Hermitage of Braid and Blackford Hill 

Hermitage of Braid, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ 

The Hermitage of Braid and Blackford Hill Nature Reserve offers some characteristic birdwatching of the woodlands. You can try spotting birds flying from tree to tree, but the easier option is to carefully listen for the birds singing. Often, their songs are a way to signal and mark their territory or to call their partner. You can train your bird song ID skills with online resources such as the RSPB website but you can also you the Merlin Bird ID App, developed by the Cornell Lab for Ornithology.

The woodlands of the reserve are home not only to passerines such as Tits, the Bullfinch, the Greenfinch, the Goldfinch, the Nuthatch, and the Goldcrest, but also birds of prey like the Sparrowhawk, Owls, Kestrels, and Buzzards. By the Blackford Pond, you may spot some swans, ducks, and gulls.

Sources:

Individual Researcher Walk; RSPB (Edinburgh Area Local Group); Friends of the Hermitage of Braid and Blackford Hill Local Nature Reserve

Additional Links:

• https://group.rspb.org.uk/edinburgh/local-wild-places/hermitage-of-braid/ 
• https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/ (Merlin ID App)
• https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-songs/what-bird-is-that/