no paparazzi please!

 

Lucky 13th Sept! A great day out. Maybe another last good day of Summer, although I think we must be into Autumn by now. I decided to visit Saltoun Big Wood again. This time I thought I'd risk the 113 bus and jogged up to Abbeyhill (rather than Carlton Terrace stop) because there is an electronic sign that says when the next bus will be along. (Yes I know there is an app but the built in redundancy of my iPhone can't download it.) Anyway the sign was temporarily fritzed and of no help. However today (I do find the number 13 is lucky for me) virtually everything went more or less according to plan and I waited fewer than 10 mins before a 113 turned up. I have no idea if it was early or late or on time as I have found they do not stick to a schedule, so I just went up there randomly and got lucky.

It goes a similar way to the route I cycle and oddly takes about the same time. So I got off 70mins later and started jogging from Pencaitland towards the cycle path and 3 miles over to West Saltoun. 

good butterfly omen?

house sparrows in Pencaitland garden

robin in full voice

The walk / jog up a couple of miles of cyclepath was a bit monotonous and there was no nature to distract. Today was the first big day out with a new backpack. I have nearly worn out the Osprey 22L one that served me excellently for around 2.5 years. It is showing its age. And then, just recently, Cotton, the French Company who make the camera harness I wear to carry my camera, brought out a super-duper backpack, slightly larger than the Osprey (at 25L) with an integral slot on the armstrap to carry the camera.

So I can get now everything and more in the new larger backpack and slot the camera into the arm holster when walking, and I don't have to wear the harness underneath, which is v sweaty when abroad in hot countries. Today was the first big trial. So far it seems lower on my torso than the Osprey was and so less bump bump on my kidneys/small of the back. Like the harness it is not possible to run with my camera in the carrying slot as there is too much shoogle. I either carry it in its case in the backpack or in my left hand.

There are pros and cons but the workmanship and features are superior to the Osprey Bag which is unexpected although the Cotton bag was also considerably more costly. Mary bought it for me as a very generous early birthday present. Full review in due course once I've taken it out a few times. I prefer the holster slot on the harness as it is central on my chest (distributes camera weight equally to either shoulder) whereas the new bag has it on my right arm-strap which feels a touch lopsided. I may get used to it or cannibalise the harness.

When I popped out at the end of the cyclepath and was about to descend towards West Saltoun, I saw a car parked where Mary and I parked last trip, and the occupant looked familiar. He had just got out the car and I looked at him a fraction longer than I would a stranger, because he looked like a dude Mary and I bumped into at Woodhall Dean on July 21, 2023. Link here. We had spoken back then because we had insects and running in common and he knew the name of this blog due to that.

Similarly (today) he thought I might be me, but asked if I was called David. Which was odd because I thought he might be called David. I didn't mention this, instead I told him I was Peter and remembered him shaking insects out of trees into a little net then studying what he found. I had asked him back then if he knew of the dragonfly situation in Woodhall Dean and he'd said he didn't do the charismatic insects. The what now?

This clearly stuck in my head as I've never heard of insects being grouped by charisma. I reminded Rob (I looked up the archives and he was Rob, not Dave) of this and we had a laugh about it. Himself and companion, were also possibly heading to Saltoun Wood but were going to head across fields directly there, whereas I was going down the road over the bridge, and turning right to Barley Mill.

I wasn't sure they'd be able to cross the stream if they weren't using the bridge but they assured me there was a crossing on the map. They did not have an insect net or recording facilities and were just going a walk. I said I might see them later and wished them good luck, oh and I'll have to take your picture for the blog - had Rob seen I took his photo and posted it last time? Modestly he turned away laughing, saying they'd rather not have a photo taken. In fact they both turned deliberately away from the camera and we all laughed. So of course their photo goes to the top of the page and I named this report after their lack of cooperation. Hope you two enjoy it! I look forward to our paths crossing next time.

Rob (no time to get him in focus)

no paparazzi!
(I'll get you next time!)

I greatly enjoyed that small encounter full of good cheer. I wasn't even upset by the brown dead plumes on the buddleia bushes at the big garden having finished flowering and having zero butterflies. I'd shortly be turning off the road, going past the Mill and up the hill into an early Autumn scene, hopefully with a bit of sunshine and loads of things to photo. 

speckled wood
quite a few on the path in

puff daddy

puff baby

When I got to the first pond there wasn't a huge amount going on. A few Southern Hawkers, common hawkers and a few common darters. No sign of the higher tariff black darters. Not many about this year.

a common hawker (m) found a female egglaying and tried to fly off with her
but she must have been hanging on with her teeth as he couldn't get airborne!

nice to bump into this couple as well,

The dog walkers were really friendly and we talked about the wildlife; which species were in ascendence and which, decline. I suspect they are quite local and knew the place well. There are at least three Salukies (or saluki/crosses) walked here. The other 2 are with solo guys, one young, one older. The dogs are all immaculately behaved.

common darter (m) at the crossroads oak root

and wasp - which looked quite large

black darter, hurray!
today's most welcome highlight!

At the upper pond I encountered a couple of common darters at the pondside logs between the trees. AND a black darter. I was very pleased as I think this is only the third I've met this year. And although fairly lively it kept returning to the same area and moving between the logs and vegetation. There was also a common hawker playing hard to get, but I blanked it in favour of the black darter which was making itself really useful.

In their absence I had forgotten how they very quickly adapt to human company. And on cooler days even land on a warm head or hand. And once they have found a warm spot continue to return, which feels super friendly. Today however it was t-shirt warm and the black darter was jousting for perches with his common darter friend. I watched them both chase each other about and swap stances back and forth. I would have put it down to territorial instincts however there was a gentleness about their interactions that seemed much more playful. I could be wrong but I video-ed it in slo-mo so you can judge for yourself. Both are fierce predators with strong jaws capable of biting. And they have sharp little claws. Yet the interactions are (as if by agreement) just gentle nudges with wings and headbuts hardly touching.

friends or adversaries?

It is the most like playing a game of tag between species I have seen since I caught a common blue and its cousin a brown argus (both males again) doing a very similar game to pass the time while there were no females around to chat up.

territorial dispute or playful interaction?
shot with 100~400mm zoom in 120fps slo-mo

soundtrack: Don't Wanna (Let You Go) by 2XM

Also it should be mentioned that when not playing tag, the darters would happily sit pretty close to each other without squabbling. I think their jousting is possibly somewhere between instinctive territorial reaction and playful back-and-forth. Possibly nearer the latter as there is no intent to injure or escalate to more serious conflict. I like to think they are pals. Especially given the sociable nature of black darters.

trying to take landing shots as the darters returned
unfortunately I shot at 1/1000th and it wasn't fast enough shutterspeed
to freeze wing movement

ooh! bokeh balls!

So after I had taken a million shots of the black darter (in case it is the last one this year) I eventually got up off the ground and headed towards butterfly alley, wary the sun might disappear for the remainder of the afternoon. After a quick couple of shots of an aging emerald damselfly on the beach. Couldn't see any newts, plenty of pond skaters and back swimmers. 

large white - not very many about

peacock, ditto

I was heart sick to see someone had mown the trackside grasses. I saw faint hints of tractor tyres and reckon they had one of those set-ups that flail rural hedgerows. At first I thought it had been strimmed but then saw the tyre tracks in soft ground and that the damage, the decimation of everything above 4inches in height, went back beyond the small trailside ditch. It slashed away quite a bit of bracken as well as about half the d-b scabious flowers which are the prime attractor for butterflies and hoverflies. In doing so they may well have killed a huge amount of butterfly eggs and larvae, and I tried not to let this thought ruin the day. Although I really couldn't understand why they felt they had to strim back what is just grass and wildflowers. It's not as if there is ever any traffic here, apart from forestry working trucks every few years and grass and wildlfowers won't inconvenience them.

several Silver Y moths about
normally I complain about these, but today I enjoyed their presence

Happily there was still many patches of scabious left, and a few attending butterflies. It has not been a great year for Saltoun back trail. I remember previous years having 200+ butterflies of 3 or 4 species with another 4 or 5 species sprinkled among them. Maybe the place will bounce back, maybe it will fade away. 

short back and sides, a sorry loss

GVW

hard to believe there were 68 peacocks here a couple of weeks ago
today, not even double figures

quite a few speckled about though,
the most numerous and all through the woods on the walk in

half a dozen commas including this wonky-winged one
which I recognised from last visit

painted ladies also dropped to around 8

garden cross spider

season of mushrooms

four take off shots

bee and tachina fera

It seems like I mainly shot the hoverflies using video, and I don't have many stills today. I spent quite a time just focussing on them and enjoyed the variety of species present. With maybe fewer butterflies about it left more time to focus on other insects. I edited down miles of footage into just a couple of minutes. However anything longer than about 75secs has to be transferred via youTube as Blogger only takes up to 100mb videos (around 75secs at this quality) of standalone videos. After that it can be done via youTube which is handy. Or I'd have to reduce the quality of the movie further to keep it under 100mb.

comma

hover photobombing a comma
soundtrack: two waves by Didacte

The above video clip was a happy accident I shot, merged with an odd piece of music I heard recently. The combined result is a bit niche, but I liked it. 

unspecified eristalis

ladies on bikes

very little traffic on this path

the most obliging Silver Y moth in ages

soundtrack: Eleuthera by Tor

Normally Silver Ys are an unwelcome annoyance as they promise much then fly off without posing for a photo. Then hide in the undergrowth.This one was so busy nectaring it let me get close with the macro lens (which means just inches away) and shoot decent video, and it was in perfect condition.

speckled wood

carder bee

7 spot ladybird

garden cross spider

look at the hairs!

a singular scabious flowerhead in white
just the one and no others

speckled wood

I was watching the speckled without much interest when it landed beside a small copper. Not great condition but the only one of the day. It was in the clearing beside the woodpile and there was an even older small skipper nearby too.

small copper and speckled wood

small skipper

The small copper and ancient small skipper took the species count up to 10. Good but not outstanding, which was my conclusion about the reduced state of the butterflies here. Back in July, I was selling the Saltoun Big Wood experience as one of the best late season sites in Scotland. I will be more cautious next year, and keep my eyes open for other similar venues.

small copper

tachina fera
(hairy arsed fly)

I saw this Hairy Shieldbug on a teasel and spend a while taking its photo because there wasn't much else around. I do like shieldbugs and this one had its work cut out on such a spikey surface.

shieldbug video
(remember slo-mo is 4.8 times slowed down)

soundtrack: Look What Love Has Done To Me by Nuage.

Back at the lower first pond was this Southern Hawker. I have often got better photos and video towards the the end of their flying day (5pm) but this one was still a little too active to get decent material.

speckled wood and common darter female

a trio of insects

common darters and common hawkers etc.

soundtrack: Don't Wanna (Let You Go) by 2XM

I suspect 7 videos from a single trip is something of a record. The slo-mo is now my go-to mode for quick moving insects and shows their activity well. I certainly shot a lot of material even though there were fewer numbers of butterflies and dragonflies about. However I think the warm still weather encouraged them to behave well for the camera.

There were a few darters and hawkers perching on the birch by the pond and elsewhere. I approached this female darter very carefully (with the macro lens) and got to within inches to get these extreme close-ups.

common darter

commonhawker (f) wing (deceased)

I found a common hawker female in the pondside grass. She was dead and from how soggy she appeared I'd say she expired while egglaying in the pond. And was maybe snatched from her watery grave by a male who realised he'd picked up an unresponsive partner quite quickly, and dropped her in the long grasses. I laid her out on the silver birch limb near the pond and took photos of her amazing (if damp) wings.(above)

common hawker

There were several male common hawkers about too. It was towards 5pm and the end of their flying day. The tall silver birch beside the pond (on the left stance) is always a good spot to check for resting hawkers and at one point today there were 3 perched there, a record number! About a metre between each, with common darters also using this tree as a roost. They would come and go if disturbed. I saw a very unwary speckled wood land nearby and walk over towards the snoozing hawker which mostly ignored the intruder. I wondered if I was going to get to see it get eaten, but the dragonfly must not have been hungry. The lowest hawker made a good subject for macro shots and I had to be very slow-moving to get up this close.

It was quite a still day - not much wind for a change - and this made it good for photographing dragonflies with the macro lens. I left the woods by Barley Mill and on the fence posts near there were a couple of common darters. Again, maximum ninja stealth to get as close as possible to get decent close-ups of wings and faces. 

beech mast

seven spot ladybirds

Tachina fera

another very helpful (m) common darter

walnut orbweaver spider

rose bedeguar gall

Very pleased to see this on the end of a rose stem. They are not particularly rare but are fascinating events and one of the more unlikely things that happen in nature, and easy to walk past without noticing. A chemically induced mutation to grow a baby wasp nursery!

Wikipedia: Diplolepis rosae is a gall wasp which causes a gall known as the rose bedeguar gall, robin's pincushion, mossy rose gall, or simply moss gall. The gall develops as a chemically induced distortion of an unopened leaf axillary or terminal bud, mostly on field rose (Rosa arvensis) or dog rose (Rosa canina) shrubs. The female wasp lays up to 60 eggs within each leaf bud using her ovipositor. The grubs develop within the gall, and the wasps emerge in spring; the wasp is parthenogenetic with fewer than one percent being males.

rooks

Didn't have to wait too long for the 113 back to town.
Lucky day!