Cotty Burn Pool

A short walk today, starting from the Cottyburn carpark, where we had stopped last time and continuing East along the Haddington Branch of the North British Railway, almost as far as Merryhatton.

When the line was active the steam engines took on water in this pool; now it is a haven for wildlife, especially Great Diving Beetles and Whirligig Beetles. It is a section of the Cotty Burn, whose earlier spelling is Coatieburn, possibly derived from the nearby hamlet of Coates.

We saw the Tree Sparrows again (as, with Blue- and Great Tits, they come to a feeder by the carpark), Long-tailed Tits and a large flock of Redwings passing through. The Apple trees are almost bare of fruit but there is a good harvest of Hawthorn which the Blackbirds seem to have to themselves.