Azaleas in the Botanic Gardens

I'm lucky enough to be currently teaching a nature writing class which is using Edinburgh's Botanic Gardens as a venue. A great venue at any time of year, but particularly at the moment! The azaleas and rhododendrons are beautiful just now, though not all of them are currently in bloom, some have faded past their best and some are yet to flower (which makes for a nicely extended season for this beautiful group of shrubs). I arrived early for yesterday's class and here are some of the photos I took

wildflower haiku

so much 

for the wildflower meadow -

new supermarket 

originally published on HaikuNetra.

 

Bluebells at Dalkeith Country Park

 Every year, one of the seasonal trips we like to make is to see the bluebells in Dalkeith Country Park. (Another is to see the cherry blossoms in the Japanese Garden at Lauriston Castle, as we did last weekend).  

So yesterday we took the bus to Dalkeith, just outside of Edinburgh. We walked through the Country Park, starting with this lovely path, which is lined with Ramsons in full bloom

Bluebells are in full bloom in amongst the Ramsons

Further into the Country Park, the path follows the river, the hillside beautifully covered with Ramsons

It was lovely to see several other wildflower species too, including Greater Stitchwort

Dalkeith Country Park is famous for its ancient oak trees

We found this impressive oak apple gall on one of the oak trees

These galls are caused by wasps, which lay eggs inside the gall. Once they hatch, the larvae of the wasp feed on the host tissues, but cause little damage. You can find out more about the oak gall wasp on the Woodland Trust website here. 

We didn't see many insects, apart from this scorpion fly

 It was lovely to see this wee snail

Lots of birds were singing, including Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and a Green Woodpecker. 

The retail area in the park was refurbished a few years ago and has lots of rabbit themed signage, like the sign below:

International Dawn Chorus Day

The first Sunday of May is International Dawn Chorus Day a celebration of nature's greatest symphony. All over the world, people rise early to enjoy listening to birdsong. You don't need to visit a nature reserve, you can just open your window and listen. Of course, you'll hear more if you live in a rural area, near woodland or ecologically managed farmland. However, even in urban areas you may hear a fair number of different species of birds singing first thing in the morning. 

Here in the centre of Edinburgh, Blackbirds sing from morning to night (it's lovely to wander through town in the evening and listen to the Blackbirds' beautiful song pouring off all the rooftops). We also have a variety of other songbirds including Chaffinches, Dunnocks, Blue Tits, Starlings, Woodpigeons and Collared Doves, all of whom will join in the dawn chorus at some point. 

You can find out more about International Dawn Chorus Day and how to take part here, on the Wildlife Trust's website.

Flight Paths by Rebecca Heisman

 

 Subtitled (in the UK version, which has a different cover to the above) 'How the mystery of bird migration was solved' this is a fascinating look into the science of migration. 

The book looks at human curiosity about bird migration, going right back to the times when people thought that summer visitors spent the winter in the bottom of ponds or that they flew to the moon. It then follows the development of technologies that have helped scientists to track migrating birds - from recording the calls of birds that are migrating at night to fitting birds with radio transmitters to genetic research and taking in meteorology and radar. The author spends time with field researchers to get first hand experience of some of the vital work that goes on to investigate the (often long) journeys made by (often tiny) birds and also investigates the world of citizen science where ordinary people are encouraged to participate in research.

Research is not just useful for discovering the routes taken by migrating birds but also sheds light on how climate change may be affecting migration routes and has significant results for conservation. Science has been able to shed light on issues such as how the quality of habitats affects the pattern of migration of certain species (birds living in better quality habitat being able to eat more and be in better shape when preparing for migration) which can lead to more informed conservation of birds and the habitats they rely on. Research using satellite tagging is enabling scientists to help to save the endangered Spoon Billed Sandpiper, a small shore bird with a distinctive shaped beak.

The author also looks at ways in which ordinary people can help migrating birds, whether by switching off lights on key nights for bird migration through cities (to avoid disoriented birds from crashing into windows). 

The book may be, in general, too science based for some readers, but is full of human interest stories such as the Dutch scientist Theunis Piersma, who rewrote his 2012 scientific paper 'Solving a Migration Riddle' as a book in Frisian, the minority language of his village, where the House Martins who he was studying actually nested. The book 'Guests of Summer: A House Martin Love Story' has since been published in Dutch and English. 

I definitely recommend this book for anyone with a keen interest in bird migration, particularly if you have a scientific background. 

Flight Paths by Rebecca Heisman, published (2023) by Swift Press.

You can read an article by the author about the writing of this book on the BTO website here.

Cherry Blossom at Lauriston Castle

 There are a number of seasonal things we try to do every year. One of them is to visit Lauriston Castle to see the cherry blossoms in the Japanese Garden. So that's where we went on Saturday. Unbeknownst to us, Saturday was actually am official Japan Sakura Cherry Blossom event at the castle, so it was a lot busier than usual! Even so, we managed to get a lot of lovely photos, most of which didn't have too many people in them! 

Outside  the Japanese Garden, the grounds of Lauriston Castle are also beautiful, with several azalea and rhododendron bushes in bloom at the moment 

There's also a lovely wooded walk round the perimeter of the castle grounds 

and views over to the Firth of Forth 

There were a good number of birds around including a pair of Bullfinches that seemed very happy to spend time close by, though only the male is in the photo below 

The Green Woodpecker was being much more elusive and though we could hear it laughing away in the trees, we couldn't see it at all.

A Funeral in Worsley

I've not been posting much recently as my Dad died, and we were down in Manchester for his funeral. It was a nice funeral and very well attended. It was nice to catch up with a few friends and family members and to walk round the area near where I grew up. We walked along the Bridgewater Canal from Monton (where we were staying in a small hotel opposite the famous Monton lighthouse, which is really a folly, see photo below)

 

 to Worsley Village. 

The Mock Tudor building in the photos is Worsley Packet House where passenger boats used to depart to Manchester. Also seen in the photo below, alongside the Alphabet Bridge - children were encouraged to recite their alphabet as they crossed this bridge to go to school.

Nearby is the Nail Maker's House, the oldest house in the village

Worsley Delph is the start of 46 miles of tunnels that lead to a network of underground coal mines. The sculpture in the photo below is a modern artistic reimagining of one of the original cranes that stood on the site. 

Worsley Green was once a hive of industry, but now looks like a traditional village green. It is surrounded by mock Tudor houses that were built for the workers. 

 

In the middle stands a monument that was originally part of a chimney stack from one of the original factories. 

We also walked around Worsley Woods.