Sunday, 18 May 2025

Corstorphine Hill

 We had another day of beautiful sunshine yesterday, but we really do need some rain and it seems as though we're not forecast any for another week! 

We took advantage of the sunshine though and enjoyed a walk round Corstorphine Hill. One of the lovely things about this hill is the variety of habitats, from open areas with numerous Hawthorn bushes


 to shady woodland areas

As is often the case these days, there were few insects about, which is as worrying for the wildlife as is the lack of recent rain. One insect that is present in good numbers is the greenfly or common aphid, which is gathering on the undersides of some leaves, just take a close look at the leaves of the Sycamore tree in the photo below 

We were also pleased to see this lovely lacewing 

and surprised to see this Large Red Damselfly, which you would expect to find closer to a pond or river

and delighted to find this very beautiful Ruby Tailed Wasp, which was moving too quickly for us to get a good photo, but you get an idea of its beautiful colouration below, click on the photo for a closer look. 


It's a cuckoo wasp and lays its eggs in the nests of other wasps and bees, we guessed this one was searching for nests of mason bees to lay eggs in. 

Despite enjoying the sunshine, we are hoping for rain....

2 comments:

MELODY JACOB said...

Your walk around Corstorphine Hill sounds both peaceful and full of discoveries. It’s always a joy to spot those little wonders like the lacewing and the ruby-tailed wasp, even when rain is wished for. Thank you for sharing such a thoughtful glimpse of nature’s delicate balance. I just shared a new post. I am excited for you to read it. Thank you. Have a lovely week.

Lowcarb team member said...

Such a lovely walk round Corstorphine Hill, I enjoyed your photographs.

Yes, we do need rain, everywhere is so dry ... hopefully later this week we may get some.

All the best Jan