I think anybody who has at least a passing interest in wildlife should have a Local Patch; where they can take time out from their hectic life to sit or walk and enjoy the natural world around them. This could be a local park, a nearby pond, a nature reserve or just your own back garden...........either way it can be somewhere you feel relaxed and can enjoy the wildlife.
I am quite fortunate to have several 'local patches' and I'd like to share some of my recent experiences with the natural world in these areas. Firstly I will start with my back garden, where I have the basic minimum requirements; a small lawn, a couple of bushes/small trees, a bird feeder and a bird bath.
This however is more than enough to attract a few garden birds...................as illustrated below:
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| Female Chaffinch |
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| Male Chaffinch |
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| Starling in the snow |
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| Starling feeding |
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| Male Siskin on feeder |
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| Male Siskin in bush |
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| Blackbird |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Goldfinches |
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| You looking at me? |
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| Goldfinch in flight |
Moving slightly further afield, within a ten minute walk is a local cycle/walk way which makes use of a redundant railway line. It is very popular with dog walkers and cyclist so can be busy at certain times of the day, particularly at the weekend. This can impact on the level of wildlife you see but does not detract from it being an enjoyable walk with some lovely views:
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| Old Bridge on cycle/walk way |
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| Cycle/Walk Way |
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| Ferry Burn cascading down |
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| Sunlight on Rail Bridge arches |
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| Forth Rail Bridge in afternoon sun |
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| Heron on Dalmeny Ponds |
This cycle/walk way carries on for about five or six miles, so you need to give yourself plenty of time if you want to walk it all...........and come back!
I sometimes come off the cycle/walk way at a place called Royal Elizabeth Yard (it used to be a MOD storage depot but now it is just a general transport hub) from here I take an alternative route home. This is often quieter at the weekends and gives you some lovely views of the Pentland Hills just South of Edinburgh:
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| Pentland Hills |
You do occasionally see some wildlife such as this pheasant in the field:
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| Cock Pheasant |
Or this flock of waders, who were happily roosting in the field until I went past and spooked them.......oops!!
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| Waders Take-off |
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| Waders Fly Away |
And if you are very lucky you might see some Roe Deer such as this buck which is still sporting its antlers:
Apologies for the noise of the cars in the background but it was just off the B800 which can be a busy road at times.
Going a bit further afield there are a few places that are less than a ten minutes drive away (or a twenty minute cycle) and which I consider to still be some of my Local Patches, such as Humbie Pond:
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| Humbie Pond |
Those of you who are observant will notice that there is a family of Swans on the partially frozen pond; those of you are keen birders may have even noticed the bird of prey at the top of the tall tree near to the pond. I did mange to get a closer look at this bird of prey, it is a Buzzard as you might (or might not) make out from this video clip:
Certainly the bird that was calling 'keyaah' sounds like a Buzzard to me.
Another favourite haunt of mine is a little wooded area that lies just north of Edinburgh Airport:
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| Come Fly With Me |
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| Up, Up and Away |
Despite being less than half a mile from the airport Pepper Wood is a tranquil place, and although it is a small woodland it is well worth a walk round. The fields surrounding it are always worth checking out as well; I have seen large flocks of Pink-footed Geese, Fieldfare and Lapwings in these fields.
My recent visit to Pepper Wood was special for a much more common bird, everybody's favourite......the Robin:
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| Robin in Pepper Wood |
This little bird followed me all around the woodland, anywhere I went he (or maybe she) went; and it wasn't afraid to come close to me:
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| Robin Close-up |
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| Robin very close |
It became apparent that on this snowy day the Robin was looking for food. Perhaps someone had been feeding this bird on previous days and it had equated people to food, whatever the case it followed me everywhere. There was also a Great Tit following me, but anytime it got close the Robin would chase it away. The only thing I had to eat with me was an Eccles Cake, so I dropped a few crumbs on a snowy tree stump and got my camcorder ready for the showdown:
I hope that you enjoyed my trip round some of my local patches, perhaps it might encourage you to get out a find your own local patch, if you haven't already done so.
Take care and enjoy yourself
Teddyedward
