terrific tentsmuir

 

15th July

Tentsmuir is a brilliant place and I particularly appreciated this trip as it has been off limits for all the covid lockdown year. Now able to travel, and so I was really looking forward to seeing what was on the go there. This was more than a month ago and so I have forgotten any travel problems or if there were any. Wearing a mask on the train was maybe the only hassle and that is such a small concession. While on the train I texted my wildlife and photography enthusiast pal Keith who lives nearby and enjoys a trip to Morton Lochs. It was all last minute stuff as I had only decided to go the day before. There was no response and I reckoned he was out elsewhere as it was cracking weather.

out the dirty train window

I was hoping I wasn't too late to see the last remnants of Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries. In late June 2019, I unexpectedly I had a great time with them and got a few decent photos of them around the boardwalk swamp on the run in to Tentsmuir. Blog here. The pontoons are numbered and this one, 6, was where the good stuff was. I climbed the fence and, keeping out the worst wet bits, had a proper search for anything more colourful than a meadow brown. There were a couple of distant ghostly past-their-best butterflies but I didn't get close enough to see what species they were. And if they were SPBFs they weren't going to make a decent photo. The day held so many more treasures I wasn't that downhearted about the SPBFs. Must remember not to leave it too late next time. The species slipped through my grasp this year as I hadn't had the appetite for a long uphill cycle and swamp-tramp to the back of Bavelaw Marsh, my local SPBF spot. 

special place

There is an atmosphere, or a combination of unusual vegetation and visual delight, around boardwalk 6. I have had, on several occasions, a slightly magical experience there. Not like I (or you) could just turn up there and something extraordinary would happen on every visit, but, well, sometimes it does. Today there was a minor version of this but it was on the return leg. Onwards and upwards!

Had a good photo session with this DGF, which was so absorbed by a thistle flower it didn't mind me standing off to one side taking dozens of pics. One of the joys of the new bridge camera is you don't have to sneak up to within a metre or 2, but can stand back at 4 or 5 metres and use the x20 zoom to get right up close. Which, for fritillaries, flighty at the best of times, is a complete boon.

prime Fife Coastal Path trail running in perfect weather

It's about 5.5miles to the car park at Kinshaldy. Due to this and that, (with some decently brisk running between!) I took about an hour 15 to reach there. And the distractions kept piling up. The next half mile immediately North of the car park probably had the highest number of Common Blues, DGFs and Graylings (all very high tariff species!) I'd ever seen in one area. They would fly up off the sandy trail from under your feet. Or from perched on trail side flowers. I was spoilt for choice and it was tricky to know what to chase as I would get distracted from trying to get a decent grayling shot by a bright orange DGF floating through the evf. I was keeping my eyes open for female Blues and even stomping off the main trails into the woolly grassy areas to try and flush out those more shy creatures, but no joy. It seemed churlish to complain about what wasn't available when my cup was overflowing with so many treats, but hey, that's human nature, isn't it? Or am I just a bad person? 

dark green fritillary

grayling

better still: grayling with eye spot showing

male common blue

I can't recall ever seeing so many graylings. They have amazing camouflage on their underwings and exploit it by rarely, if ever, showing their upper wings when still. In order to get a photo of their upper wings I took random in-flight pics hoping that at the very moment of shutter release they would be flying with open wings. Much later I realised if I had shot video I could have done a screen grab of the apt moment. Clearly the sun was baking my stupid head. Anyway, there were so many graylings about flitting this way and that, that I was able to get a couple of nearly-but-not-quite-good-enough open wing shots... (among a large, large number of instant deletes.)

I was beginning to think it might be a butterfly bonanza all day when they ran out. Somewhere about that raised hide there were considerably fewer, or I couldn't be bothered to take their photos. Which is not like me! So I hurried on to the next good area; the new information shelter thingy near the ice house.

Thought these were maybe seals, who gather on the beach in huge numbers around these parts. But closer inspection suggests it was just a herd of semi-aquatic cattle. 

defo on my top ten list of favourite buildings EVER
no real idea of what it does, possibly a birders' hide

Also in with a real chance of making the list of best buildings ever is this new information-shelter-picnic-spot-folly. Very tricky to pull off a building in these surroundings that doesn't look comparatively like an eyesore. I mean it's all so beautiful, just how do you compete? Although there's lots of straight bits of wood there is hardly a straight line or perpendicular angle in the whole thing. Instead, swooping planes and asymmetrical wedge shapes dominate, and the largely timber structure sits very happily next to the trees, matching the surroundings perfectly. A weird success which is both unusual and dynamic in shape, but without looking out of place, in my opinion. Although I have to say I'm not sure it is absolutely necessary. But top marks to the architect. I'm sure it was a royal pain for the builders as nothing comes up out the ground at 90 degrees. Best thing: the windows look out onto a wildflower meadow that (while I was there) showcased at least 2 common blues and a spanky new ringlet with an amazing sheen on its wings, glistening in the sunlight.

After a quick google I have found that the "education and visitor pavilion" was designed by local architect Kirsty Maguire (and opened in 2019) and can seat 60 school pupils. (If anyone can.) Top marks Kirsty!

Just next to the pavilion I bumped into Daphne, a member of my favourite facebook group East Scottish Butterflies. She was engaged with everything I like and dislike about a dedicated butterfly enthusiast by walking a transect. I'll explain that! This is an activity that involves repeatedly walking the same area of ground on a regular basis and noting the number of butterflies in your transect. While I have a great deal of respect for anyone who donates their time to this citizen science project I would never be grown up enough to commit to doing a transect, even locally in Holyrood Park. I mean you are not allowed to go much off the path or seek out stuff you might see on the other side of your area. For example Daphne had spotted a few whites and not much more. No common blues or graylings or DGFs as far as I remember. She looked a little forlorn when I talked about the dozens of butterflies just along the road near Kinshaldy car park. I just couldn't cope with walking an area regularly, knowing there was much better hunting ground a mile away that was effectively out of bounds. Of course there is nothing to stop you doing a transect as well as other stuff but I am far too selfish to even think there might be room for the former in the left over time (no such thing) after doing the latter.

After a good old chinwag with Daphne I set off running across the forestry tracks towards Morton Lochs. The signage is slowly improving and I recognise the way more each time I run it. I stopped to photo a couple of common blues along the way. Just as well Keith wasn't up for meeting me at Morton because I was an hour behind my predicted schedule. 

lovely illustrations at the bird hide

nothing much to see

common darter in the tree

So I got to the dragonfly ditch and sure enough Keith was there! It was kind of him to drop whatever plans he had for the day and turn up at short notice. It was now 2pm and I ate my packed lunch while we shot the breeze. There was a good mix of odonata in the drainage ditch incl. common hawkers which weren't stopping but hovering for nearly long enough to get a shot of them. Well Keith managed, I need a little more practise and was eating my lunch. 

4-spotted chaser

Keith, who had had plenty time to search the place comprehensively, pointed out a hawker exuvia - the discarded exoskeleton of the dragonfly nymph which is left on the point the aquatic creature turned into an airborne insect. Apparently the small white strings are the rip cords that change their breathing apparatus from watery gills to air breathing lungs. That's probably a horribly unscientific misuse of terminology. 

this old buffer was also doing a butterfly transect

We moved over to the field behind the old buffer. It was quite busy with dragonflies and butterflies passing through or just perched in the sunshine. We spent half an hour or more just wandering slowly taking photos of stuff as we came across it. Hardly speaking much at all. Very meditative stuff.

common darter

meadow browns

dgf

Keith

azure damselfly eating another insect

meadow brown

Keith showed me another spot where we found some of the most greeny coloured emerald damselflies; presumably quite recently emerged. 

I was realising the time was getting away from me. We walked to Keith's car at the car park and he offered me a lift back to the station. I felt I needed to prove (to myself) I was still capable of a decent run back and that getting a lift was cheating, although I was sorely tempted. I put the camera away and set off at a brisk pace, although I was a bit concerned at how late it was getting and the likelihood of making the 5.30 train. I took a more direct route instead of the coastal path, which was less scenic - just a broad path on hard-pack dirt trail through the trees - and it met the tarmac road at a point I didn't recognise. I began to run West then realised I was heading the wrong way. I stopped for a rethink and asked a passing runner which way the Fife Coastal Path went. It was 50 yards East of the point I had emerged from the woods.

The camera stayed in my back pack until I got to boardwalk number 6 again - remember, the magical swamp. There were 2 exquisitely fresh common blues (both male) sitting in plain view. I got out the camera. The one on the left saw me and left his perch - going over to his mate and making quite a commotion, right beside his dozing pal. The sleeping friend woke up, had a look around, then closed his wings as if to go back to sleep. I got a few photos before several pin pricks all over my body alerted me to the presence of clegs. I was sweating like a horse from the run and sending signals to every biting thing in the neighbourhood that dinner was served. They were gathering by the dozen and I slapped a few off and retreated hastily. The pin pricks aren't as bad as 24~36 hrs later, when extremely itchy lumps appear.

"stranger danger! stranger danger!"

"not bothered"

2 common blues visible as white-ish dots at front of photo.
on a previous trip I filmed DGFs roosting on the trees behind

Had to have strong words with this wee biter (as another sits on watchstrap.)
She* replied it was in her nature, and I let her off with a warning.
(*Like mosquitoes and midges only female horseflies bite.)

plus a couple of miles to and from Waverley.
Totally FAB day out - thanks Keith, for waiting!