warriston wanderers

Four visits to Warriston Cemetery. Much the same each visit with the focus on commas, admirals and wrens. First batch of photos were taken on 8th July. 

The old bowling greens near MacDonald Rd. The land has been left to grow without any maintenance. Interesting to note the decline and improvement. People walked their dogs there for a while until the developer put high fences round it. I am unsure what purpose the TV aerial serves. Rewilding (at least until blocks of student flats appear.)

buddleias near the Water of Leith

older comma

newer comma

Recently, if the sun has been out, there's a 90% chance of seeing one of two commas that hang about between the war memorial and the tunnel at Warriston. When they first appeared they were a tremendous vibrant orange that made them stand out against the green foliage they would sit on. I knew there were 2 because they had slightly different white markings underneath. I never saw them together (until....) although one might noise up the other and they would fly off together, before one returned to its perch. This year has been great for commas - never had so many appear in Warriston.

Another thing that has flourished is wrens. Loads of them peeping away, establishing territories and shouting about how they are the new kid on the block and everyone should watch their step. Not really a song. A couple of youngsters have been letting me get quite close while they convey their fearsome threats. There is a video at the bottom of the page.

Early July a good load of admirals appeared. I'm glad to see they found the place suitable and have stayed on, hopefully mating and laying eggs for the next generation. There are several areas I can usually find them - sunbathing on nettles and bramble leaves. If you don't spot them and get too close they take off and swoop round your head before landing again. If you hold out your hand (preferably in the sun) they sometimes land on it. Sometimes they immediately take off again as if they landed on something sizzling hot. Sometimes you can feel them land on your head and hear the swoosh of their papery wings as they skim past your ear. And sometimes they sit on your hand and look you in the eye, and it is disconcerting, because you can only wonder what they are thinking about or whether they even do any thinking. It happens regularly enough to remind us of the robins in Winter who will land on a hand to take food. And not so often to be commonplace; it is always thrilling!

I was surprised to see this emerald damselfly. First ever sighting in the cemetery. Not sure where it will have come from - presumably a local garden pond as I think the Water of Leith is too fast moving. I have seen other damselflies (common blues I think) and wondered similar thoughts about their origins. I also saw Alan post a photo of a common darter which presumably came from the same pond. And I managed to see one very next trip. So there are probably a few about. 

soldier beetles

small white

wren still managing to peep
despite a beakful of what might be woodlice (see video)

On the way home we saw the goosander chicks who had grown large and fast enough to avoid being heron-fodder. I think there were 7 or more of the original 8 or 9, so quite a good amount surviving. They were now able to scoot along the water using legs as outboard motors and going super-fast.

mother goosander

13th July

Next visit and when I checked the comma hang out I found the common darter sharing a gravestone with the comma. I tried to photograph both without disturbing either but the dragonfly flew off and didn't return. The comma also did a couple of loops then sat on my fingers briefly. There was a red admiral near the O Section where we had seen others recently and it also landed on my offered hand.

that wren again
(or another exactly the same!)

crow and wren

So I was near the O Section and trying to get close to the wren. I was having some success but then the crow came over and sat on the very next gravestone along. The wren wasn't best pleased and after a short and loud protest jumped down into the undergrowth. The crow had come over because she knows I have peanuts in my pack, and if she can make me laugh I will give her some. I have been feeding it more recently because I feel sorry for her. She has this dipshit offspring that follows her about like a millstone and caws in her face until she flies off or provides some food. I see a long patient but rather miserable look in her eyes. Often she will choose a pointy obelisk on which to perch just so she can get at least a small distance away from this young teenager. He (I'm presuming a he) still has a few brown feathers and fluffy baby feathers under his wings. And makes a terrible noise all the time. She has her work cut out. Somewhere in the mid-distance is a male parent but he finds it all a bit stressful and doesn't even bother much with the free peanuts.

15th July

Just before I left for the cemetery on the 15th I was eating a banana. I had an idea and instead of throwing out the skin I put some honey (slightly diluted with water) on the inside of the peel. I wondered if the butterflies would be drawn to the sweetened banana skin. Almost as soon as this experiment got underway I began to regret it. I had taken some wet wipes and freezer bags but even so, holding a very sticky banana skin in one hand while holding a camera in the other and trying to keep the two at arms length... it was all a bit unnecessarily complicated. 

I wafted the abomination in the area where the comma flies. To my surprise it landed (above) near the skin but also kept its back to the sticky mess and gave me a long hard look as if to say, I know we've had bananas in this country a long time but it's an invasive species and I have no interest in getting that sticky shit all over my finely tuned legs, antennae and proboscis. Somehow it was using a Vulcan mind meld technique on me, and I felt a little ashamed I had even thought it was a good idea. 

It stayed just long enough to convey this message then flew back to its leaf. I mentally apologised and disposed of the banana peel somewhere it would quietly rot and maybe benefit a few local flies and foxes - for they are not as fussy. I wiped my hands clean with the wipes and binned all the rest of it in the freezer bag and carried on as if nothing had happened.

small skipper

Small skippers are also having a tremendous year. I think this is their first year in Warriston and no doubt many new green spaces around the Lothians.

large white

I think it may be saying to Mary
"don't bring the idiot with you next time"

there is far too much foliage in the trees
to get a decent shot of the sparrowhawk these days

new speckleds

17th July

One day ends with a small white and another starts with the same. They are often flying around the crypts and have had such a well fed caterpillar life that they are large for small whites. Usually if I am in doubt as to them being large whites or small whites (having judged them by size and unable to see their upper wing tips up close) they will be smalls. Not as many large whites about this year, and they often fly past without stopping for a photo. 

Now this wren was chief security by the secret garden. Initially a bit shy, but after he realised I was prepared to stand quietly without rushing over, he let me stand taking photos and video just a couple of metres away. He appeared to either be moulting or have lost the feathers from the tops of his legs and underneath his body. But read the entire riot act anyway, in case I was interested. (Video at bottom of page.)

I was about to go home but gave myself another 10mins to check some known hideouts and do a quick once round the troops before I left. I was greatly excited to find not one comma, but 2 near the "In Loving" mosaic. They looked like they might be brothers, although one was wearing better than the other - isn't that often the way? So commas tend to go ape on the appearance of a second comma. I had witnessed these 2 doing their fly-round-in-spirals-climbing-into-the-trees malarky, but here they were sat near each other having a lovely chat. Maybe they had exhausted themselves doing circles already?

I held my breath and applied max ninja techniques to approach smoothly without actually raising my feet off the ground. One flew off and I was gutted. But then it flew round and landed near the other, but on the ground. I was in place by now and took shots from different angles to get them in the same shot. One flew off again. Curses! I was wiping away the tears when it landed on THE SAME LEAF! I nearly shat! No I didn't, but you get the idea. I think they must have been swapping notes on where all the absent female commas were hanging out. 'Over at the O Section I think although she never returned'.

this never happens!

I think this was the day that Mary called and said she was heading over. So I stayed a bit longer and we found some red admiral activity near the O Section. Then while there what I think was a female comma landed in the sunlight, near to the admiral. It was a top notch specimen and I was very excited. Unfortunately it was very nervous and I had to run through acres of nettles following it as it made to escape our attentions. Although I caught up with it eventually, she closed her wings and stood exactly in line with the sun to minimise her shadow and ruin my photos. I got a few photos but she had flown off before I got photos worthy of her great beauty. Ah well at least I got a few shots. To help cheer me up an admiral landed on my outstretched hand. And it did! 

a scorcher!

ahh that's better - a friendly handshake

wrens around warriston