Mosses and birds along the Water of Leith

I normally totally fail to take good photos of mosses, so I'm quite pleased with the way these came out! I don't know the species though, my moss identification skills are non existent.

I had a lovely walk around Colinton Dell by the Water of Leith today. I was totally delighted to happen upon a pair of  long tailed tits, making their nest! They took it in turns to take small amounts of material (I couldn't see what they were carrying, but I know they use lichens, spiders webs and feathers among other things). Then when each bird had added its piece it sat in the nest and wriggled around a bit to make sure it was comfortable! I'll try to keep an eye on the progress of the nest over the next few months.

I also had a very good view of a mistle thrush singing. I had never seen mistle thrushes in this area until the last couple of weeks, so it's good that its a bird that seems to be making its new home in the area (or just making itself more obvious to observers).

Also I had my closest ever sighting of a siskin, which normally sits away up in a tree, but today was hopping around in a bush very close to me, singing a lovely sweet song.

For Nature Notes

Just follow the links to find out more, the birds names link with their pages on the RSPB website, where you'll find much better photos than I'd ever be able to take, along with illustrations and sound files.