pitlochry pearls

 

22-05-23 The annual trip to Pitlochry to see Pearl-bordered fritillaries, a rare and beautiful butterfly. The trick is to get the date right. Go too late and there are no fresh specimens (this has never happened!); too early and there will be none or just one or 2. And since they are not easy to find or photograph this can really snooker a big day out. As it did in 2021 when there were none on the 11th May and 2022, when there were only a couple of specimens on the 18th. I know why I rush there too early - I really love the place and much of the day out. Also the gulf stream or something makes the PBFs emerge in Glasdrum (North of Oban!) a fortnight ahead of these ones further South. They MUST be out by now, I think, and I can no longer hold back. I should know better and next year when reading this to check for dates PAY ATTENTION DUMMY and go about the 25th or later.  

So come the 22nd I could no longer contain my excitement and bought a ticket to Pitlochry. I have done this several times and will take the same photos each trip to compare to the previous. On disastrously early years you can see the amount of leaves (not) out on the same trees that were bushy with new growth in successful years. It was a slow Spring this year and some of the butterflies who emerged heedless of the damp weather (small coppers, walls) got a pelting that took a lot of them out, and left them looking worn and tired after just a few days of being out.

After crossing the Clunie Bridge upstream of Pitlochry, I ran up the quiet road to Coronation Bridge. I passed these 2 lambs who had squeezed through their fence to forage on the other side of the road. I slowed to a walk not to spook them further from mum, and they posed beautifully for a photo!

amazing scenery

first pylon

After crossing Coronation Bridge I run downstream for 300 yards through the amazing Linn of Tummel, then turn left through the deerfence gate. You can see the pylons and the wayleave; which is kept clear and is ideal for the PBFs. My info came from a book published in 2010 and still holds up. I then hold my breath, waiting for orange beauties to appear. On this occasion they did not. I checked for bugle the purple flowering plant on which they nectar. Yup. Not fully tall but at least halfway out. Where are they, where ARE they?

lots of dor beetles - very colourful underneath

After a fruitless 45 minutes I hike over to the second pylon about a quarter of a mile to the West up the wayleave. I was not optimistic and felt I might be re-running 2021 when I went home with a count of zero. At the second pylon there were a large number of green tiger beetles all sunbathing on the small path. As I slowly climbed it they ran or flew off. Most I've seen in one small place with at least a couple of mating pairs. Oh well I'll at least have something to point the camera at. It was sunny enough to hope that some PBFs may actually emerge today if they haven't already. 

I was at the point of admitting to myself there weren't any about and deciding to move to the next venue and the Queen's View Cafe, when I saw, on a spike of bugle, a fabulous orange butterfly. I took some record shots, moved in closer, and took a few better shots before it flew off, jinking in the sun and disappearing through the miraculous butterfly portal. I let out the breath I'd been holding for an hour or more and shouted THANKS and other expletives. I hadn't misjudged the day entirely. Although there were not dozens as there should have been.

pearl-bordered fritillary on bugle

brown silverline
(even more boring than silverY)

one of the trees mentioned than determines how far along the season is

Well the day was not a disaster but there was still a way to go. Tradition has it I make my way to the Queen's View Cafe and have a bowl of soup. There are quite a few miles of not easy cross country running followed by hilly tarmac miles with coaches and lorries whizzing by the pavement-free twisty roads. The cafe was closed "till further notice". Fuckers. Luckily, really luckily, I had brought sandwiches and plenty fluids. When I say plenty I mean enough if offset by the refill at the cafe. I swithered about the sandwiches. I usually get a bowl of soup and save the sandwiches for up the hill or the train home. And I have got into the habit of carrying snack bars - flapjacks or pretend healthy fruit and nut (and healthy chocolate!) bars. So I wasn't going to starve. But I was going to get a bit thirsty. Running 20 miles on a sunny day does that.

CLOSED! 

It is worth a quick wander round the back garden of the cafe. They hadn't mown the grass and there were plenty of wildflowers attracting insects and butterflies. I didn't hang around too long as I knew I had to check out the last venue for butterflies then hurry back via the pylons and get to Pitlochry to buy all the water in the world and catch the 4-something train. 

the queen's view

I ran down the road to Allean forest then up the hill past the car park and to the small offshoot where a few years ago I had a near mystical time with about 50 fly by PBFs landing on dandelions near some fallen trees. The trees were there but no butterflies. I ate my sandwiches. I thought I saw a peacock or red admiral and swithered about getting into the thigh deep bracken and deadwood to poke about where it landed. I did so without result. Sometimes you get that feeling the place is just dead and you could wait a week for orange butterflies and they wouldn't appear. I was extremely grateful for the one I'd seen at the previous venue. 

And then a weird thing happened. I was getting ready to leave: duck under that diagonal tree trunk and clamber over the next one when I saw - like a revolver in a desk drawer - a PBF sitting absolutely static on the trunk I'd just climbed over. My thumb switched the camera power on instinctively, and to get the shot I'd need to climb back over the same trunk. I did this carefully, so's not to spook it, but I had to take my eyes off the butterfly. That done I raised the camera and... it was gone. I opened the drawer again - no gun. Had I imagined it? I lightly combed through the bracken on which it had been sitting. Nothing. I checked behind the log. In front of the log. I kicked fuck out the surrounding bracken possibly shouting COME OUT you wee bastard! It was not my finest moment. I was about 99.5% sure I'd seen a butterfly, but then again aren't most hallucinations just that. After checking the entire area like I'd dropped a £20 note and couldn't find it, I reluctantly left. I was even more pleased I had photos of the one earlier otherwise this incident might have got a bit dark.

It was a long sweaty run back along roads, along stony dirt trails, along beautiful grassy paths, but eventually I got back to the pylons. I had a little time to kill before heading to the station so got lost in kicking through the bracken for butterflies. I knew there was at least one hiding nearby. Although it was the local beetles that distracted me more. I found a Black Oil beetle, a couple of them actually. I had seen them on creepy crawly facebook groups but never seen one face to face. They are gentle and slow and like articulated lorries. With a purple satin sheen, and not worried about going on my hand for a photo. I was also interacting with the tiger beetles and I think it was while chatting to them I came across the second PBF of the day. I had almost resigned myself to not seeing anymore when one turned up and I put my stealthy stalkers cap back on and followed it for as many photos as I could. It was less sunny now and activity levels had reduced from frantic to merely busy. Not even double-busy!

black oil beetle

a perfect specimen!

Over the folowing few days, 2 butterflying friends visited the area and found a similar lack of PBFs. They photographed either just one or two in the area around the pylons. When looking at their pictures and the distinctive markings, it turns out they both photographed this particular specimen. 

handy tiger beetle

second pylon - stony path on right excellent for tiger beetles

another oil beetle

In previous trips I have given myself the challenge of staying later than wise at the final site and then belting along the road to the station - often to find the train delayed. On this occasion I must have been feeling tired or lazy and sauntered back in plenty time. I stopped off at the small riverside cafe next to the ducks and boats, and bought a couple of overpriced bottles of water. It was very delicious having run out of drink many miles back. It is enjoyable to anticipate the thirst quenching properties of a cold drink for a while before getting your hands on it. It elevates a drink for being something you take for granted into a lifesaving elixir and makes you glad to be alive. 

Another year and another Pitlochry. Next year: try and hang back and see if there are more than just 2 butterflies in the county. 

traditional photo from Clunie Footbridge
looking upstream

18 miler