Like the Labour Party the waxwings need a bit of red
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Leisure
Wildlife highlight of the day
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Posted 7 years ago #
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I expect to see a sparrow-hawk in Edinburgh about every fortnight, with sightings clustered in spring and autumn. With four exceptions all of these have been females. The males are furtive, wary, fast and cryptic, so it was a delight to see a fifth male using the curtain wall of Craigmillar Castle to launch an ambush attack just now.
Later on, two roe deer looking at me like sheep from about five metres away. And a charm of goldfinches.
Posted 7 years ago # -
Best spot yesterday was a kestrel near Haddington doing what kestrels do - hovering above the dual carriageway. Saw a sparrowhawk attack a flock of birds the weekend before last which was impressive though I don't think it caught anything.
Posted 7 years ago # -
I don't think it caught anything
Only one in ten attacks produces food it seems. They'll go to huge lengths to follow up a failed attack too. I had one in the garden flying continuous loop-the-loops through a bush to flush out terrified sparrows.
Posted 7 years ago # -
I saw the towpath Kingfisher on Sunday near Hermiston. I was running and we chased each other along the canal for a short distance.
My first time seeing a Kingfisher. Incredible!
Posted 7 years ago # -
Slightly cheating by being neither around Edinburgh or on a bike : yesterday's top spot was a crowd of waxwings being chased out of a tree by a thrush at the Rothiemurchus Centre. Today, we heard lots and saw one crested title somewhat deeper into the Rothiemurchus park and spotted Cameron Mcneish on the return (cheery hello)
Posted 7 years ago # -
@CJC good stuff!
Posted 7 years ago # -
Think I glimpsed the water rail in the naturey reeds at Inverleith Park this afternoon. Also some excellent peeping from an irate coot echoing from the hill to the north!
Posted 7 years ago # -
Congrats CJC. I saw my first last year and I couldn't quite believe it. But you know what you've seen, it's unmistakeable.
Amir: The Common Spotted McNeish. More often seen leaning out a car offering advice to Dougie Vipond on a bike.
Yesterday I saw three dead badgers and a patch of fleecy milk cap toadstools.
Posted 7 years ago # -
I hope lots of dead badgers is a sign of a healthy population. On the downside I see fewer dead hedgehogs
Posted 7 years ago # -
Given that I just saw a buzzard perched, pretending to be invisible, ten metres away in a tree in suburban Edinburgh, something that would have been unthinkable when I moved here, could we ever see these beasts in our green spaces?
And how long will it take red kites to get over the grouse moor death zones to the capital? Aylesbury's rotten with them - they love towns.
Posted 7 years ago # -
Planet Earth II, the David Tnettenba programme (Tnettenba, it's a word already, meaning something you wear like ooh that's a nice Tnettenba) had an episode on Sunday all about wild animals living wild in cities 'Twas good.
Posted 7 years ago # -
0730ish this morning, couple of pheasants (one of each) on the path nr Duddingston Golf Course. Think they'd do well to stay the north side of that path.
RE Red Kites above - I used to live south of Aylesbury, red kites everywhere - fantastic to see. The Chiltern introduction in the early 90s was by far the most successful of the 11 sites chosen. Mostly due to the large amount of roadkill available - rabbits everywhere. I'd rather have them then buzzards or those daft flappy, bin bothering gulls.
Posted 7 years ago # -
@Iain McR
Pheasants endemic in south Edinburgh due to their being bred for target practice by Drum estate. I've had them in the garden...
Posted 7 years ago # -
@ gembo -it was brilliant. Urban foxes are our showiest urban species. Not as cool as leopards and monkeys and hyenas but not bad.
Liked the point that living in cities made the monkeys cleverer than the forest sort. No wonder clever sorts leave small towns to live in cities.
Posted 7 years ago # -
No wonder clever sorts leave small towns to live in cities.
We'd better watch that. Wouldn't want to have a Morlocks and Eloi type situation on our hands.
Posted 7 years ago # -
Unpopular opinion: I like gulls, even bin-bothering ones (I lay all blame for the mess on human failures). Also crows, magpies, really any bird that eyeballs you back as if to say "yeah? and?". Corvids in particular have clearly got lots going in in their shiny, handsome heads!
(Favourite crow types: Steller's jays. Met them on US west coast in Washington/Oregon ten years ago and was sure something so gorgeous must be rare & exciting - deep chocolate brown and blue with a jaunty crest, terrible for trying to pinch your breakfast / tear holes in the plastic bag you've designated as campsite rubbish receptacle. Turned out to be dead common, of course, which did mean I saw lots of them.)
Posted 7 years ago # -
Had an enjoyable explore of SW Fife/Lomond Hills and saw ~500 geese in flight. A spectacular sight and also noisier than Minipaddy's school playground.
Also a flock of over 100 Chaffinches near Vane Farm. Didn't realise that they flocked that much, but according to my Scottish Birds book they can...
Wrens, robins, magpies and most spectacularly a buzzard taking off from a post about 5m to my left near the summit of the Falkland-Leslie Road.Posted 7 years ago # -
If I'm not much mistaken I flushed a woodcock where the Howe Dean path meets the Hermitage path. Photon canon lights have some uses....
Posted 7 years ago # -
Herd of five roe deer near Dalkeith campus today but they ran away.
Posted 7 years ago # -
Unpopular opinion: I like gulls, even bin-bothering ones (I lay all blame for the mess on human failures).
I agree. They also make wonderful photographic subjects being large and white and reasonably slow moving. Agree also about corvids.
Posted 7 years ago # -
Gulls are all very well, but only as food for peregrines. The jackdaw is one of my favourites though. The corvid Paul Newman. Cool Hand Crow.
Posted 7 years ago # -
on fri 16 DEC going downstairs in a block in west pilton ferry rd drive area saw a bird of prey in a tree took a photo - reddish brown feathers white underside of long tail - going back up to ferry rd saw lots of birds leave the area in a flock had a small laugh to myself. Dont know what type of bird it was apart from lovely.
Posted 7 years ago # -
I wasn't really expecting to see any unusual wildlife due to this morning's blustery weather, but not only did I spot the Meggetland Kingfisher for the first time in a few weeks, I also spotted the Hermiston House Kingfisher for the first time in a few months. It possibly helped that I was runnning a bit late so there were fewer people on the towpath. A very satisfying final commute for 2016.
Posted 7 years ago # -
SO there are two (at least)!
Posted 7 years ago # -
@chdot it would appear so! I did spot two kingfishers on one occasion previously, but they were on either side of the Calder Road Bridge (I suspect that it might have been the border of their respective territories if so) so it's feasible that it was just one kingfisher that took flight after I spotted it the first time, overtook me stealthily under the bridge and landed to be spotted a second time...
Posted 7 years ago # -
My first Redwing of winter on the NEPN this morning.
Posted 7 years ago # -
@Min
Pencaitland path festooned with Redwings yesterday. Mixed flocks with chaffinches.
Posted 7 years ago # -
Includes kingfishers (and WC)
Posted 7 years ago #
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