around Edinburgh, 25-26 Oct

After a day out birding on the coast east of Edinburgh on the 24th, the nest few days were somewhat quieter, though with a great bird thrown in...

on 25 Oct, we spent part of the day in the Pentland Hills. First stop, with all the family, was Threpmuir Reservoir, where I can list all the species of note on one hand. 50+ Siskin, 4 Bullfinch and a few Goldcrest. The reservoir held only four species of bird, two of which were gulls.

Next stop was Leith Water. Here we had one particular bird in mind. We almost had a false alarm when a Grey Wagtail was seen on the stream, and then, we picked it up by its song, a scratchy tune oddly reminiscent of a Reed Warbler. This DIPPER stayed on show for 10 minutes, perched on rocks and doing the 'dipping' it is so famed for. Luckily, my camera has a video function, so I caught it 'in the action'

We also saw a few Redwings and Goldcrests along here, and a single juvenile Grey Heron

P.S unless you want my annoying voice ruining the peaceful tranquility of this video, I suggest turning your volume down right this instant...  Or sometime before you play the video. You know. Whatever...

26 Oct was a wet and drizzly day. We visited Straition Pond, a little reserve on the outskirts of Edinbugh. The fact we saw more pieces of litter than birds tells you what kind of 'reserve' this is. A few Redwing was as good as it got. Sometimes, you just gotta love the city birding...