Author: Drew McNaughton
I am in the Visitor Welcome Team and my interests include the history of the garden and Botany in general, medicinal plants, biodiversity and I like to indulge my creative side by producing poetry and music and delving into the world of Gaelic literature. I also maintain the BSBI Scotland website on a voluntary basis.
Happy Easter everyone! Just to let you know it’s still pretty quiet with the sparrowhawks although I have seen some dotting about so hopefully nesting will be underway…
New album: the Week in Edinburgh Wildlife: Keeping warm and preparing for spring. https://t.co/aq3P30d4Z5 pic.twitter.com/j0B9iotLQw — Edinburgh Living Landscape (@EdinLandscape) February 13, 2016 In a slight departure from…
I haven’t posted for a wee while on the Sparrowhawks. To be honest it’s a quiet time of year for them and they are not the most showy…
We are at the time of the year where observable sparrowhawk activity reaches its low point. They are most likely to still be around but it’s just that…
Image: Duncan Marquiss, Search Film, 2015 (Film Still). Courtesy of the artists. Despite being a quiet spell for observing Sparrowhawk activity in the garden, it is still possible…
I have had some good encounters with Sparrowhawks over the last few weeks. I posted about one fairly recently and in the last couple of days I also…
Although now well past the breeding season if you are lucky you may be treated to a close encounter with one of the sparrowhawks in the garden. They…
As with the observation of any wild creatures, observing sparrowhawks requires a lot of patience and often the luck of being in the right place at the right…
Now that the breeding season is coming to a close it seems a good time to pause to reflect on the year so far. And what a year!…
Welcome back to the Botanics Sparrowhawk blog. No photos this time I’m sorry to say. My camera is just not up to the job although I got quite…
Since the last post I have kindly been provided with further pictures from the ringing when Will Hinchliffe took the photo he posted on Twitter. Peter Wilson, also…
It’s been very exciting the last couple of weeks with the long awaited Titan Arum flowering in the Glasshouses. However for myself it has also been an exciting…
Welcome to this instalment of the Botanics Sparrowhawks blog. The feathers above were found below one of the nests and Hugh Coventry, an expert on sparrowhawks who regularly…
Over the past four years I have been very fortunate to have been able to observe the activities of the sparrowhawks (Gaelic: speireag) in the garden. These beautiful…
One of the John Muir Award challenges is about sharing. This can take many forms including painting, writing, poetry and even just discussing your experiences. Each of the…
John Muir seems to have been a prominent feature at the Botanics over the last 6 months or so. During the Autumn and Winter we had the exhibition…
During the Sparrowhawk breeding season (and after) I have been keeping a diary of the activities of the Sparrowhawks in the garden which you can read below: …