meh 005, once bitten, twice bitten, last night a ducky saved my life mix

 

25-10-25 Saturday walkies and will we just forget about the kingfisher, the Water of Leith and go elsewhere? The hell we will, no surrender and we're going to see this thing through properly! Let's go!

I hadn't seen this tunnel mural until today. It's not perfect, but a very decent job and I wasn't as hacked off about the monarch butterfly included in the otherwise Scottish selection of wildlife as Mary anticipated I'd be. When she saw it on her last solo trip here she could hear me cursing the non-UK butterfly from a week before I saw it. Sure enough it is the sort of thing I have been known to send an angry email about, but it must have been the bouyant weather or the fact I am trying to make my peace with the Winter. I mean how can you fight with a season? Or a tunnel? Anyway it is quite nice in places and if I had the other lens on I'da taken photos. Next time.

Mary took this pic which has quite a bit of distortion
(I look f-a-t! That can't be right?!) 😋

We did mix it up a little by catching the tram to Balgreen and doing the Saughton stretch of the WoL, upstream of the park, to the playing fields. Not that we saw anything of the kingfisher, otters or dippers there. But we weren't the only ones. I had not long mentioned to Mary that wildlifer I met a long time ago in Warriston to Mary, when we turned a corner and she was there at the same spot we'd seen her maybe a year ago. (Forgotten her name, oops!) She was with two other long-lens-dudes and none of them were pointing at the river. Not just us then.

part of a kid's treasure hunt possibly

the riverside trees were glorious

A number of long-tailed tits were flying about the trees. They can be very tricky to photo as they keep moving and hopping about the branches. I have the advantage of a camera that actively looks for birds and focusses on them superquick, whereas Mary was finding it almost impossible to focus in time before the birds moved on to the next perch. They are supercute.

more wasps that you'd ever need or want

another LTT

goosander (f)

back to the starling holly tree at Roseburn Place

Didn't even take one photo between Roseburn and Gormley near the gllery bridge. We did the stretch twice and called time of death at 2.34pm. Not even a whif of the kingpin. He's defo not getting a christmas card.

Gormley again
what he needs is a nice kingfisher hat

well hung apple tree near Dean Village

I might have forgotten I was carrying a camera with me until Inverleith Park. If the late afternoon sun is shining then you can't go wrong with a handfull of duckfood at Inverleith pond. Mary had lost the will to live and headed home directly. I went to see my pal the hybrid mallard (don't ever say Manky Mallard!) who is living his best life at the pond. Likely a cross between a wild mallard and domesticated white duck he is delightful and very happy to pose if you throw some food in the water. 

he not only sports a different jacket and cap to the norms,
but he has a lovely grey eye unlike the usuals' brown eyes

black-headed gulls always appear when there's food
I like their luminous vermilion bills when the sun shines through them

mrs mallard

ambient ducks on golden pond

coot

Anyway I caught the last of the light before the sun went behind the trees and it lifted my spirits enormously - it even felt like the whole day had been a success, which it hadn't. Maybe I need to take a minimum amount of photos to feel like the day has been worthwhile? As I mentioned recently, it is very like an addiction. There are worse, I know.

I crossed the park to the centre statue looking for redwings and fieldfares on the circle of holly trees but just this robin who was curious but not terribly interested in the seeds I tossed him for posing so well.

back through the botanics; just these teasels catching the sun

8miles in 3hrs38