@charterhall
It is a splendid hide
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Leisure
Wildlife highlight of the day
(7223 posts)-
Posted 11 years ago #
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Some crocuses beginning to reveal themselves on the short railway path from Hutchison Crossway to the Hutchison flats.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Snowdrop in our garden this morning. :-)
Posted 11 years ago # -
Call to cull Edinburgh’s urban foxes
Posted 11 years ago # -
"
Gavin Corbett (@gavincorbett)
12/02/2013 12:27
In @edinburghpaper Labour Cllr Lunn calls for a cull of capital foxes. Is this a proportionate response based on evidence of actual threat?"
Posted 11 years ago # -
I once had a fox undo my bootlaces (in George Square at about 10:30pm)
A cull would achieve little, but I'd bet that certain parties use this to try and re-introducing hunting.
Posted 11 years ago # -
The Guardian had an excellent article the other day based on these things called 'facts'. Fox numbers are lower now than a few years ago (due to some fairly major mange outbreaks), and attacks are immensely rare. Apparently the first time "it's only a matter of time before a child is killed" was used was 40 years ago. Still not happened, unlike with, say, domestic dogs.
And even some of the recent attacks have been somewhat clouded in doubt at the veracity.
A cull would achieve so little, but I wonder why a pest control company owner would be wishing to stoke up paranoia and fear... Hmmmm? (the EEN even has the temerity to call him an 'expert'; an expert I pest control is not necessarily an expert in foxes!).
Posted 11 years ago # -
Chap on the radio last night said that the biggest problem was people feeding foxes.
This makes the foxes lazy and not bother too much about defending their patch from other foxes.
End result is a higher density of foxes.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Excerpt from the chip wrapper "Problems reported include foxes attacking pets, raiding bins and dragging rubbish including chewed bones and the remains of takeaways into the street, and leaving “particularly foul-smelling” faeces in people’s back yards."
There are loads of kitty cats in my street - I have heard of no 'attacks' by the local foxes (which I occasionally see if I am out late).
Rubbish and Takeaways? Well in that case put it properly into a bin, dont leave it festering in black bags on the street.
Foul Smelling Faeces ? What do they expect when they are eating the remains of MacDonalds?????
Rats are probably more of a problem with rubbish being left out - and in my garden experience, the squirrel crap is more of an issue.
I love foxes, they do little harm, their diet contains a lot of slugs and small beasts - the only time they go anywhere near humans is when they are injured and on the scrounge.
If I see that buffoon trying to catch them anywhere near me, he might find his traps in bits next morning.
Posted 11 years ago # -
This makes the foxes lazy and not bother too much about defending their patch from other foxes.
End result is a higher density of foxes.
I never thought of this though of course people feeding them is going to cause a problem as they lose their fear.
Posted 11 years ago # -
The one I met had almost certainly been fed - it was only very slightly nervous.
As for pets being attacked - I saw (and got snaps of) a sweet little tabby seeing off a fox at the old folks homes near Meggetland. The dangers for pets are a tad overstated I think - In my experiencefoxes can menace slugs, anything bigger, I think that they tend to retreat, and they prefer left over pizza...
Posted 11 years ago # -
I have a video of my (tiny) cat chasing a fox out of the garden. Done it quite a few times since (we normally just hear her shooting out of the cat flap, and next thing there's a flash of orange disappearing over the wall).
We've got chickens as well, in a very secure run - you've just got to be mindful when you have the chooks out free ranging. We've had two grabbed, but never made off with as we've been there to protect them (the second time my foot did actually connect with the fox, a second after my brain had stopped me grabbing it as a very silly idea indeed). Occasionally we'll put scraps out for them, theory partially being if they're well-fed they're less likely to get desperate and try silly things.
I know the location of a den near us, got some lovely photos of cubs last year, and I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing some more this year (pondering how I can get a little closer without disturbing them).
When it comes down to it we can't blame the foxes at all - it's not as if they're deliberately doing anything to spite us, they're just acting naturally.
Posted 11 years ago # -
I've got a wee tent that I use as an emergency hide. I tend to only get low-level shots from it
When I cycled down the coast of France I once got up to find a fox and a pair of red squirrels fighting over my rubbish bag.
Posted 11 years ago # -
That's the kind of thing I was thinking of EddieD. Up early, sit away from the main road, out of sight, and wait... But only if I can do so without worrying them.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Proper expert I heard on the fox facts said he had been feeding them for twenty years in his garden then watching them but he had Never interacted with them. They are wild animals and people should be wary of them. That does not mean a cull even if it would allow me to refer to the Dennis Leary advert for Holstein Pils, I told my friends I was shooting a. Commercial in Auchtermuchty. They said Wear The Fox Fur Hat (he is wearing a fox fur / raccoon style Davy crocket). at the other end, we should watch them, they can be sly but only vicious if provoked or killing all your hens and not eating any (we interpret that as vicious anyway). We can like them too, if we are so inclined. Clapping them or cuddling them, I think not.
Posted 11 years ago # -
I love this notion that foxes are evil because, if they get into a hen house, they'll kill them all and not eat them (they'll generally carry off one or two for eating).
But think about it, how many animals in the wild live in little wodden house which they can't escape from if a predator gets in? Man has created an entirely unnatural situation and yet the fox gets the blame.
(chickens in the wild - they're originally from the rain forests - or indeed domestic chickens left in the open, will make for high ground in trees. They can get pretty high, and once in the trees move about in them, so a fox would be likely to get one and no more - breaking into a hen house it's no wonder there's a frenzy, he's acting on pure instinct surrounded by a bounty, and add in all of the shouting and flapping that would be going on, the easiest way to be able to get on with the task of picking a chicken to take home is to shut them all up).
(this post is getting longer, but it's a bit like a situation in the States in parks in the Rockies. Man has moved in and put car parks and bins and everything in, and when a bear starts breaking into cars too often it gets darted and moved to some other territory away from people - we have created the situation, and then blame the animal and move it (or in extreme circumstances kill it)).
Posted 11 years ago # -
"Problems reported include... ...raiding bins and dragging rubbish including chewed bones and the remains of takeaways into the street
No, that's the locals that do that, not the foxes. If anything they and the seagulls are doing a good job of cleaning up our mess of half eaten kebabs and pizzas for us.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Coming out of Halfords Hermiston Gait at lunchtime a sparrowhawk zoomed past skimming over the roofs of the parked cars heading - dare I say it ? - in the direction of Krispy Kreme
Posted 11 years ago # -
Peregrine (I think) over the Innocent this morning; definite lovely little Goldcrest skipping about the trees (got a nice shot of him).
Posted 11 years ago # -
Crossing the WoL this morning that I was able to spot a dipper. Not unusual but nice that it has got sufficiently light for us to resume our acquaintance.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Ah, I love Dippers - the added bonus that as you're following them down a burn they can, inadvertently, lead you to a Kingfisher...
Posted 11 years ago # -
Yes that's on my wishlist every time I cross the WoL. Along with an otter.
Posted 11 years ago # -
[smug]
I've not seen an otter on the WoL, but have seen (and got a photo of) one on the Figgy and in Duddingston LOch. Kingfishers occasionally on the Figgy burn (last time last Saturday) - LOADS on canals in France, and west of Dean Village on the WoL was always my best spot for them
[/smug]Posted 11 years ago # -
A bit further afield, Goa was bursting with kingfishers of all sizes and colour combinations when I went there on holiday a year or two back. I hadn't realised they came in so many varieties, and in such numbers.
Posted 11 years ago # -
On 'another site', which is a photo blog thingy for putting up one photo a day, that the likes of wingpig and Instography and definitely joebloggs know a thing or two about, I'm sort of running a birds list thing in the forums - basically looking to see how many of the world's bird species we can list for the year, which when everyone can only post one photo a day means the 370something species we have so far is rather good.
This includes penguins and albatrosses and all sorts of weird and wonderful things from around the world. But the number of different types of Kingfisher and Woodpecker in particular has been astonishing!
Which is a long way of agreeing with cc on not realising just how many different types there were...
Posted 11 years ago # -
Thriepmuir hide today with 15 mile cycle on the back roads of Balerno
(With nasty puncture)Gooseander
Goldeneye
Mallard
Gulls of thee types
Teal
Heron
Buzzard
Reed bunting (lovely)
Magpie
Mute swan
Blue tit
Coal tit
Lapwing?
Approx 1000 geese in the fieldIn the log book, entry before Xmas had otter walking across the ice
Posted 11 years ago # -
Day got off to a good start with a brambling in the garden, but that was topped this afternoon by coming across 2 skylarks singing at Aberlady
Posted 11 years ago # -
Not done pics in a while...
So, the foxes are back on show in Duddingston (hoping I get cubs again this year - this morning was, I think, one of the cubs from last year and his parents).
Nuzzle by blackpuddinonnabike, on Flickr
Standing Out by blackpuddinonnabike, on Flickr
Annoying Dad by blackpuddinonnabike, on FlickrGoose stepping Great-spotted Woodpecker in the same place
Goose Stepping Great-spotted Woodpecker by blackpuddinonnabike, on FlickrThen a ride out along the Musselburgh sea wall - Bar-tailed Godwits
Godwits by blackpuddinonnabike, on FlickrVelvet Scoter (aka Daffy Duck)
Velvet Scoter by blackpuddinonnabike, on FlickrAnd a (far away and heavily cropped) Long-tailed Duck
Long-tailed Duck by blackpuddinonnabike, on FlickrPosted 11 years ago # -
@charterhall, larks also ascending out At polkelly this morning
@wc, nice pics again
Posted 11 years ago # -
Caught the end of the sunset tonight on the way home
Swan on Fire by blackpuddinonnabike, on FlickrPosted 11 years ago #
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