I'm continuing my work surveying the wildlife in the 43 cemeteries managed by Edinburgh Council. Yesterday, I surveyed Mortonhall Cemetery and the grounds of the Crematorium, but doe to issues with my camera memory, I don't have any photos of that visit! (You can see photos from my previous visits to this cemetery here and here.)
Today, I revisited Craigmillar Castle Cemetery, the newest cemetery in Edinburgh. As last time (see this post), I was given something of a guided tour by Craig the Cat.
Craig is a very capable tour guide
but does need to have regular rests
This cemetery has wonderful views over to the Pentlands at one side
and Arthur's Seat and the Salisbury Crags at the other
There is a lovely flower bed planted with a range of flowers that are enjoyed by pollinating insects, including mayweed and common poppy
though there weren't many insects there when I stopped by (possibly because the flowerbed was in the shade at the time, though the recent declines in insect populations have been very obvious).
The ornamental chives and Lambs' Ears at the other end of the cemetery were being visited by a good number of bees, including this Buff Tailed Bumblebee
3 comments:
Craig looks exactly my kind of tour guide! I'm glad you are getting butterflies, even if not perhaps in the numbers you might hope for. It will be very interesting to see this years BC Big Butterfly Count results in due course as some of our records (positive and negative) have surprised us. Small Tortoiseshells have not been abundant, but unlike a few years ago, at least we have seen a trickle. Lots of Graylings on the heath, a buttefly I have only ever seen twice before.
Hi Caroline, Craig is a lovely guide! I've not seen many Small Tortoiseshells this year either and a lot more Small Skippers than ever (they're really thriving now in Scotland, having only arrived here a short while ago). The Butterfly Count results will be interesting.
Isn't Craig a lovely guide ...
All the best Jan
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