Yesterday's Gartbreck shore rAmble

There was lots to see along Gartbreck shoreline yesterday afternoon, as our group of 10 found out over an enjoyable 2 hours - the time just flew by! Aided by two telescopes we had a good look at the Common Seals on nearby rocks (including a pup!) and two beautiful Turnstones in summer plumage just in front of the seals, and saw Shelduck and Eider on the sea too.

The group at Gartbreck

In the rockpools, on the sand and under seaweed we found many treasures, including a sea anemone, shore crabs, a hermit crab and lots of different shells.

Teeny shore crab

Bigger shore crab

Sea anemone on a Sand Gaper shell

To and from the shore we also saw many different wildflowers, including the Bird's Foot Trefoil and the origin of its name - the seedpods that look like a bird's foot!

Bird's foot trefoil seed pods

Also seen was Marsh Samphire, or Glasswort, a new one for me.

Glasswort

All in all, a happy Sunday afternoon!
Mandy.

Plants: Red bartsia, silverweed, bird's foot trefoil, yellow rattle, creeping thistle, spear thistle, red clover, white clover, knapweed, hogweed, marsh samphire (glasswort), thrift, thyme, english stonecrop, ox-eye daisy.

Shore life and shells: Limpet, starfish, shore crab, hermit crab, common whelk egg case, saddle oyster, needle whelk, clam, greater scallop, hunchback scallop, keel worms, barnacles, baltic tellin, Leathesia deformis, carpet shell, sugar kelp, common periwinkle, grey topshell, sand gaper

Mammals: common seals  

Birds:  Starlings, sedge warbler, pied wagtail, dunlin, ringed plover, oystercatcher, shelduck, eider, herring gull, meadow pipit, skylark, turnstone, sparrowhawk

Insects:  Soldier beetles, leaf hopper, ringlet butterfly

Kilnaughton - family activity: Miniature shells, flowers and beasties

A group of over 25 keen explorers came for a mix of activities.  We set off to find various scavenged articles from the beach: hard and soft, lived in, colourful, made a sound, smelled of the sea.  Then the challenge was who could find the smallest/tiniest shell.

I think this was the winner!

We then we set off to explore the dunes for the colourful flowers, making a pallet of the colours.

We searched amongst the grasses and flowers armed with magnifiers, bug pots and nets to see what insect beasties we could find.  Common blue and Ringlet butterflies were caught and six Spot Burnett Moths.  Flies were caught in nets and snails in the grass and red Soldier Beetles visiting the flowers.

Despite the dulling weather the rain did well to hold off whilst we all enjoyed our mini wildlife adventure.

Fiona

Next Sunday's rAmble - Seashore, Shells and Seals at Gartbreck

Why not join us for the next INHT rAmble this sunday 19th July when we'll be exploring the seashore to see what treasures we can find! We'll be looking out for seals too, as well as any other wildlife including plants and birds that we may spot. The walk itself starts at 2pm from the parking area at the end of the track before the farm (where the new distillery is to be built), but we'll also be meeting first at 1:50pm at the village hall in Bowmore (on the corner of Main Street/Jamieson Street) so we can car-share. The walk is just £4 per person or £10 per family (2 adults plus children), and if you're a member of the Islay Natural History Trust it's just £2! Don't forget to wear stout footwear and dress for the weather; sorry no dogs. Hope to see you there!

Ancient forts - last sunday's rAmble to Dun Nosebridge

Sunday's weather was kind to us yet again for another enjoyable rAmble in good company.

Some of the group on the way to the Fort

This walk combined different habitats with great views, and shortly after the start we saw a Spotted Flycatcher in the woodland trees lining the path. Also seen a little later was a beautiful male Stonechat which we first heard, making it's distinctive sound like stones being knocked together. Nearby was a juvenile Stonechat too which was nice to see, both of them sitting on a fence bordering a field.

We also saw lots of different plants and a few insects (see list at the end), and some of us were lucky enough to see a Beautiful Demoiselle damselfly flit past over the bracken. Their flight season lasts until September so hopefully there'll be more sightings. It was great to see the enthusiasm of the youngsters, catching insects to look at more closely in the pot - here's one of the beetles that we looked at.

Dor beetle - it's a big un!

And then we got to climb Dun Nosebridge itself, a (probably) Iron Age fort whose name derives from Scottish Gaelic ('Dun' meaning 'fort') and Old Norse ('knaus-borg' meaning 'fort on the crag') or Norse ('hnaus-bog' meaning 'turf fort').

Dun Nosebridge

 From the top we got to see some great views, along with an amazing array of wildflowers.

This is certainly a walk I'll be doing again! Mandy

Insects: Ringlet butterfly, Small Heath butterfly, Beautiful Demoiselle damselfly, Grasshopper, Pond Skater, Water Spider, Dor Beetle, Mirid bugs, Soldier Beetle, Dascillus cervinus,

Plants: Tufted Vetch, Self Heal, Heath Bedstraw, Thyme, Eyebright, Hawkbit, Mouse-ear, Tormentil, Silverweed, Bird'sfoot Trefoil, Red Bartsia, Hard Fern, Sea Plantain, Cuckoo Flower, Water Avens, Butterwort, Lady's Bedstraw, Yarrow, Marsh Thistle, Spear Thistle, Fairy Flax, Milkwort, Cat's ear, Perforate St John's wort, Red Clover, White Clover, Daisy, Buttercup, Wild Strawberry, Common Sorrel, Common Spotted Orchid, Heath SPotted Orchid, Northern Marsh Orchid, Sessile Oak tree.

Birds: Spotted Flycatcher, Chaffinches displaying, Male Stonechat and juvenile.

Join us for a rAmble up to the hill fort of Dun Nosebridge 2pm Sunday 12th July.  We can arrange a car share to site at 1:50 meet at the Bridgend woods car park.  No dogs on this walk. 
Expect ancient woodland, and rich grassland.

Magic Moorland - Jura

Beaten by the nice weather this time! Everyone must have decided the weather was too good to miss and so make the most of the beach.  No takers for the 'Magic Moorland' session on Thursday.  The sphagnum mosses were a pretty carpet not spoiled by dry weather and the little cute sundews were on the point of flowering, with lots of little midges stuck to their sticky leaves.  There were many butterwort along the nearby ditch, still flowering, they are also partial to the odd insect stuck to their leaves - added nitrogen for growth.  The Bog Asphodel were just displaying the first of their star shaped flowers and the bog cotton heads danced in the breeze.


Next Thursday (16th - 2pm) we are at Kilnaughton Bay so if it be good or not all activities can be combined in one afternoon so come along for a good mix of beachcombing, flower delights and minibeast hunts.

Intrepid explorers brave the rain

An intrepid band of c.25 explorers big and small arrived for a seashore safari at Port Mor on Monday all eager at 2pm. Just as we armed everyone with a net ready, we watched the wall of water approach from the west. Undeterred we ventured down to the rocky shore and did our best to look for creatures under stones and seaweed. some hermit crabs and anemones, one small fish and sea snails were found but the druichid weather took its toll and the band of explorers gradually dwindled.  I may have taken pictures if I dared expose my camera, but wisely thought better of it - the camera lives to snap another day, my jeans however are still attempting to dry!


Better weather is forecast for Thursday when we will be on Jura, looking for the small and beautiful plants and creatures on the peatbog - 'Moorland Magic'.  We will venture a short way along the track to Inver farm, just above the Feolin ferry terminal.  Ferries are at 13:10 or you can easily catch up with us off the 14:15 ferry from Islay, no need to bring the car if you don't want to.  See you there.
Fiona

Geology Walk at Kilchiaran

The forecast wasn't promising on Sunday 5th July but the rains stayed away and our group of 11 had a great walk around Kilchiaran Bay. The tide was very low - and so we got a rare opportunity to scramble and paddle round to explore the cave on the left-hand side of the bay - where the 'billion-year gap' is well exposed.

The rocks on the right are 1.8 billion-year old gneisses of the Rhinns Complex in sheared contact with metasandstones of the Colonsay Group on the left which are probably a billion-years younger. We discussed the formation and break-up of ancient continents (Columbia/Nuna and Rodinia), deltaic sedimentation, slate formation, quartz veining, the opening and closing of the Iapetus ocean, 200 million-year old Mesozoic faulting, Cenozoic dyke intrusions related to the opening of the Atlantic Ocean about 55 million years ago, as well as much more recent Ice Age features such as ice-scratched rocks, glaciomarine gravels and the flint pebbles they contain which were so important to Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. All this in one bay!
Dave Webster

Seals, Hermits and Little Fishes - Family Seashore Specials

Our family activity at Killinallan yesterday was amazing, 13 children and 10 adults had a mini adventure, skiddling about on the seashore, turning over seaweed and swishing the nets to discover lots and lots of hermit crabs of all sizes and styles of mobile home! We had lots of little fishes, sand shrimps and little boggle eyed Opossum Shrimps. Two shy butterfish, and a blob of jelly that turned out to be a Sea Hare. There were shore crabs the size of your finger nail and ones the size of your hand, brandishing defensive nippy claws! Various types of sea snail were plucked from the weed, some had barnacles on their backs and a lovely sea anemone attached to some seaweed opened out nicley in our tray. We investigated the signs of lugworms that were buried under the sand and explained the worm casts were really worm poo, the result of feeding on the particles attached to the sand. The Grey seals were basking on the sand bank across the water opposite us and sang their songs. The tide eventually decided it wanted to come in and would lift the trays, so we set all the creatures free and headed off for tea! For those of you who missed this fun session come along to Port Mor (Port Charlotte campsite/football pitch) on Monday (6th) 2pm and meet us in the car park for some rockpooling down on the shore. Fiona

The Oldest of Rocks & the Billion Year Gap!

Our next Sunday rAmble (nature walk)(5th July) is heading for ancient rocks, some of the oldest in the world, who could fathom that within a few metres is a billion years of geological history. The walk will be lead by David Webster who's knowledge of Islay's rocks will enthuse and leave you in awe. We are meeting at Kilchiaran at 2pm, please park resonsibly either in layby by the old chapel or by the farm track with the information board (please do not obscure access). The walk will last c.1.5-2 hours, there will be plants and other natural delights.

Orchids galore at Killinallan



Common Twayblade

An amazing array of wildflowers was seen on our walk over at Killinallan on Sunday on a sunny but windy day. Not only did our hardy band of 12 see the recently-recorded narrow-leaved orchid, but also frog orchid and common twayblade, not to mention early purple, pyramidal, heath spotted and early and northern marsh orchids. There were lots of 6-spot burnet moths about too, as well as a beautiful marsh fritillary butterfly.

Marsh Fritillary

There were so many different flowers around that I'll just list them at the end rather than pick any specific ones out. As ever, a very enjoyable few hours ambling about - thanks to everyone who came along, and to our experts Fiona and Malcolm for their wealth of botanical knowledge. The nice thing about these walks is that it doesn't matter how much or how little you know about nature, you're bound to learn something new, and you can share the knowledge you do have! Hope to see you on the next one, which will be a geology walk! Details to follow.

Sea Milkwort

Six-spot Burnet Moth Cocoon

Six-spot Burnet Moth on Pyramidal Orchid

Marsh Cinquefoil

Plants: cuckoo flower, silverweed, thrift, ragged robin, marsh marigold, sea milkwort, sea plantain, sea arrowgrass, narrow-leaved marsh orchid, northern marsh orchid, early marsh orchid, early purple orchid, heath spotted orchid, frog orchid, common twayblade, pyramidal orchid,germander speedwell, lousewort, lesser meadow rue, fairy flax, thyme, bird's-foot trefoil, eyebright, lady's bedstraw, marsh bedstraw, common milkwort, meadow buttercup, daisy, sea plantain, burnet rose, carnation sedge, mouse ear, hawkweed, marsh cinquefoil, marsh lousewort, valerian, meadowsweet, yellow iris, marsh thistle, knapweed, marram grass, black bog rush, tormentil, pennywort, tufted vetch, dog violet, bracken, spear thistle, adder's tongue fern, common nettle, ribwort plantain, tormentil, red clover, white clover. Birds: skylark, swallow, sand martin, rock pipit, hooded crow, herring gull, redpoll, meadow pipit, redshank, oystercatcher. Insects: 6-spot burnet moth, marsh fritillary butterfly. Mammals: grey seals.

Thanks to Hazel Cunningham for most of these photos.

Next Sunday's walk at Killinallan - Orchids, Butterflies and other Dune Delights

After finding four different kinds of orchids on last Sunday's walk, we're sure to see even more when we head for Killinallan on the next INHT rAmble this coming Sunday 28th June at 2 pm. This side of Loch Gruinart is renowned for its variety of orchids and helleborines and is the area that a new orchid for Islay was recently found (see earlier blog). We'll also be looking out for butterflies and day-flying moths (such as the beautiful Cinnabar and 6-Spot Burnet moths) but these will very much depend on the weather - fingers crossed for a sunny day! Regardless of the weather there'll be plenty of wildflowers to see in the dunes, where the carpet of flowers is usually spectactular. We'll be meeting 3 miles up the east side of Loch Gruinart at the locked gate - basically, take the Killinallan turning off the B8017 and drive until you get to a locked gate across the track. The walk is just £4 per person or £10 per family (2 adults plus children), and £2 for members of the Islay Natural History Trust. Don't forget to wear stout footwear and dress for the weather; sorry no dogs. Hope to see you there!

Orchids and insectivores - yesterday's rAmble at Bunnahabhain.

Given the original weather forecast for Sunday, we were lucky after all on our rAmble at Bunnahabhain, with spells of sunshine and only one brief shower. After admiring the views over to Jura, our intrepid band of 8 headed up the track towards the woodlands, spotting many different wildflowers along the way (see list at the end for everything we saw!).

Perhaps for me the nicest sight was of the orchids, of which we saw 4 types: common spotted orchid, northern marsh orchid, heath spotted orchid and early purple orchid. No doubt there’ll be even more orchids to see on our rAmble next Sunday at Killinallan, which is an area well-known for these beautiful wildflowers! Details to follow.

Another lovely sight was the Sundew, growing right there in the middle of the track! These tiny plants are insectivorous, and catch small insects (like midges!) in their sticky globules that the insects mistake for water. Its name comes from the fact that the sun does not evaporate what was originally mistaken for dew, and Alchemists thought therefore that the plant must have magical properties. For me, its most magical quality is that it eats midges. All hail the Sundew! And not forgetting the lovely Butterwort, which is also insectivorous.

Time flew with so much to stop and look at, and although we were out for 3 hours it seemed like no time at all before we were heading back down the track again, with lovely views of the Sound of Islay ahead of us. Before leaving we headed down towards the distillery to see if we could spot an otter, with no luck sadly. We did spot some seals though further up the coast, and a Black Guillemot was spotted flying over the sea’s surface. And to top it all, on the drive home some of us were lucky enough to see an Osprey over Ardnahoe Loch, as well as a Buzzard and a male Hen Harrier nearby. All in all it made for a very enjoyable Sunday afternoon! Thanks to Fiona for leading the walk. Mandy

Birds (seen or heard): Redpoll, Linnet, Blackcap, Goldcrest, Willow Warbler, Starling, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch. Ardnahoe Loch: Osprey, Buzzard and male Hen Harrier.

Flowers: Eyebright, lady’s bedstraw, heath bedstraw, common spotted orchid, northern marsh orchid, heath spotted orchid, early purple orchid, bluebell, germander speedwell, field speedwell, tormentil, lousewort, milkwort (purple and pink), butterwort, sundew, yellow pimpernel, cotton grass, hard fern, crowberry, willow with galls on it, primrose, water avens, red clover, white clover.

Mosses and Lichens: Star moss, Sphagnum moss, Chladonia spp. (lichen).

Insects: Dor beetle, Sexton beetle.

Next sunday rAmble at Bunnahabhain forestry

Join us for a wander through the woods near Bunnahabhain this coming sunday (21st June). We'll be looking out for woodland birds and anything else we can find, as well as admiring the views over to Jura! We'll be taking it at a nice slow pace so we don't miss anything, and should be out for about 2 hours. The walk is just £4 per person or £10 per family (2 adults plus children), and if you're a member of the Islay Natural History Trust it's just £2! Don't forget to wear stout footwear and dress for the weather; sorry no dogs. We'll be meeting for 2 pm at the grass triangle just before the road bends down towards the distillery, and will be heading along the track towards Staoisha. See you on Sunday!

New Residents at the Centre

Thanks to Paul Rennie we now have a few more creatures resident in our aquaria, a lovely sea urchin, a large hermit crab, velvet swimming crabs, some Long-spined Seascorpion fish and a beautiful flat fish (Brill maybe).

We also now have a Lobster in its own tank, it is missing its right claw and a few legs, but they will grow back, and we can watch this regeneration process in action.  It now just needs to be given a name, any suggestions?, we will keep you posted with the best selection.

Last Sunday’s Sanaigmore rAmble

On a glorious afternoon our group of 19 set off for a meander through the dunes of Sanaigmore, eager to see what wildlife awaited us.

We weren’t disappointed as wildflowers, birds and butterflies revealed themselves to us. On the bird front, we saw hen harrier, buzzard, oystercatcher, common sandpiper, skylark, meadow pipit, common gull and linnet, with a few gannets and auks spotted out to sea. As for the wildflowers, we saw bird’s foot trefoil, germander speedwell, thrift, heath bedstraw, tormentil, English stonecrop, silverweed, stork’s bill, ragged robin, milkwort, lousewort, mouse ear (aren’t these names fantastic?), cuckoo flower, heath spotted orchid, scurvy grass and mountain everlasting. This last one was a new one for me and one I’ll be looking out for.

Lousewort

Mountain Everlasting

    

 Also seen and identified by their leaves as they’re not yet in flower, were meadowsweet and devil’s bit scabious, the latter being the food plant of the marsh fritillary caterpillar. And what should happen by but a marsh fritillary butterfly! Good to see these rare butterflies that are just on the wing. Thanks to Diana for the photo. Another butterfly out and about was the green-veined white. 

 We also set free one of our Cinnabar moths which had just emerged from its pupa having spent the winter hibernating at the centre.

So a very pleasant couple of hours was passed at this stunning location, so much so that after the ‘official’ walk I just had to spend another hour out walking there! Thanks to everyone who came along, it was fun! Our next rAmble will be at Bunnahabhain forestry, details to follow.

 Mandy

New orchid for Islay

It wasn't just a new moth for Islay which Mark, Sally and I looked at in the Killinallan Dunes the day before yesterday, but the Narrow-leaved Marsh Orchid Dactylorhiza traunsteinerioides which is new for Islay (indeed, new for the vice-county). Mark and Sally had found it earlier and were pretty certain that this was what it was, but it needed confirmation so I went back with them and then sent photographs to an orchid expert, who was more than happy to say that the identification was correct. It grows on Mull, Tiree and Kintyre, so Islay fills a gap between them, and in a handful of sites in north-west Scotland, as well as up to 40 mostly coastal sites in England and Wales.
At Killinallan, there were a few tens of plants scattered thinly over quite a wide area of the flatter ground and in one wetter dune slack. It is the eleventh species of orchid found in this one area of the island: Pyramidal, Frog, Early Marsh, Northern Marsh, Fragrant, Marsh Helleborine, Early Purple, Common Spotted, Heath Spotted and Common Twayblade. Well done, Mark and Sally!

Malcolm

A new moth for Islay

Walking in the Killinallan dunes, yesterday, with Mark and Sally Johnson from Lincolnshire, this small (10-12mm) moth attracted our attention. It didn't like camera lenses too close and kept flitting from plant to plant, but never going far and, eventually, some images became possible. It is called the Small Purple-barred Moth and has not been recorded on Islay before. The only other records for this vice-county (Islay, Jura and Colonsay) are from Colonsay, one each in 1985, 2010 and 2012. It is one of the rather few moths that flies much more in the daytime than at night while its main foodplants, Common and Heath Milkwort, are abundant at Killinallan.

Malcolm

Join us for the next Sunday afternoon's rAmble at Sanaigmore!

This Sunday June 14th sees the next in our weekly wildlife rAmbles, this time meeting at Sanaigmore for 2pm. We'll mainly be looking for wildflowers in the dunes, and with that beautiful beach there we'll be looking at the flint too, and anything else that comes along! Our walks are taken at a relaxed pace so we can have a really good look at what's around. You can park at the Outback Gallery (and coffee shop!) so hopefully we'll see you there. The walk is just £4 per person or £10 per family (2 adults plus children), and if you're a member of the Islay Natural History Trust it's just £2! Don't forget to wear stout footwear and dress for the weather; sorry no dogs. Hope to see you on Sunday!

The Botanist Gin - 22 of Islays plants ~ New Display

Bruichladdich Distillery, our sponsor for the last two years have this very nice tipple - The Botanist Gin

There are 22 plant elements sourced on Islay which make up the botanical flavour that gives it its unique appeal. We have pulled together a fabulous new display providing tips on identification and outlining the qualities these plants had in the past for our ancestors who knew their qualities well, far beyond just flavouring for Gin.

Thanks to Bruichladdich for producing and printing it so well for us.  Please do come and visit and find out more about these wonderful and useful plants.

All ashore – 1st Sunday rAmble (7th June) of the summer

There were lots of amazing creatures to be seen along the shore on yesterday’s walk from Bowmore towards Gartbreck. Aided by a perfectly timed low tide, blue sky and our walk-leader Fiona’s wealth of knowledge, we uncovered shore crabs, tortoiseshell limpets, a chiton, a small flatfish, sandhoppers scooting through the water, a common shrimp, and lots of golden carpet shells to name but a few. 





There was even a Squat Lobster that must have been the victim of stormy weather and sadly it was full of roe, as these photos show. 

Possibly the most beautiful slug I’ve ever seen was the sea-slug we found, Facelina bostoniensis. An amazing sight as its sluggy fronds waved gently in the water.

And scattered all over the shore were glistening jelly-like blobs of algae, Leathesia difformis, known variously as sea balls, or sea cauliflower.

We also found a piece of kelp with a sea-mat on it that made it look a bit like a snake skin! Apparently it’s a bryozoan called Membranipora membranacea…but I think I’ll just call it Bryan.
Or maybe this one should be called Bryan!

Breadcrumb sponge with a tuft of red seaweed

A fantastic way to spend a few hours – looking forward to the next walk!

Sunday 14th June - 2pm: Sanaigmore -Dunes and Coastal Treasures.

Orange Tip spotted on Islay!

Yesterday afternoon around 15:15, Alistair was about to go up into the woodland at Port Askaig Brae when he spotted what he first assumed to be the ubiquitous Green-veined White butterfly. However, as luck would have it the small white butterfly landed on a Bramble which gave Alistair the chance of a closer look - and a photo opp - and it turned out to be a male Orange Tip butterfly! Now you might not think this is very exciting, if you're from a place where these lovely butterflies abound, but here on Islay, it is a rarity indeed. Since the first sighting (before 1970), there have been only 15 sightings on Islay, plus 12 on Colonsay and 3 on Jura, but they are slowly getting more regular, with annual sightings since 2010. One was seen on Colonsay on 15th May this year. Here's a photo of the little beauty, and please let us know of any other sightings !

This Sunday's rAmble - Seashore, Seals and Waders

This sunday afternoon will see the next in our series of weekly rAmbles, and this time we'll be looking out for seals and waders along the seashore between Bowmore and Gartbreck. We'll be meeting for 2pm at the playing fields car park down Flora Street, Bowmore, near the high school. Led by Fiona, we'll head down the lane to the seashore and along to Gartbreck to see what we can find! So if you fancy finding out more about the wildlife of Islay's seashore or just fancy an amble in the fresh air to somewhere you might not have been yet, why not come along? It's just £4 per person or £10 per family (2 adults plus children), and if you're a member of the Islay Natural History Trust it's just £2! Don't forget to wear stout footwear and dress for the weather; sorry no dogs so pooch will have to miss this one. Hope to see you on Sunday!