As I’ve mentioned before, Twitter is full of loveliness, and interesting things, and recently I’ve spotted a few tweets sharing sightings of the other creatures inhabiting the city and its green areas.
Just beyond Clifton Bridge, between Shipton Road and the river, Rawcliffe Meadows supports tiny tansy beetles and also larger furrier creatures:
And birds large and small:
Lots of #birds around Rawcliffe Meadows #York http://t.co/p2rpFcFiOj pic.twitter.com/MHGUOm73Or #environment #biodiversity #wildlife — YNET (@YNET4) January 4, 2015
From the city centre, Stuart Oglivy reports regularly on the birds and botanical life of the Museum Gardens:
Last winter I included a photo of the flocks of birds in the trees in Parliament St, gathering at dusk each day. Everyone seemed to think they were long-tailed tits. It didn’t seem quite right but I couldn’t think of a more likely answer, until I saw a pied wagtail in the city centre this summer, and thought perhaps that was a more likely identification for the Parliament St bird. They were mentioned again on Twitter this winter, and eventually we got the answer. Wildlife artist Robert Fuller mentions them in this piece, and apparently flocks of wagtails are a common sight in many city centres, including Exeter:
The wagtails all together are a noisy chirping bunch, tweeting away as they gather. While not that far away from the York wagtails, on the Minster, a quieter and rather larger bird. Or rather two. Peregrine falcons. Yes, peregrine falcons. A semi-resident pair, apparently. On the Minster.
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