A male blackbird busily turns over fallen leaves in search of worms and a flock of goldfinches twitters in a tree above – but I am not out in the wilds of the countryside, but instead near the centre of Aberdeen at the start of the Deeside Way by Duthie Park.
The route follows the line of the Old Royal Deeside Railway from Aberdeen to Banchory, through woodland and farmland to Kincardine O’Neil and then rejoins the old line from Aboyne to Ballater, a total distance of over 40 miles. The railway line opened in 1853 and closed in 1966. It ran originally from Aberdeen to Banchory, but was extended to Ballater in 1866.
My focus was on the first stretch from Duthie Park to Holborn Street and immediately I was drawn into its green surroundings and the tranquillity from the bustle of city life. I watched the male blackbird for a while as it busily foraged in among the leaves. A couple of other blackbirds on a wall nearby squared-up to one another in a territorial dispute, with the nesting season ahead very much on their minds.
Surprisingly, perhaps, blackbird densities and those of many other songbirds are typically higher in cities than in the surrounding countryside. Cities and towns are often natural havens and true wild sanctuaries. Aberdeen is especially so – think of the numerous green spaces – parks and golf courses, cemeteries and playing fields. There are the rivers Dee and Don, and the wild corridors of the railway embankments. And, of course, there is the beach where terns dive for fish in the summer and exquisite goldeneye ducks bob in the water during winter.
Then, there are the multitude of gardens where nectar-rich flowers attract insects, while ornamental bushes and trees provide places for songbirds to nest in spring and summer, and a rich harvest of berries to feast upon in autumn and winter. Garden bird feeders provide ready sustenance during the dark days of winter, and well-kept lawns are perfect places for song thrushes and starlings to eagerly probe for worms and grubs. Buildings provide safe places for house martins, swifts, house sparrows and even peregrine falcons to nest. The sheltered aspect of the built environment of Aberdeen creates a warmer, more benign micro-climate compared to the surrounding countryside, making it a welcoming sanctuary for wildlife.
I wandered further down the walkway until my attention was caught by a pair of dunnocks flitting in among a bramble tangle. A silver birch nearby hung heavy with bird-nest like structures known as witches’ brooms. They are abnormal tree growths caused by fungal, viral or bacterial activity that results in the growth of the buds spiralling out of control, producing a multitude of tangled, side stems.
This little corridor of nature through the heart of Aberdeen abounded with all forms of magical life and I had become completely smitten by its wild charms. Nature and humanity can prosper together and this beautiful walkway was the perfect example of such mutual co-existence.