Tufted ducklings, Dundas
September 2025 - Tufties, grasses and bells
As the dry weather continued last month, eventually it started to take its toll on the vegetation. With flowers, blossom and berries arriving early, so they have departed early too. Meantime the trees have entered into a ‘false fall’ by shedding their leaves prematurely as an emergency response to a lack of hydration; this, of course, should naturally occur in the autumn and I have never known it to start in August! Climate change does seem to be delivering more extreme weather and one wonders what the winter has in store for us.
A quick visit to the Water of Leith where I undertake much of my photography found the river level at the lowest I have seen it. The weirs and falls run at a trickle and the river looks a shadow of its former self lacking all life and movement. This will, of course, naturally sort itself once the rains return but until then, the whole environment along the watercourse suffers. On a more positive note, it does give the Conservation Trust’s volunteers a chance to pick litter, remove storm debris and address invasive non-native species in parts of the river that deeper water might usually prevent.
Consequently, most of my photography last month revolved around the estate land where I work. The second clutch of tufted duck chicks continue to do well having survived both predation and intimidation from herons, crows, gulls and mute swans. This is the first year I have been conscious of the ‘tufties’ rearing young on the loch but their numbers and presence have increased this year. They are a very welcome addition to the mallards who still struggle to raise their ducklings.
Elsewhere on the estate, the thistles have all gone to seed and the air can fill with seed heads when the breeze blows. Capturing a few seed heads bound together as they floated in the wind was a challenge but made for a different - and certainly less obvious - image which I posted on Facebook and Instagram.
Grasses are very common at this time of year, yet rarely photographed; perhaps they are considered too complex or boring to be able to produce an interesting image? I always feel the key to this lies in the background which generates the atmosphere within the picture; the subject is then offset against it. Not only does it give a hint of the environment in which the grass is growing but also fills the space around the subject for an altogether more compelling image.
Colour amongst the grasses was provided by harebells. These beautiful late summer flowers are also known as “witch thimbles”, “witch's bells”, the “Devil’s bell”, and the “fairies thimbles” indicating links to a dark folklore. Another traditional name for them is “dead men’s bells” and to hear them ringing was an extremely ill omen. So, when you next hear the distant chime of a bell while walking in grassland during the late summer…
September 2025 - Tufties, grasses and bells
As the dry weather continued last month, eventually it started to take its toll on the vegetation. With flowers, blossom and berries arriving early, so they have departed early too. Meantime the trees have entered into a ‘false fall’ by shedding their leaves prematurely as an emergency response to a lack of hydration; this, of course, should naturally occur in the autumn and I have never known it to start in August! Climate change does seem to be delivering more extreme weather and one wonders what the winter has in store for us.
A quick visit to the Water of Leith where I undertake much of my photography found the river level at the lowest I have seen it. The weirs and falls run at a trickle and the river looks a shadow of its former self lacking all life and movement. This will, of course, naturally sort itself once the rains return but until then, the whole environment along the watercourse suffers. On a more positive note, it does give the Conservation Trust’s volunteers a chance to pick litter, remove storm debris and address invasive non-native species in parts of the river that deeper water might usually prevent.
Consequently, most of my photography last month revolved around the estate land where I work. The second clutch of tufted duck chicks continue to do well having survived both predation and intimidation from herons, crows, gulls and mute swans. This is the first year I have been conscious of the ‘tufties’ rearing young on the loch but their numbers and presence have increased this year. They are a very welcome addition to the mallards who still struggle to raise their ducklings.
Elsewhere on the estate, the thistles have all gone to seed and the air can fill with seed heads when the breeze blows. Capturing a few seed heads bound together as they floated in the wind was a challenge but made for a different - and certainly less obvious - image which I posted on Facebook and Instagram.
Grasses are very common at this time of year, yet rarely photographed; perhaps they are considered too complex or boring to be able to produce an interesting image? I always feel the key to this lies in the background which generates the atmosphere within the picture; the subject is then offset against it. Not only does it give a hint of the environment in which the grass is growing but also fills the space around the subject for an altogether more compelling image.
Colour amongst the grasses was provided by harebells. These beautiful late summer flowers are also known as “witch thimbles”, “witch's bells”, the “Devil’s bell”, and the “fairies thimbles” indicating links to a dark folklore. Another traditional name for them is “dead men’s bells” and to hear them ringing was an extremely ill omen. So, when you next hear the distant chime of a bell while walking in grassland during the late summer…
