tales of the riverbank

 

23rd October. Another wander up the WoL. I saw a photo of a kingfisher posted on Lothian Birdwatch and it was taken near the Gallery bridge. I hoped it might be the one we photo-ed last year which was regularly around that area upstream of the Dean Village. (Blog here from exactly 1 year ago! Also titled Tales of the Riverbank.) It didn't mind a bit of human proximity (quite unusual) and I got the best kf photos ever of it as a result.

It is about 3.5miles up the river so quite a bore when it isn't there. The light had also gone (midday) and I wondered if I should arrive earlier when both the light and the kingfisher might still be there. Meanwhile there was nothing but the usual suspects. Heron, goosander, corvids and the occasional darkly lit dipper.

goosander

rat up a drainpipe!

dipper and wagtail video

I took a stroll round Warriston but similarly there wasn't much there either. Which is insulting to the crows, magpies and squirrels who are always there and more often than not up for a peanut festival and photo shoot. I threw practically all the bread and nuts I had with me and they all crowded round and we had something of a party. It was very cheering after a disappointing day.

For entertainment and to practise camera skills I tried to get shots of the birds in mid air. This requires higher shutter speeds to reduce movement blur and there wasn't great amounts of light about so the quality is below par. As is some of the framing where birds have moved slightly faster than anticipated.

oops! so nearly!

the magpies don't even bother with wings for shorter hops

I put out many small piles of food on various stones. If you put it out on only 1 or 2 places the crows will dominate them and take it all, leaving the magpies looking on forlorn.

scarface: healing nicely

photobomb

note this squirrel had a sore paw
holding it off the ground

the wagtail was across the WoL in the shallows

8miles in 4 hrs.