St Andrews Biodiversity Literacy Group

23/05/2025

Join Tabea and the Kinnessburn clean up crew for Burn-clean tomorrow! Everyone is welcome from 10 am and 2 pm - come and go as you like. We will meet between St Mary St and Greenside Pl (what3words: https://w3w.co/appointed.mute.vowing )

Please bring waterproof clothes (that can get dirty) and some snacks.

19/03/2025

Please join us for a birdwalk this Friday on East Sands from 1:00 to 2:00. We will be starting at the East Sands Toastie Shack. The weather in looking great for a gorgeous day of birdwatching on Friday!

19/02/2025

Hi folks of St Andrews! We will be hosting another birdwalk with the inimitable Professor Will Cresswell THIS FRIDAY from 12:00-13:30. We will start from the aquarium carpark. No matter your previous birding experience, you are more than welcome!

07/04/2023

Want to know what some of the birds that have been singing in the past few weeks are? The chiffchaffs have just started singing in the past couple weeks, and they are a great first one to pick out since they are so distinctive!

Check out this link to hear what they (and other birds around St Andrews) sound like! Maybe you'll recognise one of them next time you're out and about...

Identify common bird calls and songs with audio clips from the most common British birds, based on the results of this year's Big Garden Birdwatch and dawn chorus species.

14/03/2023

Hi everyone, it's Clara again! Due to popular demand, this week we're learning about greenfinches! They live in Scotland year round, and we spotted some along Grange Road at sunrise. The bodies of these finches are covered with grey and lime-green feathers which blend into a beautiful olive-green, and in females, the breast is a more pure grey. Their wings are grey with bright yellow streaks visible when they fly, as well as streaks visible on the leading edge of their wing and base of the tale at all times.

They eat seeds and insects, and so love bushes, hedges and trees. Sadly, although greenfinches had been recovering well from a population dip at the end of the last century, they are now threated by a disease called trichomonosis, which is spread by parasite and can be combatted by keeping bird feeders clean!

Thanks to John Anderson for the amazing photographs!

[image 1: Greenfinch standing on a branch. Image 2: Greenfinch lunging at tree sparrow]

10/03/2023

Hey everyone, it’s Sasha again with another great opportunity to get involved with biodiversity! This time its about how biodiversity in rivers can show us how clean the river is! Find out more below and in the attached PDF.

There is a fantastic free opportunity being advertised by transition to be upskilled by BugLife Scotland on how to monitor water quality in our local rivers (Swilken and/or Kinnessburn).

Theory and practical training dates are as follows:

The theory session via Zoom is proposed for 6-9pm on Thursday the 23rd March

The practical face-to-face riverside session on Saturday 25th either 9am-12 or 2-5pm

Places are limited and allocated on a first come first served basis. If anyone's interested, please email Anya with availability at [email protected].

07/03/2023

Week 7: Common Scoter

Hello, Iona here! The bird for this week is the Common Scoter. These are dark sea ducks which you can spot flying in small groups across the ocean, often on the horizon off East or West sands. The male is totally black and the female is lighter with a pale face. Their main diet is molluscs which they dive for. Worryingly, their breeding population has declined hugely, making them a red-listed species. Because they spend much of the winter offshore, they are susceptible to oil-spills. As the spring and summer comes round, these ducks will come inland to breed on lochs, particularly those in West and North Scotland.

Photos once again provided by John Anderson.



[photo 1: string of black ducks flying over the sea. Photo 2: black duck floating on wave]

05/03/2023

Interested in helping out with an art project by planting some trees?

A Fife based artist is looking for locations to plant 200 oak trees as part of a Fife wide project. The artist is looking for locations to plant individual oaks that he has grown from seed. Participation involves planting an oak tree, gifted by the artist, in the gardens, parks, common lands and green spaces of the Kingdom and caring for these trees, engaging in a physical and symbolic cycle of participation, nurture, growth and renewal. akin is both an old Scots word meaning, 'consisting of oaks', and an English word suggesting similarity, connection, or common origin. You can find further information about akin here: www.colinandrews.org/project/akin and contact the artist Colin Andrews [email protected]

akinpixelpilot2023-01-31T10:21:50+00:00 Site Specific Sculpture (200 oak trees, documents, maps, GPS record) 2013 - present akin is a long-term, large scale, participatory, public artwork in which oak trees are to be planted across the region of Fife, in Scotland, to create a ‘future forest’. Be...

05/03/2023

Interested in getting more involved with trees?

A new network called Fife Tree Wardens is launching soon, with loads of opportunities to learn more about trees and volunteer in tree care!

The best thing about it is no prior experience is required, all training will be provided so all you need is an interest in trees.

If you want to know more; information about training, Tree Warden Inductions, and a Tree Warden Forum - Exploring Resilient Treescapes in the face of Climate Change, is all posted below.

Fife Tree related training is being provided by a range of partners across Fife, throughout the year and is shared through the Tree Training (padlet.com) padlet.

The padlet can be found here: https://padlet.com/rebeccalogsdon/tree-training-o6c3sbd86jq651u4

Events include...

Tree Warden Induction:

Face to Face: Thursday 16 March @ CLEAR Buckhaven and Methil 1.00pm-2.30pm - Limited places

To reserve your spot visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fife-tree-warden-scheme-introduction-tickets-537162005017
CLEAR Buckhaven and Methil will be planting trees on the morning of 16th March. To join in, please email [email protected]

Online: Monday 27 March 6.00-7.00 pm
Please note that this session is for people who live in Fife.
To reserve your spot visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fife-tree-warden-scheme-online-induction-tickets-537677516927

Exploring Resilient Treescapes in the face of Climate Change – BOOK NOW!
Saturday 18 March 2023
10.00am -4.00pm (tea, coffee and pastries will be served from 9.30am)
The Botanic Cottage, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Arboretum Place Edinburgh EH3 5NZ
£8.00 per person

To BOOK visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/exploring-resilient-treescapes-in-the-face-of-climate-change-tickets-537817545757

Join the Perth & Kinross and Fife volunteer Tree Wardens as we explore tree health, species adaptation and the value of hedgerows.