April 2026
April certainly saw in the arrival of Springtime on the Water of Leith. Every morning the birdsong seemed to get louder by the day. Plenty of Wrens, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Long Tailed Tits, Goldfinches, Greenfinches & Bullfinches added colour to the dawn chorus.
Look a bit closer & Treecreepers & Willow Warblers could be spotted, along with a variety of butterflies.
Moorhen chicks were the first to appear on the river in April & by the end of the month Mallard ducklings could be seen along most sections.
Down at Leith the Swans decided to move nest & thankfully the female is now sitting on several eggs at the new nesting site. Canada Geese appeared to move into the Swans old nest site but the male swan was not happy about this – watch this space!
April also saw the annual arrival of Eiders – I always love seeing them at this time of year.
One of the highlights of the year, was seeing a young otter cub appear on one of my trail cameras at the start of April. It’s the first otter cub of the year, so here’s hoping it survives the next few months.
And finally….
Dippers seemed to be the most active creatures on the river in April. We are very fortunate to have about 15-16 pair of dippers on the 12.75 mile Water of Leith walkway. To have this many in this wee urban river is one sign that indicates a healthy river. The reason for this is that dippers rely on having a good supply of invertebrates to feed on. You can see plenty of these in the photos below, as the adults bring food back for their young chicks.
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