long running practise

 

27th July. I should do this more often. I think I was inspired by the shit weather. Just go out and run. Take sandwiches and stay out all day. Carry the camera, don't have a specific plan or hope; just see what turns up. It went really well and turned up a couple of gems but equally could have been a bit dull. The weather certainly was. Overcast with that low grey cloud Scotland calls Summer. I should live in a different country, the weather here just depresses me.

grey wagtail (juv?)

My route was to head up the WoL. I suppose I was hoping for kingfishers and otters and with that in mind the first venue was Saughton. But really it was just something to drive me out the door. Since the cloud cover wouldn't make for a great photos I didn't really mind where I ran. But it is easier if you have a target. 

The first boost was seeing a small grey fluffball opposite Warriston. I didn't realise until it turned side on it was a grey wagtail - almost certainly one of the family that started with the solitary male (you remember he lost his tail, grew it back, and found a girlfriend.) I think there were at least 3 wagtails crossing over to Warriston and back and I felt delighted to see this progression from single male to family man. By the time I took this photo (below) they had dispersed and I couldn't be sure if it was 3 or otherwise, adults or juveniles. I have since seen them back at their old haunt, the small stream that flows under the tunnel and into the WoL, but they were again moving quickly and avoided an accurate tally. Possibly just 3? I hope to see more of them soon. A good start to the day.

grey wagtail (adult)

I really liked the reflections of this heron and the feet, just visible, deep in the water. Unfortunately it wouldn't turn its head except very briefly to make a better photo. 

the amount of new green growth is amazing

gormley at stockeroo

the first mosaic (Helen Miles) at Belford Bridge
I'll get the other 2 on the way back (people were wanting through)

good to see this bridge fixed and open again 
after it was damaged by flooding

Gormley at Dean Village
no kingfishers, no otters

2 lady mallards, bills wing-sheathed

I haven't been to Saughton Park in ages. Or have I ever? I've walked past (and run through during the WoL Half) on the riverside paths, eyes glued to the water for kingfishers and otters but could I really have missed all the good stuff in Saughton Park? Or did they just build it recently? Either way it is quite the place. A mini-botanics with large greenhouse and lots of trees and borders full of the sort of things that pollinators enjoy. It was still a bit overcast, brightening slowly, ever so slowly, so there weren't large numbers of bees and butterflies but it was all very cheerful. Consequently I brightened. And wondered just when did all this appear? Three sculptures all with an Indian theme: the Universal Mother, Gandhi, and Sri Chinmoy. Possibly others I didn't notice. A pond with goldfish. This is all delightful!

this reminds me of 2 different Escher prints
Rippled Surface (1950) and Three Worlds

Universal Mother, the Goddess Shakti
(Seems to have very large arms and hands.)

a GVW that was stuck in the greenhouse area

very nicely set out

how had I not noticed this place before?

Okay I googled it and Saughton Park got an £8m refurb. Doesn't say when, but that is a lot of greenhouse and cuttings. And - as you can see - it has turned out really well and deserves a visit on a sunny day with maybe a picnic of samosas or something suitably Asian flavoured. Bahjis on the riverbank.

only small tort of the day

inspired by Sri Chinmoy

the bandstand

all this!

it gets my vote says Mr. G Bottle

There is a break here while I run back down the river, to Murrayfield and over towards Corstorphine and through the wee gate off the main road that leads up the hill. I wandered past acres of rosebay willowherb and along towards the zoo boundaries. There is a spot where small coppers hang out. I didn't see any but I did see a flash of red in the expanse of green. It moved and showed itself to be a brand new peacock, an absolute cracker of a very recently emerged, prime specimen. I was waist deep in green vegetation and shouldn't really have been in this spot as the path had faded out 10 yards back. I pushed through nettle and bramble to get close to this fire engine red. It did a couple of floaty circuits landing a safe distance away but close enough for a photo. A real stoater!

magnificent!

I nodded a distant g'day to the inmates at the zoo

I wasn't sure whether I would run out through Ravelston or back the Water of Leith. I ran over the hill as if I was heading towards the former but slowed when I noticed a number of small birds in the trees. I hadn't had much interaction with birds lately - in the Summer they disappear into the leaves high in trees to raise families and keep hidden while moulting. So it was something of a treat to see a band of finches and tits gathering around a birdfeeder someone had thoughtfully left out, just off the thin path. 

I stopped for a look. There was plenty bird action going on around a couple of feeders. This surprised me as I thought they had plenty of food in the trees and with the berries that grow at this time of the year. One of the feeders was empty the other nearly empty. During a quiet moment (they seemed to come and go in waves) I filled the larger feeder (a cage that discourages squirrels and larger birds) with some seeds I had with me and the birds all gathered round again, taking turns to approach the feeder. The light wasn't best and although I tried taking pics from several angles, where I first stood was the best option.

I have just checked the gps output and I was there over an hour! I had my sandwiches while I sat, crouched and stood near the feeder taking photos. I saw 10 species of small bird come to the feeder. Great tit, blue tit, goldfinch, chaffinch, dunnock, bullfinch, robin, coal tit, greenfinch and nuthatch! And a great spotted woodpecker even appeared in the background to see what all the fuss was about. It was the most birds I'd seen since the Winter and it got me thinking I must establish a new feeding site in Warriston. I mulled this over as I ran the next few miles. A small bird feeder that discourages the magpies, crows and pigeons is essential as they would empty anything they can access in minutes. And to establish a place that is surrounded by trees to make the birds feel comfortable, but has decent light and line of sight for the camera. A work in progress. Watch this space.

Anyway here are some photos. They are a bit dull because the light wasn't great and many of the birds are either juveniles or in nesting plumage which is less colourful. I am no expert on which ones are adults and which are immatures. Except for robins, they are fairly easy and distinctive.

chaffinch - most numerous at the place

coal tit

blue tit

chaffinch and greenfinch

robin

The robin wasn't going to the birdfeeder for seeds but scavenging on the ground; coming right over to within a foot or 2. There were several young robins about, hopping about the branches and on the ground, in different stages of development.

dunnock, also hanging back but watching carefully

coal tit

blue tit

great tits, bullfinch and coal tit

bullfinch (m)

juv robin

greenfinch

bullfinch (f)

goldfinch

coal tit

great spotted woodpecker having a look from some way off

young robin

young bullfinch

robin

it only appeared once briefly so I was glad to get this record shot of a nuthatch

chaffinches were most numerous or visible

dunnock

female and male bullfinch

I was really stoked to have come across this unexpected treat. The birds are obviously fairly used to human traffic coming along the path. Although they flew off every time a noisy family or dog went past they would very quickly return and resume feeding. Then, just after 3pm it was like an invisible signal was given and they disappeared into the trees. Five minutes later and still no returns. (Much later, Mary suggested they maybe feed one of the zoo animals next door about then and all the birds know to flock to the meerkats' cage for treats or whatever.) It was about time I got warmed up again, so I headed back the way I came and decided to go back down the Water of Leith.

On the way I saw a female kestrel fly up into a tree nearby. I didn't get that close before she flew off again. But it was another treat and reminded me how much Corstorphine Hill has to offer. It's a shame it is so far from my side of town. But at least I would have cranked out a few miles by the time I got home. I totted up in my head just how many and thought it would come to about 14 maybe 15. As I ran down the WoL I thought maybe I could get the Suunto up to 16 if I did a circuit round Warriston Cemetery - it was a pleasant enough afternoon and what with all the sitting around I still felt fresher than if I'd bashed out 15 miles without a camera, without any snack breaks or bird-watching.

rosebay willowherb

some Italian talking to his online fans

got those other 2 mosaics (Helen Miles)
on the return journey

I think word has got out that the Dean Village is one of the best instagrammable spots. There are always tourists interviewing each other or taking unselfconscious photos and videos of themselves. They probably see me running past with my (larger than a mobile phone) camera and think I am one of them. Maybe I am, though I like to think that pointing my camera away from myself 99% of the time saves me from the worst or most banal crimes on social media. 

That said, can I take a moment to reflect I have not long gone past the half a million pageviews. Only took 10 years! Now I know this is nothing compared to influencers and youTubers who probably consider half a million of anything to be peanuts in the grand scheme of things. But given the Venn diagram I was talking about the other day of runners and wildlifers and the slim crossover, I feel lucky I have kept any readership over the years. 

Actually I do this blog primarily for my own reference. (And forgot to watch out for the moment the 499,999 page views turned over to half a million. Oops.) I keep this going as an archive of what I was doing this time last year and what flowers are out when; so I know what butterflies will be landing on them. And how fast I ran a parkrun before and after lockdown. And if anyone wants to read that then fine. But I am my main audience.

Also, to play an instrument well you have to practise regularly. This blog is the scales, the symphony as yet unwritten, but there is an idea and it helps to write a diary, your thoughts, anything as long as you practise. Funnily enough I never practise scales when playing music. But do play a lot. Another project. The music. Hopefully doing less work means more time to practise, and work on other projects. Although there is that feeling there is limitless time stretching ahead now that work doesn't blot out the future. I should probably get moving on some of these ideas. Probably only twenty good years left? There's a thought. Onwards and upwards, just time for a cold shower then put the tv OFF and go and be creative. NOW!

Warriston it was. I had the camera at the ready but there wasn't an awful lot to point it at as the afternoon was getting late and the sun hadn't shown up all day. The crows follow me about there, more out of habit than need. I have been giving them peanuts lately and growing fond of them. Sometimes they leave peanuts for the magpies or pigeons and continue to follow me about, waiting to see why I'd stand near the red admirals with a hand out. There was a handsome large white up near the crypts that I got close to, and a comma nearby that sat on a gravestone for a second and then disappeared frustratingly successfully. In no time I had forgotten I was only there to clock up an extra mile or 2 and I should probably go home and have a cold shower. I was pleased to have enjoyed the run much more than I expected at the start of this unprepossessing day, and although I didn't feel tired at the end of it I think I was a bit washed out for a day or 2 afterwards. Probably spent the time catching up on blogs and playing the keyboard. But not scales.

admiral

comma

large white

16miles, 6.5hrs