wander at warriston

 

Thurs 25th Feb

I had been really enjoying Mary's new camera and decided to buy a bridge camera myself as a result. Meanwhile there was a glimpse of blues skies and thin cloud on the 25th so I had a wee wander along to Warriston with Mary's camera to see the birds there.

I think this was the day I went in the East Gate and the friendly robin, which I saw in a distant tree, came barrelling across to greet me. I don't know if it was hungry or just had something urgent to tell me. I saw the nearest stone had a broken top where I could leave bread and position the robin for a decent photo. Unfortunately he was too quick and I only got one hurried shot (first image) before he took a piece of bread and darted into the undergrowth. 

When I walk round the graves I am always looking between the stones and monuments for wildlife and don't spend much time looking at the stones, except when I remember to look for ladybirds. I'm not sure what the etiquette is when I see a stone with a friend's name on it. Pretty sure the best idea isn't to send them a photo of it. But the above did catch my eye as I passed it. To be fair it was "Elizabeth Mary Buchanan" and so I have cheated slightly. 

treecreeper

These small and quick moving birds tend to start low on a tree and work upwards, hopping around the bark looking for nooks and crannies containing insects. So in general they only get harder to photograph as they climb. Having an extra long zoom is a real help. 

Possibly the best wren shot this season. I took this shot then zoomed in but in that half second it had seen me and moved on. Their brown colour and small size is a lot harder to see from any distance which puts me at something of a disadvantage. But I live in hope!

Having short changed me earlier the friendly robin came back for an extended session and to remind me he was the top dog in the area. For just a handful of breadcrumbs he was happy to stand and pose on the top of a headstone for as long as I wanted. I took a video of him chattering away and hopping to the nearest edge of the stone which was really helpful. Unfortunately this page doesn't support any large sized video clips. I will collect them together once I have sorted a couple of technical issues. (Recording my own soundtracks a work in progress.)

I had a visit to the secret garden area and put some bread out on the tables. Not many takers today although I can go for a wander and return an hour later and the bricks will be swept clean of crumbs. I suspect the squirrels!

who me?

After a couple of hours I took the long way home round the edges of St Marks park. Generally things tail off from 2pm and I had only arrived about then.