crow hill

 

04-06-23

More crowing. Sunday the 4th and there must have been some sort of charidee running event going on in Holyrood where you pay £25 to a good cause to basically do a parkrun. Most of the associated stuff like printed t-shirts, selling trashy foodstuffs and someone doing commentary on a loudspeaker I consider unappealing pollution but hey, it probably raised money for a cancer charity and if I don't like it, I know to keep out the park at the weekends. 

kestrel - above all that

One thing we both quite liked was this choir who sang well and un-amped.
Didn't hear much of what they were doing but they were doing it with style.

back along to humming-bird h-moth headquarters

This was unusual behaviour. In all the times I've seen a hummer this was the first time I have seen one at rest. It was quite close by, although on the side of rock facing away from the road so I had to stand up on the wall/railing and lean over (risking a header down the hill) to get shots. Although rare and exciting on account of that, it is also the creature at its least dynamic. It is quite a drab wee mouse-like shade of nothing-much when at rest. When flying however, it is totally awesome and almost incredible. Something like a UFO or a ghost: not of this world, and not constrained by the normal limits of earth-bound creatures. I must process the short crap clips of video I shot as they convey more than just photos for the same reason.

unusually static

The other big question is: is it just the one, or are there several? It does seem to have individual markings - a notch missing on the left wing, a patch of 'fur' rubbed off near the 'shoulders'. Recently we saw perhaps another and Andrew and Unda reported 2 separate moths. So maybe there is the start of a small colony. It is all very propitious.

common blue damselfly

I had a notion to go along to Duddingston to see if there were any odonata or goslings. There were! Quite a bit of both.

speckled wood

tree sprayed with halloween web possibly by moth caterpillars*
*needs citation

As long as you bribe the parents (Canada Geese) with food they are quite happy to let you get among their offspring who also crowd round for sunflower seeds and bread.

We then had the ordeal of climbing crow hill. There is no easy way up to avoid the humid climb and arrive upstairs in a moist heap. We had to go up to see if we could meet the tame crows from yesterday who were the highlight of the day. Or at least the least expected thing we interacted with. Here is Mary modelling the Butterfly Conservation t-shirt you can buy online, while we waited on their arrival. I think they had been over at Arthur's Seat summit panhandling the tourists and were possibly a bit hyped up on cheesy wotsits and pringles.

jackdaw getting in on the act
but keeping a normal distance

tame crows arrive

now can you just pose for a noble portrait please, 
spot on! hold that smile!

the larger (male?) hand feeds
the other (f?) comes close, but keeps a respectable distance

Mary feeding bread to Mr. Crow

They also really liked peanuts and when loads were offered they would take as many as they could fit into a beak and then hop off 20 yards and bury a few in a "secret" stash. The one above was happy resting his beak in my hand while loading up, as if that was normal!

the jackdaw hung around watching everything carefully
occasionally getting charged at by the territorial crow

further down the hill
not sure if this is the same crow or not - they won't wear name-badges

orange tip female

Back to the valerian for a quick h-b h-m watch before heading home. It does not always turn up on cue and sometimes we stand for 20~30mins before heading off without seeing it. But many times it does appear, to torture us with its quickfire changes of direction and lightening fly-pasts.

then home.