warbot 2.0

 

10-04-25 Another trip to Warriston and the Botanics only this time the Botanics first. I hoped to encounter the red admiral again but before heading to the magnolias I checked out the rock garden for commas and any other insects there. Bee-flies, but no butterflies.

Andrena mining bee (?)
my interest in bees drops off as the butterfly season gets underway

chaffinch

bee-fly with leg over (cleaning) proboscis

hover

When I got to the magnolia there was no sign of the admiral but I spied this holly blue which descended from a high conifer nearby, nectared for a brief spell then flew off again. I was happy to get a record shot or two but sadly nothing more. The red admiral appeared but flew off again before I could get a photo. While I waited for it to return I texted Ken in case he was nearby. There was no reply and I thought I would wander a hundred yards along to the pulmonaria as it was warm and sunny and there maybe butterflies there. 

holly blue

in flight bee-fly

Ken who I saw at the Botanics

There weren't any butterflies, but there was Ken! I told him I'd just texted. It is possible Ken uses his phone like I do: as little as possible and doesn't always have it switched on for updates and alerts. He was interested in the HB and RA combo so we returned to the magnolias. But had to make do with a speckled wood.

There were distant sightings of holly blues - perhaps a couple of males searching the high treetops for females, but not showing signs of popping down for a quick photo session. Ken went off to check another area while I waited for any sign of the RA which didn't reappear and I ran out of patience. I was thinking about all the butterflies in Warriston and getting bad FOMO! Ken had thought about going to Warriston so I texted him again saying I was heading there shortly and remember there was only one entrance available these days. The extra hike up to Warriston Gardens might have been enough to dissuade him. We had chatted about the impossibility of taking a decent photo of a butterfly if it is just sitting on the ground, and the benefit of the attractive flowers in the botanics, should a butterfly use them as a perch.

speckled wood
the radiant background makes a greatly improved picture

speckleds sparring

even a wasp can look splendid

I checked out the pulmonaria and the rhodies on the way out 

but there wasn't much beyond bee-flies and hoverflies

probably our old friend Eristalis pertinax or similar

a new boss at the In Loving branch in Warriston

blackbird

bullfinch (f)

Finally I got a chiffchaff busy chiffchaffing on video. I try to catch this at the beginning of the season but hadn't to date managed. It was quite distant so didn't quite nail it. I'll put a video of clip together and post it below. It wasn't a cracking day out for photo results but it was very pleasant to be out and there was the feeling anything might turn up any minute, so I wasn't feeling frustrated while doing the rounds and seeing many of the usual suspects.

this comma was in the riverside area

always a challenge to get a hover in flight (sharp) 

especially with a non-sky background

Quite a bit of small bird activity at the tunnel including this blue tit and a couple of LTTs that stopped for a preen and groom in the bushes. They look a little odd in the stills so I shot some video as well to kind of explain what they were up to.

chiffchaff closer

I was a bit shocked to see the crypts comma had lost a chunk of rear offside
then I realised (after examining it closely) it wasn't the same one as before

the crows cheating on me again,
having trained up another person to feed them

Sometimes at this time of the year it is worth a shuffle through the leaf litter in the long avenues above the crypts. There can be a red admiral hiding there on warm days. I checked it out as I went to leave and got a real treat to find this one doing some late afternoon sunworshipping. It was a bit frisky at first but seemed to calm down once I let it settle. Unfortunately it didn't want to perch higher on anything more photogenic and I recalled the earlier chat with Ken about how it is impossible to get anything worthwhile of a butterfly sitting on the ground. I even got right down and did a bit of lying in the leaf litter and also using the camera's fold-out screen and holding the camera really low but it didn't produce much more than record shots. Given I've only seen four RAs this year it was still a welcome addition to the afternoon.

nice to see, if a bit aging and ragged round the edges

the few flowered leaks makes a pretty picture

wasp, chiffchaff, wren, great tit, chiffchaff, long-tailed tits

7miles in 5hrs