David

Cormorant on the River Ouse, not for from the Ouse Bridge in the centre of York, diving for fish and catching some.

Just the ripple left where it went under.

An exhibition of the products of two glassworkers in Durham Cathedral currently and until this September.

Katie Paterson’s the Moment features the sorts of invertebrates which rarely get represented artistically. Monster Chetwynd’s Life of St Cuthbert shows the saint expelling a demon than relaxing with a pair of otters. There’s nothing to portray the saint’s extreme dislike of women.

St Margaret’s Loch, a small pool at the foot of Arthur’s Seat. Evidently a popular spot for bringing small children to feed the ducks. A few Canada geese get in on the act, and a lot of swans.

As we emerged from a belt of trees onto the shore of the loch, a heron was having a disagreement with one of the swans. It was by far the boldest (or most reckless) heron I’ve ever seen. Not just in taking on a swan when many swans were nearby – and winning. But also in standing so near the section of the shore where several people were feeding the swans, when the heron itself seemed to be after fish. Most of these pictures were taken on my mobile, before I had time to dig the camera out of the bag.

Finally, direct confirmation for my own eyes (and legs) how near Arthur’s Seat is to Edinburgh city centre, and specifically to the lower end of the Royal Mile. Direct confirmation, too, of how impressive it is..

The combination does, however, mean it is not the best place to go for a solitary ramble.

An Edinburgh carrion crow. The bird was in what was obviously the most important spot in its territory: at the bottom of the footpath leading up to Arthurs Seat from the Holyrood Palace car park, a critical spot for begging morsels from the walkers heading up or down the hill.

Dunbars Close Gardens, directly off the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, a large formal garden offering refuge from the crowds of tourists. When we looked around, there was no-one else there at all.

At the start of the month, the many imperial fritillaries were the flowers showing best.