Tuesday 23 August 2016

Looking for butterflies on a cloudy day...

We're having a few days of staycation at the moment, just staying at home and taking day trips around Edinburgh. Today we walked from the Cramond Brig to Sounth Queensferry, a walk that is best done on a sunny day, as it can be such a good walk for butterflies. Sadly it hasn't been sunny enough on an appropriate day so we tried the walk today. It was as scenic as ever






but we didn't see a single butterfly! We did however see a wasp eating a hoverfly, which was quite a sight, though not one that could be caught on camera! This was the scene of the crime

We found an owl pellet that I was so busy studying I forgot to take a photo, it was fascinating to see the beetle wing cases and other things that indicate what the owl must have been eating before it regurgitated to pellet. We also found this, which looks like part of a bee's nest

When we got to South Queensferry we popped into a local pub and had a late lunch along with a drink of Hiver Beer, a beer made from honey (that has a definite honey flavour) - a proportion of the profits from this beer go to pollinator charities, so it was a very tasty drink for a good cause!




4 comments:

Lowcarb team member said...

A staycation can be perfect ... I do hope you have a little more sunshine though.
Your beer made from honey sounds intriguing, great that the proceeds from sales go to a good cause.

All the best Jan

Janneke said...

So interesting to learn, I never heard of Hiver Beer. With the butterflies we always need a lucky day with lots of sun. Last week we had a lot of dull weather and I really thought butterflies had gone, but now warm and sunny days returned together with many butterflies, I´m happy.

Lynn said...

Staycations are so wonderful - I'm glad you're enjoying yours. Lovely walk!

Sandy said...

I was hoping to read that you had seen butterflies. We sure are not seeing them here. As we get older, we are taking more staycations. Fun without packing!