Sand dune - Machir Bay

Rubbish sign at Machir Bay

How not to do a sign.  Not sure which public body decided to erect these information plaques - but they have not survived the Islay climate.  This one is at Machir Bay.

Machir Bay this afternoon

Unfortunately this view has a limited lifespan.  A huge windfarm is planned which will stretch the whole length of the west coast of Islay.

Machir Bay

New Year's Eve

Fun on the beach at Machir Bay.
Malcolm (mine's the one in the middle)

Marram Grass - Machir Bay

The burn at Machir Bay

Painterly Clouds - Machir Bay

Machir Bay

Machir Bay to Saligo (Part 2) (Diamond Jubilee)

This weekend has been one long wildlife fiesta for Lorna and me. To honour the Queen's Diamond Jubilee here is 60 species of fauna and flora we've seen this weekend:

Blackbird, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Rock Pipit, Arctic Tern, Shag, Fulmar, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Common Gull, Gannet, Black Guillemot, Shelduck, Eider, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Grey Heron, Kestrel, Buzzard, Ringed Plover, Jackdaw, Chough, Wheatear, Starling, Corncrake, Rock Dove, Lapwing, Greylag Goose, Sand Martin, Swallow, House Martin, Wood Warbler, Willow Warbler, Whitethroat, Dunnock, Robin, Great Tit, Song Thrush, Wren, Redpoll, Linnet, Goldfinch, Treecreeper, Chaffinch, Mute Swan, Four-spotted Chaser, Golden-ringed Dragonfly, Large Red Damselfly, Green Hairstreak, Marsh Fritillary, Small Heath, Red Admiral, Green-veined White, Small White, Hare, Rabbit, Common Frog, Roach, Round-leaved Sundew, Heath-spotted Orchid, Lousewort

Part 3 coming soon!

Becky



Marsh Fritillary



Round-leaved Sundew

Redshank



Ringed Plover



Machir Bay to Saligo (Part 1)

What a wonderful walk David Formby, Lorna and I had today round Coul Point, from Machir Bay to Saligo. It's been difficult selecting photos from the many Lorna took, but here is part one:


Eider Family, north of Machir Bay

 

Frog, near Saligo



Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi - 'beautiful eyebrow')



Kestrel



Thrift on cliff

 Becky

Common Butterbur (Petasites hybridus)

Pictured in sand dunes at Machir Bay earlier today

Snow shower scene

A line of snow showers this morning running down the coast off Machir Bay.
Malcolm

Machir Bay - Kilchoman

Taken earlier this afternoon - Carl

A picture to cheer one up

After yet another storm, lasting all day, winds averaging 45-55 mph, gusting to 75 mph, with an hour-long powercut starting at 3.00 pm - the island is so lucky to have its own diesel generator which is cranked up, as it was today, if there is a fault on the mainland - and no ferries or planes, and no real reason to go outside (!), here's a photo taken a few years back showing one of my favourite views - Machir Bay from the iron age hillfort at Dun Chroisprig, between Kilchiaran and Kilchoman.
Malcolm

Otter at Machir Bay - Video by Armin Grewe

Nice one Armin!!

Flowers before leaves

A patch of dune at Machir Bay contained two plants whose flower spikes appear well before any leaves; the purple Butterbur (Petasites hybridus) and the yellow Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara). One spike of the former was being fed on by a bumblebee, but without a view of its rear end, I'm not 100% certain which species.
Malcolm

Common Limpet (Patella vulgata) and Common Acorn Barnacle (Balanus balanoides)

These crustaceans are able to cling to a living on the rocks that emerge from the sand on the southern end of machir Bay, but only on the seaward side.  They don't seem able to survive on the leeward side, probably because it is often covered by sand.

Marram Grass (Ammophila arenaria)

Holding the dunes together at Machir Bay

Machir Bay

Machir Bay is one of the most popular beaches on Islay to go for a walk, and it is certainly always a memorable experience, even on dull grey flat days like today when light does not really do the place justice.  The beach itself is not exactly a natural historian's paradise however becasue although you never know what might be washed up by the waves, the power of those wavces largely prevents very much from growing there.  The sands are constantly shifting and the invertebrates that pack the sheltered flats of Gruinart and Loch Indaal are absent.  The bird life is therefore relatively sparse. 
The dune system behind the beach is another kettle of fish however, being the winter home to what is perhaps the largest flock of Choughs in the UK.  Cattle are kept in the dunes all year round, Rockside Farm maintaining the grazing system in accordance with management agreements with SNH. 
The day was so miserable I decided to go for black and white pictures...
Carl