birds at Cammo

The weather on Saturday was pretty rubbish early on. Mary was reluctant to drive to Gullane and suggested a drive, park and run at Cramond / Cammo. I was up for that. Then Mary changed her mind and planned something else. I was more taken with the Cammo idea and the forecast sunny spell around 3pm and thought I could cycle to Cammo for the workout and take photos of my feathered friends if the sun came out. It almost did although it didn't light the feeding tree quite as well as last time so conditions weren't ideal. 

Much the same crew as last time. Robins, blue, coal and great tits, and nuthatches who were trying to fight off all comers and claim all the seeds for themselves. (In the background were chaffinches and crows who sweep up the remains if I left the immediate surroundings.) I put down seeds and nuts and a few worms. To make it go further I had added a handful of muesli. It all disappeared really quickly and I had to replenish supplies several times. Partly the flapping of wings would knock a certain amount to the ground. But they were super keen, gathering as I approached the tree, and swooping in immediately I went to pick up my camera. 

upside downhatch

one of your 5-a-day

I was interested to see this Great Tit taking a sultana away - I had wondered if they would be bothered with the muesli. 

 

There was a very scruffy looking blue tit. Looked like it had already been half-eaten by a dog or cat. But was still gamely turning up for a feed. 

The light deteriorated over the eighty minutes I was there, making it increasingly tricky to get decent shots. I took about 700, immediately deleting 160 when I uploaded them - many of which were bare tree bough immediately after the bird left. Lots are shoot and hope. Some I tried to hold back until the birds were doing something of interest. But they move so quickly by the time you've taken the shot they have moved or flown off. The hit and hope works although if I was shooting in raw I might be a bit more choosy at 23mb per image. I usually post about 1 image in ten taken. That average dropped to about 1 in 20 for this venue.  

As the sun went down it got quite cold. On the cycle there I had removed my jacket but still arrived with damp base layers. I hadn't taken a duvet jacket as I did last time, and found after about 45mins I was getting really cold. Reluctant to leave, I put my gloves and another hat on. At least the cold kept the number of park users to a minimum. You wouldn't believe the number who just bash by with dogs and children making a dreadful racket and scaring the birds. Couple walked by vaping. Nice way to enjoy the outdoors. With a dog chasing the birds away and going mental in the watery bit. Best not to go there at the weekends! Other than that it was perfect entertainment.