Saughton

 

7th April

This walk is becoming a regular. First we catch a tram to Balgreen because that is the nearest to Saughton Park. Just along the road. It is well planted with suitable and attractive shrubs, trees and flowers that attract the birds and bees. And it is right beside a section of the Water of Leith known for kingfishers and otters.

seen out the tram window at the top of the Walk
some 'gramming going on?

Can't have been any butterflies on the flowers at Saughton. All the same it never feels like a waste of time to visit, and sure enough there were 2 kingfishers, a male then a female on the stretch of WoL just upstream.

male kf

female further upstream

blue tit

Remember that enclave of flowering evergreen mentioned by Vicky a week or 2 ago. I didn't but Mary did and so we checked it out and to our delight saw our first speckled wood of the year take off from the ground there. It flew about in a frisky fashion but I managed to get a decent shot before it disappeared. It made the lack of other butterflies immaterial.

treecreeper

cormorant

blackcap

Lots of blackcaps about but they are not keen on humans getting close and prefer to have a few branches between them and you. Which is really annoying.

near the Dean Village

Botanics were closed due to high winds

dead badger Inverleith Row near playing fields
presumably road kill?

Warriston cemetery had a couple of peacocks and 3 commas!
All 3 near the tunnel. 2 one side, 1 the other.

note lean into primroses to get proboscis 
to bottom of flower!

chiffchaff

Great to see two commas between the tunnel and the war memorial on the sloped bank of daffs. I wonder if they were the same two we were photographing last September - I must do a check on their patterns. They were spiralling and playing about in a similar manner. And in pretty decent condition. Not bad for having survived all Winter somewhere most likely outdoors. In fact they'd be saying to each other they have come through the Winter in better shape than the old dude with the camera who is showing much worse signs of aging.

best area for butterflies near the war memorial

11.8 miles in 5.5 hrs

bawsinch

 

6th April

A Saturday spent along at Bawsinch reserve hoping the weather wouldn't deteriorate and that maybe there'd be a chance of a butterfly or two. 

parent shieldbug (?) on Holyrood pavement

lots of wind making Duddingston Loch choppy

arrived to find Ken and Joanie aready there

There were a couple of peacocks flew by early on. They were whipped away by the strong winds and not worth chasing. There was a feeling there should have been a few commas, small torts and peacocks about, but maybe the wind was discouraging. Nice to chat to Joanie who was, as always, full of info about local plants and fungus. She was excited about the good quality showing of Juniper Rust seen near the entrance (which we had of course walked past without noticing!) 

half-free morel

We had a wander down the bit that runs parallel to the Innocent Railway path until the flooding after the bridge stopped us. There were a couple of peacocks around there and we spent a while trying to get pics. Also some brightly coloured fungus.

badger print (?) in the mud
dogs are not allowed in the reserve

back over towards the loch we came across this small tort
which just stopped long enough for a photo

hadn't noticed these bird feeders before
which were being attended by a few garden birds

the Juniper Rust Joanie had made us aware of

across to the Thompson Tower in Dr. Neil's Garden

chiffchaff

We walked back into Holyrood Park. Mary was by now thinking about her lunch. I felt unsatisfied by the lack of photos and wildlife so suggested we follow the park boundary from Duddingston to the Meadowbank entrance. Mary knew it would be very soggy and decided to keep her feet dry while I boldly headed into the swamp. There is an area on the boundary wall where brambles and fruiting trees can attract commas and red admirals in Autumn and I hoped there might be something to point the camera at. Well, yes and no. Before I even got there my feet were soaked and muddy as Mary had guessed. I tried to jump either side of the stream but inevitably there was too much squelch to avoid and I got very soggy muddy feet in no time. And no butterflies, which was annoying. However I saw a pheasant crouching off behind a tree and went round the far side. When it saw me I tossed a few peanuts in its direction and it needed no further encouragement, galloping across the leafy ground towards me.

In fact it was so friendly I had to stop taking photos with my 400mm lens and get my phone out as it got too close for the long lens. It was slightly overcast and not quite sunny enough. Interesting to note the change in quality between the camera and the phone. Although the phone video is surprisingly decent. 

mobile footage

I have said before how these birds are not everyone's favourite. They are of limited intelligence and not originally from here. However I do enjoy the fantastic plumage and the fact the Holyrood ones are so used to human traffic they will come over and eat peanuts out your hand. Any bird that will put its natural instincts aside for a bribe and a chat is okay in my book. Even a lowly specimen like a pheasant or (as 5 mins later) a pigeon!

mobile phone photo by comparison

it was blowy and bleak on St Margaret's Loch

I do enjoy the cheerful upbeat looks of the tufted ducks

gulls braced for high winds and cold temps

I wasn't going to get out the peanuts for the pigeons. But I'd taken a couple of photos of one or 2 of them and they seemed to know I had some nuts in my pack. I reluctantly gave in and in no time was mobbed by enthusiastic birds. We mostly overlook their iridescent feathers and streamlined beauty because they plague the streets like litter. But I have to admit they cheered me up considerably and I felt lifted after our interactions. The need to take more photos and have more wildlife interactions sated. By the time I got home Mary was wondering where I'd got to, and was I lying on my back in mud somewhere, unable to right myself. Something like that. 😁

8 miles, 5 hrs