Today - 17-11-25 - started poorly and then really improved. I went along to Warrison as the sun was threatening, and mooched about in a grumpy manner thinking the world was doomed and there was little sign of all the birds I used to see and handfeed here. The day slowly changed as did my attitude, when things (birds) began, bit by bit, to show themselves.
At this time of year the Gormleys collect nesting materials.
The crow was helping with the process
a certain amount of sunshine had coaxed me out the door
A fairly joyful scene on the Goldenacre playing fields; dozens of curlews and oyster catchers have left the slim pickings of the local beaches to find bigger worms on the playing fields of Northern Edinburgh. There is a hedge giving the paprazzi cover so you can get quite close to these waders without disturbing them.
curlews
larch ladybird
In the cemetery I checked out the first line of stones under the coniferous trees near the gate. There were a couple of larch ladybirds, noticeable for not having spots but just a uniform colour. Also a hoverfly larva, below, but I have already covered this ground and felt I should be doing something other than repeating this today.
hoverfly larva
larch ladybird
harlequins
I also felt I shouldn’t just be feeding and photographing the magpies, squirrels and crows but looking for the other less visible birdlife now the falling leaves were revealing them. The crypts had had something of a facelift - a huge amount of ivy had been removed from the East end by the council. Well I suppose if it has to be done to stop the deterioration of the masonry then now is the time; when birds aren’t nesting there. This would have been home and restaurant to a number of birds, butterflies, insects, caterpillars and bees so it was not great news for the wildlife. A blow for the holly blues and admirals that flew there in Summer. However it (the cemetery) is looked after by the council so they get to choose the extent of wildlife vandalism to protect the masonry. Their recent interventions have reduced the amount of dog-walking traffic so I suppose I should be pleased although it doesn’t always seem their work is for the benefit of the public.
A definite positive of the recent work were the steps revealed and outlined
from the top of the crypts down past JYS to lower level crypts.
look ma, no ivy
the war memorial had also been scrubbed up for early November celebrations
I went under the tunnel and stood by the small stream to see who
was interested in peanuts and sunflower seeds: a few takers eventually showed up
Earlier I had been thinking the place was missing many of the inhabitants I loved a few years ago. I had maybe forgotten that they didn’t all show up every visit (during lockdown and afterwards) and that it is only by combining all the photos in one mindshot that I had mistaken the amount of available subjects. I had redwings, fieldfares and mistle thrushes on a long wish-list of all the garden birds as well as birds of prey, owls and woodpeckers. Patience was the watchword. No point in a quick hike about then concluding the place was dead. As soon as I made do with chaffinches and blue tits my outlook improved and with crows and squirrels and an occasional bullfinch popping down for a splash around, things began to reveal themselves.
chaffinch
great tit
robin and rat
bullfinch bather
long-tailed tit
All of a sudden a gang of long-tailed tits flew through. One sat unnaturally close and looked right at me while I zoomed out and hoped the camera would focus in time - they do not suffer fools. I surprised myself by getting several shots even in the terrible low light. And some didn’t even have branches crossing the subjects! Things were beginning to look up and I remembered that sometimes you reel in great photos by waiting for them to appear rather than chasing about after them.
being assessed
great tit
mr and mrs c
crows are always checking any handouts
And then (highlight of the day by a huge margin) a goldcrest appeared. I saw it drop from above and skitter through the branches of the stream-side shrubs. I couldn’t believe it chose to ignore the other stream bathers but flew over to just a metre or 2 away from where I was standing open-mouthed. I quickly turned the dial to S&Q which I have set to slo-mo 120fps. When it hopped into the stream I hoped it would splash and wash as it had done previously. I had taken video footage then and it worked well in the low light. They are such high energy fidgets that slo-mo would bring them into the realm of movement we can comprehend. And it turns 3 seconds into fifteen. I was delighted to be given the rare treat of an interview with this, the smallest bird in Scotland. In England firecrests vie for that title, but we don’t commonly get them here. This wren-like creature hopped about right in front of the camera and then disappeared for the rest of the day. I felt super lucky and have basked in higher than normal viewing figures on Lothian Birdwatch and facebook because this is really rare.
smallest Scottish bird
All these photos are frames from the video (below) not stills.
goldcrest in slo-mo
soundtrack: Forest Floor by Hatsu / Go Outside
blue tit
brown rat
blackbird
wood pigeon keeping its distance
dunnock
blackbird (f)
blackbird
dunnock
these un-timid specimens are happy to sit nearby and sweetly sing
carrion crow
robin
the robin had earned a photo-salary so after taking his pic
I put some seeds on the ground while he watched with interest
spider web diffracting prismatic colours
Not in the actual cemetery but when leaving there was an odd couple of a robin and wren. They were clearing the bugs and creepy crawleys displaced by a local who had cleared the leaf drifts along the edge of the on-ramp to the cycle-path. Previously a gardener for 30+years in the Botanics and elsewhere, old habits died hard for the senior who stood watching and chatting as I photo-ed the curlews on the playing fields. Anyway the robin-wren tag team barely bothered to stand aside as I descended the ramp.
golden hour curlews
what a fine day!
the also rans
so many miles in so many hours
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