A few days in and around Perth

 We had a lovely few days away in and around Perth last week. The very changeable weather didn't stop us enjoying a few walks. The highlight was going to the Tay Reedbeds, with the aim of finding Bearded Tits (now also known as Bearded Reedlings). There's a lovely walk from the village of Errol, which takes in the reedbeds and the surrounding area:

 

We were lucky enough to see a couple of Bearded Tits, though we didn't get a close up view! We also saw and heard: Yellowhammers, Reed Buntings and Sedge Warblers. After a lovely lunch in the cafe in Errol, we had a quick visit to the Cistern Green Wildlife Garden and Community Orchard, which is a lovely greenspace. 

On another day we had a lovely walk up Kinnoul Hill, which we visit every time we're in Perth. The walk is a lovely mix of woodland

scrubby heathland  

and amazing views over the River Tay (the silvery areas near the river are reflections from the polytunnels in fruit farms)

We had a couple of walks along the River Tay, which runs through the centre of Perth

 

 

and visited a couple of local parks

 We were impressed by the wetland area in the main Perth park

where we became surrounded by feral pigeons, even though we weren't feeding them

Some of the pigeons were very pretty 

We were very happy to find a good number of House Martins and Swifts flying around above the river in some places. 

Perth is always a nice place to visit, as well as the lovely walks, it has a good selection of cafes and restaurants and a good museum and art gallery. 

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I'm delighted to have a poem included in the Ekphrastic Review's selection of responses to a work by Severine Gallardo.  

You can read my latest Substack post, the first in a series about 30 Days Wild, here.