowhawk!' as a sparrowhawk passed by outside, mobbed by many pigeons and two magpies and now the people in the meeting think I am odd or mad.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  14. Frenchy
    Member

    "now"

    Posted 5 years ago #
  15. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    I didn't want the job anyway.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  16. unhurt
    Member

    Ardnamurchan trip produced NO eagles - what a swizz. Lots of ravens & buzzards though, and also some exciting hermit crabs, a very small and perfect starfish, a very pointy deer up close and unfazed by humans, and in the non-wildlife animal category, some excellent dogs of different types and the world's most talkative free-range pigs. Oh and some of those weird 4-horned sheep.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  17. acsimpson
    Member

    A bat and a hedgehog at different points of my extended commute home.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  18. Frenchy
    Member

    Ardnamurchan trip produced NO eagles - what a swizz. Lots of ravens & buzzards though

    I find that an inability to tell the difference between a buzzard and an eagle helps with spotting eagles :)

    Posted 5 years ago #
  19. jdanielp
    Member

    Toad crossing the road to Ardnamurchan Lighthouse, either a massive buzzard or possibly an eagle soaring above the road to Sanna Bay and an adorable pine marten investigating the garden of the cabin we are staying at near Kilchoan.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  20. jdanielp
    Member

    A pair of white tailed eagles just flapped by as we were taking a gentle wander along the shore near Kilchoan.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  21. unhurt
    Member

    My mum's food recyling bin sits out the front and there are woods nearby. Monday night she was out to put stuff in it and found a large badger attacking it - it eyed her for a while before retreating. Morning evidence suggests it was back again later as the contents were widely distributed.

    All quite exciting (though food bin might have to come inside or go higher up).

    Posted 5 years ago #
  22. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Passage through a badger sounds like an ideal method of recycling food?

    In fact could this be done on an industrial scale by battery badgers?

    Posted 5 years ago #
  23. jdanielp
    Member

    @IWRATS battery badgers bring more environmentally friendly overall?

    Posted 5 years ago #
  24. Frenchy
    Member

    Two foxes last night on way up Gilmerton Road, both wandering nonchalantly across the road.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  25. ejstubbs
    Member

    Small tortoiseshell fluttering happily in the sunshine around our herb planter this morning. Not bad going when the air temperature is 8°C. (I know they often overwinter but a splash of colour from the local wildlife as the year starts to turn is always welcome IMO).

    Posted 5 years ago #
  26. jdanielp
    Member

    Small furry caterpiller crossing the towpath near Calder Road this morning. I spotted some far larger examples in Ardnamurchan last week but nowhere near as many as I saw when walking in the Pentlands around this time last year.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  27. jdanielp
    Member

    Goosander on the canal this morning and yesterday morning.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  28. jdanielp
    Member

    The Heriot-Watt Stoat (or possibly one of its relatives - this one seemed smaller than the one(s) I saw a lot a while ago) sauntered across the footpath in front of me just after I exited from the Student Union after lunch.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  29. jdanielp
    Member

    The Kingsknowe Kingfisher skimming along the water (and twice dipping into it but not obviously catching anything, although it had a good chirp after the second dip) on the far side of the canal at Hailes Quarry Park as I was cycling home at half six ish - quite dark for fishing, yet its beautiful plumage still stood out as I saw it out of the corner of my eye.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  30. unhurt
    Member

    Autumn morning sunshine showing my regular wee flock of visiting goldfinches to charming effect.

    At least till the fat squirrel frightened them off so she could scoff the seed.

    Posted 5 years ago #

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