Inverleith Park

 

27th November. A great day for photos that was more of a happy accident than following a deliberate plan. We caught the tram to Murrayfield and walked down the WoL. Mary was a little below par. She had a virus or tummy bug and had read there was a Kawasaki norovirus going about which may have been the problem. No sign of the kingfisher at the modern art gallery but just below the Dean Village we saw a stream of bubbles and bow wave ploughing up the river. 

At the next shallow section a large dog otter revealed itself. It swam up to the next stretch where it hauled itself out and left a spraint on the riverbank, then got back in the water and continued upstream. We were quite excited to see such a large, shy and rare creature although the photos were little more than record shots and they could easily be mistaken for someone’s brown mutt having a swim.

nice to see a dipper

obligatory heron shot

hello… HELLO?!

speak up; I can’t hear you over the noise of running water!

Dean Village: always popular with the instagrammers

Mary was beginning to feel she needed to go directly home (on her Kawasaki) so we agreed to part company. (Mary, recalling the day, says I was beginning to bore her! As if!) My plan was to head to the Botanics and have a look round there. Just before I got there it occurred to go along the small path next to the rugby fields into Inverleith. There were oyster catchers poking their orange tent-pegs into the grass looking for luckies. The path is lined with bushes which gave me an amount of cover behind which to hide while taking shots of the nearby birds.

how do you get that beak clean?

wipe it on the back of your trousers

easy!

As I got into inverleith there was a great light about the place. The sun was low and doing a nearly golden hour kinda thing. As usual there were lots of gulls and ducks about and they are always on the look out for anyone throwing bread. I quietly got out some birdfood as I didn’t want to be mobbed by the black-headed gulls. They are pretty but make a terrible racket as soon as one sees a handout, and then about 40 fly over to the place and there is a feeding frenzy.

black-headed gull (Winter plumage)

Over the other side there was a bold robin who came over for a chat. Another one reckoned the first was encroaching on his territory and there was a stand-off. There was also a huddle of pigeons who noticed I was throwing seeds about the place and they gathered on the wooden barriers round the pontoons. I noticed a couple of fancier pigeons among the usual feral jobs and wondered if they were racing/homing pigeons that had failed to return home and instead made a break for freedom and the independent lifestyle.

standing out from the crowd

pretty plumage and a mad red eye!

As I encouraged the pigeons, the other pond birds realised there might be treats on the go and slowly came over to see. I threw some stuff - peanuts and sunflower seeds - and got some photos of the tufted ducks diving and sitting in the sunshine.

mrs tufty

mr tufty

random focus point

moorhen

mallard

hybrid electric/petrol mallard

Canada goose

I really enjoyed the bird company at Inverleith Pond. And took far too many photos. I grew up just along the road and have known the pond for nearly 60 years. Catching minnows and falling through the Winter ice. There is even a chance that Mary and I visited the pond at the same time as unknown youngsters and passed by each other fifty-plus years ago. 

Eventually I headed off thinking I might catch the last light of the day if I legged it across the park to the Botanics. I went past the central statue to check out the holly trees for redwings of which I found zero, however I was rewarded with a pair of nuthatches in the trees next door. I was surprised by such an exotic species in such an ordinary public space. I took many photos but a couple were head and shoulders better than the rest, catching the birds in the orange sundown light. It was a great finish to a pretty decent day out.

I only just made the last entry cut-off into the Botanics after stopping for a quick chat with Karen M in the park. Last orders 3.15. However the light had gone, as had any birds, and I headed home to see if Mary was feeling run down by her Kawasaki. 

some miles, some hours, some welcome sunshine