17th May 2008
The widowed swan produced EIGHT cygnets this morning. Mother and children look great ! It is 12 days since her mate was found dead.

18th May 2008
Swifts have arrived in the park, always last of the summer migrants. About 10 or 12 (they do not stay still for counting)

Monday 19th May 2008
We have a mallard family with 5 ducklings. One of the 8 cygnets was found dead on a path. One moorhen chick reported but not seen since. A wigeon (whistling duck) visited the pond briefly.

22nd May 2008
The two big ash trees, the only ones in the park on the banks of the burn at the Northfield entrance , are finally coming into leaf. They are also last to shed them before Winter sets in.

24th May 2008
A recent woodpecker nest hole has been found in an old willow near the pond.This is the great spotted woodpecker. Has anyone seen or heard it?

New Birds update
All ducklings (5) and cygnets (7) are OK. We have not any information of the cause of death of the father swan

Blue Tit Nest Box
We have a nesting box to put up about 15ft up a tree near St John's school. Can anyone help with this please ? Contact Us

7th June 2008
in late afternoon a swan was killed on the bank of the pond. It appears to have been savaged by a dog. This not the widowed mother swan with the remaining 6 cygnets who are all thriving. It is very likely one of last years brood. If anyone saw this incident or knows anything about it, would they please contact us.

19th June 2008
The cygnets are now four. From an initial brood of 8 hatched on 17th May the cygnets have gone one by one. The mother swan has difficulty keeping the family together in a group without the help of her mate.

A third mallard family appeared on 15th June. This time there are 10 ducklings. This is not an unusual number although the timing is rather late.

Look out for all the mallard drakes going into "eclipse dress". From now they will all lose their bright plumage and appear more like ducks. Their fresh colours will reappear in September. (This is cross-dressing in the animal world ! )

A moorhen,s eggshell found to-day may be from a hatching but no chicks seen yet.

2nd August 2008
Of Swans and Dogs

6th Decembr 2008
The first goosanders of the season have arrived in the pond. This fish-eating, diving duck generally overwinters here on the Figgate Pond but does not breed here. It is mainly a northern species nesting in holes in trees.

9th January 2009
The goldeneye has appeared again in the Figgate pond. This duck is a Winter visitor more commonly found on the sea, and like the goosander it is a diving duck feeding on fish etc. On or two females have been seen on the pond in the past few days. The goosanders are are more constantly seen. Three males and one female were on the pond this morning.
There has been one dipper in the upper reaches of the burn, not seen as frequently as in previous Winters.

20th January 2009
A kingfisher has been seen three times in the past few weeks by several observers at the burn between the top and bottom bridges.

22nd February
The pond is looking very sad with the water half pumped out exposing much rubbish on the mud. Gardeners and park officials have removed most of the larger objects and this morning a small squad of Friends of the Park filled 25 bags with small muddy litter. Click Here

The pumping has shown many fish near the outlet. - Stickleback, perch and eels. The kingfisher has haunted this spot over the past few days and a cormorant has been eating his fill.

A goldcrest (Britains smallest bird) was watched this morning in the bushes near the pond staging and on 10th Feb a meadow pipit was seen during a period of hard frost. Meadow pipits like many small brown birds can be very difficult to identify.

On a sad note, my dog Jenny, well known to many park users died a few days ago after a short illness.         

The very good news is that a male swan has taken over on the pond. He has in the past two weeks defended his new home and chased off all intruders including the last of last seasons cygnets. Our existing female seems very acceptable to the new arrangement. They have been seen doing a pairing display ( not to be confused with mating ).

8th May 09
The pond is back to its normal level and the boardwalk is almost completed. The female swan is sitting on eggs in her nest on the island. Her new partner is very vigorous in repelling intruders. A moorhen is also incubating on a nest under the bridge. A coot produced young ones but they have all disappeared. Gulls are the suspects here.

Swallows have arrived and can be seen over the pond but so far no summer visiting warblers. We used to have chiffchaffs, willow warblers, sedge warblers and whitethroats. The past few years have seen only whitethroats.

A roe deer was spotted in the park a few days ago by the boardwalk builders.

The good news is :- Blue tits are nesting in our first nesting box in an elm tree near the Hamilton Park entrance.

6th June 09
A single roe deer seen in the park recently by several observers confirms similar reports near Edinburgh roads during May.

Dragonflies have arrived at the walkway - probably brought in on the new water plants. This is a welcome addition to our wildlife and was predicted by Scott Thomson our Parks Area Manager. It is a colourful blue-green species.

Tom Forsyth