blues in twos

 

30-05-26 Revisiting Lamberton for more small blues. Since I'd just done small blues on Thursday it seemed madness going back on Saturday for more. However this was an Iain C organised guided group visit and I quite fancied going along and meeting the gang. Also the original weather forecast of meh turned to maybe and then ohh could be good.

The problem was getting there: I didn't want the chore of going by train and then bussing or running up to Burnmouth for 10am. (Although I have done that before.) I thought I was going to have to miss it until I remembered that Colin R was going along. Perhaps I could bum a lift with him? A quick email and yes be at the same place he dropped me off 5 days before (the tram terminal, Newhaven,) for 08.45 Saturday morning.

I went out the night before and bought some beer of the particular flavour he had said was a favourite, to leave in the back of his car as a thank you. Like the previous trip, the hour in his car flew by as we were busy chatting about cameras and wildlife, although stuff like hobbies and jobs did creep into the conversation on the way home and I found I learned some useful stuff about (for instance) whisky.

more small blue fun

shoddy take off shot

in flight - a bit too quick

red-and-black froghopper - Cercopis vulnerata

non-butterfly star of the day

male left, female right

can you see it?

small blue egg - this was extremely small and I had
a great deal of trouble seeing it with the naked eye

It was great to have so many pairs of eyes along on such a trip as other people would see things I'd walked past. I'd never have found the butterfly eggs even though I know where to find them and apparently there were quite a few of them. Simon had to give me a really specific idea of where it was before I began to see it, and only really properly through the magnification of the camera lens!

a few ticks about

either end of a drinker moth caterpillar,
smaller than the last one I found

We stopped at the far end to have a sandwich. I enjoyed talking to Sheila and her mum. Before retracing steps back towards Burnmouth. A few braved the slope of doom. I didn't really feel the need as I'd got better photos of the small blues on this occasion than the previous trip on Thursday at the top site and so didn't need to slither and slip down the gradients of the slope of doom again. While we were all stood there a pod of dolphins swam past and a couple leapt clear into the air to our appreciation. Well done Iain for laying this on! (I had my macro lens on and didn't feel it was worth changing back to the long lens, before they started leaping. Curses! Colin made a decent job of it, his photos posted here.)

speckled wood

the gang - I think there were about 10 of us

Lucilia spec.

Epiblema? micro moth

red admiral

mating walls

What an enjoyable trip out with a really pleasant bunch of like-minded folk.
I think I was busy chatting the whole time! Surprising I took any photos. 

about 3 miles in about 3 hrs
(I forgot to put my watch on until we were halfway)