Tuesday 16 June 2009

The Water of Leith - Home to Wildlife

Yesterday, I walked along 'my' section of the river as I do every week now. It really is a wonderful green space in the middle of a busy city. The river and the woodland around it, is home to wildlife including roe deer, otters, kingfishers and herons. Yesterday:

Insistent peeping, a young dipper flutters its wings until its hardworking parent feeds it with grubs. Then immediately the youngster is peeping again.

In the trees, a blackcap sings its rich warble and a bullfinch suddenly appears, vibrantly pink.

A grey wagtail flutters after the insects that float above the river.

The river is certainly richer for the diversity of species that live here.


Home for Refugee Week.

9 comments:

Jinksy said...

'Your' river sounds like heaven...

poefusion said...

Thanks for the recap. I enjoy walking with you along the river. I experienced two robins settling on my back deck yesterday and one trying to feed the other a worm. They flew off before I could see it played out completely. Nonetheless, it was a great moment. Have a nice day.

Julie said...

Your river sounds lovely. We have many of those same birds and animals you mention. I'm not sure about the dipper, though. I'll have to check that one out. I love the link. It is beautiful!

RG said...

Our Dipper is all brown. Seeing them along a stream or river usually means the water is clean, cool, and supports lots of life. We call them an "indicator" species.

Did you see any nuns fishing? My verify word is "nunsfish"!

Tarun Kumar said...

The CIC organised at its recent General Assembly an international competition on wildlife photography, with the title “Mammal Predators in Their Habitats”. For complete report http://lifeofearth.org/topics/wildlife

Forthvalley scribe said...

Kingfishers? My goodness, how the water has improved since my Edinburgh days! I'm almost tempted to be jealous.

Deb G said...

I've been thinking about how important green belts are in city/urban areas. They make our lives so much richer.

Anonymous said...

I think we have spotted a family of Kestrels on the river towards Roseburn does that sound possible?

Crafty Green Poet said...

Hi Anonymous, I've seen kestrels in Edinburgh so yes it is possible....!