winds of change

 

Iona Street made the headlines on the morning of the 23rd Feb when, due to strong South West gales, a large portion of roof blew off the top of a tenement near the Leith Walk end of the street. We heard a noise outside (sounded like the bin men) but didn't notice the incident until we stepped out the flat to go for a run. Given that quite a weight of roofing had fallen from roof height it was extremely fortunate no one was hurt. Seems like some mild damage to a couple of parked cars (and obvs a missing roof for the people in that tenement) was the worst of it. 

We drove off for a run though when we returned it was cordoned off and only later in the day was it seen to by an small army of roofers who tarped the roof and sawed up then removed, the debris. 

who ya gonna call? 
The police were too late to arrest the fall.

splat!

a special milestone in the Berlingo: 111,111 miles

Next day 24th I went along to the WoL to photo another casualty of the wind. A riverside tree in Warriston had been blown over by the same strong winds. There was actually video of it going over on twitter. It had been leaning precariously, the roots not having sufficient grip next to the wall and the soil being loosened by all the rain and snow of late. It was sad to see it go, although I think it was destined to be taken down soon due to its lean. The trunk seemed to be broken just below the soil line. 

eyewitnesses were interviewed

Although I planned to come back through Warriston I was booked into the Botanics to see if there were any butterflies on the Mahonia, as Ken had spotted a Red Admiral there in the recent warm weather. Hilariously I couldn't even find the mahonia (a winter flowering shrub with yellow flowers.) And it was a bit cold for butterflies with a stiff breeze still about. There were a few birds in the trees though. I had taken Mary's camera so was enjoying being able to zoom far further into the branches than ever before.

I think this bullfinch was trying to eat all the catkins on this tree.

exotic snowdrops

Magpipe (thanks Michael for that joke!)

The pond at the Chinese hillside was given an overhaul last year and much of the surrounding cover hasn't yet filled in the bare gaps. This left good lines of sight to get photos and video of this heron which was stood stock still for several minutes, ignoring me a few meters away. I was also trying to be as stealthy as possible but was rubbish compared to the heron. As I was taking pics of its head it suddenly broke the pose and stabbed its beak into the mud.

At first I thought it had just grabbed some leaves and mud but rinsing the murk off revealed an unfortunate frog. I probably like frogs more than I like herons and I was caught between feeling sorry for the poor frog and glad to be recording it. Nature can be harsh. It did seem to be dispatched quickly and was limp and dead looking for the process of being washed before being swallowed down whole by the bird. I wasn't sure whether it was doing all that rinsing to remove frog slime or mud or just make sure the frog was absolutely dead and couldn't do any damage internally. It was a pretty big frog and made a lump going down the herons neck! The heron sipped some water and cleaned its beak on a nearby mossy log. 

sorry to see this still here!
panto season is over

When I saw the resident squirrels I realised I had forgotten to bring nuts for them. This one was happy with bird seed and sat very nicely for photos; another came over had a stir through the seeds and left with an attitude of "nah, I can do better elsewhere mate." Can't have been a long hard winter for some then!

squirrel with a mouth full of nesting materials?

I went home via Warriston - it is just minutes away, and on the way home. Similarly there wasn't much happening and the light was a bit low. I wandered round the usual spots and saw a few birds, probably more than I saw in the Botanics.

This dunnock was helpfully sat near the feeding tables and not unduly worried by me pointing the camera at it from a couple of meters away.

LTTs

The cat cup I'd glued the other day met its end in the high winds.
😢

botched this photo of the wren
and it didn't hang about for the next pic!

Around this time I bumped into Graham again. I wanted to give him every opportunity to shake the Grumpy Graham moniker I'd labelled him with on the first occasion we talked. This time he was more chatty though obviously he is more of a quite personality than an extrovert. He also gets lots of points for making the secret garden so attractive and bird friendly, and taking great pics of the birds. I got him talking about the birds and he said he'd seen a pair of Stock Doves. I hadn't heard of the species before - a bit like a country cousin of the urban feral pigeon - and I wondered if this was that. No! This is a wood pigeon, the stock dove appeared next visit. I'll do a side by side when it does.

There was quite a lot of high pitched peeping and wandering as quietly as possible I tracked it down to this wren. They are becoming territorial and more vocal. So there are many more opportunities to get photos. 

Dammit! I've been made!

Just a second for one last photo then it flew off. Each visit and I get a little closer. It helps having a bigger zoom! Over the next visit or 2, I noticed they have a distinctive call; a little like a robin but not so burbling and melancholic, and more urgent and peeping. Especially if someone (myself or dogwalker) is approaching. I am enjoying the challenge!