31 Thursday May 2018
Flowers and a small bee, great tit with food for young, great tit posing on a stone, great spotted woodpecker at an interesting angle, caterpillar suspended from an overhanging tree branch by a silken ‘thread’, bluebells, song thrush, various views, blue tit emerging from nest hole, buttercups, dandelion. Click on an image to view a larger version. This opens in a new tab/page.
28 Saturday Apr 2018
Posted in Information, Nature, Video, Views
Various days in March 2018.
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March 1st…
Snow and more snow.
The same stone photographed over three days; February 26th, February 28th and March 1st….
March 3rd. Brief video of snow/hail in the Secret garden…
March 7th…
March 8th…
March 9th…
March 12th…
March 21st…
Video featuring some of the Warriston cemetery bird life. Segments; a) great spotted woodpecker, b) blue tit, c) robin, d) two blue tits, e) robin.
March 27th…
04 Wednesday Apr 2018
Posted in Information, Nature, Video, Views
Various days in February 2018.
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February 2nd…
The first daffodils begin to appear…
Next –Â A pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers. They were having great fun chasing each other across a few sections…
February 3rd…
Who knew that flowers could read? Despite all the cold and wind and rain and snow and hard frost, this plant took heart from the words behind…
February 5th…
Treecreeper. They like a change from trees now and then…
February 6th…
Great Spotted Woodpecker…
February 9th…
Snowdrops. Robin. Mr Duncan. Buzzards. Bullfinch…
February 11th…
This and that, here and there…
Goldcrest…
February 12th…
City of Edinburgh Council notice board. Installed today…
February 15th…
The local prison has a scheme whereby donated garden tools are reconditioned and then given to voluntary groups. We received such a batch today! Here they are – wrapped, unwrapped and two little ‘uns in use…
February 16th…
February 17th…
This area is supposed to be a triangular “clearing” between sections. We’ve cleared it before, but the weeds they keep a-growing. So, weeds cut down again and this mass of snowdrops can be enjoyed in their full glory…
This urn was intriguing, had to be rolled around. Unfortunately, not in the best light! It’s part of the gravestone which commemorates the first burial at Warriston. The neighbouring stone had a detail begging to be cleared too. And they also have some snowdrops! Lots of snowdrops around, which is lovely to see…
February 18th…
February 20th…
A beautiful morning today, with that angled February sunshine coming through the bare deciduous trees to light up the gravestones. When we started four-and-a-half years ago, you couldn’t see through this section. Some ivy has grown back, but it’s nowhere near as bad…
February 21st…
February 23rd…
February 26th…
February 28th…
16 Friday Feb 2018
Posted in Headstones and monuments, Information, Nature, Views
Various days in January 2018.
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January 1st…
This caught our eye in passing. Had to clear it a bit! Aside from a slur on Scotia’s Darling Seat, it’s an unusual choice of Biblical quotation – not to mention those serpents emerging from the bosses. It’s Hebrews Ch.13 V.14 (and I rather like V.16 also). Didn’t find the cross’s base, so we don’t know who was commemorated. Yet…
Started as a lovely day! Rained later, though.
Today there was formed a sub-group entitled “The Rebellious Bored”. And off we went grave-hunting. Here’s the evidence. Yes, there really is an upright stone in there! And now some will understand why we call this area “The Jungle”..
January 3rd…
This blue tit is house-hunting already. It checked out this gap in the stonework, disappearing inside twice as I watched.
The visiting bird-ringer wrote…
I thought, as we’re in the new year now, I’d give everyone a round up of the bird Ringing activities in the cemetery for 2017.
So since July I’ve ringed almost 80 birds at Warriston, the majority of which have been long-tailed tits with massive flocks passing through the area. The highlight being a couple of redwing, a winter visitor, which have been identified as the Scandinavian race or subspecies rather than the Icelandic/Greenland.
Hopefully these birds start turning up in far away lands and give us some valuable information on migration and distributions.
I also do some moth sampling and came across a phyllonorycter messaniella (a leaf mining moth) larvae on the resident holm oak (Pictured below). Which was an interesting find for me.
It’s been great to speak to those who’ve shown an interest and thank you for co-operating and being helpful by avoiding the mist nets when they’ve been set up as I do try to keep away from all the main paths and stick to quiet periods of the day.
Bold robin.
January 5th…
For those interested, three more recently identified brick maker marks to add to the five previously posted. The bricks were used for various outbuildings and walls in the head gardener’s cottage area. *Winchburgh* – Winchburgh Brick Works, Winchburgh, West Lothian. *NCB P-Grange* –
Prestongrange Brick, Tile and Fireclay Works, Prestonpans, East Lothian. *Vogrie* – Vogrie Brick and Tile Works, Newlandrif, Gorebridge, Midlothian.
January 6th…
After a couple of days of rain, we had a light sunny day. What this photograph can’t show, though, is the raw and chilly easterly breeze! Still, it wasn’t nearly as bad as the conditions on the North American continent.
Some bulbs, impatient for Spring. Aren’t we all!
January 8th…
January 11th…
A good day for birding. Goldcrest, Treecreeper, Buzzard, Great Spotted Woodpecker.
January 13th…
Here they come…
January 16th…
16/01/2018. Between light snowfalls.
January 17th…
January 18th…
January 19th…
January 29th…
03 Wednesday Jan 2018
Posted in Headstones and monuments, Information, Nature, Revelations, Views
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We’ve undertaken a joint project with the Council’s Trees & Woodland Officer. Up in the north-east corner there’s a bank which had a load of diseased ash trees (plus too many sycamores and the usual ivy, brambles, nettles, and some convolvulus). Nearby residents had expressed concern. We’ve removed a lot of the undesirable growth – more to go still! Some elm saplings, plus a birch and a hazel have been left in place, plus this mass of mature ivy up a tree trunk.We received 120 shrubs and hedge plants from The Woodland Trust and we’ve been planting them beside the fence. About 80 in, so about 40 to go yet. The second photograph shows some of the clear tubes protecting the new plants. The residents are now receiving more light and warmth into the south-facing rooms and into their drying green. They’re happy! (See the two photos below.)
Something a bit different. Edinburgh skyline from the south perimeter of the cemetery. (See the three photos below)
14 Monday Aug 2017
Posted in Headstones and monuments, Nature, Views
August 2017
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09 Thursday Feb 2017
09 Sunday Oct 2016
Posted in Views
This double wall-mounted monument has had some of the weight of a thick tangle of ivy taken off the top. Here are before and after shots. As well as relieving pressure on the stonework and wall, this helps more light to bathe the section. A section which, until recently, had very little light coming through thanks to so much ivy running wild for many years. The difference is incredible already, with more work to be done this Winter.
09 Sunday Oct 2016
Posted in Views
In preparation for next month’s Service of Remembrance, some of the volunteers tidied around the War Memorial area. The service takes place at the War Memorial on Sunday, November the 13th, at 09:45. All welcome. More information will be posted closer to the day.
09 Sunday Oct 2016
Posted in Views
We thought we’d found all the stones in The Secret Garden under ivy and earth etc. There are still some substantial headstones to be tidied up but as they are near a wasp nest we’ve decided to wait until they are no longer a danger to us. The following photos (befores and afters) show a trio of small stones very recently liberated from under years of accumulated organic debris.
