Brilliant Birds and signs of Spring

We had a lovely walk today through Inverleith Park and Edinburgh Botanic Gardens.

We were delighted to get very close to this little grebe (dabchick) in Inverleith Park

and  up the hill from the pond the crocuses were looking lovely in the late winter sun

Meanwhile in the Botanics the snowdrops are looking lovely

the rhododendrons are getting ready to bloom

and the oriental plane trees are decorated with fruit that look like pom poms

At the Botanics Pond we were greeted by mallards

and a kingfisher turned up happy to pose for the camera

It even treated us to a fishing masterclass though we didn't capture that on film!

And a grey squirrel also posed for us

Thanks Crafty Green Boyfriend for the bird and squirrel photos!