Birthday Bird

As the whole nation has taken a 4 day weekend to celebrate my advanced age, it was not possible to organise a trip out to the Isle of May this year (see year ago blip for a taste of what we might have seen...) Instead, Meles and I walked the far half of the Water of Leith Walkway, from Balerno to the Visitors Centre.

It was fairly fine weather, mostly, and everything was so green :) Lots of wildflowers, trees in full fresh leaf... of course, the leaves hid the birds :/

We saw a buzzard at Colinton Dell (too quick to fly off to get a photograph) but I was very pleased to see two or three of these Spotted Flycatchers (Muscicapa striata)

While they are not the most extravagantly plumaged birds... you may just be able to make out faint spotting on the throat and a slightly streaky crown...they are very bold and agile, and sit nicely on exposed perches before zipping off to snatch flying insects out of the air.

Thanks for all the birthday greetings and special thanks to Cabbagetree for the wonderful mantis portrait :)))