Monday 28 March 2011

Hornbeam, Birds and a Fox

We had a lovely wander along the Water of Leith today. I took this photo of the hornbeam tree for Tree Year, if you compare it with the photo in this earlier post, you can see that the catkins are developing! It was lovely also to hear a chiffchaff calling from the tree too, we even had a glimpse of it as it flew around in the upper branches.
We also saw a wren gathering nesting material in a clump larger than its own head! Crafty Green Boyfriend took some photos of a grey wagtail that was dancing around over the water. For a bird named grey, it's very yellow!

We also had a really good view of a fox, whose eyes caught the flash in this photo taken by Crafty Green Boyfriend (who had his zoom lens with him!). It's a very autumnal looking image, but it was actually a lovely Spring day today!

It was also lovely to see a lot of bees, buzzing around, low to the ground, looking for new homes. Lovely to see celandines and wood sorrel in bloom too!

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20 comments:

none said...

Oh I remember when you last took the photo of the hornbeam tree...love seeing the little catkins appearing :) Happy Spring

PurestGreen said...

I love how everything is getting ready to burst. Cute fox with slightly scary eyes. :)

Forthvalley scribe said...

Good grief, chiffchaffs already!

Crafty Green Poet said...

Elizabeth - yes, indeed, i heard my first last Tuesday!

Anonymous said...

That is exactly what spring looks like here, so far. Did the fox mind you being close?

Crafty Green Poet said...

sandy - the fox was rthe other side of the river, Crafty Green poet had his zoom lens with him so we weren't that close...

Titus said...

Wow wow wow! I was going to ask if Crafty GB was up a tree, but I see the answer above!
Love the wagtail shot, and yes, it is very yellow.

Caroline Gill said...

What a great walk, Juliet.

Gabrielle Bryden said...

Wow, magic day (love the fox photo especially). Hope things warm up nicely for you soon. It's still hot here, and we are nearly into the second month of Autumn.

RG said...

Looks like things are slowly greening up in the background! We are at least a month late with things here in the Pacific Northwest.

Charlotte said...

What a treat-filled walk you had!

Still not seen an elusive wren. We even have a sort of ivy hedge / wall near the office which I am CERTAIN must house some - it's their ideal sort of environment I believe. But they won't come out for me...

Charlotte
x

Jo Potter said...

Spring is a wonderful time of year for bird watching.
Oh wow! You were really close to that fox. What a great photo and a beautiful creature.

Spring blessings,
Jo.

Jasmine said...

Beautiful pictures :)

Hannah Stephenson said...

Such a beautiful fox....lovely photos always.

Lucy said...

But not as yellow as a yellow wagtail...

Christina said...

Stunning photos. The fox photo does look a bit fall like.

Nicole said...

Yeah, Grey Wags are a funny bunch ;)
Love the way it's perched on the Rock.

And love your fox shot. It's always cool to see these fellows (I think) :)

Caron said...

I just love that fox. The line between fall and spring is sometimes marked only by the amount of damp in the air. At least that's my impression every year.

Rambling Woods said...

I love catkins...I can't wait till it gets warmer here and things start to pop out, but at least I can enjoy the birds singing....Michelle

KaHolly said...

That is an interesting tree. Great shot of the fox.