CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Leisure

Wildlife highlight of the day

(7223 posts)

  1. ejstubbs
    Member

    A group of four or five hirundines hawking for insects yesterday, over fields near the stables on the track that runs from Braid Hills Drive to the Mortonhall camp site. At least two were definitely swallows. I therefore declare that summer is officially here.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  2. chdot
    Admin

  3. chdot
    Admin

    We've seen plenty of birds bathing in the burn at Inch Park before, but never a baby great spotted woodpecker

    Can't believe our luck

    https://twitter.com/glenisilla/status/1532730321933934592

    Posted 2 years ago #
  4. fimm
    Member

    Completely not bike related, but had my first ever definitive sighting of a Golden Eagle from near the summit of Sgurr Thuilm (one of the two Munros above Glenfinnan) on Friday.

    Saturday's Munro took me to a count of 280 Munros (out of 282), and I've only ever had one other sighting of something that was far away but almost certainly an eagle, so this was very special.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  5. acsimpson
    Member

    How exciting. Good luck on the last two.

    I saw disappointingly little wildlife on my tour of Fife yesterday even away from the roads. Perhaps it was all hiding from the heat of the day.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  6. amir
    Member

    Nice @fimm!

    Posted 2 years ago #
  7. Murun Buchstansangur
    Member

    A snow bunting (we believe) on top on Ben Macdui

    And a mink crossing the road on Sunday

    Posted 2 years ago #
  8. fimm
    Member

    That reminds me; a hillwalking friend posted a photo of their camp near the Pools of Dee and commented that this was "where there is no bunting", so another friend responded with a lot of photos of Snow Buntings...

    Posted 2 years ago #
  9. Frenchy
    Member

    @fimm - Enjoyed following your exploits on Strava over the weekend. Did you drive or train to Glenfinnan?

    Posted 2 years ago #
  10. fimm
    Member

    Hi Frenchy, train all the way. We went to Inverie on Knoydart by train and boat, walked back to Glenfinnan over 3 days, then got the last train (by 10 minutes!) back to Fort William, where we stayed for two nights.

    (I then got a coach back to Edinburgh. My friend lives in Inverness so came by coach from there.)

    Posted 2 years ago #
  11. Frenchy
    Member

    Fantastic, thanks!

    Posted 2 years ago #
  12. chdot
    Admin

  13. amir
    Member

    Doggerland is fascinating. Would have made trips to the Netherlands much easier.

    Before the Snow Roads, we went to the Loch of Kinnordy nature reserve. This is definitely worth a visit - lots to see. We saw a Marsh harrier pair hunting and an osprey hunting, amongst others.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  14. Frenchy
    Member

    Two hedgehogs out at Mortonhall, seemingly nonchalant as several dozen excited greyhounds were walked/dragged past.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  15. chdot
    Admin

  16. jdanielp
    Member

    The Kingsknowe Rat crossing the canal towpath at Kingsknowe.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  17. ejstubbs
    Member

    Yesterday: peregrine shadowing a loose flock of small birds, possibly meadow pipits, above the southern slopes of the north Pentland ridge. It eventually gave up and headed off SW-wards.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  18. dessert rat
    Member

    Brush with death this morning. Thing was best part of 10cm long. Apex predator.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  19. Rosie
    Member

    If it's a female praying mantis, don't try and mate with it.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  20. Charterhall
    Member

    Starting to see quite a few blackberries black and ready for picking. Looks like it might be a bumper year for fruits and berries, lots of rowans starting to look quite heavy with berries.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  21. chdot
    Admin

  22. Charterhall
    Member

    Rode through Green Cleugh this morning, a few sand martins still around.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  23. gembo
    Member

    Rats big as kittens on the canal towpath (words on new aign under a bridge).

    Posted 2 years ago #
  24. chdot
    Admin

  25. chdot
    Admin

    Went for a mini-stakeout off the woods over the burn from the bottom of our field, looking for Red Squirrels. None of them, but I’ll take a first Kingfisher seen here as a consolation. Fleeting but unmistakable

    https://mobile.twitter.com/urbancyclist/status/1564282905911857155

    Posted 2 years ago #
  26. ejstubbs
    Member

    Unexpected visitor in our garden yesterday afternoon, catching some rays after a short rain shower. Now, I'm no wildlife expert but I think that's one pretty chilled out dude...

    Posted 2 years ago #
  27. Charterhall
    Member

    Nice views of an osprey at Threipmuir this morning. A regular birder there told me that there’s been one there for about two weeks, he thought it has been the same one. He also pointed out to me a whooper swan that has been there all summer, and showed me through his telescope a distant spotted redshank that he’d just noticed, apparently this is not at all common in these parts.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  28. amir
    Member

    Around 100 swallows on a wire near Temple this am.

    A cup half full person would better use gannets as a guide to the summer/winter divide.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  29. steveo
    Member

    Winters coming

    Posted 2 years ago #
  30. amir
    Member

    @steveo yes, when the gannets have gone

    Posted 2 years ago #

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