long-goss-aber-gull

 

8th July. Another great weather day and that seemed a good reason to run/walk from Longniddry to Gullane via Gosford and Aberlady. I got off the NB train at 11am and headed into the hottest part of the day. Rather than run through Gosford through the large arch near Longniddry Station I headed to the coast. I had found from previous trips, there was not much in the grounds of Gosford before the large house and ponds, so I ran along the coast to start with, only heading into Gosford at their farm shop entrance.

sitting on the fence re the hot weather

Edinburgh along the Forth

lots of small skippers all day

GVWs were out in force too

I chased this Large White quite some distance till it eventually landed on ragwort.
A couple of pics and it was off. 

One of the prime targets today were female common blues. I had failed to see any so far this year, so targetted places most likely. There was a spot just after Bents car park number 3 where 2 or 3 males had been flying earlier and I felt was worth a bit of a search. After a bit of a walk around, something grey-brown-purple flew up and it took a moment to realise it was a female common blue. Okay, it was a start but not a very interesting specimen. In fact a very standard issue fcb. Of course there's no such thing but the most interesting ones have far more blue and more pronounced/unusual markings, so while I felt it got the day off to a good start, I was hoping for more spectacle than this. I took plenty photos in case it was the only one of the day / week / year.

still very pretty though!

gvw frozen in flight

Another thing I was aiming for, when feasible, was shots of butterflies taking off. Using pre-burst mode all you have to do is keep the camera focussed on a lively unit with the shutter release half-down, then when it takes off press the button fully down and (sometimes) it takes a series of photos going from stationery to flying off. There is a deal of chance and luck and hope and pray, but the upside is an occasional shot of a butterfly frozen in flight that you'd normally only get as a happy accident when it took off immediately before you took the shot. The downside is having to take maybe 20+ shots to get one decent photo which fills up the SD card and then the computer. It is only when the blog is finally posted that I can save that day's photos onto an external drive and wipe them off the computer leaving more room for the next day's photos. It is a never ending workflow. And I don't even shoot in Raw!

the same butterfly sat still

just lovely trails with wildflowers growing either side

small skipper on cranes bill

5 spotted burnet moth on thrift

mating meadow browns
only the most reasonable MBs are making the blog this year
lots left huffing, hidden in the long grass, playing hard to get - too bad

Although I feel familiar with all the trails in Gosford I still went wrong on this occasion. I realised I had gone past the ponds when I saw the mausoleum for the masonic dude who built this pyramid which sits at the end of a long driveway. 7th Earl of who-gives-a-fuck. Oops should have turned left before then. Never mind it is all very pleasant and I got to the ponds eventually. Here is a map of Gosford from 5 years ago: I went there to find the Banded Demoiselles and found 2 males pondside but they were a one-off and haven't been seen there since.

Also forget the holly blues because there are none in East Lothian this year (that I have found) and that part of the estate has been put out of bounds as folk live in the cottages there. Go look at the main ponds instead. At the furthest Western part there is an emperor. He comes out on sunny days and patrols his pond. Weirdly he took to sitting on the grass the day I was there. Never seen any of the larger odonata doing that - mostly they'll choose pondside reeds or a high tree to perch in. I followed it for some time and it would do a couple of lengths of the pond then land on the grass. I'd ninja over as quietly as possible getting to about 3.5m and taking photos. Then any closer and it would fly off. We played this game several times and it must have wondered just what is he getting out of this?

4-spot chaser

male emperor lying on the warm grass

intermission
while the emp does laps of the pond

back again
I move in slower and lower this time - not any real difference.

next lap he lands on the side of the pond which is slightly better

so I am now crawling forward on hands and knees

we are both getting tired of this game

but this is better than the flat grass shots

the lilies at the far end of the pond have lost their blooms

mid-pond

just to break up the pattern he lands on the lily leaves

time to leave the estate and head on towards Aberlady
Gosford is highly recommended and always looks amazing

Also amazing is Waterston house, the SOC house and garden just before Aberlady. Being a Tuesday it was closed but often when closed, there'll be staff in who leave the grounds open for people to wander in (at least the front garden although the back and pond were closed.) Loads of plants and flowers and plenty pollinators although I didn't see many butterflies.

female long hoverfly - Sphaerophoria (scripta?)
although aparently you can't ID the females without taking them apart

goldfinch nicking seeds in the meadow area

sharp shooting - GVW in flight

comma with slightly pimped forewings

After picking up a sandwich for lunch and possibly fluids from Margiotta's I went along Postman's Walk. I was hoping I'd bump into some Holly Blues. It was perfect conditions. The sun had been hidden behind clouds but as I approached the second half of the field they used to frequent, the sun came blazing out and I really thought there was a great chance to see them here. None. I looked quite carefully. None. I don't think I've seen a holly blue this year, and it looks like it could stay that way. I've been checking in Warriston where they were regulars, and there's been no sign of them in St Adrians in Gullane or any of the ivied walls they used to hang out on. I miss them and Postman's definitely isn't the same without the rush you used to get seeing those powder blue rare beauties. 😢

cabbages in the field

What was very much more welcome was the first common darter of the year. It flew up onto a higher perch as I approached taking photos and watched me from there. There were a couple of small torts and dozens of small skippers with passing RAs and large whites. Mostly I've just taken pics of the small torts.

small tort

small skipper

small tort and skipper

I presume the field of cabbages attracted the whites in good numbers. I was trying to get photos of this large white (f) taking off when an ambitious male small white approached with romance in mind. The Large flapped it off and did a token display of lifted abdomen which is the butterfly equivalent of giving the finger. The small white continued to hassle the large and the large moved position to another thistlehead. 

I didn't have the shutter speed up high enough and you can see the movement blur in the insects above. When I halved it from 1/1250 to 1/2500 the result below was a bit sharper.

I let it drop to 1/2000 (2 pics below) and it shows the difference is not quite enough to freeze the movement.

At the Abbey ruins there were GVWs mating
and some speckleds. Possibly an RA or 2 as well

From there I crossed the field to Aberlady reserve and crossed the bridge to enchantment. There were loads of small skippers about the place. More than I remember seeing there before. I also came across perhaps the most impressive butterfly of the day, a female dark green fritillary. They are a darker sootier complexion than the very orange and black males and often emerge later than the males. This one was going between purple clover flowers and although I got lots of photos I felt I didn't get THE absolute best photo it deserved. It must have taken off and flown a considerable distance otherwise I would have followed it until I felt I got the best shot possible. 

female DGF

There were also loads of common blues

some very fresh, some a bit worn

I was still on the hunt for female common blues and hunted around and about in a couple of areas I had found them in previous years. Not a huge amount of luck. I hoped to do better on some ground on the other side of Aberlady Bay.

small heath on a day trip to the beach

a bit hazy along the coast

more common blue delights
but no common blue ladies

this was typical of the DGFs I saw today

Most of the DGFs were a bit knackered. I was really glad I'd got out earlier and got video and stills of them in perfect condition as a few showers of heavy rain had left them a bit washed out and fringe-less. Also they weren't really behaving as well as the other day when they were allowing me quite close to photograph them and there were plenty about. They now seemed quite thin on the ground and more flighty which is the other way round than I'd expect: they are usually crazy when first out and zooming about for a day or two until they settle down. It became apparent today would not be a great DGF day. 

skylark collecting bugs

This young buck broke cover and charged across the track quite close by, taking me by surprise. Neither shot caught the whole beast but both caught the flavour of the action!

loads of small skippers
this one sharing with a digger wasp(?) and spider

anywhere with thyme was a good place to check

The second female common blue of the day, on viper's bugloss, and almost identical to the first. Good to find some but still looking for more exotic versions. In flight these looked more grey or brown/purple than blue.

another aging DGF

over there are people in dayjobs!

my Gullane pal going for another swim

linnet

The final common blue female of the day was attached quite firmly to a male. And she never opened her wings to reveal what might be on the uppers. However they did pose in a fairly obliging manner. It was towards the top of Gullane Hill and quite windy and they were having trouble staying put on the end of the grass stalk they were perched on, getting blown off a couple of times and flying to the next nearest perch. I swapped from the long lens to the macro and took far too many photos. I have posted only 5 here out of dozens taken. The wind meant they were swaying back and forth and not the easiest thing to photograph, so I lay spreadeagled on the ground near them for quite a while. They eventually flew off after being dislodged again in the strong wind and I left them to it.

it was a great finale to a really enjoyable day

a small copper looking like it has a long pointy nose!

the last (of many) common blues

a hill topping RA

meadow brown

I have been strict with the meadow browns this year. If they don't behave and pose nicely I just walk on by. This one was catching the last rays of the sun. I saw it when I looked over the boundary wall of the highest building at the top of Whim Rd which climbs up to Gullane Hill. Something large like a red admiral had just flown over the wall and I had a nosey to see if it landed on the flowers on the other side. No sign but I spotted this MB in the grass. I sneaked round and just into the garden a tiny bit to get the second shot. 

I walked down into Gullane and to the public toilets once famous for lurking butterfly geeks watching the ivy nearby for holly blues. I wanted to wash my hands and face which were covered in sun screen and salt and the day's dust, before catchng a bus home. I risked missing a bus but it was worth it to remove the grime. The bus arrived a short while after I got to the stop, so it was a good call. I probably fell asleep on the ride into town. Another great Summer day!

10.8miles in 6hrs20m

I thought it was worth posting this video (again) made in the same area (between Aberlady and Gullane) a couple of weeks previously as it shows some DGFs in prime condition behaving in a remarkably obliging manner. Such a rarity it might just be worth another look!