best part of the day: patience, grasshopper

04-05-26. May the fourth (be with you.) Not really a forecast or day for something special, but sunny moments, so I opted for a wander round Holyrood. Lots of good specimens being seen there and I thought I'd start at Haggis Knowe where walls had been photo-ed. When I arrived I could not find a wall, but I found Ken and he found a small copper, so that was a good start and pleasant to catch up with Ken.

Next on my list was Hunter's Bog for whitethroats and maybe even grasshopper warblers which seemed ambitious. (They are often super-shy.) But not as ambitious as Ken who planned to examine some patches of blaeberry on Whinny Hill in search of green hairstreaks. Chances of him seeing any were slim to none, and possibly considerably worse. However they are discovered every few years so they possibly lurk somewhere on the hill. Richard came across one a few years back after several days combing the thousands of blaeberry patches on Crow Hill. And Phil B famously found one on a gorse bush on the top road. So it is possible. But you have to have abundant patience.

small copper, Haggis Knowe

Ken who I saw at Haggis Knowe!

chaffinch

My plans were to check out Hunter's Bog for birds then hit the top of Crow Hill to confirm or deny the low-key rumours of an invasion of admirals and painted ladies. Both hilltopping species, even though it felt far too blustery for that today. There was a good old breeze at Bog level today never mind the top of Crow, where the eye-watering gusts would blow the thinning hair off the top of your (my) head.

whitethroat, black heart

Just within the textured glass door of the Bog I caught sight of a whitethroat. Everyone has been posting photos of whitethroats recently (or so it feels) so they should be easy, right? I spent a long time using top ninja skills to try and get decent pics of this one which seemed to be absolutely aware of my position at all times and sat exactly where I would be snookered to get a decent line of sight and photo. After an age I gave up and moved up the Bog. And went through precisely the same dance and misery with another far-too-clever birdy num-num. I resorted to taking pics of chaffinches (and even bullfinches) which were busy collecting food and less paparazzi-shy than the annoying whitethroats.

chaffinch

bullfinch riffling through these seeds like playing cards
(see video below)

loads of St Mark's flies and even those were evading focus

the second whitethroat was equally skittish

Network Rail helicopter
"used to keep the railway running safely and efficiently"

whitethroat #2 deliberately posing behind a branch

While becoming more and more frustrated by the whitethroats my phone pinged. I did not expect a text from Ken saying he had found a green hairstreak. It seemed to be hardly long enough to get up onto Whinny Hill never mind find a tiny butterfly that looks exactly the same as the blaeberries upon which it sits. It felt not far off a miracle.

I texted back that I was on my way. He probably assumed I was coming from Crow Hill as he gave me directions saying he was in a direct line from the top of Whinny Hill towards St Margaret's Loch. He also gave me what three words. So I am trying to get what three words to work on my iPhone. I have the app installed already but have never used it so it is asking me to consent to the small print agreement while I am jogging up to St Anthony's Chapel and the nearly vertical route behind it that leads up onto Whinny Hill. It is the first hill running (while orienteering) (while texting) I have done in months.

more offshore turbine supports

I am trying to input three random words to what three words and it is not going well. I find I can put them into the app by speaking them and then pushing the Compass. I get an arrow to point me in the right direction but worryingly it says the point I seek is 3.9mi away. There is no point 3.9miles away from any point in Holyrood, and still within the park. But maybe I've got that wrong. I find the top spot on Whinny Hill although that is open to debate as there isn't a trig point or cairn. When Ken isn't visible on the line towards St Margaret's, I wander back up to the other potential topspot and descend from there. Eventually I phone Ken and he directs me to a spot not that far from St Anthony's Chapel where I can see him on the hill. Oh well, at least I got some hill reps in.

hairy-footed flower bee (f)

bilberry mining bee - Andrena lapponica
bilberry = english for blaeberry

Ken points to the area of blaeberry where he saw not one but 2 green hairstreaks. It looks like every other blaeberry patch on the hill. But while we are talking a green butterfly flies up a few yards and then lands. I lose sight of it, it flies again and lands, and that is the last I see of any green hairstreaks today. No photos but at least I saw one. I congratulate Ken on his find. He is delighted to have pulled off this miraculous find and possibly even more pleased that I didn't get a photo (while he did!) but at least was able to witness the miracle. An ideal reward for his dedication. It was a fabulous find.

I stood around chatting (and photographing bees!) for most of an hour but no further sightings occurred. I decided not to waste any more of the day but to head round to Crow Hill before it got too late for anything. I was already sure we had seen the best thing today and that nothing I saw could equal that. Which was and wasn't true. Having had a good dose of greenies on the Pentlands trip recently I wasn't overly bothered about more this year, although the act of discovering them here was the real trick, rather than the photos of them.

Ken who I saw near St Anthony's, at THE blaeberry patch

I waved bye to Ken, hoping the GHs would appear before I entirely left the scene, but they never returned that day. I went over Whinny Hill top again and over towards Crow Hill very much mindful of every patch of blaeberry and that it might contain greenies. The wind seemed far too strong for butterflies and yet on the leeside - the North East - there was a red admiral. It was little bit tatty but a very strong flier like the ones that blow in from foreign parts and zip around the tops of the hills. It flew up and chased another which looked very like a painted lady - first one of the year. I was delighted and moved in slowly for a photo. It was super flighty and a while before I crept up slowly enough to get a few shots. It seemed much darker than usual, a real beauty.

pair of Linnets nest building

red admiral on Crow Hill
(damaged right hind wing)

first painted lady of the year
love the iridescence on the wingtips

bullfinch and painted lady video clips

darker markings than usual - a cracker!

2nd red admiral
no damage at back of wings

a rare Shoe Brown
(Mary thought that was a very poor joke.)

painted lady vs red admiral

2nd painted lady: smallest circles (lunules) on wings

So I went home feeling there were maybe three admirals and perhaps more than one painted lady but I really wasn't sure. Having studied the photos (and noting wing lunule size and unique damage patterns) I worked out I had taken photos of 7 red admirals, 3 painted ladies and 3 small tortoiseshells. Made me realise I very likely underestimate groups of butterflies within contained areas like this all the time. There was no point they were all in the air (or on the ground next to each other) at the same time and very little way to know they weren't the same specimens coming past a second or third time. Until I examined the photos.

As I looked around the top of Crow Hill I realised most of the butterfly action was on the North East; where the fire last year had burnt the gorse bushes. I'm fairly sure the butterflies were there due to that area being less windy, rather than a taste for charcoal. It made it slightly easier to approach the butterflies without having to squeeze between gorse bushes and shredding my legs. I did get some charcoal drawings on my legs and shorts though. I was careful not to fall as it was quite steep ground and with no vegetation holding everything together, the soil was quite loose.

It is still fairly barren from being burned to a crisp. The small torts seemed to enjoy the boundary of new green vegetation and dark, burnt soil. The admirals and painted ladies looked like they were having a ball, swooping about, chasing each other at top speed and dancing up into the sky in congas and spiralling circles. I would point the camera at them and fire off a few random shots. A lot went straight in the bin but a few produced some dynamic (and lucky) images. I should downplay the luck and say it was all deliberate, and due to careful planning and skill! 😄

often the camera would just focus on the background
especially when the background was trees or buildings

#3 RA with big tear top left

small tort #1

2 pairs of fliers,
the lower pair being admirals

I think the upper pair are small torts but I can see why you might think they were peacocks. However I didn't get any photos of peacocks on Crow Hill and when I enlarged the photo area for scrutiny what look like peacock eye spots are halved along the leading edge of the wing, a thing that doesn't happen on peacock wings.

#4 right front, notches in wing

#5 unique patterns, no damage

#6 on left: trashed wings visible

small tort #2 different forewing blue markings

r.a. #7 missing left wingtip
and the only one that sat on a plant!

s.t. #3 damage on trailing edge

p.l. #3 mid-size lunules

I really enjoyed seeing all the butterflies on Crow Hill. Sometimes you go up there and get heehaw for your efforts. I was disappointed there were no birds of note - I'd hoped for wheatears and maybe stonechats lower down, or groppers - the abbreviated name for grasshopper warblers - which Ken told me. I texted Ken to let him know of the butterflies but the weather wasn't getting any better and I suspected he wouldn't bother with the substantial climb up the windy hill. And he already had maximum glory for the day!

Back down in Hunter's Bog I came across this excellent peacock keeping out of harms way in the middle of a sea of bramble. I was now watching my time as I had an appointment at 6pm a couple of miles away and it was fast approaching 5pm. I was really just taking the swiftest line home which happened to be through Hunter's Bog. As I went, I heard the unmistakeable sound of a grasshopper warbler. Not really a song so much as a high pitched whirring very much like a cicada or grasshopper. (See video below.)

It appeared a short distance in front of me and all I had to do was approach it slowly and not scare it off when I raised my camera. I took a couple of shots but then video-ed it as the call is the most distinctive aspect of the species. Like several birds with lively or distinctive calls, its appearance is a non-descript little brown job. However it was very dapper, and the highlight of today, as it presented itself in a fairly available manner, allowing me to video it without too much trouble. Considerably less trouble than those whitethroats of earlier, one of which tried to make it up to me by appearing when I returned for another look hearing the gropper calling again.

I returned but didn't get any further footage. I kept looking at my watch wondering how late I could risk being to the family meeting, and whether they would accept my excuse of "a rare bird was singing for me." As it turned out I just had time to run home, get a quick shower and then cycle to the family meet. I left Hunter's Bog around 5.10 and got to the venue (showered) at 5.59pm. Unfortunately I had had to go without lunch, so was feeling a bit hungry, but the footage (not seen till much later) made the sacrifice worth it. It wasn't the last shot of the day either!

grasshopper warbler - the first one I've seen in several years

gropper video

whitethroat came back out to tease me again

St Mark's flies around a blossoming tree
where I half expected there'd be butterflies (there wasn't)

most annoying grass of the day

Although I was just about to start running home, I reckoned there was just time for a quick sweep of Haggis Knowe. You'll never believe who I saw there? Ken was also possibly about to head home, and we'd both thought the same - the sun was now beating down on the rock of Haggis Knowe and there was a good chance the wall had returned. It had indeed and I did a couple of hasty record shots (didn't have time to wait for it to settle on a flower or anything photogenic) before shouting a cheerio and congrats to Ken as I raced home.