best part of the day: wheatear

06-09-23 I remember being particularly grumpy on the 6th. I reluctantly followed Mary up to Holyrood and up Arthur's Seat but almost nothing could lift the gloomy mood I was in. Mainly on account of the Summer drawing to a close and the approaching dark days and shitty weather of Winter. We don't as yet have any holidays booked and it sometimes feels in my more dramatic moments like life isn't worth living. Brace yourself for 4 or 5 months of crap. That sort of bone deep pessimism.

When we got to the top of Crow Hill - the secondary summit of Arthur's Seat - I was looking out for Red Admirals and Painted Ladies. There weren't any about but there was a wheatear. They are a pretty little bird just a tad larger than a robin but with lovely markings. I had seen and photographed one back in late March 2022 when they would have just returned from overwintering in Africa. There's a fair chance it might be the same one.

wheatear on summit rocks of Crow Hill

I was very pleased. They rarely appear on demand but really brighten up a day when they do. Not only do they look great but they don't skedaddle at the first sign of humans. They will hop or fly to another rock but won't leave the area entirely and also, like stonechats, tend to perch up high where you can see them and get a decent photo. An ideal subject!

Although I got a few record shots whenever I moved closer the wheatear moved too. I managed to follow his first few flights but then he went over the brow of the hill and I thought that was it. We hunted around for butterflies but there seemed to be none about, apart from a pair of faded walls. Mary said she was heading down and I said I'd take another turn around the hilltop and then follow down after her. She has to go carefully on steeper descents to protect her dodgy knee, whereas I can gallop down at full speed and catch up easily.

I went round the hill once more but there was nothing other than a stray tourist. I began down the path following Mary's route but when I looked back up the hill I could see the distant wheatear smirking against the skyline high up on a rocky ridge. Dammit. Cheeky wee buggar! I mentally tossed a coin and then chugged back up the nearly vertical turf towards the area the bird was sitting. I stayed 25 yards distant and took a couple of photos of it at full zoom, on a stone between the heather, admiring the way its colourings fit in with the heather, rocks and brown turf. I gained a little more height and then tried to approach. Very stealthily.

It could see me clearly and just at the point I was getting to within decent photo range it hopped into the air and flew North. But then landed on a rock 20 yards away. I climbed a little higher and used a ridge of rock as a blind between us. I crept up to the rock and holding my breath looked over. It was sat maybe 5 yards away. I ducked back behind the rock, readied my camera, doubting my luck would hold - the sun was behind me lighting the photo perfectly and there was nothing immediately behind the bird making a large blurred out area to frame the picture. Perfect, if it only sits there for a few seconds.

I slowly put my head above the rock and immediately took loads of photos quickly. (I should probably have set the camera to burst mode but the hassle of examining 95 nearly identical photos and deleting 94 is too wearying.) I shot 18 frames in exactly 30 seconds with 3 of them featuring the bird looking directly at me. It mostly looked to the front but for three of those 30 seconds it turned round this way, then that, to see if I was keeping my distance. I was. And I was inwardly cheering at what looked to be the best ever wheatear photos! All thoughts of a dark depression wiped from my mind!

these 2 shots and the one at the top made my day

(well over 100 likes on Lothian Birdwatch fb page!)

Mary was down at the road by Dunsapie by the time I bounced down the hill and caught up. I showed her a close up of the wheatear and she whooped out loud. We were crossing the field towards the Duddingstone steps and a family of pheasants minus the adult male clattered about in the undergrowth. I was feeling elated so got out a bag of peanuts and coaxed one of the juveniles back for a couple of photos. It obliged and was happy to come over to within a yard or 2, not sure if it wanted to be my best friend or run away at top speed. We took some photos and left them to regroup.

We had taken the keys to Bawsinch, so exited Holyrood at Duddingston and walked through the village. We opted for a quick circuit of Dr. Neil's Garden which is always beautifully planted and laid out and also had an exhibition of paintings in Thomson's Tower. It was all worth a look. Mary refused to go into the exhibition as she doesn't like to engage with artists in a confined space without buying art she might feel equivocal about later. As it was, there were no artists present and no art was obliged to be purchased. I quite liked some of the paintings. I have enjoyed a couple of exhibitions there recently and they have both been modest in price and pretension. Thumbs up and recommended!

From there we went along to Bawsinch. I expected there wouldn't be much in the way of dragonflies and butterflies and that was about the score. It is a delightful and relaxing space in which to wander but both of us were beginning to discuss lunch with growing enthusiasm and we didn't hang around much beyond a quick hike to the bird hide at the far end and back. Mary was likening the greatly overgrown greenery to South American jungles. It amost felt that humid.