Crafty Green Boyfriend invited me to join him on his lunchtime walk round
Corstorphine Hill today and I agreed, on the condition that he could guarantee me sightings of green woodpeckers and nuthatches. He promised so I joined him and indeed we did see green woodpeckers and nuthatches.
The
green woodpecker spent several minutes in this tree, laughing at us, no doubt as we couldn't see it. (If anyone can see the green woodpecker in this photo, please let me know! It was definitely in the tree when I took the photo).
Once the woodpecker flew off it flew from tree to tree, laughing all the time.
The only thing worse than not getting the photo of a bird, is getting a photo as bad as the one below, though you may be able to recognise the bird as a nuthatch.
We eventually gave up on trying to take the photos of the nuthatches and just enjoyed watching them. There seemed to be two pairs, one of which seemed busy in the low branches of a lime tree, perhaps searching for a nest site. These are beautiful birds, slowly working their way northwards through Scotland as the climate gets warmer.
Not far from these trees someone has put up some bird feeders, which are generally kept well stocked and this coal tit was happy to pose for photos (still not a great photo, but a lot better than the previous one).
We also saw a
buzzard (being chased by
jackdaws), a
bullfinch and
dunnocks as well as several more common species.
So plenty to see on Corstorphine HIll today, as there often is, it's a lovely place for a walk!
As ever, red text contains hyperlinks that take you to other webpages where you can find out more.
As I now know shooting birds in that light is soooo difficult
ReplyDeleteThat so fun that the woodpecker was laughing at you. I wouldn't have thought of that, but they do sound that way. I can see him in the second photo when I click to enlarge.
ReplyDeleteNice lunchtime outing!
Bird-watching sounds so exciting the way you write about it. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from London.
Woodpeckers are some of my favorite birds except when they are pecking on the eves of your house
ReplyDeleteWoodpeckers are some of my favorite birds except when they are pecking on the eves of your house
ReplyDelete"So plenty to see on Corstorphine HIll today, as there often is, it's a lovely place for a walk!"
ReplyDeleteIt does look a great place for a walk ...
Have a lovely weekend.
All the best Jan
I like a man who delivers on his promises :))). What a beautiful place for a lunchtime walk -- lovely birds and looks like it is miles out in th country, which I assume it is not if you can do it on a lunch hour. How nice to have it there.
ReplyDelete