When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything in the universe.(John Muir. My first Summer in the Sierra, 1869)
Cliffs, rocky shores, sandy bays and dunes, grasslands, pine plantations and one of the two largest saltmarsh areas on the Forth make up the 713.5 hectares of the Park. It boasts a higher than average sunshine record and less than average rainfall for the area. This wide variety and character of coastal landscape offers diverse habitats, rich in both plant and animal life.
Animal Life
For years the park has been home to squirrels, foxes, otters, hedgehogs, stoats, weasels, badgers and numerous rabbits.
Butterfly surveys are undertaken as part of a national scheme to monitor flight dates and the effects of climate change. Several species have become established in the last ten years, including the ringlet and the peacock.
Changes in climate, vegetation and in man’s activities have all had an effect. In the past many plants were used for medicinal purposes, for dyes or food.
Viper’s bugloss, with its distinctive sprays of blue flowers, commonly found on the dunes and grassland, was said to have medicinal properties and to cure snake bites.
Other plants have become less common, such as grass of Parnassus, found on marshy areas with its heart shaped leaves, single white flowers and faint smell of honey.
Trees provide shelter, homes and food for the many birds, animals and insects. Several woodlands border the Park, such as Tyninghame Estate on the west where sycamore, elm beech and oak can be found. Hedderwick Plantation falls within the Park area. Scots Pine is the most prominent species here.
I never saw a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as fast as we do.(John Muir. John of the Mountains, 1890)
Hidden life
