23rd Feb.
As soon as the weather begins to turn from Winter to Spring I hop on a bus and head to the Hermitage. I must have had some great successes with early butterflies there - below the doocot and down the Braid Burn at the butterbur - and so have it seared into my mind's eye as a place worth an early trip. It was only when I got there that I remembered I also fall into the habit almost every year of turning up there a week too early. And that this is the part I should remember, not the bit with commas, peacocks and small torts on heather and butterbur. But alas we are creatures of habit.
Heading out the door I set myself three target species; dippers, woodpeckers and comma butterflies. Each more tricky than the last. I thought there was a fair chance of all three, but you have to, otherwise why get out of bed?
I am not sure if the bus ride aggravated the sciatica. Climbing up the steep gradient from Morningside Station to the Hermitage certainly did and I had to stop and perform my signature dance movement maybe a dozen times in half a mile. I squat down and hula-hoop which gives a few minutes of respite before the toothache in back and leg starts up again. It eases off after about a mile walking. The level of pain is also higher than ever before when I’ve had sciatica. Not a good sign.
Almost immediately through the gate and onto the riverside trail I spot a dipper. In case it is the only one of the day (sadly true) I take loads of pics and shoot some video even though it is underneath quite a bit of overhanging shrubbery and the light is spectacularly bad. The photos come out better than I hoped.
nearly the perfect shot if only it had turned and looked my way!
One out of three target species! I marched into the doocot garden feeling optimistic although the sun was fighting the gathering clouds and it was a little on the chilly side for butterflies. The terraced borders were further ahead than sometimes in late Feb with a couple of large spreads of heather that were the most likely candidates for butterflies. As well as some Winter aconites.
Winter aconites
teasels
lucky white heather?
purple heather
obsidentify says Gloeophyllum sepiarium
lungwort
I suspected this carving on the doocot chair arm
might be the only peacock seen today
obsidentify says Cynara unknown
and the one below as maybe globe artichoke
nice sculptures whatever name
many of the hand-painted wildlife figures on the terraces
were beginning to show their age
This large butterfly board has gone through a couple of transformations. I love its intentions to inform and encourage but some of the hand-painted originals were a little wobbly to start with and haven’t improved accuracy with the transformation to printed media.
primroses out
I followed the river down to where butterbur lines the far side. On the way this goldcrest hurried about the business of looking for bugs. I took loads of pics of which 3 were usable.
turkeytail fungus
wren - also busy looking for snacks
I crossed at the bridge
I had pretty grippy shoes but felt it would be easy to slip in the mud (on the right hand bank) of which there was plenty. I had to go very cautiously and was glad I’d got past the worst of it without sitting down in the mud or going sideways into the stream. I knew I could get back over further downstream and didn’t have to retreat the same way. I did question whether it was worth an accident.
Dacrymyces stillatus
the famous giant butterbur which attracts early butterflies and bumbles
Sadly the butterburs were not quite fully open. I got that sense of deja-vu and remembered I regularly arrived here a little ahead of the action. It doesn’t mean there won’t be any butterflies, but in a week’s time they’ll be more in bloom and there is a better chance of small torts, commas and peacocks. However as I turned the corner all regrets were put to one side when the pigeon on the branch directly ahead turned out to be a male kestrel. I stopped in my tracks and raised my camera. It was a little higher than eyelevel and stopped preening to look straight at me. I was rather insulted when it went back to grooming ignoring my presence. However that gave me time to shoot some video and take a few more photos with it well within sharp photo distance, the light coming through its wing feathers.
what’s that? just some cripple, back to grooming
I haven’t been this close to a kestrel since Tenerife and (in the excitement) could barely keep the camera level while video-ing it. I used stabilisation in post to remove the bounce and shoogle. I was surprised it hadn’t flown off and if I was being self-pitying, I suspected it saw this limping gimp and thought there’s no chance I posed any sort of danger. Another few steps closer and it went. I reckon I did a reasonable job of staying the optimum distance away to get the best shots. Something you get a feel for with experience - how far away to stop and observe; how close to risk getting without chasing off the subject. It is different for every species and the price of getting it wrong is fewer photos. I know some use technology to the max by getting extender tubes to increase the reach of their zoom lenses although I’ve heard you don’t really get much better results than just cropping in. Occasionally I wish I had more reach esp for flighty birds, but mostly I try to find ways to tread more stealthily and get closer without being rumbled. More and more times in E Lothian I have seen deer before they have seen me and it is a huge thrill approaching them unseen. Mostly by going slower and more quietly and watching where you step.
Petasites Japonicus - Giant butterbur
field of same - sans butterflies
give it a week or 2 and some sunshine
I was looking over the fence when I saw a very brightly coloured bullfinch in the branches, then descend for a drink at the stream. I was cursing being too slow to capture the action in the lovely sunshine when another male followed suit exactly and having been warned once quickly pushed video record and got a couple of seconds of bullfinch beauty. They are such fantastic birds, especially in mating plumage.
a female bullfinch hiding from some dogs on the main trail
more not-quite-ready butterbur
a great tit unafraid and sitting high
wee bastard!
While this long-tailed tit took the flippin’ piss. It was as if it could see me and did its best to put a load of focus catching branches between it and me. I spent 10minutes following it to try and get a clean photo but it was running rings around me. As soon as I gave up it would pop out as if to say hello and don’t you want a pretty picture and I’d go back over to where it was in full view. When I got there it dove into the undergrowth and I could feel the ache all the way from my right ankle to the small of my back. Final score; a demolishing by the LTT. The paparazzi left feeling weary and beaten.
A little further downstream and these rotting apples were still hanging on to the tree. Not sure I’ve seen the like in Feb. I reckoned they’d make a bit of a sugary feast for early butterboys.
I was nearly getting to the far end of the Braid Burn and doubled back climbing the rise in the direction of Observatory Hill with the intention of descending to Blackford pond. Maybe some waterfowl photos but also a sneaky joy for the rats that are well fed on duck-bread and race around the pondside. First the long hike up and over the hill. Man that was tough on the crocked undercarriage. It did make me wonder how much the drunken 7 Hills Race brought about the current disability. The jury is out but it may well have been a contributing factor.
a fine view of the castle appears at the top of the hill
and also these big houses built by a colour-blind architect
castle in sunshine
although there was a mix of good and bad light at the pond
I didn’t get any duck photos that excited me
tufted duck (f) - (m) above
black-headed gull
Instead I got involved with a robin and blackbird who both seemed familiar with the process of humans providing snacks on demand. I did not let them down and thought I might even get the robin to hand feed. It was quite bold and chased the blackbird away from its hard-earned food. Just as I was moving on, a couple of grandparents doing the childminding thing, pointed out there were a pair of treecreepers just there (can’t see them… oh yes there’s one!)
treecreeper
Now I’ve had a couple of lucky run-ins with small birds lately and its interesting to see who sits where on this year’s spirit-animal totem-pole. (Rationalists spit out your tea here.) The goldcrests are definitely turning up more frequently these days. I could go a year without seeing one 5 years ago, easy. Recently I’ve seen quite a few and got some pretty decent slo-mo video of them, twice! Unheard of. Now is it because there are more of them about (both shot in an urban environment) or because I recognise them more readily at distance and because I like them a LOT I respond by making an effort in their direction. Or maybe a combination of both?
Same with treecreepers. They are also totes charming but like goldcrests can be tricky to get to stick in the middle of the frame. Also they often favour the dark side of the trunk (a popular album by prog rockers Pink Elephant.) You might look at the video below and say meh, I’ve seen better; but you’ll have to wait a couple of blogs to see one I filmed in the Botanics recently which nearly parted my hair to land on the tree directly in front of me. I don’t like to boast (I do like to boast) but it is proper Springwatch quality. I’d’ve had it up on the book by now only it crucifies my back sitting at the computer - did I mention I had a sore… yeah I did. Moving on.
Blackford Pond
(couldn’t see one rat 😥)
a furry-tailed rat
now is it just me or are these stock doves doing
the Charlie’s Angels logo?
I am a mallard
From Blackford I realised I wasn’t sure where to get the nearest bus home. I was a bit weary and couldn’t think about walking the streets over to Newington or whether that was shorter than retracing my steps back to Morningside. I opted for the latter thinking I would check the river for dippers and the hill top of the Hermitage for woodpeckers and maybe even scoot past the doocot garden for commas, and by then I’d get the full set of three target species. Chance would be a fine thing.
And yet, here’s species two: the great spotted doodah
This woodpecker clearly saw my troubled gait and felt sorry for me. He knew he could help and as I approached and he started to batter the flip out of a hollow dead branch. Ahh the jungle drums! What a champ1 I had to negotiate this way and that to get a line of sight but eventually got a view of him a thousand feet up a large tree swaying in the breeze. I didn’t hang about but shot quite a lot of video. As it was up towards the sky and silhouetting the bird in murky black I opened up the exposure which blew out the sky but lit the pecker nicely. I was really quite pleased with the results given the tree was rock’n’rolling, the bird was moving about and the wind was threatening to sway me off an unsteady footing on a medium steep dirt gradient.
Just as I got the minimum amount of jollies, a couple of untethered dogs ran past chasing the woody off to buggery. I had to fake a grin hello to the 2 pairs of green wellies walking their hateful mutts. Boo.
I inspected every watery inch of the Burn as I walked back up to the doocot. Nothing. I’m sure I used to see 2 or 3 dippers minimum all the way up here in the past. Now I had two out of three (ain’t bad) species on my most wanted list I felt I could wrap it up with a comma on that rich heathery heather. It would be a dawdle. Unfortunately when I got there the sun had gone below the trees on the South side and all heathery flowerings were in pitch darkness. No point in looking, but I looked anyway. And no point indeed. By way of compensation a couple of mistle thrushes let me get 2 pics before flying out of reach. And a very handsome blackbird drew my attention by sitting right near the path and belting out Goodnight Ladies. I obligingly took its photo.
2 photos because it is just a thing of great beauty
Going back down the hill to Morningside wasn’t as bad as the ascent. But when I heard LTTs doing their group call in a garden with a birdfeeder I limped over to get my revenge on the riverside LTT. I did a little better, but not much. Pretty as you are you are never going to make that totem pole if you carry on like that! I had the bright idea to cut across to Comiston Rd early and as luck would have it a distant bus was creeping down the road for me to catch all the way to Leith. Thank you Bus Timetable Jesus!
To show how fkd I was, I fell asleep three times on the way through town on the bus. When I got off I was corpse-like and dreading the 300yards of bus stop to home. I used to run 50mile races <sob>. What a fking state. However I wasn’t as miserable as I felt physically, as I knew I had a full dance SD card and many lovelies on it. I went indoors and fell asleep on my bed for 40mins before Mary came in. I think all those hills and the cold weather and no lunch took a lot out of me. I hate to admit my frailty these days, but not to acknowledge it would be worse. I have every confidence that I will be back in no time. Well about another couple of weeks. Watch this space.
best video clips of the day
5miles in 4hrs
but a pretty decent day and enjoyable despite evidence to the contrary
