Nestled near the residential streets of Portobello and Duddingston, Figgate Park and the Figgate Burn offer a peaceful green oasis where wildlife flourishes surprisingly close to the city. The burn meanders through mature trees and open grassland before continuing towards Portobello Beach, creating an important wildlife corridor for birds, mammals and insects.
The Figgate Burn & Pond is the heart of the park, attracting a wonderful variety of birdlife throughout the year. Grey herons are regular visitors, often standing perfectly still as they wait for an unsuspecting fish to swim past. If you’re lucky, you may catch the dazzling blue flash of a kingfisher speeding low along the water before disappearing around the next bend. Mallards, moorhens and the occasional family of ducks are familiar sights, particularly during the spring and early summer months.
When water levels permit (not too low) you may also be lucky enough to spot the occasional otter.
The surrounding woodland and shrubs are full of birdsong. Robins, wrens, blackbirds, chaffinches and dunnocks are common residents, while blue tits, great tits, coal tits and long-tailed tits move through the trees in busy feeding flocks. Listen out for the drumming of a great spotted woodpecker during spring, and keep an eye on the skies, where sparrowhawks and buzzards occasionally pass overhead.
Figgate Park is also an excellent place to enjoy some of Edinburgh’s smaller wildlife. Dragonflies and damselflies patrol the burn and pond during the summer, while bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects make the most of the wildflowers growing along the riverbanks and meadow edges. Grey squirrels are regularly seen in the mature trees, and foxes are sometimes spotted quietly exploring the park in the early morning or at dusk.
One of the joys of Figgate Park and Pond is that every visit can be different. Whether you’re watching birds along the burn, photographing wildlife, or simply enjoying a leisurely walk beneath the trees, there’s always something to catch your eye. It may not be Edinburgh’s largest park, but its rich mix of habitats makes it one of the city’s hidden gems for wildlife enthusiasts.