cafe culture vs pond life

Sunday 5th Aug.

I think I managed to sneak my agenda (Saltoun Big Wood pond) into Mary's Sunday bike plans without her noticing. We would hit the Lanterne Rouge in Gifford then return via Saltoun. It was a glorious day - one of the last of the now famous Summer of 2018. 

rising phoenix-like from the ashes

David was motoring

Just through the other side of Tranent and I called out to Mary that we'd have to stop. Immediately in front of the sign saying New Winton was a triangle of roadside grass sown with wildflowers and thistles, not in a regimented manner but that natural look popular with eco-planters and councils aiming to attract wildlife to an otherwise uncared for patch of scrub that previously might have been a neatly trimmed characterless roadside verge. Whoever encouraged this burst-seed-bag-of-mixed-wildflowers deserves a medal. Not only was it a visual treat - a huge splash of vibrant colours - but it had attracted 5 sq miles of butterflies and crammed them into this pocketsized nature reserve. 

We propped our bikes up and spent 15mins admiring and taking photos of the flocks of whites, peacocks, and RAs. I was in danger of tipping over into an ecstatic fit. It was nearly too much. The difficulty of taking pics kept me grounded though. There was a good breeze making the flowerheads (and therefore butterflies) bend, sway and dance in the sunlight, making for more photo-deletes than usual.

The most popular plants with the butterflies were the thistle flower heads. However the other brightly coloured flowers seemed to act as a beacon for them, and the whole place was unbelievably populated with insects. I tiptoed through the flowers, having real problems on what to shoot. It was difficult to get pics that conveyed the whole mass butterfly-ness of the place and it felt more like an art installation than a canny piece of wildlife management. Top marks New Winton. One of the best butterfly highlights of the year.

Peacock

Whites were the dominant species. There had to be hundreds. Mainly Small and Green-veined but a good few Large as well. Handfuls of Peacocks, and then individual Red Admirals.

Large white

Having done the cycle to Gifford a few times recently it seemed shorter and easier to cover the 21 miles there. We cycled past the turn-off to Saltoun Big Wood but I knew we had to do the cafe first, having found it closed after spending too long in the woods on a previous trip. We usually bump into folk we know, such is the popularity of the Lanterne Rouge. Today it was Billy, out for a big cycle with his mates. A great day for it right enough.

We had coffees (incl. free top ups!) and a piece of cake. I very much enjoy the established tradition of a cafe break halfway through a bike ride. Restores the body and soul and inevitably we get chatting to folk. As well as Billy and pals, we got talking to an older couple who sat at our table who had driven to Gifford, but were hoping their cycling days weren't entirely behind them. Then back on the bikes and off to Saltoun in search of dragonflies! YES!

Mary outside, 

but also me reflected in the window and Billy inside!

This leaf was a funny colour so the pic looks better in sepia.
(Common darter or the like.)

With Mary on her new bike we could ride most of the trails round Big Wood. However we never got further than the (man-made) pond a couple of hundred yards into the woods. Although it looked lacking in life when we first arrived a couple of minutes in and you realised there was a proliferation of winged things buzzing about. 

Particularly male Southern Hawkers, large dragonflies that patrolled (never landed by) the edges of the water. Presumably searching out females which they would grab (get your coat you've pulled) and then fly up into the nearby trees with. It was a no-frills operation. There seemed to be a lack of females around the place, although with manners and foreplay like that, it was perhaps unsurprising. I did see one or 2 lurking in the shallows very quickly laying eggs in wet vegetation at the water's edge, but they didn't hang around. I got a hurried photo or 2 but they didn't make the best photos of the day. 

Mary spent a long time trying to shoot the males in flight with generally better results than myself. I gave up after many second rate pics. They would buzz really close by but not allow the camera time to get a close up, so I only got a few crappy distant shots that don't really tell the story. Mary persisted and nearly hurt her back, straining in the frustration of trying to catch these elusive bastards. There was one along every 20~30 seconds and they flew by really closely but just did not hang about or land. 

Southern Hawker (with damselfly next door for scale!)
the nearest I got to a photo

    

emerald damselfly - much better behaviour!

Round the back of the pond, nearer the trail, I found Small Coppers on the ragwort. And they were happy to pose for photos. Or maybe just by comparison to those pesky dragonflies they seemed so very much more cooperative. Anyway they were a blessed relief and as always a total joy to come across. I took far too many pics. As usual.

Mary stubbornly trying to shoot hawkers.

suunto output of pondside wandering
(just over a mile of back-and-forth over 2 hrs!)
(and on this occasion I didn't actually get my feet wet, as the map would suggest)

I had a bit of a hike away from the pond but in the general vicinity. Often you can find more stuff just a bit back from the centre of activity, taking a breather or time out from the action. This was the case and I came across 3 other types of dragonfly, a couple of butterflies and a few interesting odds and ends.

common darter (female)

who laid these? 

maybe her?

pyjama party

female S Hawker laying eggs?

I have seen a load of these on my travels of late. There is only one black dragonfly on my laminated chart which leads me to believe this is a Black Darter (male - the female is not black and I haven't seen one!) They also have patches of olive colour although this one seems to be mostly black. For me they walk the fine line just on the right side of elegant beauty, but are right next door to ugly black fly, until you get close up.

After an hour or more of fighting hawkers Mary had had her fill. I was still high on that refill and buzzing away about small coppers and stuff stuck to the undersides of oak leaves. I asked Mary if she knew the way home herself and she did. On reflection I am thoroughly ashamed of my ungentlemanly behaviour. During the next 45mins extra time I felt a bit guilty and hoped Mary wasn't having a mechanical at the side of the road somewhere. And that a proper friend would have called it a day and been perfectly happy to leave, even if he felt he hadn't found all the available luckies and got pics of them all. Sigh. 

On the upside I got 4 of the best pics of the day in that 45mins which kind of offset the guilt. And Mary got home fine on her own.  I also realised my actions were that of an addict, saying just one more hit. My name is Peter. I have an addiction.

minitoad, deep joy