return to cammo (lot)

16th Feb.

Having checked out Cammo recently with Mary and realised there was loads of bird action there I saw the forecast was good for Tuesday 16th and decided to run there and back. Threw some birdfood and sports bars in the back pack and set out just after 11am.

In St Marks park the Craigroyston FC changing rooms are near the football pitches. There are holes in the wooden exterior that have allowed the local sparrows to invade and build homes between the outside and interior skin of the sheds. Look closely and you'll see not one but 2 birds in the pic above.  The sparrows (house not tree - you can tell from the grey cap the male wears) also occupy the bushes just in front of the holey timber building.

Further along the cyclepath I came across this lone starling singing in a tree. They are beautiful creatures with very distinctive songs, often sounding almost dolphin-like with clicks and tuts between swooping notes. Listen here.You have to get close up to see the galaxy of tiny markings on their feathers. They seem much less commonplace these days than when I was young.

this was the second bike mechanical we saw.
Makes you glad to be a runner!

12 days later we were to see the same space hosting another mechanical which suggests maybe there is something sharp on the ground like broken glass. As this is a popular route (forming part of the cyclepath route to Barnton) do be vigilant if passing through here.

Little Grebe near Cramond Brig
Have been past twice since and it wasn't there again.

It was good to arrive at the birding spot in Cammo Estate. It is about 40~45mins hard cycle or around 90mins to run and so always a thought. Especially if the weather is iffy. Back then (ahh so much has happened since) I only had the compact camera and the amount of work needed to get decent shots was considerable. You are fighting against bird movements and weather quirks as well as irregular camera performance. You hope that it all comes together for a decent shot but can only even the odds by shooting off far more than ever will make the grade. Nice to see so many birds though. High species count as well as individuals.

blue tit

great tit

nuthatch

blue tit and chaffinch

coal tit

pair of tits

The squirrels and crows hang back while I am there. But I know as soon as I walk any distance from the places I have put out food they will swoop in and hoover up any left-overs. The squirrels were slowly edging in while I was there but any sudden movements and they'd scram back into the undergrowth.

I have been watching some youTube videos on how to get better bird pics and video by Mike Lane FRPS. He is very knowledgeable on how to approach what can seem a near impossible thing. (Charming the birds out the trees.) And almost makes it look easy. It gave me ideas about placing birdfood in spots like on the top of the tree trunk stumps. Which instantly makes for more interesting photos rather than just on the flat bough. It helps disguise the piles of food necessary to attract the birds. Because they won't just show up due to your charisma.

That said the other day when I went there (by bike) there was loads of uneaten sunflower husks (or something a bit like sweepings off the wholefood shop floor) on the usual feeding spot. I brushed them off the tree (noisily) with my gloves before putting fresh food out for the birds. In the time I had got the food (live mealworms, bread chopped small, petshop birdseed) and returned to the horizontal platform there were birds all about the empty trunk looking to see what all the fuss was about and a dozen in the surrounding trees. 

jay

Today's unexpected visitor number one was a jay. I have seen them on Corstorphine Hill but not for a year or 2. This was the first sighting here. It had a look at all the cheeping and peeping but came no closer than the tree 30 yards away. I tried to get closer for a photo and ended up chasing it away.

Second unexpected visitor and another first was this treecreeper. There were a couple hopping about the trees nearby. As was a goldcrest, the third bird I'd never seen before at Cammo. It eluded the camera, hiding in the low undergrowth bouncing among the brambles. 

After a bit George turned up. We'd met before and he turns up regularly to feed the birds. Although he was carrying binoculars, he doesn't take photos and wants nothing more from the birds than their company. He is very chatty so the 2 of us were yakking away for an hour or more. I outstayed him but only by a short time as I wanted to have a look around the orchard area in the walled garden. 

There are 3 hives in the walled garden.
Only 1 seemed to have occupants.

sunny but no signs of you-know-whats

On the way out I took a circuitous route and got the camera back out when I saw a gang of LTTs hopping through the trees. My eye was then caught by another goldcrest and I spent a frustrating 5 mins chasing after it as it flitted from tree to tree never resting long enough for a decent photo.

On the way back over the hill I took some pics of a robin that was leading the vespers and then a family of bullfinches that were possibly settling down for the night.

After leaving the estate I ran back down the Almond in the setting sun which was very pleasant. When I got to the Cramond foreshore there was a wagtail - possibly the same one I threw bread to the other day. It was on the shoreline and I followed it some way to get a photo. I think it was not very pleased the paparazzi were back in town and it was giving me the stink eye. Happily I can't remember much about the run along the front and through Granton's industrial landscape. Nice day out!

goosander