This morning we wandered down to Blackford Pond, a relatively small suburban pond in Edinburgh. We were delighted with the birds we saw! As well as lots of mallards and tufted ducks there were 2 pochards, a little grebe (in summer plumage today, unlike those we saw in Perth), a heron (click on my photo above for a closer view), greylag geese, moorhens and a coot. Crafty Green Boyfriend saw a kingfisher but I had been too busy watching a pair of swans dancing and courting to notice, which is a shame as I've not had much luck with kingfishers recently, it's always other people who see them! It was however wonderful to watch the swans, they have such a graceful, balletic courtship dance. After wandering round the pond, we walked by the side of Blackford Hill (see the new banner photo), where we heard a buzzard and then watched it soar across the sky. Then we walked along Braid Burn, through the Hermitage of Braid. Definitely felt like Spring today, we've had signs in the past few days but this was the real thing today.
Can just imagine Crafty B Sneaking up on the heron;-) Nice spring shot too. I like it...
ReplyDeleteYou always manage to ‘out-bird’ me! I was just thinking when I was at Blackford Pond the other week that we have tufted ducks but no pochards … and now you’ve seen pochards there. I’ll look out for them next time, but I bet I don’t see any!
ReplyDeleteI have never got anywhere near close to a heron. That is one of my photography goals.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a wonderful place to walk and enjoy nature.
Beautiful! I can't wait to enjoy the parks in our area..it is almost spring and the malards have come back to our yard...they sit on top of the houses around town...it's pretty funny.
ReplyDeletevery pretty; so lucky to get the heron; when i get shots like that it just when they dodge behind a tree and i only get half of the bird
ReplyDelete__What fine photos!
ReplyDelete__Summers at our pond... I spend hours, watching the birds of the water, and those that linger on the shoreline. Things, then, are learned that aren't written in any book.
Captain Shagrat, actually I took the photo and it didn't need much sneaking up on, it just stood there...
ReplyDeleteHoward - well, good luck next time you're there...
Four Winds - herons around here are relatively easy to take photos of, and they're big birds so you can catch them from a greater distance than most birds
Lynn - i've never seen mallards on top of houses, how cute!
Ascender - you should have seen the shot i tried to get of the swans, didn't work at all...
Magyar - yes we can learn a lot from watching birds..
I'm loving your spring reports. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI have the same luck with woodpeckers. Everybody has encountered them but me.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful..the heron looks so stately and elegant, like a scene in a Chinese painting. We envy you!
ReplyDeleteClaire and Amy
I went to Blackford Pond today and saw the lonely male pochard! I even have (very poor) photographic evidence to prove it! Also there was a bunny on the path.
ReplyDeleteYou are reminding me that I am overdue for a visit to my favourite local bird sanctuary! I'm jealous of your sightings of birds we don't get over here.
ReplyDelete