New Camera, Same Old Blogger

 My lovely wife treated me to a new compact camera for my birthday, ideal for producing the snaps and videos I use in my blogs. 

This gave me the perfect excuse to get out to some of my local patches to test out this brilliant piece of photographic equipment. My first stop was down at the Forth Estuary under the Rail Bridge:

The Forth Bridges

The Rail Bridge

I had a look about for some wildlife to photograph but it was a bit quiet; the birds I could see were quite far away, but I tried my best with this little camera:

Heron under Rail Bridge

Red Breasted Merganser

There were a couple of birds on the shoreline which were a bit closer, but they kept dodging in and out of the rocks:

Curlew

Oystercatcher

Thought that it would be a good time to try the video recording on this little camera:

I was certainly pleased with the quality of that video. You might not see the full benefit of it as I had to reduce the quality level in order to upload the video to my blog.

Whilst I was in video mode, I managed to capture the Pilot's Launch returning to the Hawes Pier:

And here is that same boat moored at the pier:

Skua the Pilot Boat at Hawes Pier

Here is my last photo from this area, a train crossing The Bridge:

Train Crossing The Rail Bridge

Next stop on my outing was Pepper Wood near Kirkliston:

Pepper Wood

It was reasonably quiet here, but I did manage to snap a Blue Tit and a Blackbird:

Blue Tit in Pepper Wood

Blue Tit Close-up

Blackbird in Pepper Wood

I was just about to leave Pepper Wood when I heard the unmistakable sound of Pink-footed Geese. 

I frantically searched the sky through the trees and finally managed to catch them flying overhead:

On my way back from Pepper Wood I stopped at the back of Edinburgh Airport to check out the River Almond:

River Almond

Again there was not a lot about; a pair of Mallards on the River and a large green and white bird landing behind the trees:

Mallards on River Almond

Plane Landing at Edinburgh Airport

That was all for that days outing.

A few days later I was out again, this time a little trip to Humbie Pond:

Humbie Pond

Snowdrops at Humbie Pond

This private fishing pond can sometimes be quite good for birds, but on this occasion there wasn't too much and what was there was quite far away. I did manage to video some Teal, Coot and a solitary Dabchick:

There had been a lot of rain a few days earlier and some of the fields (and roads) in the Humbie area were flooded:

Flooded Fields near Humbie

It was however a really nice day, if a bit cold and windy, so I took some snaps of the scenery:

View towards The Queensferry Crossing

View towards the Snow-covered Ochil Hills

I also went for a walk along the old railway line from Dalmeny to Royal Elizabeth Yard to see if there was any wildlife about. However the only thing of note was a little group of Tree Sparrows, which are not particularly common in this area:

Tree Sparrow hiding in bush

Another Tree Sparrow a bit more visible

Tree Sparrow out on a limb

Not too great in the photographic stakes, but I did my best. Maybe the video is a bit better:

Short but sweet.

The rest of my photos and videos with my new camera were taken in my back garden, some better than others. Let us start with some birds I caught way back in February when we had a little snow:

Crow in Snow

Fat Pigeon of the Wood variety

Grumpy Greenfinch

Moving forward a week we saw some more Spring-like activity such as this Blue Tit investigating our old birdbox:

Blue Tit Entering Birdbox

Blue Tit in Birdbox

And here he is leaving the birdbox after checking it out:

Not sure if he approved or not.

We also had a Goldfinch practising his Spring song:

Goldfinch in our Tree

I know you can't hear him singing in the photo; here is the video evidence:

The Goldfinch song is supposed to sound a bit like someone jangling keys! you can make up your own mind about that.

We had a some other birds who visited the garden over the next few weeks:

Is that a new camera you have?

Is this pose okay?

This is how you pose?

I'm not really Grumpy

It's just the way I look!

Strike that pose!

But I wasn't limited to birds posing in the garden, oh no, our resident Wood Mouse just had to get in on the act:

Did you want cute?

Foraging in the sun

Last one for the camera.

So that's it for now. 

Some local photos and videos using my new compact camera, next time I will go further afield and seek out more exotic wildlife and scenery ................ I hope.

Hope you enjoyed these ones

cheers

Teddy Edward

Mammals not in our Garden

 Last month's blog posting featured mammals that have visited our garden but I don't want you to think that they were the only mammals I have ever seen. I have photographed and filmed many other mammals in the UK over the last few years, so I thought that I'd share some of these with you.

Here are just some of the mammals not in our garden, starting with a common garden visitor for some people, the Red Fox., which I have seen in both an urban context and in a rural context.

Firstly here is a short video of a Fox visiting the caravan park at Crystal Palace near London back in 2018:

This would probably be considered as an urban Fox, the next one however was in a field adjacent to a holiday home we had rented in Somerset in 2015, it was definitely a more rural Fox:

I have seen foxes in our housing estate, but to the best of my knowledge they just haven't ventured in to our garden.

Next up Squirrels, now you know that we have had Grey Squirrels visiting our garden, but not proper Squirrels. I am of course referring to the much cuter and definitely more native Red Squirrel. Here is a photo of such a creature that I took in the woods near Carrbridge way back in 2006:

Red Squirrel in Glencharnoch Woods, Carrbridge

They are quite hard to capture with a camera as they don't sit still for very long, except if the are visiting a feeder. I have seen Red Squirrel in many places ranging from Speyside down to Formby in Lancashire and have managed to catch one or two on video:

Here is one visiting the feeder at Anagach Woods near Grantown on Spey:

And here is one filmed using my trail camera, taken when we were staying at Tarland Caravan Park in Aberdeenshire (yes it is also at a feeder):

Very cute all the same.

Let's move on to somewhat bigger mammals now...................Deer........................  there are several species of deer you might see in the UK but ignoring the more exotic species such as Sika, Muntjac and Chinese Water Deer (mainly because I haven't seen them) I want to concentrate on the three most common species.

Let's start with the most common in our area, the Roe Deer. I see these smallish deer quite regularly, particularly in the fields and woodland edges at the back of Edinburgh Airport. Here are some Roe Deer hinds sharing a field with some Greylag Geese near to the Pepper Wood:

I filmed this sturdy Roe Deer buck in another field nearby, just off the old railway track:

I have been fortunate to see Roe Deer on many occasions over the years, each time it has been a pleasure and reassures me that wildlife will find a way to survive.

Slightly more tricky is a deer that is much less common in Scotland, I am referring to the Fallow Deer of course. Back in 2015 we were on holiday in London for a few days and took a trip to the place you are almost guaranteed to see Fallow Deer, Richmond Park, we weren't disappointed:

Fallow Deer in Richmond Park

White Hart Grazing

Back in Scotland we do have a large deer that is slightly easier to see, provided you go to the right places, and have your camera at the ready:

Red Deer in the Snow near Aberfeldy

Red Deer Stags in Winter

You don't always have to go up to hills in the middle of Winter to see these magnificent beasts, sometimes you can get a 10 pointer stag at the side of a layby on the A82 (if you know what layby to go too that is!)

Red Deer Stag at Loch Tulla Viewpoint

A Magnificent Ten Pointer

The next mammal is a bit of an embarrassment to me, mainly because I haven't made the effort to go and see them in the wild, even when I know where they can be found. I am talking about the beast that is known as the Badger. I have been reluctant to go to known Badger sites and sit in the dark woods being eaten by midges for hours in the hope that I might get a glimpse of one.

I have seen semi-wild Badgers in Somerset may years ago, they had been provided with a home (a man-made sett) but otherwise could go out into the wilds to forage at night. Does that count?

The nearest I have come across them in my local patch is some Badger footprints in the mud at Pepper Wood:

You can tell they are Badger prints and not a dog as they are wide and have five distinct toes each with long claws.

Moving swiftly on, another mammal I have seen on several occasions and in various places throughout the country (including Avalon Marshes in Somerset and Loch Duich in Kintail) is the Otter. 

I however have failed miserably to capture a decent image of the Otters during these wildlife sightings and have to resort to showing you captive Asian Small-clawed Otters I filmed at the London Wetland Centre:

A poor substitute for a sighting of a wild Otter, but entertaining non-the-less.

I do however have plenty of photographs of wild Rabbits, but I won't bore you with that and instead will show you a video of a wild Brown Hare:

Once again my 'go-to' place to see Brown Hares round here is the fields at the back of Edinburgh Airport. I have yet to get a proper view of Mountain Hare but not around here I am afraid, I did however see Irish Hare on Mull back in 2013. I know that Mull isn't in Ireland, but it does have a population of Irish Hares!

What about the marine mammals I hear you say!

Well, I have seen Dolphins and Porpoises in the Forth Estuary, I have witnessed the Dolphins at Chanonry Point fishing for salmon in the Moray Firth, but as usual I didn't catch them on film. I did however manage to capture a (not great) video of some Dolphins swimming in the bay at Stonehaven:

Back in 2014 whilst visiting Tentsmuir I spent about an hour watching dozens of Atlantic Grey Seals hauled out on a sandbank which was gradually disappearing on an incoming tide:

Grey Seals on Sandbank near Tentsmuir

Sandbank disappearing under incoming tide

This little video captures the Seals' reluctance to leave the sandbank until the very last minute:

That is about the sum total of my marine mammal photos and videos.

With regards to my land mammals (excluding humans) all I have left is a few fuzzy photos of Field Voles and Bunny Rabbits...................... Oh! unless of course you want to see my favourite video?

Pine Martens at Cruachan, you beauties!

They say to be a good wildlife watcher you have to be at the right place at the right time. I would also add that you need to also have your camera ready if you want to share it with others.

I guess I will need to go looking for Badgers now.

Take care everybody

cheers

Teddyedward

Mammalian Visitors 2021

 Usually when I post a blog relating to creatures that visit our garden it is predominately birds that feature in this blog, with the occasional mention of insects, mammals, butterflies, etc. This posting is slightly different as I wanted to concentrate on the mammals that have visited our garden in this past year.

Before you get too excited about views of Foxes, Badgers or Pine Martens frolicking on our lawn I have to warn you that none of these exotic creatures have visited our garden this year. so with that in mind I will start with a mammal that I am always pleased to see in the garden, namely the prickly little Hedgehog:

Hedgehog rooting around our Back Garden

Smile for the Camera!

A welcome visitor because it helps keep down the slug population and also because it is cute and doesn't mind being photographed.

This one was photographed back in March and it looked quite fit and healthy after its winter hibernation. It was in our back garden, but Hedgehogs have also shown up in our front garden, whether it was the same one I don't know.

Here is a video of this Hedgehog in our back garden during the day, taken in March:

A few weeks later (in April) I caught this Hedgehog sniffing around our pond in the front garden at night:

It may be the same Hedgehog but I can't be sure; I know that in the past I have seen two Hedgehogs in the garden at the same time.

Another visitor who can be seen day or night is our resident Wood Mouse:

Semi-resident Wood Mouse

We think he lives under our shed, but we only see him in the Winter & Spring months (December to April) so I would say he is semi-resident. Probably takes a long Summer break somewhere more fruitful as I tend not to put bird-seed out during the Summer and early Autumn.

Here is a video taken back in March which shows the Wood Mouse and a Chaffinch trying their best to avoid each other:

I am not sure who is scared of who? (and I don't think they know either).

The one creature that they are both scared of visits our garden day and night; it is definitely not a resident, and there are more than one of them. I am of course talking about the Domestic Cat.

We have cats who visit our front garden during the day, drinking from the pond and generally lazing around in the grass. They do occasionally show some movement when a small bird comes to the pond for a drink.

At night they tend to prefer the back garden for prowling around, like this long-haired cat:

Or this short-haired cat:

They sometimes try to hunt down our little Wood Mouse but so far he has been lucky enough to avoid capture; in fact I saw him a few days ago:

Looks healthy enough to me.

 For the first time ever (or certainly the first time I have seen it) we got a visit from the Wood Mouse's larger cousin; a Brown Rat:

That was back in May and we haven't seen it since (which Moira is pleased about). Maybe one of the cat's got it? Would probably have to be a chunky farm mouser to take down an adult Brown Rat. 

Another rodent that has been visiting our garden over the last few months and has been entertaining and annoying us in equal measure is a Grey Squirrel (well two Grey Squirrels to be precise). 

Grey Squirrel on Shed Roof

Roof Runner

Grey Squirrel (aka Tree Rat)

Had it been a cute little native Red Squirrel then I would be over the moon, but alas it is its bigger non-native cousin. I don't actually hate Grey Squirrels I just don't want to encourage their spread into Red Squirrel areas. Although I don't know of any Red Squirrels near where I stay; you would probably have to go over to Devilla Forest in Fife to find the nearest population.

As I mentioned the Grey Squirrel can still be entertaining; here is one trying to get to our bird feeder on a snowy day in November:

I have tried to chase it away from the bird's feeder but it isn't really scared  just looks at you then goes back to feeding, only running away when you get really close to it:

I have made a plastic shield (using an empty chicken breast container) and attached it to the feeder hanger; this seems to have the desired effect of making it awkward for the squirrel to get in and eat the seeds. 

Squirrel Guard

The Squirrels are not visiting our garden very often now; in fact the last time one visited it fed on the Sycamore seeds that have blown in from an adjacent tree:

I can live with that!

Another mammal to visit our garden in 2021 was once also labelled as a rodent, but has since been reclassified as being of the family Lagomorpha (which also includes Hares and Pikas). You've guessed it, a Rabbit.............. not the rarest of creatures but the first time we have had one in our garden:

Rabbit in our Back Garden

Brer Rabbit (not rare Rabbit)

Dodgy Close-up

It visited our garden a few times in September but we haven't seen in recently. I imagine a Fox visiting somebody else's garden might have got it?

I will leave you with one last mammalian visitor; it is not a rodent, it likes to climb trees, it is quite rare and it is the largest mammal we have had visiting our garden this last year:

It is of course..................... a Tree Surgeon................. Sorry if you were expecting some exotic wild creature (who knows, he might be?)

That's all folks!

Take Care

Teddyedward