Thursday 5 June 2014

Kinnoull Hill

No visit to Perth is complete without climbing Kinnoull Hill. In my memory the wooded lower slopes of the hill are always full of red squirrels and the open summit of the hill is always full of butterflies basking in the sunshine with peregrine falcons flying past. On Monday the weather was dull so there were no butterflies, nor did we see red squirrels or peregrines, but we still had a lovely walk!

We liked this sculpture of a badger by the side of the path.

and I like the patterns in the clouds here, almost looking like another river in the sky,

The fungus on this birch tree blends in almost perfectly with the tree itself





When we had walked off the hill and were deciding which path to follow back into Perth, we noticed a group of male blackbirds making a huge amount of noise in a bush. We went closer to investigate and a jay flew right over our heads and onto the hill, followed closely by the blackbirds and a couple of other smaller birds, including a goldfinch, which were mobbing the jay, driving it away from their nests (jays sometimes eat nestlings). Definitely my best ever view of a jay, which is normally a shy and elusive bird!

You can see my earlier blog posts about Kinnoull Hill here.


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8 comments:

Maureen @ Josephina Ballerina said...

What kind of Jay was it?
Here on the east coast there are Bluejays.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Little birds really suffer during nest time don't they - there are so very many predators that it is a wonder any nestlings survive. I suppose it is survival of the fittest but after all the work they put into nest building it does seem a shame. Good job they have such short memories.

Crafty Green Poet said...

Hi Maureen, it was a Eurasian jay, if you follow the link in the blogpost you can find out more and see a photo

Hi Weaver, yes, the world is full of predators...

Maureen @ Josephina Ballerina said...

What a neat bird. Seems to have the same kind of moxie as most jays have.
And the blue on the wing is like the wing on a Blue Jay. Except, of course, the entire blue jay is blue. They are bold and very opinionated. Guess that's why I like them.

Jenn Jilks said...

I love the bright green of spring!

eileeninmd said...

Gorgeous view! I love the badger sculpture! A beautiful place to visit, lovely photos. Have a happy weekend!

dosankodebbie said...

The cloud-river contrast photo is stunning. But I think that badger would scare me out of my skin if I were to suddenly come across it on my walk.

sage said...

That river valley is beautiful!