best part of the day: the hunt continues

Friday, 1 March 2019

the hunt continues

After Tuesday's singular butterfly I was cursing my route choice. 2 Speckled Wood were reported near Prestonpans beach. (They don't normally come out to play till April! 10th May was last year's first one for me and that was a fortnight ahead of the previous year.) Now if only I'd gone for the country option rather than town yesterday. (Although I wouldn't actually have gone past Prestonpans Beach.) So Wednesday's plan was to comb East Lothian, from Longniddry to North Berwick, on trails and beaches.

Mary knows a good thing when she hears it, so came too. She cancelled her class and drove us to Longniddry station. The plan was to run to NB then train back to Longniddry Station and drive home. We both got coffeed up at home then drove (somewhat late in starting off), to Longniddry. Later was better in terms of warming up for butterflies so it was somewhat inexplicable that we didn't see any once we got down to the coast road. I should have been more prepared for this but oddly didn't see the obvious pattern forming.

the clouds were high and feathery

not everyone was super hyped up looking for butterflies

stopped for a quick chat with the piggies

at Aberlady Mary had fancy juice
while I looked over walls and hedges into stranger's gardens.

From a distance this dude looked like he was carrying a tv with an aerial on top. Although tempted to ask was he getting decent reception, it turned out he was carrying the latest in hydrofoil kiteboarding equipment. Not sure if there was enough wind for that.

I think this was a coal tit

I had to look this one up when we got home;

possibly our first sighting of a reed bunting

It happily posed for some time, letting us approach quite near

so gets top marks for user-friendliness.

Several skylarks were out practising flying high and singing continuously
which is so reminiscent of the Summer.

We checked under the boards to see if Spring had sprung there. Only this expired shrew sadly. We had been thinking we might see the annual toad orgy kicking off. It usually happens here around Marl Loch (and also in Holyrood at Dunsapie) on the first warm day halfway through March, but might have been moved forward on account of the milder weather. So far nothing at either venue though the park rangers have the wire grills over the drains in Holyrood.

subs looked like whale carcasses

There have been a number of fires recently, from Salisbury Crags and down south to this patch about the size of a football pitch or more near Gullane Point.

cold water for that business

We had heard this van was now doing coffees and Mary was feeling she needed a lift. The woman serving was very chatty. OK coffee as well.

This was one of 2 butterflies seen today.

This was the other. 😭

I asked to go inland and through the woods after Gullane as I felt there was a better chance of seeing butterflies. There have been Specklies at several places in the woods last couple of years and I felt a few dim ones might have come out early in the sunshine. We got a proper teasing from all the finches and tits on the way there as they sang out loud and long and yet remained largely invisible right beside the paths buried deep in the hawthorns and seabuckthorn bushes. We stood beside them peering into branches and thicket and rarely saw any sign of the crafty wee blighters. Or they would perch on a prominent branch until you were just about to get a photo, then fly off, laughing. Bastards.

Guess what?
Yup. None.

Mary, being sensible, was not for hanging about. She said I complained like a teenage girl who had been dumped but was certain things could go back to the way they were, if we just gave it a chance. She ran on, leaving my dreams in bits on the warm sand. Insults on top of injury. I tried to focus on how lucky we were, to have all this beautiful (if butterfly free) coastline to ourselves. It was very, very nearly splendid.

the tide was out giving us access to that special bit of sand below Archerfields

This (above) was my last hope. A corridor of RAs and Speckleds in the Summer who swarm around a couple of buddleia. Surely if there were any today this is that sheltered spot where they'd be. WRONG again. About now I was getting the picture. Scotland is not saturated with early season butterflies. Yes there might be one spotted in Morrison Street and a Painted Lady in St Andrews but you won't have to watch your feet to avoid stepping on any anytime soon. I covered the best part of 30 miles over 2 days, eyes peeled like a thirsty man in a desert of butterflylessness. Making everyone's life a misery. Eventually I gave up and tried really hard to enjoy the available surroundings which were, by comparison, considerably better than working indoors for a living.