in search of purple hairstreaks

 

Back in 2017 Mary and I cycled to Woodhall Dean. (Blog here.) I think it was the first time I'd ever been there and we really enjoyed the place - a secluded valley 5 miles inland from Dunbar with a stream at the bottom of a tree lined gorge which rises up until it flattens out into farmland. A 2.6 mile circuit of steep single track goes up one side and back the other. On that occasion we were hunting snakes and purple hairstreaks - a near mythical butterfly Mary had noticed on the butterfly chart but which neither of us ever expected to see. Mainly because it lurked in oak tree canopies and rarely showed itself. On that occasion we saw neither snakes nor butterflies but enjoyed the walk around the woods as it is really very beautiful. We finished that trip cycling back to Dunbar and catching the train home.

Cut to July 21st 2023 Mary (still unable to run) is determined not to turn into a couch potato so has been cycling a bit more and is up for a trip that promises 40+ miles. Her enthusiasm for mythical butterflies is lower than mine but knows Woodhall Dean is not the worst venue to stand around in, not finding them. In the interim Geoff and his wife have been tracking down purple hairstreaks and logging the places they've been turning up. Woodhall Dean has been mentioned as a prime spot, due to the steep path rising to put the intrepid hunter nearer the canopy of likely oaks and not just standing at their bases looking ever upward. (The very reason I thought it might be a good location in 2017.) I had even taken a photo Geoff had provided of his favourite tree. It wouldn't be the first time I'd arrived at a site and it looking entirely different from what you expect, and you are left wandering about wishing you'd paid more attention in class. I had the photo on my phone and had committed it to memory, and sent it to Mary and told her to commit too. She wasn't entirely convinced.

In all honesty I was nearly a bit hacked off that a notion I'd had about finding purple hairstreaks, 6 years ago was acted upon more successfully by Geoff and wife, and that the accompanying glory and photos were all his when they could have been mine! In reality of course Geoff and wife had put in the groundwork there, (and in a number of other places), while I hadn't. He had gone and stood under many oaks on fruitless evenings (where PHs are seen) while I had said "there'll probably be purple hairstreaks there!" and left any further research to the I'll be over here watching TV team. A shiftless bunch if ever there was. And the entirety of the glory is about 7 butterfly enthusiasts on facebook ticking a like and saying well done Geoff and wife. But it still wrankles. 😆

Meanwhile, what a day for a cycle. As we got out of Edinburgh the skies cleared except for fluffy white clouds flossing across a blue sky. First stop was at Haddington, about 20 miles into the 33. A lifetime ago we used to frequent Falko's the German bakery in Gullane. Then it moved to Haddington, cheese tongues and all. Couldn't cycle through Haddington without a quick scone and coffee. A pleasant enough stop and seat in the sun but not as groundbreaking as it used to be back in Gullane before going a run.

33miles Leith via Haddington to Woodhall Dean

The coffee must have worked its magic as everything was now terrific and many memories of the Haddington Half marathon were brought up and chewed over. No idea how many times I ran this but for a few years it was a staple on the running calendar. It was usually the first week in August and at 2pm to make sure the day was nice and hot before we even started running. One year the roadside water, sitting in the sun, was as hot as bath water and of debatable value.

up past Traprain Law

kestrels most likely

Now here's an odd thing. Somewhere after Traprain Law in the middle of nowhere we cross a junction. I am looking at the Suunto to check whether it's straight on or turn right so don't take much notice of a young girl on a bike without a helmet, coming in the opposite direction, towards us, on her own. We notice she doesn't have a helmet on because of her hair. It is long and dark, hanging down straight and one section has be been bleached and then dyed, wait for it, purple. A purple hairstreak. Too late for a photo now and I'm not chasing her along the road to see if she was for real, or a comedy glitch in the matrix.

Last time we cycled to Woodhall Dean we went into Dunbar then turned right. I had noticed there was a more direct line so put the start and end points into the Suunto route finder and put the route it chose into my watch, to follow like a sat-nav. I forgot it occasionally chooses weird small lanes and backroads rather than tarmacked B roads. Not long after Traprain Law it sent us round some dirt trails and field perimeters. Mary was not keen as her knee plays up on lumpy off-road more than tarmac, and we had quite a long day ahead. We were about a mile on when it got much worse and we couldn't tell how much there was and just how much worse it was going to get. It got pretty bad (off and pushing up a steep ascent) but we had come so far that all we could do was continue at snail pace and hope we would get back onto the small B roads again soon.

If you were running on foot it might have been a charming diversion on secret tracks, but on bikes it slowed us right down and by the time we climbed a rocky dirt trail you might worry taking a landrover up, and had to duck under a burst watering pump that sprayed water all over us (with no way round but to take a shower) Mary was incandescent and I was in the dog house. I hurried ahead and was much relieved when the road appeared again. Much grovelling and apologies ensued. And blaming Mr. Suunto.

field perimeter tracks

best butterfly of the day no consolation

there was also this ford but we went over the bridge and kept our feet dry

Finally we got to Spott. We knew from last time, there is a hill up from Spott - known locally as Starvation Brae, that is properly steep and goes on much longer than you think it possibly could. However this was a known obstacle and we treated it as a challenge and trial rather than an annoyance. We were both breathing heavily by the top but all the training Mary has been doing made it much easier for her and there was no complaining. At the top there was some whooping and punching the air. Much chat of Poggychub and Vinegaar and kings of the mountain.

we met an older couple of bikers coming down 

who said some encouraging things

nearly there!

job done!

so about 33 miles cycled to this point
let's get those butterflies!

new sign - same old lies
no snakes (well one, in about a dozen visits)

Within a very short time we reached the trees Geoff had described. It was about 3pm and technically a bit on the early side for Purple Hairstreaks who are most active about 5~7pm allegedly. Which is crazy for any butterfly in Scotland. I mean if it's sunny would you really hang about until 5pm and risk losing the only sunshine of the day? Anyway we quickly established there were individuals flying around the tree tops here. And if I don't sound overwhelmed and excited by this it's because they were still quite a distance from us and even on full zoom were at best, indistinct. Possibly 5 meters or 15~20 feet away. At the nearest. And more grey/brown than bright purple. It is a while since I had a lifetime first sighting of a Scottish Butterfly (actually just last year - Marsh Fritillary.) So I should have been more thrilled but it wasn't really that thrilling, even though I was hopped up on coffee. I think the realisation was that the first photos were not going to be much improved upon no matter how long we hung out there. 

right in the middle - look closer

A dude appeared. He noticed we were pointing cameras into the bushes while wearing running kit and as we were chatting asked were we the Best Part of the Day. Fame at last! This does not happen as often as you might imagine. (Never happens.) Rob lives in the cross-over of running and insects and there is probably only about 10 or 12 of us in that section of the Venn Diagram. In fact I have probably lost most of my running followers by posting about wildlife, and the wildlifers probably have me down as a lunatic fitness freak. I was pleased to meet another of the clan. He said he had Best Part of the Day in his RSS feed. I later looked up RSS feed on google. Mary said quick - take his picture so he can appear eventually in your blog. (Anyone else want that kind of stardom, glamour and exposure, get in line!)

I asked Rob what he caught in his net and the answer was stuff you shake off the vegetation. Small bugs and weevils. He spoke about university and it sounded like the opposite of I photograph butterflies and dragonflies because they are pretty! I asked had he seen any dragonflies and he said he didn't really involve himself with the charismatic insects. I don't know if that is a technical term in Serious Insect Nerd World or a polite way of saying those obvious large mainstream things that look all fancy, I don't bother with them. We did our own things for a while then met again a bit later as we left, we asked to see the contents of his net. If you got chased through the bushes trying to escape a bear, then later, after telling your friends the story, you'd take off your t-shirt, and what you'd find inside would be similar to Rob's net. Each to their own and thanks for reading Rob, here's your picture, I hope you had a good day!

Rob - insects, but not charismatic ones.

Woodhall Dean is absolutely full of oak trees. Many have their canopies right near the trail due to the steep sides of the gorge. However it is impossible to wait long enough watching at each one, to see if it will reveal its treasures. Mary was being fairly patient but I knew I couldn't wait next to each tree, to see if anything fluttered. The first place had looked inauspicious but turned out to have a decent number of residents if you hung about looking upwards. In fact all of the surrounding trees eventually revealed they had hairstreak occupants. However I felt I best catch up with Mary before she went a different way or we got split up. 

In past trips to Woodhall Dean I have heard birds and seen stuff scamper off but never got much in the way of photos of butterflies. Or much else apart from scenery. It does not give away its secrets lightly. We came to a massive oak at the far end of the wood and I stood for a while admiring and trying to discern all the stuff going on about it. There were a couple of red admirals, a few whites and eventually I saw a hairstreak twitch. By this time Mary had continued on and I felt I best catch up again. In fact she was having an enjoyable time going at her own pace but I was worried she might be ready to get going on the bikes soon and I wanted to spend a little longer looking for PHs. 

large oak at the far end

2.66 miles round the woods

annoyed I only got .75 of a pic of this beauty

distant PH

photo of the day?
Parent shieldbug and offspring

Photo of the day is likely this one Mary took while having much more fun outwith my company. She likes to get stuff I haven't noticed and then surprise me later with it. When I saw it later I remarked on the baby Parent Shieldbugs and it turns out she hadn't seen them until then.

Mary, ahead, noticed this large oak (on map above as Large Oaks) also had hairstreaks. Although one would come as low as 20 feet they generally stayed higher. While it was great to see the whole wood might be fairly full of this rare butterfly, it was also frustrating not to get in for a close up. It was like trying to enjoy a Barbecue happening 2 gardens down. 

And they were flying back and forwards between that one and this one.

No need to tell Mary that, thanks!

Happily the going is steep, not scrambly. At no point will you feel the need to rope up or put on a helmet. I managed to not stay fishing for hairstreaks at any of the points we saw them round the trails. I asked if it was okay to spend a little longer at the first spot. I was fairly sure Geoff had found the best spot and hoped maybe we'd get lucky with one accidentally falling out the tree and landing near us.

We returned, and right enough it seemed a bit busier with the butterflies almost constantly rising from their leaves to joust with other passing hairstreaks before settling on the same or nearby leaf. Thank you Geoff and wife, for doing the groundwork and sharing the info with us! There was no shortage of insects to point a camera at but the results were largely record shot quality and nothing more. They kept their distance. We spent maybe an hour from 5~6pm there. Mary was as keen as I was and the feeling was any moment now one will land a bit nearer and we'll get THE shot of the day. It didn't happen. 

2 in same photo

Not only that but they didn't seem in very tiptop condition despite them only recently emerging. (Or being seen to have emerged. They were kind of dull and grey brown, not iridescent purple.) Also I missed a few of the best moments - a train of 4 or 5 or 6 PHs all chasing each other against the sky. Nope, no photo. Two sitting right beside each other, nope missed the photo! One swoops down and over our heads but doesn't land before ascending to the trees again. Camera wasn't even on.

We left, glad to have seen this butterfly for the first time. And six years later, the project complete! And yet? Not a satisfactory conclusion. Compare it with say Scotch Argus. Never seen one in my puff till Iain gives me directions to the rickety fence. I go there and find them and although they can be very tricky fuckers to get a decent photo of I have been warned of this and most years manage a decent close up of this very handsome specimen. I feel the purple hairstreaks have so far failed to meet expectations and I really didn't have many to start with. So a mix of success and failure.

I'm glad that they are there, but I won't be hurrying back for round 2. And I suspect I know why they aren't tracked down more often, or seen more regularly on the photo pages of those who chase butterflies. That said, I had written off their actions as unfriendly and non-interactive. Clearly not 100% of the time. Simon over in Fife and Kinross, who has been known to carry a pair of step ladders into the woods (I shit you not) had a PH on his finger. I don't know how, and possibly he does not know either but is sticking to his tale of oak-cask conditioned whisky no matter how flimsy that sounds. Anyway, had one on his finger. However, all things being equal, I will be returning to the rickety fence, whereas it could be some time before I return to Woodhall Dean, although it is a cracking place for a wander, once you get your breath back from cycling up Starvation Brae!

that hill easier on the way home

18miles to North Berwick

That 18 miles felt really quite long. It WAS quite long (50+miles total for the day) and the excitements of the day were behind us. Top marks to Mary for choosing NB over Dunbar as station of choice. Last time we were also tired and Mary said Dunbar was the only option. This time she was happy to get back on the bikes (all that training giving her endurance) and we slogged it out to NB in light drizzle and spots of rain, arriving there at around 8pm. There was a nice warm train at 8.17 to take us home. Which was good as the rain had just started in earnest as we arrived at the station. A rewarding day out (a good cycle and homemade sandwiches!) and another Scottish butterfly ticked off.