FEBRUARY 2026
The first half of February was wet…very wet and dull – not ideal conditions for wildlife photography! As a result, I only got out with my camera on 5 days! This is the least amount of days in a month, that I’ve been out with my camera, in the last 5 years!!
Water levels were up 15-20%, which also makes wildlife spotting a little harder, on the Water of Leith and elsewhere for that matter.
The trail cameras picked up a large increase in roe deer along the river in February. They will be extending their search for food at the moment. As a result, they will be beginning to appear in areas that they are normally seen in the summer.
Otters were also caught on camera most days in February. As all the cubs have left their mums, all footage was of single otters. It’s hard to identify which otter is which on trail camera footage, without cubs being about. However, my best guess is that the footage is of the three mums that remain on the river. The four cubs have probably left the river, to find their own territories.
Kingfishers have had a harder time on the Water of Leith this month. This is due to the higher water levels. This leads to faster moving water which is not conducive for kingfishers catching fish! March is when they start to pair up for the breeding season, so hopefully we see plenty of that in the coming month.
One of the highlights, on the Water of Leith in February, was a couple of cormorants. I managed to see them on 3 of the days that I was out.
Here’s hoping for a drier month in March, as the breeding season gets underway!
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