Wildlife Watch: Outside, whatever the feather

Published on Friday 19 December 2008 20:47

THANK you to everyone who took part in the winter round of The Scotsman's Wildlife Watch.

All the pictures and notes collected during our quarterly nature survey, which is supported by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, will be passed on to Biological Recording in Scotland.

The information will help to build up a picture of how Scotland's native fauna and flora is adjusting to changes in our nation's climate.

A SPARROWHAWK has taken up residence. It treats the bird table as a McDonald's fast food outlet and waits patiently for an unwary bird to appear. Mixed feelings when it catches one.

Clark Cross

Linlithgow

REPORT for Friday on River Tweed: approximately 20 mallard together (mainly drakes); three male goosander; one heron; and possibly one sparrowhawk, which flew off from hedgerow on disused railway line. Weather very cold and gloomy.

Bill Glass

Innerleithen, Borders

ON SATURDAY, in addition to the usual mallard and moorhen residents of Glasgow's Kelvingrove Park duck-pond, a goosander pair had taken refuge from the fast-flowing Kelvin. A grey heron was also posing co-operatively by the pond.

On Sunday, in addition to the usual myriad gulls at Cardwell Bay, Gourock, we spotted four redshanks, two oystercatchers, two cormorants, a grey wagtail, a pied wagtail and a rock pipit; also six long-tailed tits hopping from tree to tree at the edge of the bay.

Iain Sinclair

Glasgow

AT OUR bird table we had: male and female bullfinches; coal, great and blue tits; and a robin. A thrush, blackbirds, magpies, crows, jackdaws and woodpigeons also visited our garden. We spotted a kestrel and a buzzard beside the Maybury Road and also four deer beside the A8 at Gogarburn. Our four friendly squirrels came for their peanut butter on toast – they also like chocolate spread.

Holly Sutherland (age 11)

Edinburgh

CARDWELL Bay and Battery Park in Gourock: in the trees by the shore I counted ten long-tailed tits; on the shoreline at the park, I spotted one curlew, and four oystercatchers; and, further along the Clyde estuary, there were redshank and lapwing.

Martin Denman

Erskine

I SPOTTED swans near Tain – a festive "bottoms-up".

Niki Fulton

Edinburgh

It's not too late to send in your sightings

WILDLIFE Watch may have come to an end for the winter, but it's not too late to send in your records.

We want to know which creatures you saw over the weekend, in your garden and in the countryside.

Your can e-mail your photographs and notes to [e-mail] or post them to: Wildlife Watch, The Scotsman, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh, EH8 8AS.

All of the records and pictures will be passed on to Biological Recording in Scotland, which will distribute them among its network of local record centres and biological recorders.

The information may be used in conservation work.

Thank you again to all our readers who have taken part – the next Wildlife Watch is due to take place in March.