best part of the day: return to Linn Dean (and Saltoun Big Wood)

7th July

And an ambitious day out - cycle to Linn Dean on top of Sutra then return via Saltoun Big Wood. I had checked and a bus seemed to be possible to the bottom of Sutra then walk up the road side on a non-pavement grassy hard shoulder - not super keen. So bike it was. I suspected it was about 20 miles to Sutra. It is a cycle route I used to do on Chrismas day to go to my sister's in Lauder. 28 hilly miles, then xmas dinner, then 28 wobbly miles home. It is some time since I felt I wanted to do this. And was not looking forward to the A68. I'd checked on google maps (such a brilliant resource for route finding and familiarisation of roads before committing to cycle them - you can see what a junction looks like before you reach it in real life - things can look so different on a map) and there was reasonable pavement a lot of the way. Which I used. Often after a junction I'd miss the pavement on-ramp and cycle on the road for a mile or 2 until a juggernaut edged past with not much breathing space, then I'd bump up the kerb onto the relative safety of the pavement. It wasn't pleasant cycling - loads of heavy trucks and lorries - and I suspect there would be a more pleasant b-road version if I could put in the mapping and extra miles. But the plan was straightest route there, then get off the A68 for most of the return trip via a favourite wood, with dragonfly ponds.

straight line to Sutra out the A68: 18.7miles

bike lock-up

I pushed my bike halfway down the hill through long grass. I didn't fancy leaving it up at the roadside. I locked it up to a large fence post and it was well hidden by the bracken. I only saw one other person while there - the benefit of going on a Thursday. The weather was cracking - really sunny although a bit windy - this whole year has been a bit windy. Not a huge issue down in the gorge where most of the good stuff is. I have Alistair to thank for introducing me to this great wee hidden valley of treasures, although when he drove me here it was a bit overcast, but I could see the potential. And Alistair raved about the hillside covered in NBAs, which were high on the wish list for today, along with DGFs which the place is also well known for.

small skipper

I checked out the areas on the North side of the gorge first and was surprised to find only an occasional NBA, tricky to photo as the ground is very steep. I had worn my hill running shoes - they have grippy cleats on the soles and will tenaciously grip grass and dirt trails. They weren't much fun to cycle in but were excellent at reducing slips and slides or just giving me a confident stance while balancing on these steep rocky slopes. Contrary to what Alistair had found on previous trips, the NBAs seemed to be spread fairly uniformly along the river banks and not particularly on the North slopes opposite the point of entry. I found and photographed a few but several were aging fast and none had that lovely oily sheen they have when newly emerged.

I felt I had missed the best of them both here and at the usual spots in Holyrood park, partly due to work and partly due to a lack of great weather when they first emerged. I also wonder if they had a less than spectacular year. We have become accustomed to seeing them grow in number in Holyrood year on year and spread small colonies along the boundaries there. This year there seems to be fewer colonies and fewer individuals. Happily that is not something universal over all species as, for instance, small skippers are everywhere and in greater abundance than I've noticed ever. And meadow browns and ringlets seem to be as numerous as ever. However it has not been a bumper year for every species.

Northern Brown Argus

on the right are the northern NBA slopes

nba being photobombed by a common blue

There were plenty common blues about as well. Only a few were in top notch condition - the one above was quite old and worn but was enjoying a game of tag with an NBA. They would continually noise up each other in what appeared to be friendly sport. I have seen this between NBAs and Blues near Hutton's Section in Holyrood and since they are cousins in the lycaenidae family, I suspect they communicate by some sort of family connection. Or just chase each other about like friendly dogs in the park.

of the few whites about, not many were stopping for a photo

yellow shell moth

pretty stream with turbines in the background
very pleasant spot for a wander - if not particularly easy ground

very distant record shot of a large white

lots of chimney sweeper moths; again, not easy to photograph

as they are flighty and tend to hide in undergrowth

Some of the swampy areas south of the stream seemed to have a few (aging) Small Pearls. They were moving about in the warm weather and not settling for photos on this occasion. I would also see an occasional DGF zip by. Very few landed long enough for a photo although I got lucky later when I was near to a thistle on which one landed. I made a bit more effort with the DGFs as they were high on my wish list and nearly managed to get sufficient photos that I could leave without feeling cheated. But it was quite hard work and the results weren't as good as hoped.

ringlet

Mostly I was ignoring the meadow browns and ringlets unless one landed nearby and was in good condition or like this one above had pronounced markings and made a quality picture. The chimney sweepers kept frustrating me so when I saw this one on thyme I took loads of shots of which these give an idea.

wanderings at Linn Dean

dark green fritillary
only stopped for a brief moment!

quite a few fritillaries incl SPBFs around here

And while I was looking for them I saw a hawker zooming about in the sky overhead. I wasn't close enough to see whether it was a common hawker or something more exotic like an emperor. They are nearly the same size. I hadn't seen any odonata the whole time, so was excited to see this large one. Almost impossible to get a photo as I didn't see it land.

I have been listening to podcasts and one was suggesting that Common Hawkers and Black Darters are becoming scare or are on a red list. Both are regulars at Saltoun Big Wood so I wondered was this a country wide experience or really just the English experience which is what is often reported on "nationwide" programmes. Because the presenters are based down South and often near London, they give that perspective. I am unable to comment as yet as the hawkers and darters are only just starting to appear here. And it was mostly damselflies and chasers at Saltoun. However that is later on in the day. I am still down in the gorge wondering how to get close to the big dragonfly circling overhead. I shoot off a couple of random shots to see if I can catch its sihouette against the sky. It is invisible against a grassy background...

I noticed a fresh and handsome skipper but it was on a leaf overhanging a steep slope that ended in the stream. If I ventured too close I could end up having a bath with a broken camera. Then it moved and I saw it was a large skipper - now that is worth a bit more of a risk and I shuffled over through the deep undergrowth gingerly edging closer to disaster. It pops into the air to chase off any passing traffic in its airspace but returns to approximately the same area. I get a few images without a drenching and it is possibly the unexpected highlight of the trip. Nice to see a large skipper so near to the Midlothian boundary. The sign for Scottish Borders is just as you climb Sutra hill so prob only a mile or 2 outside Midlothian. Previously I was under the impression the closest L Skips were near Dunglass, on the far side of Dunbar, and I lacked the gusto to check out that field.

While I was stalking the large skipper it had the nerve to chase a DGF as it flew past. Which is pretty cheeky.

DGF

chimney sweeper with tiny fly photobomber

I had been trying to leave for some time but every time I got halfway up the hill I'd get distracted by blues and NBAs. And there were various moths that would flutter out the long grass, a large yellow underwing which I failed to photo. The place was alive with insects and butterflies and it was a really enjoyable visit. However I was aware that if I wanted to get to Saltoun I shouldn't leave it too late. I had noticed it was off the Haddinton road which turned right at the bottom of Sutra. I pushed my bike up the grassy hill (much harder than the reverse) and brushed the grass out my hair. Short section of busy road then off onto country roads for about 10 miles to Saltoun Big Wood.

bee with glossa out

common blue

trying to drag myself away

lattice heath moth

The cycle to Saltoun was further than I thought it would feel. On the map it is just a couple of twisty roads and a junction or 2. I was cycling down unknown roads and wondered if I had missed a turning and gone too far. It was considerably more pleasant than the A68 though, with hardly any traffic.

from Sutra (red triangle) to Saltoun (then home)

It was a joy to get to Saltoun - although I was feeling quite tired. I had forgotten to eat my sandwiches and was a bit low blood sugar. Timings for the day were as follows: I had left a bit after 10am and it had taken 93 mins to cycle to Sutra, 18+ up hill miles. I spent a bit over 90 minutes there and took another 90 minutes before the first photo at Saltoun around 2.20pm. I did 2 hrs there, mostly at the ponds, then cycled home slowly into the obligatory headwind, possibly another 2 hrs or best part of.

Saltoun is one of may favourite haunts, but doesn't always produce the goods. It was great on this occasion, and not least because I didn't see another person the whole time I was there. However I had hoped for several things that it turned out I was too early to find. Firstly I cycled up the back trail. In August the scabious comes into bloom and there are an inordinate amount of commas all the way up the mile long trail. There was no sign of either which I should have anticipated but thought there might have been an early outlier comma or 2. Nope! There was plenty of stuff flowering - marsh orchids(?) thistles and bramble flowers - but apart from burnet moths, none of the august butterflies. (Peacocks, small torts, RAs and commas.) I was pleased about the burnet moths - all narrow bordered 5 spotters - as, like the NBAs, I felt I'd missed recording them earlier in the season when there were loads of photos doing the rounds of them and I'd seen next to none. Again one of the species that hasn't been as numerous in Holyrood, perhaps: seen in ones and twos, but not fives and sixes?

burnet moths

small skippers on brambles

focus on wrong insect

So I returned to the ponds to check out the dragonflies. Still too early for most Darters and Hawkers but there was an occasional large unidentified one: most likely a common hawker male scouting for females. Lots of damselflies (mostly common blues) and four-spotted chasers.