Walled Garden Report 2024

The main work of the volunteers throughout the year is keeping the garden reasonably tidy but also involves some maintenance work. This last year has seen the repair of the rockery wall to the right just inside the gate, to make it safe and we hope a lovely feature this coming year. We have also encouraged volunteers to take on the development of small areas of the garden to ensure the garden evolves and maintains interest. In this regard a major project in the last few months has been the clearance of an unruly bed of Rosa rugosa just above the pond. In its place we will build 4-5 small starter plots that will be offered to the local community to grow their own choice of plants. This will enhance our remit as a ‘community garden’ and bring more local engagement into the garden. The garden always welcomes new volunteers to help keep it looking its best. Information about how to apply for these starter plots is in this Newsletter, on our web site and Facebook pages.

 

WINTER BIRD REPORT 2023/2024

The first harbingers of change were spotted as early as 6th September, when skeins of Pink-footed Geese began flighting down on a northerly airstream, a passage that lasted for two weeks, to be followed by the regular second wave between 8th -18th October. These are likely separate populations that hail from Iceland and Greenland respectively. The Greenland geese breed 3-4 weeks later, hence their staggered departure. Summer migrants gradually disappeared from the hill, with the latest birds being Chiffchaff on 11th October, Lesser Black-backed Gull on 13th October, and the many thousand-strong annual continental Woodpigeon passage dwindling by the end of the month. Balmy days in October saw butterflies such as Red Admiral and Speckled Wood, and Silver Y moths, along with Natterer’s Bat still on the wing until the 14th, when the first wintering Redwings were coincidentally noted. Also, likely Icelandic birds, up to 20 remained on the hill until mid-January, first devouring a bountiful crop of holly berries, and gradually moving to forage for invertebrates amongst the woodland leaf litter.

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Regulars may have noticed curious honking and barking sounds emanating from overhead, or perhaps the ATC pylons. The culprits are a family of up to 5 Ravens, which have spent much of the winter period on the hill. I have a suspicion that these carrion eaters have found a food source in the zoo, perhaps at some small risk to their own safety! Other passing birds, not regularly present, included Goosander, Grey Heron, Mallard, Peregrine, Rook and Siskin. About 10 Common Gulls and 30 Black-headed Gulls wintered on the Clermiston side of the reserve. Spring is around the corner, but the resident birds do not wait until 21st March to establish territorial claims. Great Tits are normally the first to detect the change in day length, and were already singing by Hogmanay, just 10 days after the solstice. By the end of January, they had been joined by Coal Tit, Nuthatch, Robin, Song Thrush, Stock Dove and Woodpigeon, along with the melodic Dipper beside the Water of Leith at the foot of the hill. Roe Deer were present throughout, and a small group looks set to breed again in 2024. See photoblog at: https://chilloutdoors.tumblr.com.

 

FoCH UPDATE - JULY 2023

General

You will have noticed that the Council have been very busy planting trees on the Hill in the last year, the improvements to the northern path to Balgreen have been done subject to some tidying up after the torrential rain. There have been many visitors to the Hill and the Garden this year. Fox Covert PS have had a few events in the Garden, and a Rainbows (mini Brownies) group, and a Beavers Group have been to the Tower. The Tower has been opened by our volunteers on Sunday afternoons since 7th May when we had 84 visitors! Since then, numbers have been 20s – 30s depending on the weather. We hope to continue until the last weekend in September, Open Doors Weekend, but we are short of volunteers to provide 3 people at the Tower each Sunday, so any new volunteers would be very welcome.

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Walled Garden

The Acanthus planted in the spring of 2022 survived the winter. It’s good to see this plant, inspiration for artists and sculptors for millennia, establishing itself. Those who know, say that it can become an invasive pest, so enjoy it while it’s docile. Again, it should produce its tall, impressive flower stems later in the summer, baring its bears’ teeth for admiration. After the recent 23mm of rainfall, the water level in the “wetland” overtopped the tadpole plastic basin, and I was able to watch the beasties making a bid for freedom, passing, tadpolefully, into the plashy fen, many without arms, some still legless, there to face a fraught and uncertain future. Rockery plants have been added to a couple of the stony borders.

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WILDLIFE WALK

ON A GLORIOUS SPRING MORNING we met at the Balgreen Road entrance to the nature reserve to be greeted almost immediately by the sight of a Roebuck, peering down at us from the path above. ORANGE TIP BUTTERFLIES tumbled on the breeze, and climbing the steep south slope we pushed through swathes of white-flowering Garlic Mustard, the favoured food plant of their larvae. ALSO ON THE WING – in vast profusion – were St Mark’s Flies. Black and hovering ominously with their trailing legs, they are quite harmless. Named after their appearance on St Mark’s Day (25th April), their scientific name is Bibio marci – and the trout angler will recognise the “bibio” as a popular artificial pattern. MOVING INTO THE COPSE along the Spire Hospital boundary, more Bibio were in evidence, but now by the beakfull, as we watched a pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers carrying food to their hungry young, high in a hollowed-out Ash. BIRDS WERE IN GOOD VOICE, with 22 species in song, and we managed to locate all 4 varieties of warblers, summer visitors that had recently arrived from as far away as sub-Saharan Africa: Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Whitethroat and Willow Warbler. ITWAS STILL A LITTLE EARLY in the yearfor a full display of wildflowers, but those in bloom (and with traditional uses in brackets) included Dog Violet (antioxidant), Germander Speedwell (gout), Gorse (salads), Greater Stitchwort (stitch), Pignut (nutty snack), Ramsons (pesto), Spring Beauty (vitamin C) and Wood Sage (herbal tea). WE STUDIED THE MANY mounds made by Yellow Meadow Ants, that farm aphids deep below the surface; we identified the difference between male and female Holly trees; and we measured and calculated the age of an ancient Beech at 300 years, and going strong. Just like the Friends of Corstorphine Hill!

 

FoCH UPDATE - MARCH 2022

Walled Garden

So far, in contrast to last year, winter has barely put in an appearance, at time of writing (5/3/2022 - early days), and the tender shrubs are standing up well. Forest Kindergarten and Fox Covert Primary make good use of the garden, and they have been allowed a 3m squared vegetable plot, which they will look after and plant suitably. An interesting challenge for pre-schools! This year, a tiny “pond” has been inserted in the board-walk area, to try and extend hospitality to our amphibians who annually suffer from the rapid transition of wet-land to wadi, which usually occurs in late March. So far, I haven’t spotted any frogspawn, but the usual date of arrival is March 12th anyway. Whether any will appear, after the mass hijacking of all the spawn by our neighbours, in March 2021, remains to be seen. Motivated by attempts to “rescue” the spawn, it was neither scientifically approved nor was it appreciated by the local children, who lost the opportunity to follow the spawn through its development, to either success, or tadpole toast. Perhaps we’ll get a wet spring. For those of you unaware of the history, after the construction of wetland area in 2006 to a good standard, City of Edinburgh Council deemed it a health and safety risk and ordered that the impermeable liner be perforated. Kiddies marginally safer, amphibians not so. 

 

The “Bee challenge” has been taken-up by the introduction of a bee-box, on the north wall. Solitary bees produce neither wax nor honey, and should therefore be left alone. Bumble Bee House instructions.

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The Council is seeking tenders for the stabilisation of the steeper paths, which continue to suffer from torrential rain. Generally, the garden is shaping-up fairly well. The shrubs, particularly the Hamamelis and fernery, are filling-out, the bulbs slowly increasing in number, and always some colour, whatever the season. It could be tidier, but suits the “wilderness” brigade, and the small number of over-stretched volunteers.

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BIRD REPORT - WINTER 2021/2022

Compared to the previous year, when 14 separate snowfalls cloaked the hill between Christmas and the end of February and it became impossible to reach the Rest & Be Thankful, we have experienced instead a winter characterised by mild and windy weather. Most gales blew in February, although it was Storm Arwen in late November that caused the greatest damage, a rare north-easterly that felled many trees normally sheltered from the prevailing westerlies. The absence of a prolonged cold spell resulted in fewer wintering birds visiting the woods than might generally be expected. A flock of about 20 Redwings frequented the south side, depleting the holly, and there were occasional sightings of Crossbill, Redpoll and Siskin, which feed on the retained seeds of conifers, birch and alder. Larger numbers of Siskins have moved into the area more recently, and these can be observed bathing at secluded springs.
Kestrels have been ever-present, occasionally hovering, but more often hunting voles from treetop perches. Interestingly, these are not members of the family which successfully raised two chicks last year. Buzzards, Sparrowhawks and Tawny Owls make up the quartet of birds of prey that live on the hill year round, and there were several sightings of Peregrine, no doubt attracted by the resident population of Woodpigeons and Stock Doves.
The tempestuous weather certainly did have an impact, bringing large numbers of birds from the surrounding district at times. A feeding flock on the Clermiston side on 5th February included 50 Oystercatchers, 75 Black-headed Gulls, 10 Herring Gulls, 15 Common Gulls, 2 over-wintering Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 200 Jackdaws and 6 Rooks. During this period the regular corvid roost on the sheltered east escarpment grew to 500 birds. And, at the foot of the hill, at the Water of Leith, the annual wintering Goosander flock reached 30 in number. Species that made brief visits to the hill or were seen in passing included a late migratory Greenshank in October, along with occasional sightings of Mute Swan, Grey Heron, Woodcock, Raven, Grey Wagtail and Brambling. Possibly the first Tree Sparrow this century was recorded on 6th March, perhaps displaced from lost habitat at Cammo. At the time of writing, signs of spring are in the air. The first resident breeding bird – a Mistle Thrush – began singing as early as 23rd December, and Chaffinches struck up in unison on 21st February. Pink-footed Geese will soon begin to stream north, and keep a keen eye out for a migrating Osprey. The first summer visitor proper has already arrived, an early Chiffchaff singing at the top of Kaimes Rd on 12th March. For regular updates on seasonal sightings of birds and some of the other amazing wildlife on our doorstep, visit: https://chilloutdoors.tumblr.com

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FoCH UPDATE - NOVEMBER 2021

 

Events

Since June our activities have gradually returned to something like normal. The tower has been opened by our volunteers from late June until the end of September. We have had around 600 visitors and have raised about £500 in donations. We have had two guided walks around the Hill, and had a special event at the Tower to mark the 250th anniversary of Sir Walter Scott’s birth. Bob Murray and his band, Noisy Shoes, provided musical entertainment with some of Scott’s songs and music of the period. We also had two recitations of his poems. On the weekend of 25-26th September we opened for Doors Open Days and welcomed many visitors.

 

We hope to continue our events, talks and guided walks on the hill in 2022. Thanks to all our volunteers who made these activities possible! We are looking at ways of collecting subscription and donations on line as many visitors no longer carry cash, and hope to have a better system operating by next spring.

 

Forest Kindergarten

The Forest Kindergarten has started to operate near the Walled Garden giving nursery children an outdoor forest experience, following on from the success of the Forest School programme. Fox Covert Primary School will be using the Garden for a display of their Children’s Rights project. You can see that the Hill is being well used by the local community organisations as well as walkers, dog walkers, runners, etc. Remember that the Hill’s woodland and the Walled Garden are lovely in Autumn, so please visit on a sunny day!

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Walled Garden 

After a winter with a protracted sting in its tail, the garden quickly recovered. Newly planted Abelia grandiflora was lost, and other tender plantings, Abutilon and Solanum jasminoides, on the north wall, severely set back. Let’s hope for a milder winter next. The wild flower patch continues to revert to
grassland, with a sprinkling of jollier species. Unfortunately, the yellow rattle, supposed guarantor of controlled grass, hasn’t been told.
 

The year saw the Forest Kindergarten become fully functional, and we’re pleased that they have chosen the garden, by the gate, as their arrival and dispatch point for the children. Other schools have continued to visit, and Fox Covert received permission to set up a display relating to “Child Rights”. This was done by the half-term week, with the hope that children and their families will take an interest in the various items around the
garden.
 

The garden has been well-used again, and the reviews on the Google site are generally very encouraging. 

 

After the much lamented attack on the bee-hives in June 2020, we had another visit from a bee-expert, the upshot being that a low, sheltered, moist site, is not the best choice for bee hives, an open sunny site being preferable. Given that these areas are popular with people too, we gave up. The expert talked about bee-boxes, which are a tidier and more tractable way of supporting bees, but this will be left to individuals to decide.

 

Green Flag Award
We were happy to continue our unbroken run of green flag awards into 2022. 5 or 6 volunteers continue to battle the buttercup and its allies, and more would be welcome.
 

 

BIRD REPORT - AUTUMN 2021

The widely reported ‘late’ autumn was reflected in certain aspects of the wildlife of Corstorphine Hill, with butterflies such as Speckled Wood and Small White on the wing into early October. Natterer’s Bats, too, continued to feed along sheltered footpaths while there were moths to be found. On the bird front, also running late was the annual fly-past of Pink-footed Geese, southbound from Iceland, great skeins using the hill as a navigational landmark, a week behind their typical schedule and a fortnight later than in 2020.

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Another autumn avian phenomenon is the gathering together of small songbirds (passerines) of different species into a composite feeding flock, the theory being that greater protection is afforded from predators such as Sparrowhawks. During this period it can seem that there are no birds on the hill – until the ‘passerine flock’ is encountered and there are birds everywhere! This year it numbered over 100 individuals, comprising Blue, Great, Coal and Long-tailed Tits, Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers, and Blackcaps, with occasional Chaffinches, Dunnocks and migratory Spotted Flycatchers.

While Swallows were fewer in number this year (and Swifts sadly almost non-existent), other birds passing or dropping in included Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Common Gull, Peregrine, Woodcock, Curlew, House Martin, Garden Warbler, Meadow Pipit, Rook and, new for the list, Gannet – making the grand total of species recorded 106.

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For regular updates on seasonal sightings of birds and some of the other amazing wildlife on our doorstep, visit: https://chilloutdoors.tumblr.com. Ian Moore, Committee Member

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FoCH UPDATE - JUNE 2021 

Overview

It looks as if life will slowly return to more or less normal over the next month or two. Work has continued on the Hill where there has been quite a bit of damage due to increased use over the last year, and the construction of the Forest Kindergarten facility by the Clermiston Road Gate. David K and his team are working hard as usual to repair the situation. Our volunteers are continuing to work in the Walled Garden which is looking beautiful in Spring.

 

Events and Covid-19

We are hoping to start some outdoor events such as guided walks and tower visits in June. This will obviously depend on having enough willing volunteers to help, so please consider if you can spare some time at weekends to help us re start our programme. The Council have given us permission, but what we do must follow the current Government Covid Safety Guidelines:

• Visitors will require to book in advance with me for walks and Tower visits.

• Numbers will be limited, at present 6 people but probably more by June.

• We will need to provide hand sanitisation, and keep Test and Trace records.

• Visitors will require to wear masks and observe social distancing, as we have all been doing for the last year.

As with everything it will all be a bit different, but we are all used to these restrictions by now. I hope we can have a successful summer season and that the weather will be kind.                               

Best wishes, Gordon Swann, Chairman FoCH.

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BIRD REPORT - SPRING 2021

In March one of the first signs of spring is the northbound migration of Pink-footed Geese, which use Corstorphine Hill as a navigation beacon. Between 7th and 30th large skeins, sometimes 200 birds strong, took advantage of high pressure to begin their return flight to Iceland. Meanwhile, Lesser Black-backed Gulls, which leave Edinburgh to winter as far south as Iberia, were rediscovering their regular haunts around the fringes of the reserve. Despite the generally cold weather, the first Chiffchaffs arrived on 17th, about a week ahead of the average for the past five years. April is usually the most frenetic month for migration, and 2021 was no exception.

 

Passage migrants that stopped off to feed included Common and Lesser Redpolls, Siskins, Garden Warbler and Pied Flycatcher; the latter only the second record in 15 years. Good numbers of Blackcaps and Willow Warblers (both breeding species) began to appear from the first week of the month, along with more Chiffchaffs.

Meadow Pipits were streaming north at dawn on 10th, along with a group of 12 late- returning Fieldfares, probably Scandinavian birds.

 

Then, more summer visitors were recorded, with a House Martin on 23rd and the first Swallows feeding in the area on 26th. In May the final arrivals were Whitethroats on 7th (a scrub warbler that winters in West Africa) and Swifts, which winter in Central/Southern Africa, first seen feeding over the hill on 10th. At about the same time resident Starlings invaded to gorge on hatching Hawthorn flies (the swarming black hovering things with dangly legs – perfectly harmless and known to the trout angler as Bibio). Other birds passing or dropping in included Fulmar, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Oystercatcher, Mallard, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Great Black-backed Gull, Rook and Raven. In total 66 species were recorded during the three spring months.

 

On the broader wildlife front, up to five Roe Deer were sighted almost daily, Natterer’s Bats have been on the wing since late April, and spring butterflies spotted to date include Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Orange Tip and Speckled Wood.

 

For regular updates on seasonal sightings of birds and some of the other amazing wildlife on our doorstep, visit: https://chilloutdoors.tumblr.com. 

Ian Moore, Committee Member

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FoCH UPDATE - NOVEMBER 2020 

A quick update on what has been happening on the Hill since lockdown in March. As you know, there have been no walks, talks or tower visits since then. We hope to be able to start guided walks again in March-April, and tower visits in May. We will let you know details nearer the time.

 

The Hill and Walled Garden remained open over lockdown and since then, and like most parks have been very well used, especially during the fine weather in April – May. Our volunteers continued to keep the Walled garden looking good, and we were awarded our annual Green Flag this summer. Ian Moore has continued to update us on wildlife with his chilloutdoors website, and David Kyles and his team have been working hard all summer and autumn. Our thanks go to all the above who have maintained the Hill in such good order this year.

I hope you continue to enjoy our beautiful greenspace, and wish you all a happy and healthy Festive Season.

Gordon Swann, Chairman, FoCH.

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BIRD REPORT - WINTER 2020

In a year in which visits to the hill by members of the public rose markedly, perhaps surprisingly bird numbers also increased – in particular those summer migrants that travel from Africa to breed. Populations of Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Whitethroat were up by about 50% compared to previous seasons – speculation has it that the Mediterranean lockdown saw fewer birds trapped en route in spring (Birdlife estimates that 25 million migratory birds are killed each year).

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Resident populations also appeared to thrive, and thankfully there were few gorse fires in 2020. The hill is a local stronghold of the Long-tailed Tit, which relies heavily upon gorse for protected nesting sites, along with a dozen other species. In general, the bird population and the influx of locked-down humans taking exercise seemed to coexist successfully.

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In all in 2020, around 40 species of birds bred on or in close association with the hill; if not breeding here, then coming regularly to feed (examples of the latter would be Starlings and Swifts, which prefer to nest in buildings but for which the hill is a vital source of invertebrates). Sadly, the species lost in recent years have not yet returned to breed. These include Yellowhammer, Linnet, Green Woodpecker, Kestrel, Rook and Pied Wagtail. Probably they will remain absent until a change in UK agricultural policy enables a recovery of our farmland bird population.

Among the annual autumn migrants were small family parties of Spotted Flycatchers in August/September and vast skeins of Pink-footed Geese in September/October.

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Winter visitors in 2020 included birds such as Redwing and Common Gull, with more occasional sightings of Goosander, Fieldfare, Crossbill, Brambling, Siskin and Redpoll (the latter 4 species being members of the finch family that come to feed on plentiful seeds).

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Other birds passing or dropping in during the year included Cormorant, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Collared Dove, Cuckoo, Raven, Hooded Crow and Grey Wagtail. New additions were Canada Goose in March, Red Kite in June and Whooper Swan in November, taking the number of species recorded to a grand total of 104.

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For regular updates on seasonal sightings of birds and some of the other amazing wildlife on our doorstep, visit: https://chilloutdoors.tumblr.com. Ian Moore, Committee Member