In the Dells

Yesterday we managed to get a break from the Film Festival to spend time in the Dells along the Water of Leith. It was hot and sunny so we were very glad of the shade of the trees along much of the route.

So much nature to see including this majestic grey heron

this adorable long tailed tit (we saw an adult feeding a chick but couldn't capture that on film)

There were a few butterflies including red admirals and painted ladies but only this ringlet allowed Crafty Green Boyfriend to get close enough to photograph

There were plenty of hoverflies including this pellucid hoverfly (Volucella pellucens)

this Epistrophe grossulariae

this Melangyna compositarum or M. labiatarum

and this Leucozona glaucia

Leucozona glaucia used to be rarely recorded in Edinburgh until I started seeing it regularly in this stretch of the Water of Leith walkway. It demonstrates the need for more people to record groups such as hoverflies. If you're interested in getting to know more about hoverflies and starting to record them then the UK Hoverflies Scheme is very useful, they have a friendly and helpful Facebook group here. There are also some useful online identification sites out there including the Nature Spot Guide to Hoverflies; the All About Hoverflies page and Steven Falk's Flickr album of hoverfly photos (possibly the best of the three).

We've had a lot of rain recently so everything was looking green, especially the wonderful chandeliers of the hornbeam trees

the buttercup meadow

and the hidden orchid meadow

Such a lovely place to walk!

Thanks to Crafty Green Boyfriend who took most of the photos in this post.