November has been quite a month for the urban wildlife across Edinburgh. With leaves almost off most of the trees, the wildlife has been a lot easier to spot. The sun has been shining which has helped enormously, as well. Despite a flurry of snow there has been no extreme weather conditions. The Water of Leith water level only rose 30cm which is manageable for most of the wildlife along the riverbank. Temperatures have fluctuated from -5° to +15° but we have had many hours of glorious winter sunshine!
While the kingfisher population is still recovering from the destruction of dozens of their perches over 5-6 territories, along the Water of Leith, they are beginning to slowly return. It may take a whole season to get back to where we were. Kingfishers have also been seen at the Esk & the Almond – Duddingston Loch is always a popular spot but I haven’t managed to get up there in November.
I’m delighted to say that otters cubs have appeared on the Water of Leith this month. They are now 10-11 weeks old and are being shown how to get around & feed on the Water of Leith by mum. We may also have a second otter mum with cubs somewhere on the Water of Leith but it is likely to be several weeks before these wee ones appear from their holt – hopefully I can confirm by the end of January 2025.
Lets hope we have a mild winter so that these young otters have a chance of survival over the coming months! In the meantime, here are a handful of shots from November – ENJOY!
