A nice evening, more like summer, so we decided to head for the Pentlands and go for an evening walk. Picked up a couple of provisions on the way out and headed for Flotterstone where we parked the car and set off about 5pm. Lots of swifts and swallows were flying about on this fine evening and we also spotted a heron and a kestrel on our way up the glen. Reached the Loganlea resevoir about 630 and sat down and had our meal overlooking the resevoir which was teeming with fish and a few fishermen in boats trying to catch them!
Spotted more swifts and swallows later as we made our way back down the glen and also noted a few butterflies fluttering about - we are sure they were all ringlets. It was nice to see some butterflies as we have not seen many so far this summer.
Sunday, 22 July 2012
Corstorphine 17 July
An ok day today in terms of the weather so took an evening walk to Corstorphine area and the mission was to spot some badgers. We settled down at one of the setts and waited for some badgers but it was a bit more tricky because there was loads of himalayan balsam in the way and it was all over the place. Howerver after we had settled down at the sett we didnt have too long to wait before some badgers duly appeared. At 0one point there were three badgers fighting with each other and making a lot of noise - it looked like 2 were ganging up on another and maybe they were trying to drive off a young one? or maybe it was just mock fighting? eventually they disappeared into the undergrowth but a couple of others padded about the sett and we saw about 5 or 6 in total so it was a worthwhile trip.
On the way back we stopped in the woods and watched a couple of bats (pipistrelles) flying about just before dusk so that rounded off a good night as we headed back to the car.
On the way back we stopped in the woods and watched a couple of bats (pipistrelles) flying about just before dusk so that rounded off a good night as we headed back to the car.
2-16 July 2012
Weather absolutely awful the last couple of weeks so we have not been out as much as we would have liked. Have done some local walks including blackford hill, the hermitage and craiglockhart dell. Raining solid the most of the time so we did not see too much apart from a few birds including a kestrel, buzzard and a few ducks and geese etc. Glad to see the back of this spell and hope the weather takes a turn for the better soon!
Monday, 2 July 2012
Peebles\Stobo 30 June
Away at 6am this morning headed for Peebles area to do some walking, wildlife watching and visits to local gardens. The first stop after driving through Peebles was Cadrona forest which has some nice walking trails and paths climbing up to good viewpoints. The weather was dry as we set off and eventually the sun came out as we headed uphill through the trees on the 'red route' which was a circular route of some 4 miles or so. the forest tracks were very wet and muddy but we managed to navigate our way to the highest point where a nice bench awaited overlooking some of the surrounding countryside. At this point the sun came out so we got our breakfast of porridge, rolls and coffee eaten under a sunny sky!! After relaxing in the sun for a bit after the breakfast we got on our way and headed onwards - in terms of wildlife this was not a great walk for spotting things as we only saw a buzzard, bullfinch and a butterfly - the 3 b's!!
We got back to the car mid-morning and by this time some showery rain came on as we drove along the road to Kailzie (the locals pronounce it "Kailie" - silent "z"!) gardens which has an osprey watch centre within the grounds. The centre is staffed with volunteers and we were given a warm welcome by a nice couple called Norma and Ian who were very helpful and informative about the ospreys and other local wildlife. As well as watching the osprey chicks on the nest we also looked on as many small birds came to the feeding table including siskins, robins and finches but the highlight was seeing a couple of nuthatches coming to feed - what beautiful little birds and the blue\azure colour on their breast is exquisite.
It was nice to be in the centre at this point as it was raining outside and everywhere looked a bit grey and dreich. After a good chat and discussion about the ospreys with Norma we headed off and our aim this time was Dawyck Botanic Gardens near Stobo, about 8 miles from Peebles.
We arrived, after driving through some lovely countryside, at Dawyck about 2pm to be greeted by sunshine and showers but it was mild so okay for a walk through this lovely tree garden which is part of the Royal Botanics. Now I am no tree expert but some of the specimens here are impressive including fir, spruce and larch and there were some trees dating back 300 years! There were also a lot of tree species from Japan [planted here so the climate in parts of Japan must be quite similar (very wet!!) as they seem to thrive here! Just think it has taken hundreds of years for this garden to evolve and mature and it really is a national treasure situated in a beautiful valley in a lovely part of Scotland! The gardens itself is lovingly tended and cared for and one of the features is the number of benches, many in memorium, spread throughout the garden in almost every corner and all in good condition. There are also some nice little bridges over the cascading stream which give nice viewpoints over the garden and from one of them we spotted a couple of red squirrels scurrying up trees! Another two were spotted later so 4 in all was pleasing after drawing a blank in Cadrona forest. The gardens are open until 6 so we made our way back to the very nice visitor centre\cafe and had a warming cup of tea as the rain fell steadily outside. The lady who served us said that she often saw hares in the garden from about 5.30pm - we hung about but no sign of them! All in all I would say this was a very pleasant experience and this is an excellent place to visit and comes highly recommended if you are in the area! Also spotted a buzzard and jay whilst in the garden so good for wildlife too!!
By this time it was about 6pm and the next stop was Stobo Castle health spa for a quick look around as it was just along the road. The weather had turned a bit grey and chilly by this point but we saw a nice pond in the grounds and there was a path around it so we got out for a brief walk but after spotting lots of jumping fish we thought it might be a good place to spot an osprey so we sheltered under a tree as the rain came down and waited..........after about 20 minutes an osprey duly flew over the pond and took a good look down at the water as if it was ready to swoop but it did not reappear and our hopes of it coming down for a fish were dashed!
However a pleasant surprise awaited as we stumbled across a secluded Japanese water garden right next to the pond!! Although some slippery stones had to be negotiated on the way down it was well worthwhile as the garden had some lovely trees, plants and shrubs and of course plenty of water running through it and lovely little bridges and stepping stones to negotiate the water channels. It was like being in paradise. A beautiful little tea house was on its own little island, only reached by stepping stones.
We'd had a full day out and would have loved to have stayed out longer but the weather had turned a bit more miserable and decided to head back home to Edinburgh.
We got back to the car mid-morning and by this time some showery rain came on as we drove along the road to Kailzie (the locals pronounce it "Kailie" - silent "z"!) gardens which has an osprey watch centre within the grounds. The centre is staffed with volunteers and we were given a warm welcome by a nice couple called Norma and Ian who were very helpful and informative about the ospreys and other local wildlife. As well as watching the osprey chicks on the nest we also looked on as many small birds came to the feeding table including siskins, robins and finches but the highlight was seeing a couple of nuthatches coming to feed - what beautiful little birds and the blue\azure colour on their breast is exquisite.
It was nice to be in the centre at this point as it was raining outside and everywhere looked a bit grey and dreich. After a good chat and discussion about the ospreys with Norma we headed off and our aim this time was Dawyck Botanic Gardens near Stobo, about 8 miles from Peebles.
We arrived, after driving through some lovely countryside, at Dawyck about 2pm to be greeted by sunshine and showers but it was mild so okay for a walk through this lovely tree garden which is part of the Royal Botanics. Now I am no tree expert but some of the specimens here are impressive including fir, spruce and larch and there were some trees dating back 300 years! There were also a lot of tree species from Japan [planted here so the climate in parts of Japan must be quite similar (very wet!!) as they seem to thrive here! Just think it has taken hundreds of years for this garden to evolve and mature and it really is a national treasure situated in a beautiful valley in a lovely part of Scotland! The gardens itself is lovingly tended and cared for and one of the features is the number of benches, many in memorium, spread throughout the garden in almost every corner and all in good condition. There are also some nice little bridges over the cascading stream which give nice viewpoints over the garden and from one of them we spotted a couple of red squirrels scurrying up trees! Another two were spotted later so 4 in all was pleasing after drawing a blank in Cadrona forest. The gardens are open until 6 so we made our way back to the very nice visitor centre\cafe and had a warming cup of tea as the rain fell steadily outside. The lady who served us said that she often saw hares in the garden from about 5.30pm - we hung about but no sign of them! All in all I would say this was a very pleasant experience and this is an excellent place to visit and comes highly recommended if you are in the area! Also spotted a buzzard and jay whilst in the garden so good for wildlife too!!
By this time it was about 6pm and the next stop was Stobo Castle health spa for a quick look around as it was just along the road. The weather had turned a bit grey and chilly by this point but we saw a nice pond in the grounds and there was a path around it so we got out for a brief walk but after spotting lots of jumping fish we thought it might be a good place to spot an osprey so we sheltered under a tree as the rain came down and waited..........after about 20 minutes an osprey duly flew over the pond and took a good look down at the water as if it was ready to swoop but it did not reappear and our hopes of it coming down for a fish were dashed!
However a pleasant surprise awaited as we stumbled across a secluded Japanese water garden right next to the pond!! Although some slippery stones had to be negotiated on the way down it was well worthwhile as the garden had some lovely trees, plants and shrubs and of course plenty of water running through it and lovely little bridges and stepping stones to negotiate the water channels. It was like being in paradise. A beautiful little tea house was on its own little island, only reached by stepping stones.
We'd had a full day out and would have loved to have stayed out longer but the weather had turned a bit more miserable and decided to head back home to Edinburgh.
REH Grounds 26 June
Took an evening walk tonight around the grounds of REH to see if we could spot any wildlife as roe deer, foxes and badgers have been spotted recently. It was a rather damp night with some drizzly rain but the temperatures were mild so okay for an evening stroll.
The rain went off for a while and some swifts and swallows appeared but the highlight was watching some bats doing their acrobatics around the orchard after 10pm - very nice to watch and cheered us up after the poor weather. The only other thing of note was hearing a tawny owl calling as it got darker. And that was it!!
The rain went off for a while and some swifts and swallows appeared but the highlight was watching some bats doing their acrobatics around the orchard after 10pm - very nice to watch and cheered us up after the poor weather. The only other thing of note was hearing a tawny owl calling as it got darker. And that was it!!
Sunday, 1 July 2012
Bat count in Livingston 25 june
Out with Stuart from the Lothians and Borders Bat Group tonight to count the numbers in a roost in the loft space of a house. Quite an exciting prospect as we had never done anything like this before and we looked forward in anticipation on the drive out to Livingston. After meeting up with Stuart we headed to the house which was a fairly old building with a gable end and sloping roof and apparently the bats sqeezed through the tiniest gap between the wall and the roof to get in and out of their roost - we are talking millimetres so that is amazing!
Stuart issued us with counters and a bat detector and we settled down in our deckchairs to wait at about 930pm. Unfortunately it was a very still and damp night and the midges were out in force and on the attack! Anyway we covered ourselves up and waited......then the first bat duly appeared at 945pm and flew off! They then started coming out in 1's, 2's and 3's and eventually larger numbers and we were clicking away furiously on our counters....100, ......200, .......300.....and eventually up to 354 bats!! It was a great experience but a bit tricky in the fading light as some bats already out were flying near the entrance to the building so it was a bit tricky counting them at times. Stuart was quite encouraging to us newbies so all in all a good evening despite the menacing midges!
Stuart issued us with counters and a bat detector and we settled down in our deckchairs to wait at about 930pm. Unfortunately it was a very still and damp night and the midges were out in force and on the attack! Anyway we covered ourselves up and waited......then the first bat duly appeared at 945pm and flew off! They then started coming out in 1's, 2's and 3's and eventually larger numbers and we were clicking away furiously on our counters....100, ......200, .......300.....and eventually up to 354 bats!! It was a great experience but a bit tricky in the fading light as some bats already out were flying near the entrance to the building so it was a bit tricky counting them at times. Stuart was quite encouraging to us newbies so all in all a good evening despite the menacing midges!
Blackford Hill
Up very early today and out for a walk to Blackford Hill before 6am - a lot of surface water about but it was actually a nice sunny morning. We started off by walking past the pond and saw the swans and the cygnets in the exact same place as last time!!! Also a lot of ducks about and plenty of bunnies on the grass at the pond side. No sign of a kingfisher today so we took the path round the hill to a short but steep climb to the summit and once there we were greeted with the sight of swifts and swallows soaring over the hill. Also spotted a buzzard flying high over the hill looking for prey no doubt.
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