best part of the day: dragon hunt

14th July. Bit early for dragonflies but I'd come across this pond at Mavisbank that was mentioned elsewhere as a good dragonfly pond. And having nothing better to do, caught a bus to the outskirts of town to have a look. If it was no good I could head down the Esk or over to Straiton Pond and local nature reserve where I had had previous with Commas. (One of today's main target species after dragonflies.) Second generation commas were due out anytime now, perhaps a little early but the early bird and all that...

I got off the 31 somewhere on the other side of Bonnyrigg and ran down Polton Bank to the bridge over the Esk, then turned right and followed the delightful riverside trails. Almost immediately I was stopped in my tracks by an exquisite comma on bramble flowers near the river. It may even have been a Hutchinsoni aberration, a Summer variant that has less pronounced indentations on wing-shape and a paler upper wing colour/pattern. Great start to the day; and alas possibly the best specimen of the day by quite some distance. But I didn't know that at the time and blithely continued, thinking how brilliant I was with venue and route choice! Ha!

I had put the pond into my gps watch when I first visited in early Spring and possibly used my watch to guide me back there. It is quite easy to find, but on higher ground, a couple of hundred yards back from the river and so quite easy to miss unless you know to look for it. As I ran up the gradient to the pond, skippers and other flutterbyes taunted me to run after them but I felt I should first check out the pond for dragonflies. It was equal parts brilliant and rubbish. There were plenty damselflies around the edge and little sign of anything else. I was halfway round the "lower" side (without trees) when I saw that if there were larger beasties they'd be over under the trees and I'd have to wade into hip deep slime and foot sucking mud to get anywhere near them. With an expensive and non-waterproof camera. Not happening.

Decision time. Faint heart never won fair maiden. Get into that filth Buchanan. I sacrificed my dry road shoes and stepped into the wetness. It stank! The fair maidens remained at a distance while I lurched across swampy swamp. I slowly edged through shin deep water and then onto a floating morass of weeds and reeds. If you stamped or jumped the whole thing wobbled and rippled like a water bed, or the skin on a custard. With the feeling I might go through the biomass and back into the water below at any point. Am I having fun yet? No! I got one photo of a skipper on a blue flower (forget me not?) out in the middle of this ill advised crossing and no closer to seeing any decent dragonflies. I saw a hawker or emperor fly past but beyond seeing it sniggering at me, there was no advantage to being knee deep in foul smelling mire. I was beginning to taste defeat. I clambered out on the thistly brambly side and fought through yards of nettles and snagging undergrowth. I was not going back in the water. I skirted round the pond a bit more then threw in the towel. Not worth dooking my good camera.

now throw those shoes in the bin!

azure damselflies

beautiful - but only from a distance

emerald damselflies

buzzard overhead

I made the plan to visit Straiton Pond. I had it plugged in to my Suunto but the path was neither tested nor true. I ended up bushwacking through many yards of brambles, nettles and undergrowth. Some backtracking and eventually getting out of it all at this water tower or whatever. And then following field perimeters for a mile or 2. And then some tarmac and a bit of industrial estate - all the good stuff - until after quite a long haul found Straiton local nature reserve. Sadly no commas as I remembered.

this chunky lamb was pleased to see me and we had a brief chat

goldfinch

kestrel and buzzard having a bit of a tussle

Straiton pond was not really what I hoped it would be but you have to check these things out. Quite a few damselflies, but if there was anything bigger it was not showing itself, and would prob have been lurking over the inaccessible side. A few swans, ducks and ugly coot chicks! Don't get me wrong, I quite like an ugly coot chick, but they lack the cute appeal of most young ducks/swans/geese/birds/mammals/puppies/kittens etc etc. They are unfortunately reminiscent of the late John McCririck, a personality who, a tribunal heard, was not sacked from his job because he was old, but in fact because he was "offensive" and "disgusting". Well that's reassuring.

were you looking at my girlfriend?

At some point around now I began to think what am I doing here when I could be taking photos of butterflies? So I left and ran a bit back into town before catching a bus around Gilmerton. I jumped off near Holyrood Park and got the last of the afternoon sunshine and butterfly action. So in conclusion: it is often not the thing you are hunting that makes the best photo of the day. Often the venue (if you haven't been before at that particular time) is different to how you might have envisioned it. Often the ideal species isn't waiting there to be photographed. Often it won't be a wasted trip but might be a learning experience. Today was fairly disappointing but the idea got me out of the house and I ran more than ten miles which is all good news. I washed my trainers and gaiters comprehensively when I got home. And it was - as it always is - a delight to bump into Ken in Holyrood.

Ken

grayling

Come to think of it this may have been one of the last ventures along the crags at Hutton's Section before the Concentration Camp fences went up. They are not quite as impenetrable as they appear but at the same time they don't lend anything to the experience, and there's only so many well meaning waggy finger lectures from Park Rangers that I can take before I tell them where to stick their mismanagement of a public space. I will prob have another rant about the fences soon but save that for later. Time to knock out a few more blogs while work is not pressing and catch up to date.