Excursion to Edinburgh (any advice on Scottish herping?)

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AndyKraemer
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Excursion to Edinburgh (any advice on Scottish herping?)

Post by AndyKraemer »

Hello all,

I know I'm not as well known to many of you yet, but I'm making an effort to be more involved with FHF this year. If anyone will be herping in Iowa this year and is looking for a local herper for company in the field, I'm your man. Be forewarned, I'm not from Iowa, so my herping skills start once at a site. I'm nearly useless finding new sites in this state.

So anyway, I'll be spending next week in Edinburgh and I was wondering if anyone had any advice or favorite spots (pm if location advice) in and around the city. I have never been to Europe before, so I'd be tickled pink to see some common frogs and toads. I have a special affinity for tailed amphibians, so any advice on searching out local newts will be especially welcome. It may be a little early for the reptiles, but you never know...

Thanks for your help!

Cheers,
Andy
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krismunk
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Re: Excursion to Edinburgh (any advice on Scottish herping?)

Post by krismunk »

Hi,

I can't give you any detailed advice, as I've never been to Scotland and don't know any Scottish herpers. I can, however, give you a tip on where you might find more information on the herps of the region, including local contacts:
http://www.lothian-arg.org.uk/species-in-the-lothians/

Furthermore, I don't know how the weather has been in Scotland these past few weeks but depending on it you might be a ltitle early or you might have a fair shot at all these few species. I wouldn't rule out the reptiles, adders and viviparous lizards are early risers. The first British adders of the season were found - albeit further south, in a warmer climate - on Feb 17! I don't know about Scotland but they've already been found as far north as Sweden and Norway as well this year.

Good luck :)
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AndyKraemer
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Re: Excursion to Edinburgh (any advice on Scottish herping?)

Post by AndyKraemer »

Kristian, thanks for the link and the encouragement. This won't be a dedicated herping trip, but with any luck I'll be able to slip away to poke around some ponds more than once! If I find anything interesting I'll be sure to post it on FHF.
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krismunk
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Re: Excursion to Edinburgh (any advice on Scottish herping?)

Post by krismunk »

AndyKraemer wrote:This won't be a dedicated herping trip
I gathered as much, it's Scotland, after all ;)
Tom
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Re: Excursion to Edinburgh (any advice on Scottish herping?)

Post by Tom »

If you're going via a London airport and have a spare couple of hours I can (almost, weather dependent) guarantee showing you some adders.
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AndyKraemer
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Re: Excursion to Edinburgh (any advice on Scottish herping?)

Post by AndyKraemer »

Tom wrote:If you're going via a London airport and have a spare couple of hours I can (almost, weather dependent) guarantee showing you some adders.
Thanks Tom, I really appreciate the offer. Unfortunately, my layover at Heathrow is not particularly long. Another time, perhaps! I've always wanted to spend some time in England.
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Rags
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Re: Excursion to Edinburgh (any advice on Scottish herping?)

Post by Rags »

Looks like the weather is turning much colder in the UK this week. Take plenty of warm clothes, Scotland is chilly!

Good luck in your search you may find some frog spawn in local ponds.

Edinburgh is a beautiful city, the castle, St.Giles Cathedral, Real Mary King's Close.

The zoo, which is a short bus ride out of the city, is well worth a look. It has a reptile collection, also Giant Pandas and a fantastic penguin pool.

Most important of all - don't forget to sample the whiskey. :beer: :crazyeyes:
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Martti Niskanen
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Re: Excursion to Edinburgh (any advice on Scottish herping?)

Post by Martti Niskanen »

Rags wrote: Most important of all - don't forget to sample the whiskey.
Whisky, surely. You'll get in trouble calling it whiskey :)
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Rags
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Re: Excursion to Edinburgh (any advice on Scottish herping?)

Post by Rags »

Martti Niskanen;

Rags wrote:
Most important of all - don't forget to sample the whiskey.


Whisky, surely. You'll get in trouble calling it whiskey
Fair point Martti, I was thinking of the American readers.
carlo bongio
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Re: Excursion to Edinburgh (any advice on Scottish herping?)

Post by carlo bongio »

Interesting, when I landed in Aberdeen Scotland a few years ago the first bar I went into I ordered a scotch and they looked at me as if I had antlers coming out of my head! The Bar hostess told me that they call it whisky not scotch! I must have landed in the twilight zone! You are going to love Scotland . :beer: :crazyeyes: :thumb:
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AndyKraemer
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Re: Excursion to Edinburgh (any advice on Scottish herping?)

Post by AndyKraemer »

Thanks for the advice, all.

Whisky. Check.
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