Local urban birdlife yesterday...

[Cap'n Fishy]

Cracking day yesterday - snow on the ground, bright sunshine and still. Took the camera with the big lens on my daily walk through the park and round the cycle path, hoping for some birdlife shots.

There is a good view of Arthur's Seat from the park. Lots of folk up on the top...

Everyone was out, enjoying the lockdown snow...

First bird I happened upon was a hen blackie, which as I started to take shots of it, became fascinated with me!

She came closer and closer to get a better look at me...

Maybe associates people with cameras with them having a bag of bird food in their pocket. Unfortunately she was out of luck with me!

Next was a robin, sitting on the fence of the allotments. The snow behind it made for a good clean background. I gave it +2 EV to allow for the white background...

From there, to the Water of Leith at Bonnington Weir, where there was a pair of goosanders. The female was looking even more like Judy Murray than usual...

Got the male in a decent light, though the ISO was a tad high (5000) due to the very shaded spot.

Also a pair of dosing mallards...

From there, back onto the cycle path, and I happened on a young lass attempting to feed a robin from her hand...

I've done it myself in the Botanic Gardens, where the robins and even the great tits are trained to take food from your hand, but never seen it in a busy urban setting. I guess it's possible this robin had come from the Botanics, which were only a mile away, though they are territorial wee things, eh? Anyway, the lassie managed to get it to take from her hand a couple of times. Unfortunately, when he landed on her hand, he had his back to me...

I hadn't seen a redwing all winter, but as luck would have it, I ran into a bunch of them on the very day I had the camera with me...

By this time, there was a very slight thaw going...

I thought I was done for the day, but on the last spur heading home I heard the call of a bullfinch - it's a kind of pathetic mewing - and sure enough, there was a pair in the trees across from me. Most of my shots of bullfinches end up with them being partially hidden behind branches...

But I managed a clear shot...

He was busy nipping buds off.

Col

 

[GEK79]

Cracking day yesterday - snow on the ground, bright sunshine and still. Took the camera with the big lens on my daily walk through the park and round the cycle path, hoping for some birdlife shots.

There is a good view of Arthur's Seat from the park. Lots of folk up on the top...

Everyone was out, enjoying the lockdown snow...

First bird I happened upon was a hen blackie, which as I started to take shots of it, became fascinated with me!

She came closer and closer to get a better look at me...

Maybe associates people with cameras with them having a bag of bird food in their pocket. Unfortunately she was out of luck with me!

Next was a robin, sitting on the fence of the allotments. The snow behind it made for a good clean background. I gave it +2 EV to allow for the white background...

From there, to the Water of Leith at Bonnington Weir, where there was a pair of goosanders. The female was looking even more like Judy Murray than usual...

Got the male in a decent light, though the ISO was a tad high (5000) due to the very shaded spot.

Also a pair of dosing mallards...

From there, back onto the cycle path, and I happened on a young lass attempting to feed a robin from her hand...

I've done it myself in the Botanic Gardens, where the robins and even the great tits are trained to take food from your hand, but never seen it in a busy urban setting. I guess it's possible this robin had come from the Botanics, which were only a mile away, though they are territorial wee things, eh? Anyway, the lassie managed to get it to take from her hand a couple of times. Unfortunately, when he landed on her hand, he had his back to me...

I hadn't seen a redwing all winter, but as luck would have it, I ran into a bunch of them on the very day I had the camera with me...

By this time, there was a very slight thaw going...

I thought I was done for the day, but on the last spur heading home I heard the call of a bullfinch - it's a kind of pathetic mewing - and sure enough, there was a pair in the trees across from me. Most of my shots of bullfinches end up with them being partially hidden behind branches...

But I managed a clear shot...

He was busy nipping buds off.

Col

Thanks for sharing made me smile..
G

 

[3lbgrayling]

Brilliant Col.

Jim

 

[Wee Jimmy]

Great shots Col.Mind that family of carrion crows that Ive been hand feeding all summer........not seen any sign of them for about a month..?? .I expected they would have been pecking on my windows wanting fed ,even more so with this cold snap but they seem to have abandoned their territory....

 

[Cap'n Fishy]

Great shots Col.Mind that family of carrion crows that Ive been hand feeding all summer........not seen any sign of them for about a month..?? .I expected they would have been pecking on my windows wanting fed ,even more so with this cold snap but they seem to have abandoned their territory....

Shame they are away. I was waiting for you to tell me they had started leaving you gifts, like all those YouTube clips of folk feeding crows and the crows start to leave them trinkets they have nicked from others. Like you say, you'd think they'd home-in even more during the winter. The extended family of crows that hang about the spot where folk leave food at Warriston must number nearly 20. But some days they are there and other days there is no sign of them.

 

[noel]

Hi Col , out of curiosity are you close to Shawfair , I used to deliver to the hospital?

 

[Cap'n Fishy]

Hi Col , out of curiosity are you close to Shawfair , I used to deliver to the hospital?

I'm totally the other side of Arthur's Seat from there - you could draw a straight line between Shawfair and me and it would pass through those people standing on top of Arthur's Seat.

Col