By the Waterside

The past two days I’ve gone with friends to the river Kelvin and the canal in the hope of seeing kingfishers. However none were to be seen. Nevertheless there were lots of other waterside birds worthy of photographing, not least this dipper who posed beautifully for me. It had been enjoying splashing in the rapid flow of the river and was now perched on this post for a preen and a sing. In this photo below you can see the white nictitating membrane which protects its eye when underwater.

Nearby was another songster, a lovely blackbird. It’s great to hear them singing now, even on these rainy days.

We maybe didn’t see the kingfisher pair but we did enjoy watching a grey wagtail pair collect twigs to take to their nest in a pipe in a wall across the river.

You might think this bird should be called a yellow wagtail, however the yellow wagtail is much more yellow than this.

We saw a goosander pair and also this female goosander on her own.

This swan was keeping its head down as it cooried in during an April shower.

I got also got a close up view of a hunting heron as I walked by it on the canal path.

I’ve actually seen and photographed more kingfishers than bullfinches this winter. So it was good to see this colourful male bullfinch by the canal today.

Well, our weather may be more suited to ducks at the moment but it pays to put on your waterproofs and get outside to see the wildlife by the water.