Speckled Wood Butterfly and more along Water of Leith Walkway

Today, I did my weekly river patrol along the Water of Leith in Craiglockart and Colinton Dells. It's always a lovely walk, whatever the weather. Today started off chilly and dull and ended up sunny and warm. 

The sunshine brought out this beautiful Speckled Wood Butterfly

This is a species that particularly enjoys woodlands and can often be seen dancing in pairs or small groups, spiralling up into the tree canopy. Their patterning mimics the pattern of dappled light on the woodland floor. 

I was very happy to see this patch of cuckoo pint 

The red berries make this plant easy to spot in late Summer and Autumn. The weather has been very dry for several weeks now (though we have had a couple of days of rain this week) and many trees are already losing their leaves. Many of the leaves are withered and brown, but some are prettier, like this Sycamore leaf. 

It was nice to enjoy the sunshine today, but we still need more rain.