A while since I had been across town to Corstorphine Hill. It is a good training spot but also some Small Whites had been seen by Colin (and mentioned on the East Scottish Butterflies fb group) near that place you pass on the 7 Hills route round the back of the SEPA / Forestry building, after descending Kaimes Rd. I waited till lunchtime for things to warm up then ran across town, seeing next to no wildlife, but doing the first 5 or 6 miles around marathon pace.
now that's going to be a cosy nest!
Water of Leith
I ended up here. (Above.) When I saw steps leading to a thin stretch of scrubby wasteland between the cyclepath and Carrick Knowe golf course, I thought I would give it a look. It had many of the aspects required to make it ideal butterflying ground: not too much through traffic, short grass and more bushy surroundings, a good covering of nearly invisible knee high brambles that score your shins and calves, nettles, flowering garlic, a wee bit of fly-tipping, old rope and a chair, and a look of neglect. Perfect!
There were a couple of dog-walkers there as I arrived and I was just saying hello and about to enquire had they seen any butterflies when a peacock zipped past my ear. I continued to chat to the bloke while taking photos of the peacock and asked had he seen any white ones about, as a Small White popped up and took off in the other direction. I shouted a hasty goodbye and chased it 300 yards to the most Easterly point, not easy as the path thinned and strayed into more difficult scrubby wasteland and I had to watch my feet as well as the random zig-zagged flight-path of the white. Eventually it settled on a large leaf and I got close enough to see it was indeed a Small White. Just before it had settled it had noised up a comma which flew about as well, though I focussed on the white as it was the first one of 2019. All this in the first 2 minutes. I named the place Corstorphine Butterfly Park.
There were a couple of dog-walkers there as I arrived and I was just saying hello and about to enquire had they seen any butterflies when a peacock zipped past my ear. I continued to chat to the bloke while taking photos of the peacock and asked had he seen any white ones about, as a Small White popped up and took off in the other direction. I shouted a hasty goodbye and chased it 300 yards to the most Easterly point, not easy as the path thinned and strayed into more difficult scrubby wasteland and I had to watch my feet as well as the random zig-zagged flight-path of the white. Eventually it settled on a large leaf and I got close enough to see it was indeed a Small White. Just before it had settled it had noised up a comma which flew about as well, though I focussed on the white as it was the first one of 2019. All this in the first 2 minutes. I named the place Corstorphine Butterfly Park.
how google maps should be
rubbish tip Peacock
Small White
black wing spots and wing margins can be very faint on first brood males,
in this case pretty much invisible
a singular Small Tortoiseshell
a second Small White with stronger markings
This Comma was very jumpy to start with.
but settled on this cane and was very obliging
making for the best photos of the day
Peacocks have been everywhere recently.
a third Small White
lots of bees
After 34 minutes I was ready to move on. I had seen 3 Small White, got photos of 4 species and was keen to do a bit of Corstorphine Hill and get home. I ran up Kaimes Rd, well jogged really, then bumped into Susan at the top of the road as she was coming off the hill. She was doing a 5 mile sponsored walk later and taking the afternoon off. We chatted for a bit then I set off, keen to explore a bit further North than I usually go. I didn't get all the way over to Clermiston Rd North but saw enough to realise it was not as good butterfly terrain as earlier. Mostly just dirt trails under trees and not enough low lying flowering plants. Apart from spooking a couple of sunbathing Peacocks along the way I saw no other butterflies. I ran off the hill via the paths between the Zoo and Murrayfield Golf Course. I was expecting more in the grassy fields (and I took a couple of detours to check,) but they were empty of insect life.
I changed from butterfly mode back to run mode (though always keeping an eye open for any riverside flutterings) and headed back down the Water of Leith. There are some exquisite gardens along Rocheid Path and I stopped to take photos, but no further butterflies today. Which wasn't a big deal as I had already had a much better haul than I could have hoped for. It's just a shame Corstorphine Butterfly Park is 6 miles away. On the upside, it does make for good marathon training. I probably wouldn't have clocked up 15miles, otherwise. Great running weather, a wee bit cool for the butterflies. Thanks again to Colin for the tip off!
15.5 miles
Nice one!
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