Privacy, Ethics & Sharing

About the Site

This website is a personal record of birds and other wildlife observed around the allotment plots and nearby green spaces at the Lauriston Farm Agroecology Project in Edinburgh.

Its purpose is to record sightings through the seasons, share an appreciation of local wildlife, and highlight the variety of birds that can be seen in and around the allotments and surrounding landscape.

Respecting Wildlife

Wildlife always comes before photography.

Anyone visiting the area or observing birds should follow the principles of the Countryside Code and take care not to disturb birds or other animals, especially during the nesting season.

Please remember to:

• Keep a respectful distance from wildlife
• Avoid approaching nests or breeding sites
• avoid trampling vegetation or damaging habitat
• Leave the area as you found it

Photography

The emphasis of this site is on observation and recording rather than professional wildlife photography. Most photographs on this site are taken using simple wildlife watching equipment.

The aim is to document wildlife in a respectful and unobtrusive way. Photographs are taken at a sensible distance and without interfering with natural behaviour.

All observations, notes and photographs are my own unless otherwise stated

Equipment

The photographs on this site are taken using fairly simple equipment that is easy to carry around the allotments and nearby green spaces.

Nikon Coolpix L820
A compact bridge camera that is ideal for quick snapshots and portability. It has a useful zoom range and is often the camera I have with me when something unexpected appears.

Nikon D5300
A DSLR camera that gives greater flexibility and improved image quality when conditions allow.

Nikon 18–55mm lens for wider views, habitats and general photography
Nikon 55–300mm lens for greater reach and flexibility when photographing birds at a distance

Lenses used with this camera include:

Both cameras use 128GB Lexar memory cards, so I rarely need to worry about running out of storage while out birdwatching.

Binoculars
I also use Nikon Action EX 7×50 6.4° waterproof binoculars, which are bright, robust and well suited to general birdwatching in a variety of conditions.

Independence

This website is a personal project and is not an official website of the Lauriston Farm Agroecology Project or any associated organisation.

Creative Commons Licence

Unless otherwise stated, photographs and text on this website are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial licence.

This means the material may be shared or reused for non-commercial purposes provided proper credit is given.

Attribution example: