best part of the day: 3 days in May

14th 15th 16th May

The first half of May has mostly been a non event. April and May seemed to swap outfits, giving us a higher average of April warmth but a cloudy and cold May. There have been many glimpses of sunshine but I've had to grab my camera and dash out the door when they happened or there was a danger of missing them. And they were fairly short-lived, meaning many of the butterflies haven't been triggered to emerge. And while this might seem to be frustrating for me it must be more serious for them. Will they emerge later and behind schedule? Will they appear at all? Of course it is madness to arrive outdoors before their food plants and those have also been slower to flower or appear. I'm hoping they and the butterflies will all appear in a glorious summer moment once the crappy weather has passed, if it ever does. Meanwhile all this will not be any kind of a surprise to anyone who has spent a few years in bonnie Scotland. Where is the rain-and-bagpipes emoji?

On the 14th the sun came out unexpectedly and I dashed out to Warriston for some late afternoon fun. I felt I hadn't been for a while and the place had grown jungly in my absence. The bluebells were all out and passing their peak, beginning to spoil or turn. Lots of nettles were pushing through between the bluebells, a less welcome visitor but popular with the butterflies. All the trees were becoming clad with leaves making spotting birds in the branches much harder.

lots of orange tips flitting about

I bumped into Alan and we chatted about what we'd seen. He offered to show me the woodpecker's nest, or at least the tree containing it. It is up the top of a dead trunk and very obvious, a perfect circle drilled into the remains of a headless tree. Unfortunately word has got out and everyone going past seemed to know it was there and stop to wait to see if there was any activity. And that included myself, although Alan and I after watching a few minutes and realising loads of dog walkers and passers-by were stopping for a pic, we held back and didn't stand directly underneath the tree. I went back later to stand at a distance until the male bird flew in with food and then flew back out. You could hear the chicks from nearby, the hollow tree trunk possibly acting as an amplifier.

Quite a lot of ivy and brambles are being cleared away from stones and monuments. The place is still pretty wild and un-manicured and it is a good thing that people care enough to maintain the place including paths and gravestones. That is its purpose. However there have been questions asked about this being the best time to be doing such clearing given the birds nesting and other invertibrates egg laying and bursting forth from such places. I'm happy to sit on the fence about that one and I'm sure the people making the decisions are aware of the consequences of their actions. Meanwhile this mosaic (above) was revealed. I'm not sure there isn't more.

an orange tip with wonky wing converses with a fly

stock dove: note large dark eyes and no white collar

there was quite a power struggle on the bird feeder

these 2 stock doves (not just pigeons I'll have you know!)
were having a stand off with the wood pigeon

individually they were pushed off by the bigger bird
but as a pair, they briefly outnumbered the woody

Next up 15th May and a trip to meet Nick for the Saturday run in East Lothian

bumped into Jim, Jill and Cora
organising a picnic at Yellowcraigs

Just after setting off we found a young blackbird sat in the middle of the main road. It wasn't flying off and was probably stunned, possibly by an impact. We hoped it wasn't badly injured and put it behind a hedge where it couldn't access the road and where it hopefully recovered. The feel of its little claws reluctant to let go my fingers was heartbreaking. 😔

ground beetle - carabus nemoralis maybe

This, on the other hand, was full of life and running about like crazy. I shifted it off the pavement as there were a couple of cyclists coming along. They were remarkably polite and both said thanks when we let them through and then again when we took the gate from them at the gatehouse. It was a noticeable change from city kids who aren't always as well mannered!

I was disappointed by the lack of butterflies at the gatehouse. There are 3 lilac bushes, currently in full bloom with a heady perfume, that in the right weather host the butterfly ball; attended by large whites, orange tips, GVWs, RAs and all the usual suspects. Today was pretty warmish but there was nothing there. We were about to leave when I spotted this OT female, wings spread on the bush next door. I only got one shot before she saw us and closed her wings. And the sun wasn't looking like coming back out. I transferred her gently onto the lilac flowers for a photo but to be honest the colours weren't a good match.

an excellent tree - just look at that!
Dirleton

As we turned the corner of this field there was chat about the deer we usually see in the field. Mary or Nick remarked about there usually being 4. So it was something of a surprise to see just one, standing quite a distance away. When I got the photos home and onto the computer monitor it was easier to see there were in reality 5 deer, four of them lying down.

something we can all agree on

small copper near Archerfields

speckled wood at that bit where there are often
red admirals and painted ladies (and speckled woods)

Wall (female) in the long grass

we went back in time to visit the ice cream van in the 1970s

this bullfinch also got filtered

Next day (Sunday 16th) and contrary to the forecast the sun came out

and it wasn't just grey and overcast! I went to Holyrood to look for wildlife.

as I was climbing Salisbury Crags this kestrel was hunting nearby

looking to swoop down on a picnicker

I ran up to Hutton's Section and slopes nearby in search of Small Heaths. I haven't found any yet and they should be out by now. (I have since heard from Richard he saw at least 2 in the same area earlier in the day.) I did come across a couple of pheasants. I had the big camera with me so while luring one over with sunflower seeds I got it out to take some photos of the amazing plumage they have which was sparkling in the sunlight. It wasn't the same specimen I hand fed and video-ed earlier in the week, but it was really obliging, and for some handfuls of seed, happy to come really close and hold reasonably still for some close ups.

Mary pointed out later that the black feather tips (on the orange chest feathers) look like an Escher graphic of swallows turning into bats. I always get a whiff of Whistler's famous Peacock Room when I look at wildfowl feathers even though (to state the obvious) pheasants are not peacocks. It is not surprising they inspire art and artists.

From large and florid to tiny and em... dull. Since there was nothing flying at Hutton's Section except micro moths I tried to photo some. Sometimes they are much more interesting to look at than they first appear. Other times, not so much.

a bouquet of ragwort sprouting out the section

ahh that time of year when the Buckfast bushes fruit

Mary phoned while I was just about to photograph a mother shipton moth by Hutton's Section. I lost track of the moth and told her it was her fault. She said she'd meet me up the top of Crow Hill about 12.35ish. It was midday and she hadn't left the house and I thought this was optimistic. However I gave her a wider margin and she proved me wrong by appearing before 12.40.

By this time I had found 2 Walls and a lively small tort that were entertaining themselves by flying around in 2s and 3s on the South side (wind shaded) of the slope. It is not hugely steep but would be easy to trip and take a header and smash your lens in. Mary spent a lot of time telling me to be careful. The walls seemed to either have decided to play nice and settle nearby time after time, or were being a bit curious and kept flapping by then sitting near enough to approach for a photo. I thought at first it was just luck but when one landed for the second or third time I suspected it of being playful.

landed directly below and scoped me out

these 3 pics taken by Mary while I gingerly climbed after butterflies

On the South side of the hill it was warm. Too cold for standing about on the North side in the direct cold blast. We met Ken checking out the blaeberries for green hairstreaks. He didn't find any but it was good someone was checking the foodplant out, as there should be some somewhere. Last year's three individuals suggests a colony here locally. My own fears are they were wiped out by falling rocks triggered by the rangers, but there may not even have been eggs laid. It would be great to spot some but I have my doubts any will be found. And the weather has not been appropriate for looking much recently.

dinosaurs over Leith!
photo: Mary

We saw a young lad playing with dinosaurs, his mum a small distance away. I took a swift photo and ran on and did not get into dialogue with the boy. Mary appeared and her photo is much better because she took the time to do it properly. Society's unwritten and frantically paranoid rules are that you do not as a man approach someone else's kid if the adult is not immediately close by and engage them in banter. Unless you wish to be considered a potential child molester. Sad but true.

I hadn't taken fluids and been out for 2 or 3 hours in what was quite sunny weather. When we saw the ice cream van at Dunsapie I was totally up for it. Normally I am not fussed about cones but today I was very excited about the prospect. Thank you Mary. It was fantastic!

As we were going down the steps to Duddingston Loch (looking out for Holly Blues on all that holly and ivy) this OT made a timely appearance and, ignoring us, tried to find ways of accessing the nectar from this bell shaped flower. It had been lying on its side and upside down and was now trying from above; sneaking its proboscis in between the petals. I don't think it got much joy and flew off, but not before we got photos.