Walk by Torra River

This lovely fencepost made up for a distinct lack of bird life on a very boggy walk along the Torra River on Sunday - the highlight being an unexpected and tantalising glimpse of a Dipper flying upstream. With the lack of anything happening above our heads, and the need to watch where every footstep was going, all heads were down and we noticed this disgusting stuff. Is it poo/vomit/slime mould? Any ideas?
Becky

Squelchy stuff - 1

Squelchy stuff - 2 (with lovely Cladonia lichen)

Jura Hills

Small Isles Bay on Jura from above Keils.  We saw lots of Red deer up here, and even more when we were travelling to and from the ferry at Feolin after dark when herds appeared to be feeding on seaweeds on the shoreline.



There were, as ever, plenty of the ubiquitous Fox moth caterpillars



Cemetery at Keils on Jura



The cemetery outside Craighouse near the crofting community of Keils has graves dating back to the medieval period right through to the present day.  The 'building' in the centre of the picture is a Campbell mausoleum.



This is a Medieval grave slab

Ragwort was still flowering, just, next to the burn flowing past the cemetery.  There was no sign here either of the Grey wagtails that used to grace these burns.  I have not seen a Grey wagtail on Islay or Jura since the big freeze last winter.

Human effluent on remote Jura beaches

The amount of human detritus on the Jura beaches and the associated littoral was depressing.  The vast majority of it would presumably have been washed up from the sea.

The island of Jura

Corran Sands on the island of Jura yesterday

Large amounts of kelp had been thwon up onto the beach at Corran Sands, which was full of flies and other small invertebrates.  These were being fed on by small parties of waders such as these Ringed plover and Dunlin, but also large numbers of Rock pipits.

Beetlemania

Crystal Maw's talk last night was disgustingly brilliant. It was the stuff horror movies are made of, but we all relished every moment as we watched  tiny creatures demolishing life forms twenty times their size. These diminutive animals may have tiny brains, but they sure are clever and the way they care for their young is amazing.

Crystal encouraged us to take a look at the charity Bug Life and specifically to get involved in the Oil Beetle Survey on Islay. These creatures may turn up on Islay, having hitched a ride from a bee, so take a look and think about getting involved.

Thanks Crystal for a wonderful talk (I for one didn't have any nightmares - yet!)

Becky

http://www.buglife.org.uk/getinvolved/surveys/Oil+Beetle+Hunt/Oil+Beetle+Hunt+-+How+to+take+part

Foliose Lichens

It's one of those days again and I thought I'd rummage through my lichen photos to bring you more lichen joy!

These are foliose lichens - that means they can be peeled from their substrate (although obviously we would never do that!) and they're kind of leafy. I'm pretty sure of the identification of all of them, but am prepared to be corrected . . . Just look at the different colours!
Becky

Anaptychia runcinata - This beautiful bronze-coloured lichen turns green when wet.

On a stone at Ardnave - Physcia adscendens (white) amongst Xanthoria parietina (yellow). This beautiful lichen has 'eyelashes' or cilia visible through a hand lens. The Xanthoria is plentiful round Islay's coasts.

Physconia distorta (I think) with Physcia adscendens - on fence at Gruinart

Melanelixia subaurifera (I think) - same fence at Gruinart

Arran Black Grouse Group

http://www.arranblackgrouse.com/

Dogfish and Fox Moth Caterpillar - Nyree Fearnley

Lesser Spotted Dogfish

Fox Moth Caterpillar

Thanks to Nyree Fearnley for these shots taken while on holiday to Islay recently...
Carl

Moths in November

Having not run the moth trap once in October - high winds and especially lots of rain are not conducive to trapping - I did so last night and caught a grand total of 2 moths. The first one is a Turnip Moth, the first record since 1983 - there were also records in 1972 and 1973 - and it wouldn't sit still to be photographed hence the slight blurring. The second one is a plume moth of which there are several different species. I am reasonably confident this one is Emmelina monodactyla which doesn't have a vernacular name. I've asked an expert to confirm it for me and to let me know if he knows of past Islay records. [Later: the species is confirmed and it appears it may be an Islay first.] As it is common and widespread in Britain, it is slightly surprising it hasn't been recorded here before.
Malcolm

Turnip Moth

Plume moth Emmelina monodactyla

Beetlemania - Crystal Maw to give our next talk

Crustose Lichens

With a broken camera and not much sunshine (except for today when I was tidying my shed!) I decided it was time to post some lichen photos on here. During the nature rambles this year I found myself almost apologising for diverting everyone from the bigger, more 'in your face' flora and fauna in order to study the unassuming but bountiful lichens adorning fenceposts, boulders and stone walls. To my delight I discovered that, far from being bored, most people actually seemed to thoroughly enjoy this diversion (either that or they were good at feigning an interest!) Now I am far from being an expert, but I'm going to post some crustose lichen photos here. These are the type that are kind of 'glued' to their substrate.
Becky

Haematomma ochroleucum (with immature red apothecia (fruiting bodies)

Rhizocarpon reductum

Lecanora campestris

Ochrolechia parella or 'Fish-eye' Lichen

Whooper Swans At Cruach - Dave Protherough

Or more properly Dave's Mum and Dad were here a couple of weeks ago and took this top sequence of  our largest passage migrants feeding near Cruach.  Many thanks to them for these lovely shots...

Short-eared owls in the North Sea - Neil Brown

These amazing pictures of Short-eared owls were taken on the Helideck of Diving support vessel Rockwater 1 in Dutch sector of North sea by Neil Brown of Port Charlotte.  They have been feeding on the numbers of small birds which also inhabit the ship...  Many thanks Neil....

We believe they are all Short eared, although they do have very long ear-tufts.  Long eared owls have orange eyes (Short eared have yellow...).  The tufts on Long eared are also set wider apart.  The smaller birds are probably males.

More pictures from Ardnave

Paps of Jura

Ragged Robin

Ardnave Loch

Chough flock

Choughs at Ardnave today

Chough pictures taken during a walk down to Ardnave Point earlier this afternoon - in perfect weather...
Carl

The Lily Loch - brian palmer

Two shots of the Lily Loch near Ballygrant taken in yesterday's calm conditions by brian.  Many thanks...

Whooper Swans and Barnacle Geese - Armin Grewe

Lovely shot from Armin of Whooper swans and Barnacle geese, taken last week I believe, on the fields of barley stubble between Sunderland and Rockside Farms on the Rhinns.  Many thanks Armin...

Peacock Butterfly in November - Jenni Minto

Thanks to Jenni for this shot of a Peacock taken outside Port Charlotte yesterday...

Islay on TV on Sunday!

Islay's exposure via television is coming thick and fast. As well as the two programmes tonight (see below), Islay is the subject of the BBC1 programme "Country Tracks" to be broadcast this Sunday 6th November, at 11.00 am. Wildlife does not really figure all that much – the items covered include shipwrecks, Heather Dewar (and her cow, again!), Finlaggan, one of our hotel chef's cooking Islay's food, and Islay's fine Gaelic Choir (Còisir Ghàidhlig Ìle) – but there's little doubt that the island will also star.


See http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0172226

Islay on TV twice tonight!

As well as "Am Boireannach a Dh'ith Bo (The Woman Who Ate a Cow)" on BBC Alba tonight at 9.00 pm, see last but one blog entry, Islay is also featuring in 'Autumnwatch' on BBC1 at 8.30 pm tonight. The programme lasts until 9.30 pm so the film that has been taken on Islay in the last few days - Barnacle Geese and other wildlife - may well overlap with the BBC Alba broadcast. Those with recording facilities will be OK, while Autumnwatch will be available on BBC iPlayer for the next 7 days.

New nature grants system launched by SNH

Organisations and community groups across Scotland, who are running projects to do with managing and enjoying nature, are to benefit from a new online grants service.
The service, launched this week, is available on the Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) website where customers can apply for a grant and access grant information and advice.
Projects will be given priority if they help engage people with nature, improve the management of nature and landscape, or create better places in the Central Scotland Green Network area.
Another priority is to improve the management of wildlife; for example, tackling problems of invasive non-native species before they get established will help Scotland to save money in the long-term.
Andrew Bachell, director of operations at SNH, said: “The natural environment is Scotland's most valuable asset. We need to look after it so that it helps to improve our health and quality of life as well as our economic prosperity.
“Supporting projects that help deliver as many of these opportunities as we can is an essential part of this work. We're keen to back projects that are innovative, targeted at key groups, such as young people, people with poor health and people on low incomes, and which address barriers to participation, such as poor health, age and lack of confidence.”
Environment Minister, Stewart Stevenson, welcomed the new service. He said: "Scotland's nature and landscapes make a significant contribution to people's livelihoods, as well as their health and education. We are very keen to encourage more people and communities to become actively involved in looking after it. I very much welcome this new service which will make it easier for groups to apply for SNH funding, with a clear understanding of what the priorities are."
There are two types of grants available. Natural Project Grants are aimed at larger scale, longer term projects, of £10,000 and over. The deadline for these is 30 November 2011, with decisions by end of February 2012.
Community Action Grants will open for applications early in 2012. These grants are aimed at projects of 12 months or less, and between £1,000 and £20,000, that help get more people and communities involved in outdoor recreation, volunteering, outdoor learning, recording nature and biodiversity work. There will be no deadline for these applications as they can be received at any time.
The SNH grants service web page can be found at http://www.snh.gov.uk/funding/our-grants/

Am Boireannach a Dh'ith Bò (The Woman Who Ate A Cow)

Transmission 4th November 9pm, BBC Alba and repeated 6th November 10pm

Watch a clip here:  http://www.caledonia.tv/productions/full-catalogue/video.aspx?id=1530

Short-tailed Field Vole (Microtus agrestis)

This rather confused young chap was picked up wandering about on Octomore Farm near Port Charlotte on the Rhinns.
Carl