fantastico!

 

The last day of October and the forecast was pretty decent. Mary asked what I planned and I said a repeat, pretty much, of our last trip up the WoL to Saughton, then over Corstorphine Hill. It seemed a bit unimaginative but I hoped, with a bit more luck, there would be plenty to point the camera at. She opted to come too, we made sandwiches and were out the door not long after 10am. If at first you don't succeed...

Going down Pilrig St the berry trees are giving it full gas and it seems a shame they only get a few bird visitors, since the sunlight and colour of buildings behind combine to make a lovely photo. I can tell Mary is getting the bug (nearly as rabidly keen as I am!) as she was agreeing it was a good photo opportunity missed. In the past an eye roll would have sufficed.

Reports are of larger numbers of waxwings coming South than previously, so I won't rule it out until the berries spoil and fall on the ground uneaten. Meanwhile the waxwings have been spotted in Gullane and Bonnyrigg. Would they have arrived at Balgreen today? (Spoiler alert.... NO!)

The first surprise and sign that today could be special was seeing a red admiral across the WoL at Powderhall looking over to Warriston. I only just caught this hurried record shot as it flew off while I was zooming in for a close up. It landed upstream and out of sight. We we not expecting any butterflies today as we have had about a month of rainy weather crammed into the last week. Mary was gutted to miss a photo but pleased to see a butterfly. 

this dipper was near Stockbridge

and another

Mary hadn't read my last blog about Hygeia (above St Bernard's Well) so I waffled on about that for a while. Being her mother's daughter she likes a bit of Greek stuff and even geek stuff. I enjoyed going past, knowing what happens in the mouth of that too-high-to-see-in cup she is holding. I notice it is a different colour finish from the rest of the statue though don't know why. 

gormley heron

I had set off earlier than last time because after midday the sun no longer lights the trees upstream of the Gallery of Modern Toss bridge. Which is where the kingfisher hangs out. We hadn't seen him since  Nov/Dec 2022 and didn't hold out much hope. We were most of the way to the next bridge upstream when we saw a streak or turquoise near the water, going downstream. We duly turned around and wandered downstream again, but looking at every low branch over the river. We weren't quite back at Gormley when he streaked past again. Also going in the same direction, which means we walked past him! Or it was a doppelganger. We continued and saw a flash of blue going upstream. This game could get boring really quickly. However it was better than seeing no sign whatsoever of the kingy. I was just about to suggest we do another trip back downstream to Gormley and then throw in the towel when Mary remembered seeing it beyond the next bridge (Coltbridge Viaduct). As we approached the bridge there it was sat on a stick in front of the grey stone.

It sat there for a few moments as we quietly approached, then dived into the water, caught a fish and flew up to another branch to eat it. The lighting was terrible but it was great to renew our friendship with this little bird. (If it is the same one as last year. Only thing for sure is it is also a male, (dark lower bill) same gender as before.) We took lots of stills and video, none of which was remarkable but it does give you a thrill to witness this fantastically coloured chap. We felt our luck today was definitely IN. 

As we went up to the main road at Roseburn, Mary said she would like to buy a drink at the coop. As we went in we saw a couple of macaroni pies coming hot out an oven and being placed in the glass warming case. It was only midday but irresistible of course and they were tremendous! Possibly the highlight of the day. Not even prohibitively greasy although I always carry kitchen roll to wipe hands afterwards, rather than greasing the camera.

macaroni pies - halloween highlights

we resisted the smarty bats
I am not a fan of cheap chocolate

goosander gulch

I think the crows at Goosander Gulch must have seen us scoffing the pies and turned up to do an impromptu stand and deliver. I got out a bag o' bread I had chopped up earlier and the half dozen were suddenly about 24 or more. And I was getting meaningful looks. Have they been communicating with their Warriston cousins?

stand and deliver!

mobbed!

Further along the river upstream of the Ice Rink I saw another kingfisher, although this one, just the other side of a garden fence, was more sedentary. We passed a couple of Halloween decorations along the way. I had my camera out when we passed the woman wearing the batheaddress. Or should that read bat-head-dress? I liked her serious look, or that she had forgotten to take it off. I had to shoot from the hip, stealth-wise. Might have got slapped. 

also saw Michael F running up the WoL

We would have been on the same path as Michael had we not diverted along Baird Drive. A quick check to see if the Waxwings had turned up yet, but you know the answer already. We took the little tunnel that returned us to Saughton Park where we searched for kingfishers, otters, redwings and butterflies. Might as well have been unicorns. However Mary used the facilities while I wondered about the tiling in the end greenhouse unit and whether it would have looked better tiling it square, rather than as octagonal. It looks good anyway and would make a nice warm space to have lunch had we not just been scoffing pies.

wren, who would not keep still or sit in the light

lovely autumn colours

always take this photo at the weir

bullfinch (m)

Some people use gravel in their gardens to keep it low maintenance and minimal.

Hang on that's Jar Jar Binks!

I am a fan of sci-fi but mostly I prefer old school, like 1951's The Day the Earth Stood Still which is a Sunday afternoon special. Plus I enjoy modern sci-fi but it has to be a bit more thoughtful and non-mainstream. Annihilation, Arrival, Moon (2009) and Ex Machina are all great in my opinion. Also, recently, Don't Look Up which does a nice line in satirising contemporary lifestyles. I haven't watched a Star Wars film since the 1980s and didn't rate them much back then. Despite that, even I know that Jar Jar Bings was not a terribly popular creation. In fact I googled to make sure I had that right and wikipedia puts it more bluntly. "He was met with overwhelming dislike from both critics and audiences, and has been recognized as one of the most hated characters in Star Wars and the history of film in general." Which is quite some accolade for a predominantly comic character!

parallel to Kaimes Road

action shot of the day

Mary had suggested we pick up the 7 hills route which would take us to Kaimes Rd and up that wee path on the East of the main road. As we ascended a squirrel ran up the fence and into the trees on our left. I think he was a bit spooked by our proximity and that may well have taken his eye off the ball as he made a heroic leap from one side to the other. He went quite some distance and landed in the crook of the branch on the right so heavily it took him a second or 2 to gather himself and his dignity and disappear into the foliage. I had just aimed my camera without putting it up to my eye but felt I pushed the shutter release at the right moment. I checked and was delighted to see I'd nailed the squirrel against a blue sky background. I was not shooting in burst mode so it was a one chance thing.

super squirrel took a moment to recover from this heavy landing

The sun on the turning leaves was spectacular on Corstorphine Hill. It is a large area and although we have seen lots of good stuff around the hill it is not like you can set out to see woodpeckers or jays and know where to find them. I carried some acorns I had collected on another walk in case there were any jays although I couldn't really imagine how any transaction would take place. I'll save them for a trip to Cammo where the jays are a little more interactive. There were no signs or sounds of woodpeckers and jays, but there were quite a lot of garden birds cheeping and peeping although staying quite well hidden. And the zoo being next door often throws up some unusual sights through the fences.

another acrobatic squirrel

mohawk tail mane

I had decided not to bother stopping to photo the garden birds where feeders have been set out. But then the sun was nearly on them and there was quite a good attendance. However most of the area was in shade and Mary was not for stopping, complaining of the cold. She said she'd see me down the way and left me to it. I felt if I stayed too long there was a good chance Mary would be halfway home by the time I was done. But there was a nuthatch! Argh, caught between opposing forces. I tried to get some quick pics, but the photos weren't ideal so after a few minutes, set off at a gallop to catch up to Mary.

She was eating her sandwich in the sun and said a red admiral had just appeared on the path. I had a bit of a scout around and sure enough it hadn't gone far, staying in the warming rays of the sunshine. I followed it over a couple of perches getting some decent photos, before we went off towards the Corstorphine Rd. exit.

Before we got to the road a (female) kestrel flew by escorted tightly by 3 crows and with a few magpies further away. The kestrel screeched loudly as if shouting obscenities at the crows. Then flew over to a perch. I used maximum stealth while speedwalking nearer to the tree it was in. I got close enough for photos and video but it was shooting into the sun and in danger of being not much more than a silhouette. There was no way I could get round the other side without disturbing the bird so I just did what I could before it flew to another tree. Again I felt our luck was definitely in today, and even though the photos weren't great it was still a great pleasure to see the bird of prey quite close.

I was in such a good mood afterwards that I didn't even mind failing to get decent photos of a buzzard circling high above the hill. I suggested to Mary we should go back down the WoL in case the kingfisher was still there, although it tends to disappear in the afternoon. Before we got off the hill we heard a distant honking and looked up to see a couple of hundred geese flying South West to what may have been Harperrig Reservoir or somewhere in that direction in the Pentland foothills.

buzzard

geese

Sure enough there wasn't anything on the Water of Leith on the way home. It was a great day out however and shows that persistence pays off. This was a very similar route as we'd done 9 days previous, but with much better results. And there is still room for improvement with the waxwings yet to show up. 

just under 15miles, just over 6hrs