Edinburgh and Cramond

A little donder around Edinburgh in fine weather produced a nice selection of common birds including a couple of Bullfinches and three Buzzards but no Dipper along the Water of Leith.

So Ingrid and I drove to Cramond where a walk along the river produced fantastic views of two pairs of Dippers, three Goosanders (including two adult drakes taking bread from others) and five Grey Wagtails. The beach had a mix of Dunlin, Redshank, Curlew and Oystercatcher. A Treecreeper and a Grey Heron were also noted.

Dipper at Cramond

Dipper at Cramond

Goosander at Cramond

Goosander at Cramond

Musselburgh, 18th July 2017

The day started with a Siskin over the Edinburgh garden - another quick Musselburgh trip was then in order for the morning before other stuff later in the day. Highlights today included two each of Greenshank, Common Sandpiper and Black-tailed Godwit. Other bits included 480 Eiders, 117 Goosanders, 102 Mute Swans, the Wigeon, four Common and 12 Velvet Scoters, two Red-throated Divers, a Fulmar, 83 Bar-tailed Godwits, 97 Dunlin, representatives of all the common auks and a lone Grey Partridge. Several juvenile Herring Gulls and a juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull were at the River Esk mouth.

chilling Goosanders

Curlew

Red-throated Diver

Lothian, 12-16th July 2017

In Edinburgh for a while, I'm managing to fit in a little ornithological activity here and there, through ringing in the garden and local trips. The single net stretching over the lawn has had its moments, catching a Bullfinch, five House Sparrows and a Coal Tit of note so far. Musselburgh Lagoons is the best site within easy reach and welcomed me back with a Wood Sandpiper on Thursday, this being among a good variety of expected waders. Activity in the adjacent Firth of Forth has also provided much interest (for my southern inland eyes at least), with Goosanders peaking at 97, Eiders at 300, Velvet Scoters at 14, Common Scoters at 60 and seabirds such as Red-throated Diver, Puffin, Guillemot, Razorbill, Fulmar and Gannet featuring. A trip to Aberlady Bay on Friday produced my first two Scottish Little Egrets and a Lesser Redpoll.

2cy female Bullfinch in the garden on Wednesday

Wood Sandpiper at Musselburgh on Thursday

adult Black-tailed Godwit at Musselburgh on Thursday

Little Egret at Aberlady Bay on Friday, a Scottish tick for me

Lesser Redpoll at Aberlady Bay on Friday

juvenile Sandwich Tern at Musselburgh on Friday

some kind of escaped butterfly at Musselburgh on Friday

one of five House Sparrows caught in the garden yesterday

part of the mass of Goosanders at Musselburgh today

adult Kittiwake at Musselburgh today

eclipse drake Eider at Musselburgh today

some of the 96 Mute Swans at the River Esk mouth at Musselburgh today

Lothian, 30th March-11th April

I managed to fit in a little birding while staying at Ingrid's for a while. There was quite a bit around her garden, including regular Bullfinches, redpolls and Siskins, plus a migrant flock of 40 Pink-footed Geese overhead on 31st. I set up a net in the garden, a fairly productive enterprise over the first couple of days but soon burning out, a smart Bullfinch and a couple of Coal Tits being the best catches. After the earlier Tawny Owl surprise, the woods just around the corner came up with two Crossbills on April 9th.

Birding trips out were limited to visits to John Muir Country Park on 1st April, Musselburgh two days later and the Scottish Seabird Centre at North Berwick on 6th. The first two sites provided a nice array of coastal species, including 11 Velvet Scoters, a Greenshank and a showy drake Red-breasted Merganser at Musselburgh. I was mightily impressed with the centre at North Berwick and how well it engages the public with the wonder of our seabirds, with impressive displays and easy viewing of the seabird colonies on Bass Rock and Craighleith. Managing to connect with Puffin and Purple Sandpiper at the Seabird Centre, Bass Rock and its Gannets provided the most spectacular presence.

Bullfinch in Edinburgh

A friendly drake Red-breasted Merganser at Musselburgh on 3rd April

Curlew at John Muir CP on 1st April

The beautiful dunes and flats of Tyninghame Bay on 1st April

Skylark at John Muir CP on 1st April

Peregrine at John Muir CP on 1st April

North Berwick's main attraction

Scottish Seabird Centre display

Purple Sandpiper at North Berwick on 6th April

Bass Rock, smattered in Gannets on 6th April

Eiders at North Berwick on 6th April

juvenile Crossbill at Ravelston Woods on 9th April

Nuthatch at Ravelston Woods on 9th April

Ravelston Woods, 29th March 2017

I arrived in Edinburgh late in the afternoon only to be told to rush to the local primary school sharpish as Ingrid had found a Tawny Owlet while helping out with its weekly wildlife club (a fantastic and popular outing, I wish I had this when I was little!). Sure enough, there was a little ball of fluff perched quite contently by the path! We couldn't spot any siblings or parents but they were probably nearby. Ravelston Woods is a charming little place and we also logged Bullfinches, Treecreepers and a Nuthatch.

Tawny Owlet

Edinburgh and Musselburgh, 7th January 2017

Up in Edinburgh for a few days, Ingrid and I started the day with a quick pit stop at Dalry and our hopes were realised when 35 Waxwings suddenly flew in. They were very skittish and only settled on the berries for a few seconds before flying off to some tall distant trees. With a busy agenda, we had to move on.

Waxwings in Edinburgh

Next up was Musselburgh in a search for seaducks. We couldn't locate the wintering drake Surf Scoter but probably weren't quite looking in the right place. It was wonderful, though, to see Velvet and Common Scoters, good numbers Red-breasted Mergansers and Eiders, rafts of Goldeneyes, as well as a few Slavonian Grebes and Long-tailed Ducks.

adult ♂ Velvet Scoters off Musselburgh

Slavonian Grebes off Musselburgh

adult ♂ Long-tailed Duck off Musselburgh

Eiders off Musselburgh