CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Leisure
Wildlife highlight of the day
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Posted 12 years ago #
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This has been shortlisted in the Scottish Seabird Centre's annual photo comp. Personally I don't think it's the best I sent them, but hey ho. Will go on display in the centre at some point to be voted on by the public.
Something cute and cuddly will win, but in the landscape category it has a chance (has to given it has been shortlisted). Some nice wildlife/photography prizes on offer (and LOADS of them from landing trips on the Isles of Forth to highland retreats with regular Pine Marten visitors).
Lit Bass Rock Gannet Swarm by blackpuddinonnabike, on FlickrPosted 12 years ago # -
Looks good.
Is that bird snow?...
Posted 12 years ago # -
Pretty much...
I'm lucky enough to have done a landing trip on the Bass Rock as well. Just stunning out there - the noise and smells are intense. The gannets are grumpy, but will put up with you sitting near them and even walking amongst them in some instances. Beautiful birds.
Posted 12 years ago # -
"Feather sculpture for Boat of Garten in Cairngorms"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-20399176
Posted 12 years ago # -
Waxwings, yay!
Posted 11 years ago # -
min whereabouts be the waxwings?
Posted 11 years ago # -
Just saw your waxwings on Blip. As Gembo says, where where where?!?!
Duddingston Loch was nice in the evening sun today
Reedy Teal
Duddingston Loch Teal by blackpuddinonnabike, on FlickrLittle Grebe en Famille
Duddingston Loch Little Grebe Sprint by blackpuddinonnabike, on FlickrAnd a Buzzard that buzzed then buzzed off into the sunset
Duddingston Loch Buzzard by blackpuddinonnabike, on Flickr
Duddingston Loch Sunset Buzzard by blackpuddinonnabike, on FlickrPosted 11 years ago # -
Outside the Canonmills Tesco, from the cycle path. They are after the berries on the trees there.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Posted 11 years ago #
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I saw Buzzard standing on the wall next to Old Dalkeith Road today. It was holding one leg up and looked as if it might have been hit by a motorist. It otherwise seemed alert and hooded (raised its headfeathers) at me. I hope it recovered enough to fly away.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Sparrowhawk! Sparrowhawk in our garden! Whoaaahh!
Posted 11 years ago # -
The woman who lives next door to us feeds a flock of pigeons that have now taken up semi-permanent residence in our gardens. Indirectly, she also manages to feed a sparrowhawk that stops by now and again for a meal.
This morning, I watched a group of swans forcing their way, mini-icebreaker style, through some thin ice that had formed on the canal last night so that they could reach thicker ice they could walk on.
Posted 11 years ago # -
New pair of swans (walking) on the canal this afternoon, the original pair were further up by the first bridge.
Posted 11 years ago # -
If anyone is up in the north east can I recommend the River Ythan mouth in Newburgh? I always pop along when I'm back up on a family visit. Seals galore; roughly 1,000 Eiders at the moment; lots of different waders and gulls; Red-Breasted Mergansers; and yesterday there was a small group of female Long-Tailed Ducks (real shame there were no males showing off their tails and colours, btu you can't have everything). Get there at lowest tide and you're close to everything around as well.
And then got back to Ellon and spotted a Buzzard having a sleep on a lamppost...
Nice riding on the countrty roads around there (though to visit the river mouth will involve locking up unless you want your bike caked in sand).
Posted 11 years ago # -
"
Breeding newts delay York Monks Cross shop development"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-20910702
Posted 11 years ago # -
Yay newts.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Posted 11 years ago #
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@Min, awful, I really feel for the man, he may have had the birds for years as well, apparently racing pigeons can live for up to 20 years, and they have a pigeon equivalent of Crufts every year, this year's event is due to take place fairly soon. This happened last year to two lofts up by Moredun. Sick.
Posted 11 years ago # -
This story of the. Fifty pigeons with their necks broken was pointed out to me the other day. Then it Was front page of EEN yesterday. I know roughly where the place is, certainly an isolated spot. In fact it is next to the Lymphoy Road which we discussed as a night time cycle route on different thread.
Hard to fathom any motivation for this. The owner discounts rival fanciers, which leaves personal grudge and or sick individuals?
Posted 11 years ago # -
2 dippers singing on the WoL today, near Woodhall Mains bridge. Spring is on its way :-)
Posted 11 years ago # -
Think the dippers might have been singing a warning about the snow coming and this river being freezing?
Posted 11 years ago # -
Aye, we're all doomed!
We met a very friendly robin in the temperate greenhouse at RBGE. Nice place to hang out, but I suspect that it was disappointed that we didn't have any food to scrounge.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Can highly recommend the route round the sea wall from Musselburgh at the moment. Easy to get to form the city, with virtually the whole way off-road if you follow the Innocent etc.
From the mouth of the Esk you follow the John Muir Way (and NCN something or other). Part of it is quite rough, but hard packed, before the properly laid path kicks in. If the tide is out then there are loads of waders like Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwits, Redhsanks and Turnstones just over the wall. Out to sea you get Eider, Velvet Scoter, Long-tailed Ducks (which are stunning) and occasionally Guillemots and the like.
The river mouth is chockful of Wigeon at the moment, and there's a resident Little Grebe, as well as a sometimes-sighted Kingfisher. I've been followed by a seal up the river at high tide once before.
Come inland to the 'boating pond' and again there's a chance of a Kingfisher, as well as Wigeon and Teal, and pop up to the hides by the boating pond at high tide and all of the waders will have retreated to the pools up there. Allegedly there are also not-uncommon sightings of Peregrines at the hides, as well as fairly regular reports of Short-eared Owls. Oh, there are Kestrels abound too.
I've also seen Linnets, Snow Bunting, Rock Pipits, Skylarks, Twites and all the usual stuff like Mute Swans and Oystercatchers. It is actually regarded as a wildlife rich place in birding circles, and lives up to that with the sea at first seeming empty - but stand for 5 minutes and it all comes to life. Should maybe resurrect the wildlife ride idea, with just a trundle from town to Musselburgh, and a post-birding Luca's visit...
Posted 11 years ago # -
Tonnes of snipe out at the lagoons too.
This morning I was pestered by a pair of goosanders on the canal - the first I've seen there, and a rather baffled looking grebe.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Ah yes, it will have been Snipe that I have some pics of from the lagoons yesterday - big swarm of them that took flight at one point and had me scouring the sky for a possible Peregrine.
I'm not very good at wadery type birds...
Posted 11 years ago # -
Neither am I - an enthusiastic twitcher with massive Swarovski binocs pointed them out :)
Nearly squished a water-vole on the Innocent path yesterday, just at the bridge near the intersection with Duddingston road West - it did a kamikaze dive from one side to the other about 5 feet in front of me. The lass coming towards me must have thought that the recumbanaut had tourettes.
Posted 11 years ago # -
There is an exhibition of wildlife photography at Waterstone House in Aberlady by Laurie Campbell, which is very much worth visiting. It's on until 27th Feb 2013.
Free entry and often a free coffee for cyclists too!Enjoy!
Cheers
ColinPosted 11 years ago # -
4 deer at Woodhall Farm this afternoon
Posted 11 years ago # -
A trip to Bavelaw today, within mins of sitting down the feeders were attracting long tailed/coal/blue/great tits, 2 treecreepers, a gs woodpecker, chaffinch, 3 reed buntings, a pheasant and a robin - the scene was like one of those tea towels depicting an unfeasibly arranged variety of garden birds all in the same picture. And on/over the water were 4 whooper swans along with teal, wigeon, mallard, bh gull, goosander, goldeneye, cormorant and lapwing. Not a bad tally for an hour.
Posted 11 years ago #
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