postman's knock

 

16th July. Another one of those days where I set off in search of one thing, don't find it, but then other stuff appears along the way. Today I was inspired by old pal Abbie M. She passes her photos on to East Lothian Rangers who post them on their facebook page. Abbie had photographed a broad-bodied chaser at Longniddry, at the new pond there. East Lothian council have dug (I believe) 9 new ponds along the coast. They are bedding in with various results. I hadn't been to the Longniddry one but it was on the route I'd be taking (on my bike) to Aberlady and Postman's Walk, to look for holly blues, so I earmarked that as first stop.

new-looking painted lady in Longniddry Bents car park No.2,
worth checking buddleias there for large whites, small torts, RAs and PLs

I emailed Abbie: thinking back to holly blues being discovered (by Mary!) in the Gullane area in 2019 brought back happy memories of meeting Abbie up Gullane Hill with an approaching storm which we could see blowing in from across the Forth, and taking refuge just as it broke. It was a great day with some magical moments (blogged here) and of course some holly blues, which at the time were rarer than hen's teeth. Sadly Abbie hasn't enjoyed the best health recently, but was able to update me that the broad-bodied chaser had left the new pond and been replaced with an emperor. Not the worst swap.

abandoned my bike

I didn't know exactly where the new pond was but asked A.I. and it suggested near No.2 Bents car park. Looking at google maps it seemed like a good place to start looking was immediately East of said car park where a stream went down to the sea and may well have been used as a water source for the pond. 12.5 cycled miles later (just under the hour) and I pushed my bike through the undergrowth trying to find the best way to get pondside.

The place was quite jungly although a couple of bits with only knee-high vegetation allowed access. I reckon another year and unless paths are strimmed it (the pond) will become inaccessible. I abandoned my bike in the grasses and did a loop of the pond recording it on my Suunto which would give a map I could post here. Sadly no sign of any dragonflies and possibly not even any damselflies. However on the upside it seemed an excellent addition to the landscape with great potential, and fantastic to hear BBCs and emperors had already visited.

I should really have got out the DJI Pocket to take some wide shots of the pond. Too lazy to take my back pack off etc. It is very nicely situated, looks very natural and already seems more successful than the two I have visited on the other side of Gullane which are slower to become established and used by the local wildlife. Although I saw no sign of the odonata I was looking for, there was tons of potential and it was just far enough off the well used beach path to remain undisturbed by passing pedestrian traffic.

I did see whirligig beetles on the surface which are always a fascinating spectacle.

whirligigs
soundtrack: Tricklemore Sea by Calibre

to be revisited!

GVW

I had just put my big camera back in the back pack in the pannier bag when a brand new comma floated by. I had the camera back out in seconds, although it took a couple of minutes to find where the orange beauty had set down. It was 3metres through the jungly tall reeds, sitting on one of the reeds, enjoying the sun. I had to use my left hand to hold back the curtain of plants and shoot one handed. I got a couple of shots before it took off and disappeared. It was some compensation for the lack of dragonfly action.

the circuit marks the approx shape of the new pond
in relation to Longniddry Bents No.2 car park on the left - handy!

Approaching Aberlady it was about lunch time. I popped into Margiotta's and got a sandwich and a couple of cold drinks. I was hungry so prepared to consume it all outside the shop by the bench there, until I saw a well attended dark purple buddleia in the garden one along. I pushed my bike (with mouth full of sandwich) along to the wall nearest the buddleias. I got out the camera again and trying not to smudge it with sandwichy hands got a couple of photos of the admiral and was going for the small tort when 2 holly blues flew into the garden. A male stayed distant but the female came right over to where I was standing and started feeding on an escallonia. Ace!

The trouble was it was keeping those wings shut and I was only getting occasional glimpses of the wing uppers. Since it was frequently flying from flower to flower I set my camera to pre-capture mode and fired off 30 shots every time it took off. With mixed success. However the butterfly was happy to keep moving about the bush just metres away and I put my lunch away and gave it maximum concentration.

nice! but facing the wrong direction!

nope!

I was keeping half an eye on the small tort as well
but it was staying over the far side of the garden

getting better

as good as it got!
(Pleased with this shot.)

I was really chuffed to have had this encounter. It made me think there would probably be loads of HBs along the way at Postmam's Walk although I did realise they have been absent from there on recent trips and today might be the same, so I should get as many decent shots here as possible. Eventually the holly blue flew off and I had a quick chimp to make sure I had at least a few decent enough shots. 

Curiously, I saw another HB or 2 in the garden three along at the merkat cross where we've sat many's a time. Not sure if it was the same pair or different specimens as they didn't rest and I had packed the camera away. 

first common darter (f) of the year

Postman's Walk was overgrown. I padlocked my bike just beyond the first corner. Everything was shooting up and long grasses hid the normal path. The thistles near the big white house on the corner had gone over and there were no small torts there. Everything felt jungly and I remembered I'd forgotten to take my antihistamine hay-fever tablets.

To my delight there was a common darter - almost invisibly the same colour as the grass and crops mooching about the bushes. I stopped and mananged a photo before it slid off and disappeared. A fresh strongly coloured CD is a thing of great beauty and all the more so for being thin on the ground this year. (This is the only decent photo of one I've taken recently and we are only a week off August.)

I was watching all the ivy and any holly trees carefully but saw ZERO holly blues all the way along the field perimeter and then up the far end. I reckoned if I hung around (it was near perfect weather) there'd be one or two about, but it was not to be. Plenty whites flying about and I endeavoured to get photos of them so I could pass on a record of what species to Nick the local recorder. A lot did seem to be green-veined whites but there was also quite a few large whites and the occasional small white. Some almost defied identification; seeming to have small white uppers and green-veined ventrals. 

At the far end of the field near the corner I came across this pair of large whites. I can't remember having seen large whites mating before so took plenty photos, before leaving them in peace. There was also a comma on the ivy chasing off fly-by whites.

comma

GVW with small white looking uppers

While up the far end I came across this mole, sadly deceased. I don't see moles very often and this one seemed in fairly decent condition so I pulled him up off the path, brushed him down and placed him on a stone to take some pics. The flies had already moved in and laid some maggots but I was able to get a few close-ups of his front claws which looked disturbingly human. Cute short tail. Very plush coat.

disturbingly human hands - like little work gloves

a red admiral also on the ivy

large white this time which I chased some distance to get a few shots

meadow brown

small white (I think) this time

Postman's Walk, Aberlady
nice place for a wander although missing holly blues (so far)

I walked back to my bike and took 63 mins to cycle back home with a following wind. I think this is the time I reported for the ride back from Saltoun 2 blogs ago so it is likely I have confused the two. (I corrected that one to 71mins.) It is around the same distance. I didn't quite enjoy it but I tried to do it well and quickly and enjoyed running my engine hard, if not at the time, then after the exercise was over. It used to be a bit easier and I'd need far less recovery. Such is the concession to age.

return cycle - 15.48miles in 1hr03m

gullswimbutt

15-07-26. So gullswimbutt was the name of the folder I kept these photos in. And the name stuck. It refers to a great day along the coast when M and I went for a swim in Gullane Bay then a butterfly safari along towards Aberlady afterwards. It was Mary's idea and was much better than I thought it would be. Both the watery bit and the butterfly hunt.

Mary wore a shorty - a cross between a swimsuit and wet suit. I think I was actually less cold wearing a long sleeve rash vest and swim shorts. A rash vest is a tight but stretchy, slightly fleecy jumper that discourages water flushing through. On the scale of coldest to warmest that Scottish water gets, we are probably around 8 or 9 out of a possible 10. If you want to try open water swimming and don't like cold water, now is the time to take the plunge.

I initially forgot my hat and went back ashore to put it on as it helps reduce the hypothermia. But after the initial shudder of getting in, it really wasn't bad and I could have easily done 20mins without chattering teeth. I think I did about 18mins but Mary was feeling like that was plenty and we still had to shower (in cold water) and change back which takes another chunk of energy.

the first wave that crashes over you
always produces that face

Mary wearing swim shoes after her experience of (most likely) treading
on a weever fish and having a sore toe for a week - with no visible spike or spine

I always do this - it never looks that good so I'll prob stop

trying to hold the w/p camera out the water makes your face submerge
and I ended up looking special

I seem to have swum the route of mangled fallopian tubes - which is not unlike what it felt like.

so this is the usual read out but I noticed I could also go for photo-realism...

which is quite funny - 18m40s and 494 yards
(I don't remember swimming that far)

and then a lovely cold shower at the new toilet block

It was great having the sun blazing as we changed. Much nicer than the usual clammy feet and pulling socks badly over blue sandy extremities. It is so much easier in decent weather!

Then we got our cameras out and headed West towards Gullane Point and the golf course concrete blocks. First thing worth a photo was this wagtail who I realised was the first bird I've ever seen killing a butterfly. Lots of butterflies shows signs of bird attacks but this is the first time in 20, maybe 30 years, of a bird predating a butterfly (a small skipper.) Plenty of small skippers to spare - there were an abundance of them everywhere, so the wagtail was probably just using what came to hand. 

lots of small birds about - is this a linnet?

The overgrown bracken was quite something - this is the less bad path of a couple I have used lately. I felt I had to carry my camera above my head to avoid scratching the lens. Also quite fun as it only went on for a hundred yards.

red admiral where there is often one

near the concrete blocks looking over the golf course

small heath

female common blue

a superb specimen though fading and slightly worn round the edges

hundreds of small skippers

When I was putting in numbers of species to the local recorder I asked Mary how many small skippers she felt there were, and she said greater than 50. We did not count each one because there was just too many and they were on just about every decent stand of flowers.

not as many DGFs and most either flew through or were hunting a mate

going back the way we came

six-spot burnet moth

Just as you come up the steep bit off the beach and cross the gold course tee-off bit, there were a bunch of flowering thistles that had lots of passing trade. A female DGF caught our eye. I believe the white trim and sootier colouring makes it a female although I can't swear on that. As we stood taking photos a male DGF appeared and made enquires although was discouraged and was quickly on his way. The females tend to be larger than the males and don't put up with much nonsense.

a brand new small tortoiseshell also turned up looking fab

Mary getting in close with her bridge camera. She opted not to take her good camera. She was comparing the 2 saying the bridge camera is more fun and easier to get the photo, however it takes a lot less good quality images. I think once she has been using the good camera more, it will be just as quick to get the image although it will never be as quick to go from scenery or macro (as above) to zoom, which the bridge camera does easily. I rarely use my bridge camera nowadays. I nearly did today because I wasn't keen leaving the good one in the car while swimming. But the bridge camera quality is just so meh compared to the G9. And having a body harness carries much of the extra weight. Anything else (including the waterproof camera) seems a bit cheap. It did take a while to get to this point though.

a few of the very many skippers we saw

Mary was getting a bit sore and tired - her legs give her jip if she does too much and was heading back to the car park when I shouted to her I'd seen a comma. She considered coming back but then didn't bother and I nearly got in trouble for making her legs hurt more than necessary. But it was a spectacular comma and the butterfly highlight of the day. I took loads of photos from several angles trying not to disturb it.

And that was that. I didn't want to spoil what had been a terrific day
so hurried back to the car. Really successful mix of activities.

3miles in 98mins