against the odds

 

23-03-24

As the photo and blog title suggest today turned out pretty well despite baltic temps and several showers that hosed down mightily while we were out taking photos. Mary was swithering between activities but the intermittent blue skies encouraged us out and up the Water of Leith via the Botanics. We took waterproofs and had something of a false start when met with a heavy shower at the front door. We stepped back inside the close for a few minutes while it passed over. The strong westerly breeze kept things moving all day, so if it was overcast, there was a good chance it wouldn't be 10 minutes later. The breeze reduced the warmth of the sun by 5~7 degrees and while at the front door I ran back in to replace my buff with a woolly hat which I was very glad of. Later I wore the buff under the hat. From many years experience I know the butterflies only really start to appear when the gloves and hats come off and yesterday they stayed on all day.

one of only 2 butterflies photographed today
and you'll like the second one even less!

sulky moorhen at Botanics

Almost as soon as we arrived, we bumped into Ken at the Botanics. We joined forces and on the way somewhere were held up as I pointed out a robin that is particularly tame and will come to your hand for food. Mary got a handful of bread out, meanwhile Ken noticed the goldcrest (above) and I made a poor job of taking a photo of it. I called across to Mary to ask if the robin was performing and she said it had already been to her hand twice. I had missed the photos chasing an ungrateful goldcrest between the branches. We wandered over to the pulmonaria where there was a chance of bingo bees.

tame robin

bee wrangler

The university bee team were there again and seemed to be catching on this occasion rather than releasing. I think they may catch, glue number, then release, but am not sure. Ken said they have been doing this for 3 years now. More on that later, but first our attention was taken up by the magnolia trees which were all in flower. Oooh, let's check out the Campbell's Magnolia near the cafe. It was in full bloom and I was pleased to catch it and get photos. Often we will only see it as or after the petals drop; as it does this so early in the year. There was another curious robin nearby which refused to come to Mary's hand but was happy to perch nearby for photos and was suitably rewarded.

compare this with later photos
(the difference the sunshine makes)

The sun was disappearing behind a large grey raincloud so we headed into the cafe and had a pot of Earl Grey, a savoury scone and a slab of cake. We bought just 1 scone and 1 tray bake and had half each in case we didn't make enough mileage to offset the calorific damage. (In the end we walked about 10 miles so it was not too bad.) The scone came with a chili jam which was sweet and spicy and highly recommended. It is not a cheap cafe but the food is great quality. When Mary went to the facilities I spooned the last of the small ramekin of chili jam into my face. We waited out the next heavy shower before going back outside and then got much better sunny photos of the magnolia tree, dripping from the rain, sparkling in the sunshine.

Campbell's Magnolia

sunny delight

the robin appeared again too

great tit

We returned to the pulmonaria to find Ken had stood under a nearby tree to wait out the rain (we did invite him to join us in the cafe!) and we took photos of a hairy footed flower bee. (Above, with hairy front feet.) It felt very unlikely there would be any butterflies although the sun was warming. 

We said goodbye to Ken and left via the Chinese Pond. Our intention was to head up the WoL in search of the kingfisher although we got sidetracked at the pond by a couple of friendly robins who sat on Mary's hand and were happy to sing for their supper.

a rare wobble from the autofocus
which jumped from the bird to Mary's thumb

it was a three robin day for Mary and she was chuffed.

It is great camera practise to have such an obliging subject that will sit reasonably still, giving you the chance to try different settings or DoF options. Or walk about to shoot into the light or with it behind you, while the bold wee robins don't fly off and let you get very close. And they are super cute. There is not much else comes close to the joy it brings and we left the Botanics feeling rich.

camellia japonica beside Rocheid Path

grey wagtail by Dean Village Gormley

Another huge dark grey cloud engulfed the city as we made our way up the Water of Leith. Mary joked we should hide under the Dean Bridge which she was having trouble remembering the name of. The Bridge of Dean sounded wrong. You know, the big one. We arrived just as it started tipping down and hid on the leeward side, the wind swept torrent coming in hard from one side only. Rather than get out waterproofs we waited till it swept past, cameras protected from rain; mine in a hi-tech tesco carrier bag, Mary zipping hers into her jacket like an unlikely pregnancy. It seemed like we had made a poor choice and would be best getting off the path near the West End and getting a bus home. Both of us cycle so much we are not up on which bus routes go where, which delayed the retreat plan sufficiently that the sun re-emerged and maybe, just maybe it would be back out by the time we arrived at the Gallery Bridge, just in time to see the kingy arrive, we joked. And yet...!

There was a grey wagtail hopping around the flotsam near the Gallery Bridge. I stopped to take photos thinking it may be the best wildlife we bump into here, and Mary continued upstream. As I ran to catch her up I saw her lower her camera as a bird flew upstream. Kingfisher or dipper I asked and she said it was the kingy. As things progressed it looked very much like our plan was panning out. The sun came out and lit up the area, and the kingfisher appeared to be the same one we shot here a year or 2 ago. It has the unusual trait of being inured to human traffic and not only ignores most passers-by, but will actually land and perch on the same side of the river as you are stood (with open mouth). The average KF will, upon seeing you, fly half a mile up or down stream and are very frustrating. This one will move to a new perch but often within 50 yards and you can then walk along and catch up with it again.

it caught several fish while we followed quietly behind

Just after it landed and we both stealthily approached and were getting the first decent photos of it, I heard 2 schoolboys approaching. In uniform and glad to be out of school they were shouting, laughing and making quite a racket. I knew they hadn't seen us and would continue up the path and scare away the bird. I ran down the path to meet them and pointed out what we were up to and pleaded that they tone it down until they were past where the bird was sat. I can't recall what school uniform they wore (red piping on black blazer?) but suspect it was of the fee-paying posh type. And was delighted they were well brought up and did not tell me where I might shove my camera, and behaved perfectly. The kingfisher remained sat staring into the shallows for fish. Result!

The bird sat on our side of the river and it was all going very well. It felt like the perfect photographic storm of light, bird and behaviour. A couple of other folk went by, some enjoying the spectacle, others unseeing dogwalkers. To be fair a couple of dogwalkers went past us then returned later and said you must have got some good shots there, noticing the proximity. We stood and chatted, exchanging stories of otters, foxes, kingfisher and deer. You remember me taking pics of 3 deer walking through the gardens on the opposite bank of the WoL (back in November) just a little downstream? Seems they live in those woods. Just half a mile from the West End. It does seem to be a good spot for wildlife.

We followed the kingfisher (a male) from perch to perch. He seemed remarkably unfazed by our presence and even flew towards us, landing on a branch near to where we were taking photos. I was sorely tempted to scramble down a steep and muddy bank to get closer but resisted the potentially camera-killing muddy slide into the water. Distance from the subject was not so much the problem as was the high contrast light and getting into a decent place with a clear line of sight. My camera with its animal eye detection made it easier for me than Mary who didn't get the results she hoped. But that's why I paid ten times the price of her camera. It was a great pleasure to get so much time with an otherwise elusive species and we both came away buzzing. Who'd have thought while standing under the Bridge of Dean with the rain hosing down...

distant dipper

We walked up to and under the large stone Belford Bridge. There was a distant dipper and then Mr Kingfisher zipped back downstream in a flash of electric blue from a spot we never knew where. We felt we had got the best possible pics of the day (more cloud cover moved in blotting out the sun) but were so uplifted we decided to walk rather than bus home. We kept an eye out for the turquoise and orange flashes but saw no more of Mr K.
What a great day, thanks to a bit of sunshine and several orangey feathered friends.

second butterfly of today
in charity shop on way home (spotted by Mary)