This weekend and on Monday, thousands of people across the country are taking part in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch.
The idea is to spend an hour in one spot, noting down the largest number of any one bird species you see on the ground at one time.
The survey – which has been running since 1979 – helps the RSPB track population trends nationwide. In 2015, more than 500,000 observers counted over 8 million birds in the UK.
This year, Spurtle decided not to repeat last year’s mistake of sitting with binoculars in the bushes of a shared garden.
Instead, the chosen spot was facing away from other people’s windows and overlooking the Water of Leith beside Warriston Road.
We counted 11 mallards, 6 crows, 3 magpies, 2 moorhens, 1 goosander, 1 dipper, 1 woodpigeon and a yellow wagtail.
We also noticed a grey squirrel, 2 bearded buggy pushers, a bobble-hatted pug walker, and – remarkably – four French female joggers in two flocks of two. Of particular interest were 2 Americans displaying courtship behaviour, although it was unclear whether they had just met or were an established couple returning to some familiar spot to breed.
If you’ve been part of the Big Garden Birdwatch and have interesting things to report, tell us at spurtle@hotmail.co.uk and @theSpurtle and Facebook
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Colin Brown Kingfisher yesterday at the old B&Q site. Lovely!
Ella Taylor-Smith this afternoon: Water of Leith -heron and ducks (mallards); Inverleith Pond: Cute little moorhen, grebes, swans, oyster catchers and many more
Helen Sang Loved your article in the spurted about this! I managed 4 magpies having a fight in Brunton terr