chasing birds

27th Dec. 2018

Really enjoying the holidays and running every day. Loosely based on a Marcothon but mainly doing it as a get-fitter-not-fatter-through-December campaign. I've no idea how all those folk on facebook with their wine, beer and chocolate advent calendars aren't putting on a (metric) shit-tonne of weight. Maybe they are? More fool them. In my 50s I find it easier to load up than drop a dress size. So I am running like a bastard. And steering clear of high fat treats. And trying to not binge drink red wine every evening. Two days (in December) featured 30 milers and one 20 miler. Some are just piddling 3 milers but every day I put the trainers on and head out. By the 31st I will have run 265.5 miles for the month, averaging 8.5 daily. I am not yet slim! But it's too early in the Winter to get any fatter and my body is in total eat-and-sleep mode with a dash of depression, possibly due to lack of sunshine.

So it has really helped to get out in any available rays and turn the motor over. Work was quite intense in Oct/Nov so I can afford some time off in December. Once you get in the habit of having to run every day, no choice, then it becomes easier to get out the door. Even though some days it was 7.45pm before I found the willpower. In April 2018 I only ran 84 miles the whole month which included Manchester marathon. It's easy to forget to be a runner.

Alastair B

Meanwhile Mary says lets go to Corstorphine Hill. But first we go in the wrong direction down the WoL to have a look at some ducks. Alastair runs past. There is not quite enough light for decent pics but it comes and goes. Birds have replaced butterflies as the most abundant wildlife to photograph and although some can be tempted with bread and nuts a lot of them deliberately keep a thicket of branches between themselves and the camera while cheeping a merry fuck-you!

one of the more exotic residents on Corstorph Hill
a Lowland Nyala, (Adam Antelope)

After coming down to the main road we ran towards the West End. Around Roseburn I opted to return by the Water of Leith while Mary preferred the diretissimo through town. I couldn't face the tinselly tat of the sales and hoped to maybe see some dippers or other feathered friends.

The late afternoon sun came out and put his hat on but his fingers couldn't reach down into the gorge of the WoL. I quite enjoyed being able to choose my own route and was rewarded just after the Pizza Express in Stockeroo when a wren stopped me in my tracks. Several had been strafing my runs of late but they were crossing the paths without stopping for a photo. This one flew right onto a bush I was approaching and gave me 3 seconds to raise the camera and get one half-decent shot before darting off again. But it was enough to draw my attention to the Stockbridge Dipper, who had just caught a fish and was bashing the living daylights out of it on a stone over the other side of the river. This went on while I took several pics then shot some video. Eventually, convinced the blighter was properly dispatched, the dipper up-ended and swallowed the fish whole. Right enough you wouldn't want something nearly the size of your head wriggling about in your innards. 

wren

dipper with fish

grey wagtail

While I video-ed the dipper another top-ten bird, the grey wagtail, started bobbing around in the background. These are more scarce than the dippers, and are far more delightful than their name suggests, wearing a bright lemon yellow waistcoat. I turned my attention to that one which did not hang about for a picture but hopped and flew up and away leaving me only a couple of crappy images. Never mind - it was enough to flap in Mary's face to let her know she missed out big style and should have stuck with me and the birds!

12 miles of Wol and C Hill

The next day, the 28th December the sun was blasting down. I can't remember where Mary was, (maybe working?) but I was left to my own devices and threw myself out the front door without much of a plan other than head to the Hermitage via Holyrood. I was feeling a bit tired but everything was looking fab in the sunlight and so I planned my route to have as many photo-distractions as possible.

Arthur's Seat was teeming with festive tourists.

I went round the back boundary route of Holyrood. I love the geometric shapes, and blues and cream colour of the image above. I was also pleased to see some Canada Geese (Canadian Geese?) in Dunsapie who came past to see if had any offerings and left pretty quickly when I didn't.

the jackdaws always keep a canny eye on things

I went through the student halls. They have been planted with care and there are many interesting shrubs, flowers, trees and plants in the grounds. I got distracted by these seed heads, which were lit up like lanterns in the sunlight.

With careful positioning I contrived this mailvan (and letterbox) behind these pods, and by cranking down the depth of field, turned them into a pleasant red backdrop that you can't tell is, in real life, a rather dull workaday van.

From the student halls I ran through the Grange and down to Blackford Pond. Although it suffers from being in the shade of Blackford Hill at this time of the year, there was (among the mallards and goosanders) a singular duck there, (just the one!) I spent a while trying to get a pic of. The family near where I was standing asked did I know what breed it was, as it wasn't on the info board. My first guess was Teal although I felt that was a plural somehow and I wasn't certain you could have A teal. A teal duck. No that sounds worse. "Teal" says I "although we can all google it later". Googling it later I found it indeed was (a) Teal (duck.) 

Teal!

not quite enough light to get decent shots

I reversed the course of the recent Hermitage 10k which took me over to the Hermitage and the lovely stream that runs through it. The steep sides of the valley also keep this in the dark; bummer number 1, and there were no dippers on the first 2 passes, bummer number 2. The thing about wildlife is it can appear at any time, so not a disaster, I just have to go and play in the sunshine up the top wooded bits and come back later when the dippers will be back after a lunchtime nap.

yup that works

I found a very pleasing hill top glade where young people lit campfires and sit around smoking joints, and noticed the very easily spooked squirrels. All that dope making them twitchy. One ran up a tree and hid their eye behind some ivy thinking that made them invisible. Hilarious!

Then a very handsome robin, totally unafraid, started singing his heart out. It was so close I had to zoom right back to get a picture. I shot some video and (curses) the focus is on the leaves in the background while the little crooner gives it big peeping, sadly blurry. I did take a couple of stills (above and below) before telling the little chap he was doing a marvelous job and I fished out some bread for him. He sat watching but even though I threw the bread with great care, really nearby, and in obvious sight line of him, he wasn't interested. I placed a bit in the crook of a tree. Still no takers. He hopped around for a while then flew off. Hard to beat that for star quality.

Even though it was quite early afternoon the sun was in danger of going down below the raised horizon of the opposite hill. I didn't want to lose all the light for the rest of the route so took the path through the trees down to the river (still no dipping action!) then out the Hermitage by the cafe.

quick look in Braidburn valley park

then on to Craiglockhart Hill

Reversing the usual route of the 7 Hills (not the steep hill though) I dropped down onto the Canal and then ran along to the aquaduct. There were various gatherings of sparrows and finches but they all stayed on the wrong side of the shrubs backing peoples' gardens. I could hear their chirruping!

Back onto the WoL and still lots of birds present but most avoiding my company and camera, the blighters. Around the cemetery and allotments I caught sight of a dipper but as I approached it flew off about 100 yards upstream. I made a half-hearted attempt to find it but didn't really stand a chance.

pair of tits

long tailed tit

another bird fancier

The sun was properly going down by the time I got to Corstorphine Hill. I doubted there would be much to point the camera at, though it was very pretty in the low orange light. I went up towards Clermiston Tower, then along and back down to the exit opposite Balgreen Rd. On the way there I saw a kestrel or some bird of prey hovering over various sections looking for his dinner. It then flew over and sat in a tree very near to where I was. Oh lucky day! I crept back to get round to where I would defo be getting the best shot of the day, then this lumbering big fool of a crow comes over and chases the beautiful falcon out the tree before I can get near enough, then harasses the hell out of it. I said bad words while the pair zig-zagged across the sky like WW2 fighter pilots. Interestingly the kestrel seemed to be trying to stick to just above and behind the crow where the corvid couldn't follow the bird of prey. I cursed the crow for some considerable while.

kestrel?

crow being a total pain

I chose to run to Roseburn again and then down the WoL as the day before. However everyone was off to bed, well except for this cat who was thinking about trying to find out where those beds were. I flipped the flash on to bounce off his soul-less eyes. Bad kitty!

ahh the beautiful and exotic Leith Walk at twilight!

19.46 miles