best part of the day: postman's not delivering

06-04-25 Mary drove us to Postman's Walk, Aberlady. We were a bit late in setting off today although it paid off taking our time to get there as the weather stayed sunny all afternoon and more and more butterflies appeared as we walked field perimeters looking for them.

It was no surprise to See Richard and Linsey at the far end of the field when we arrived. The main target today was Holly Blues and that corner is about the best place to see them. We arrived just after midday and R&L had arrived a bit earlier and were on their way back to their car when we met them. We weren't surprised to hear they'd seen no HBs and precious little else. While chatting a small tort appeared, although we had seen next to nothing on the way to that point. It began to feel like a wasted journey.

This was the first we had seen of Richard since his ebike got stolen and we heard the whole sorry story and commiserated. It was properly bad luck and just really unfortunate timing rather than careless behaviour. That said, living in Leith I am very aware of my bike being left anywhere and err on the side of exteme caution and paranoia. We bring our bikes up 3 floors to live in our small flat and whenever I leave it outside (as rarely as possible) I chain it up with a U-lock and wire through the wheels. When I leave it at Bonaly I hide it in the bushes, not trusting the metal hoops in the car park designed for leaving bikes. Because the neds have battery powered grinders and if they can't see your bike then they are less likely to steal bits off it, or the whole thing. Also we should bring back capital punishment for bike theft as clearly whatever is in place currently is doing less than zero to dissuade the bike theft industry.

Richard and Linsey leaving.

It was warming up nicely and the wind was in a propitious direction for Holly Blues to appear in the wind-shaded corner of the field. We walked back and forth with not a single blue flutter. Mary suggested we pass the time waiting for them to arrive (for surely it was only a matter of time?) in the next field along. We could check out the area around the abbey ruins for speckleds and the next field had a good corner full of coltsfoot.

just a bee-fly on the celandine near the abbey

Coltsfoot looks very similar to dandelions. It attracts butterflies as do dandelions, but it has a very different stem and does not produce leaves till after it flowers. There was a very nervous peacock going between flowers, almost too flighty to get photos. However there were also a few other butterflies along the field perimeter just this side of the wall. We have walked the path on the other side of the wall many times but due to it being in shade and the field side being in full sun we ended up walking the field perimeter chasing many butterflies - mostly commas and peacocks but with a couple of small torts thrown in too. It was partial compensation for the lack of holly blues.

small tort

I was a bit concerned about the farmer who was spraying his crops in the field around which we walked. I did NOT want to annoy him with our presence. As he approached our side of the field we both stepped back to allow him to spray right to the edge of the field without his extended sprays going anywhere near us. I gave him a wave and he gave us a wave and thumbs up which I was very pleased about. Given we are dicking about looking for butterflies and he is doing a job of work (and probably owns the land) I would hate to irritate him. Or have him come over and tell us to f--- off. It was good news to get this tacit approval and I felt we had been given permission to continue. It turned out to be a rich source of butterflies all the way to the other side of the field. Especially where brambles and primroses lined the thin path.

looking back at the Luffness water tower

At the far end of the field we went back onto the path that skirts Luffness House and followed the path through the trees and down a broad grassy walk. Later in the year this area is great for large whites and birds, often sat in the chopped twigs and sticks piled into a bonfire area on the perimeter of the mansion house grounds. We saw several whites and quite a few commas who didn't always sit still for a photo. However there was enough butterfly action to keep us hooked and we took our time looking for specimens. It was really enjoyable walking about in weather warm enough to not require hats and gloves.

nearly pristine green-veined white

quite a few commas about - fewer holding still for a photo

Without warning Mary was running along the path. She had taken off her backpack and was trying out her legs. She has had an unexplained swelling above first one knee (and later both) and so has dialled back the running, hoping it will sort itself out and she can start running again. So far, not great. It doesn't hurt too much to run but it is stiff to stretch out her legs and there has to be something going wrong to produce the fluid just above her knees. It is really frustrating given she worked so hard to get back into running. As a result I am doing less too. Which is more about laziness and a preference for photo trips over running outings.

periwinkle

Nice to see several deer in pairs in the large field of crops. They had seen us but as we were slow moving they were more concerned about a couple of blokes at the other end. When they started running towards the trees they came almost directly towards us, which was fun, before bounding at great speed over the wall and into the woods surrounding Luffness House.

commas

another pair of deer appeared shortly after the first pair

mid-air bee-fly pretending to be a hoverfly

Mary spotted this hare
I should have video-ed it making for the rough ahead of the crop-spraying tractor

peacocks jousting

the business end of the crop spraying

We returned to Postman's Walk and I stopped (near the abbey ruins) to photograph a comma on the lesser celandine. It was so busy nectaring it didn't mind me kneeling down a couple of metres away and taking loads of photos and video. It looked like it might be a female (bodyshape and smoother wing shape) and was in great condition. I spent quite a while holding the camera down low and framing it by looking at the flipped out screen rather than at eye level and looking through the EVF as normal. This not only catches other flowers in the background but gives more of a butterfly's perspective. Shame about the background noise of revving engines on the Aberlady to Gullane road nearby. It was an otherwise idyllic few moments.

comma video click twice

another bee-fly

chiffchaff

Meanwhile back on the hunt for those sadly absent Holly Blues and there were more insects turning up to photograph, though no sign of anything blue. I was surprised as it was ideal conditions and they had already shown up in Fife and places colder and further North. What was their flippin problem? Mary called time of death towards 3pm and I did one last sweep of the place, reluctant to admit they were a no-show today. She got most of the way back to the car before I too threw in the towel and headed West, jogging to catch her up. Curse those frustrating blues.

yellow dung fly

7-spot ladyird

hover, possibly Eristalis pertinax again
but if not, then something very similar

the immortal peacock that sits here all Summer
year after year

good to see at least one orange tip

The orange tip looked annoyed there was no garlic mustard in flower as yet. There are often a few plants flowering near the corner of the field on which they perch, lay eggs and nectar. Too early just yet although the greenery is showing. It had to settle for perching on a nettle sans flowers. A poor substitute. I got a couple of photos before it took to the air to chase what might have been a small white or GVW. I tried to catch the confrontation and managed to rack up another couple of photos for the Orange-tip Challenge of worst OT photos.

Mary nearly back to the car before I threw in the towel

last small tort

Although we'd had a very enjoyable walk and taken loads of photos I asked if we could check out the nearby Luffness Quarry for a potentially massively early appearance of small coppers. To my surprise Mary was fine about this but the only thing of note we saw was a young doe trying to ignore passing golfers. I tried to get fairly close without spooking it and managed to get relatively near before it saw me, had a good long look, then decided to leave the area at speed. No butterflies at all at the quarry, possibly the result of an unusual wind direction: it felt cold and drafty. We retreated. Despite lack of HBs it was a really a rather enjoyable day out. And nice to drive there and back (thanks Mary) rather than cycle like last time.