best part of the day: life in the cemetery

As we approach the end of the butterfly season I thought I'd post a few photos and updates from Warriston cemetery. It has been busier this year with more species and specimens than since lockdown when I first started going there regularly.

First up the commas near the War Memorial. There were 2 commas appeared and were regularly seen near the In Loving mosaic. They first appeared in the second week in July and were seen there on any sunny days from then until mid-August. Usually there was only one at a time although there was a day when both were sitting near each other. The 2 photos below show the deterioration over 4 weeks. (Loss of half an antennae etc.) The flowers in their area bloomed and died so they might just have moved to another location. Or they might have died, or gone into hibernation. Commas are one of a handful of species that can overwinter. I have been keeping an eye out for them and will anticipate their possible return next March/April. The 2 photos below are not the same specimen.

before (first seen about July 10th)

after (last seen about mid August)

Next up Starvin' Marvin. There is an 1859 (birdfeeding) gravestone along the riverside area where a mouse was seen by myself ages ago. (First appeance April 2022!) Unda and Andrew adopted and named Marvin and have had far more success luring him(/her) out with a cunning use of high quality mixed nuts. Maybe they tend to go later in the day, or just have more belief in his appearance. It is difficult to know the exact recipe that produces best results. I occasionally put out food where he could get it but rarely have the patience to wait, or occasionally wait or return but without much success.

The chance it is the same mouse on every trip since last April is slim as they rarely live more than a year. Although an unspecified gender lived 6 years 4 months in a German University. Tricky to discern the gender apparently. Anyway a few weeks back we bumped into A&U and they lured Marvin out as if it was no more than a card trick. The light was beginning to fade and we weren't being particularly quiet but sure enough Marvin appeared. Or at least a mouse appeared. Andrew felt it wasn't Marvin as he (Marvin) sat still and consumed as much as possible, whereas this specimen tended to grab an item and make a run for it. Whatever the identity it was a real treat to catch a brief glimpse of this lovely wee critter who posed just long enough for a photo before dashing off with our hearts!

wood mouse

Next: the buddleias at the butterfly bridge. Lots of admiral action where the footbridge goes over the cyclepath near the crematorium. We now go past every trip although there are only so many photos of admirals on buddleia a person can take. Or are there? Soon the buddleias will finish flowering and the Summer will end and we will mourn for the days when there was a glut of Red Buddleias. (Budd Redmirals?) It has been a bumper Summer for red admirals, they are just everywhere - and I seem to remember a complete dearth of them for the first 7 months of the year.

Weirdly the cemetery has been less well stocked with admirals of late. There are a couple of buddleias in Warriston (a clump above the crypts had 4 or 5 RAs last trip) but they have not attracted any quantity of butterfly action. There was an inundation of admirals around July. They hung around for a bit (sitting on hands etc!) then like a whistle blowing, were gone. Recently a few have appeared again, the late Summer variety, like all the ones appearing on buddleias, and presumably they will go into hibernation come the first cold weather. Another overwintering species.

The lack of other birds to feed means the crows and magpies are getting the benefit. The crows will follow us around until I put some peanuts on a gravestone. They will chase the magpies who hang back hoping for leftovers. The crows will eat a bit then fill their beaks and crops with the remainder which they will conceal yards away often burying a peanut and covering it with a bit of grass or somesuch. In a hundred years the place will be full of peanut trees (and walnut trees from Andrew's contributions.)

a good year for speckled woods

son of Hitler

We recently bumped into a robin in the secret garden. We haven't been visiting that area often as it is dark in the summer with all the foliage from trees blocking the sunlight. And the brick towers (bird feeders) have been moved to less good areas for photos. And much of the ivy has been cut away. And the birds require less attention during the Summer.

However it was a pleasure to bump into this robin there. He didn't seem to be either of the pair that lived there last Winter but was very interested to come over for a chat. We reckoned he might be an offspring of Hitler robin, the fascist creature who spent a couple of seasons causing havoc at the feeding tables. He seemed to be out the same fearless mould and I suspect will be handfeeding before the year is out if he remains here. I have been looking for a new area to establish a feeding station in Warriston, and once the weather deteriorates will experiment hanging out feeders.

more interested in company than peanuts

last of the holly blues

Holly Blues were the big story in Warriston this year. They have 2 broods per year; one in Spring then one late July. Since I started going to Warriston in lockdown I have been looking out for them as there is scarcely a place in Edinburgh with more holly and ivy. The first couple of years nothing, not even a distant 'maybe'. Then Spring 2023 and Mary spotted one, and a week or 2 later we got photos. Not regular visits, but more like a prospecting outlier or 2, checking the place out. Or so it seemed. Much more must hae been going on behind the scenes because in July and early August we were seeing them every trip, and not just in one spot; they seemed to be based round several trees at various sites across the cemetery. Such good news!

There seems to have been a huge expansion of the species this year with loads of reports of first time sightings in peoples' gardens etc. We saw one blowing through Iona St, a non-leafy suburb of Leith where we live. It would seem they are going for world dominance this year and moved their most Northerly sighting from South of the Tay to North of the Tay and recently even Aberdeen. It is impressive and heartening in these times when wildlife doom and gloom is so much more the trend. I think people are reluctant to applaud anything positive that is driven by global warming. I am delighted to have 3 new species of dragonfly locally on account of it, and the likes of Holly Blues, White-letter Hairstreaks, Brimstones, and Large Skippers all moving North through/into Scotland. We may even get more fritillaries! And sunnier Summers? Bring it on.