Blackford Hill Nature Reserve 16th January 2012 (1 Viewer)

Recently I discovered a Nature Reserve in Edinburgh I didn't know existed so thought Id try it out Having not been before I was happy to hear my local bus stops outside the place. it's a fantastic place though I think I will return in the Summer the paths were quite icy and the pond was frozen so the birds in the pond were ice skating but the view on the hill with the snow was magnificent.

Birds I saw were

Black Headed Gull
Mallard
Coot
Moorhen
Magpie
Crow
Jackdaw
Goldfinch that was my best tick there were lots of them on a tree.

A great day out.

Sounds good Euan. It'll be interesting to see what you find there over the year.

When I first saw the title with "Blackford" I thought it was the village near Auchterarder LOL.

Hi Euan
I used to go birding in Blackford Hill and the Hermitage woods years ago. Its the best spot in Edinburgh for Green Woodpecker, while great spots, treecreepers are common too. Tawny owls, sparrowhawks, buzzards, kesterl all hunt the area of fields towards the Braids, and the dawn chorus in spring is great. Blackford pond used to be great for bats at dusk, however the whole area also attracts a few "characters" in the evening as well. I'm sure you'll enjoy birding the area.
Mark