Tales from the Riverbank

It has taken four days of walks around the River Tyne in East Lothian to get good shots of a kingfisher. I met this lady kingfisher first yesterday evening and then returned to the same area in the early morning to catch sight of her again. I had several sightings of kingfishers but it could have been this same one. I never photographed a male, which would have had a black only beak.

I had gone out early morning two mornings ago complete with flask and sandwiches. However I then got caught in some heavy April showers. Here the moorhen is taking shelter underneath a fresh leafed chestnut tree.

I passed a woman walking her dog who called out, “otter or goose?” She thought I was out trying to photograph one or the other. I had seen neither. She told me all she knew of the whereabouts of both. She said the white goose must have escaped from a nearby farm. And she told me where she’d seen otters playing on some logs. The next day I spotted the white goose.

On the rainy morning the smell of wild garlic was lovely and I turned to admire the flowers at the side of the path. Then I spotted a snail on a twig. I found the macro setting on my mobile phone and took some pictures of it. Only when looking closely did I notice that it was an adult snail with a wee one on its back! You just never know what you’re going to see out on a walk.

Another surprise sighting on the rainy morning was a blackcap warbling its wee heart out in some bushes.

I saw a pair of dippers and think I know where they might have a nest. They will be worth keeping an eye on in the weeks to come.

The snails will be in peril from hungry song thrushes, which take them and smash open their shells on hard ground. I heard and saw lots of song thrushes on my walks. Here was a pair looking for food before nightfall.

The highlight of river walks to date is seeing kingfishers. Also meeting fellow wildlife photographers, one of whom walked me down to where he is sure the otters have their holt this year. He spotted a mother and two cubs on the very evening I was photographing these thrushes, and fairly nearby too! So that is my next quest, to try and see the otters and maybe even photograph them. Meanwhile, as I look, who knows what other wonders I might see.