Along the Union Canal

It was a lovely day yesterday and we continued our staycation with a walk along the Union Canal through Edinburgh walking from Harrison Park to the point where the canal crosses the Water of Leith.

Harrison Park has some lovely wildflower borders these days

which are popular with hoverflies like this Syrphus sp

Harrison Park sits next to the canal and we continued our walk along the waterway.

Many plants are starting to seed, like the dandelion above and the thistles below

Several hoverflies were enjoying the sunshine along the canal including this footballer hoverfly (also known as a sunfly) (Helophilus sp)

and this pied hoverfly (Scaeva pyrastri, I think)

The hedgerow where the pied hoverfly was resting was full of house sparrows. House sparrows are declining across the UK and this area along the canal has always been a stronghold for them, though over the past couple of years there have been fewer than normal. Yesterday though there were more sparrows than we've seen for years, they've obviously had a successful breeding season! They're lovely, sociable birds.