There have been some glorious days weather-wise during December & I certainly tried to make the most of them by getting out with the camera as much as I could.
The first week of the month I was in Edinburgh and mainly out on the Water of Leith. Most days I was watching out for the kingfishers and otters and in particular the two new otter cubs that we now have. The mother and two cubs had settled in one spot but shortly moved about 2 miles upstream, before heading 3-4 miles back downstream a few days later. They can be so hard to track down especially when they move so much at night.
As I write, the wind is battering against the windows and heavy showers are not far away. The water level at SEPA’s station at Murrayfield is normally around 0.5 metres but at the moment it has shot up to 1.29 metres. In May this year the water level rose to 2.3 metres in 36 hours and we lost a huge amount of wildlife that live on the banks of the river. Four young otters were lost in those high waters and four more were lost in the floods at the end of December last year. I am hoping the water levels don’t rise too much more in the next 24 hours. We have a second otter mum that has recently given birth but the new born cubs have not left the holt yet and aren’t due to leave it for another few weeks. They will not survive if the water levels rise much more – will be keeping fingers crossed!
My wife & I headed off to St Andrews for 3 nights in the second week of the month and had lovely weather. Morton Lochs and an icy walk around Tentsmuir and along the beach were on the agenda. Luckily the red squirrels were out and about at Morton Lochs – always love seeing the reds!
The rest of the month has been spent moving trail cameras about and raising them above anticipated floods levels. By doing this I hope that I can track the otters movements, if the water gets too high for them and they have to attempt moving their cubs. I’ve been checking up on the kingfisher count along the whole of the walkway, in preparation for January. January is normally an excellent month for photographing kingfishers especially if the sun shines! It also gives me an idea of what the breeding season might hold.
Already preparing for January and sorting photos for a talk that I am doing at the Water of Leith Visitor Centre towards the end of the month.
Here are some shots from the Water of Leith and the red squirrels at Morton Lochs in December.
Happy New Year and Best Wishes for 2025!
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