Gleann Osamail

Well, I have discovered a new part of Islay and have the ticks, scratches and bruises to prove it! I parked at Rockside Farm and headed for Gleann Osamail which in fact is beautiful, just very overgrown and almost impenetrable. Lots of Willow and Rowan and sadly Rhododendron, probably other species too. I was looking for Oak for the Purple Hairstreak, but didn't see any. This was a not altogether pleasant walk on account of the bog and very uneven ground. I had to double back on myself several times but did make it to the end of the glen eventually at which point I sighed heavily and returned the way I'd come.

Its remote location and bogginess did mean it was good for wildlife, however, and here are the highlights of my day, the meadows were just amazing and the music of birdsong accompanied me all the way.
adder (one female)
Small Heath (more than 40)
Marsh Fritillary (at last, but only one)
beautiful meadows
Poplar Hawk Moth (one)
Bumble Bees (lots) Bombus pascourum
Grasshopper Warbler
Willow Warbler
Whitethroat
Sedge Warbler
Reed Bunting
Buzzard
Raven
Cuckoo (all the time, including 'enigma' variations on what is after all a rather boring song)
Four-spotted Chaser
Golden-ringed Dragonfly (hurray for the bog!)
Large Red Damselfly

My most unusual sighting, however, was a herd of about 8 pigs. I'd been wondering what had been turning the soil when I suddenly happened upon the pigs. I don't know what species or provenance but I'd be interested to find out. Also, a wee wooden shelter on the west side of the glen. I wonder what or who used to inhabit that?
Becky

Giant Puffball (Calvatia gigantea)

Giant puffball in the Lighthouse field, Loch Indaal, Port Charlotte.

Common Gull nest

Common gull nest in an exposed location on the rocks close to the high water mark at Tayvullin on Loch Gruinart.

Herring Gull nest

This Herring gull nest was on one of the pillars of the old herring processing factory at Tayvullin earlier today

Bulbous buttercup (Ranunculous bulbosus)

Note the reflexed sepals.  Learnt that today at Ardnave...
Carl

Hemaris tityus - Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth

I'm so excited because yet another 'Bumble Bee' has turned out to be interesting. On our ramble today I just managed to get a quick photo of this insect as it flitted about amongst the Marsh Lousewort. I have to confess I thought it was a Bumble Bee, but later thought its proboscis was a bit long so uploaded it to ISpot for comments. The consensus is Hemaris tityus or Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth which, although not rare, is certainly a new species for me and I'm sorry it didn't hover around long enough for others to see.

Becky

FLORA AND FAUNA ARDNAVE 10th JUNE 2011

What a glorious day! I'm worried about the lack of butterflies but we still got a great list. Thanks to all contributors. Thought I'd add a photo of a throng of Dung Flies, the larvae of which are food for Chough. Also Star Sedge, of which we saw a lot today.

BIRDS
Chough
Curlew
Meadow Pipit
Ringed Plover
Redshank
Linnet
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Common Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Herring Gull
Rock Dove
Pied Wagtail
Lapwing
Oystercatcher
Eider Duck
Swallow
Sand Martin
Tufted Duck (Ardnave Loch)
Mallard (Ardnave Loch and Loch Gruinart)
Jackdaw
Rook
Bar-tailed Godwit (Loch Gruinart - flock of five)
Buzzard (soaring over L. Gruinart)
Mute Swan (pair with four cygnets Ardnave Loch)

INSECTS
Dung Flies
Green-veined White
Hemaris tityus - Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth
Dung Beetle
Cranefly sp.
Garden Tiger Moth caterpillar

LICHEN
Xanthoria parietina (bright yellow)
Caloplaca crenularia
Lecanora gangaleoides
Physcia adscendens (with xanthoria)

FLORA
Shiny Pondweed
Greater Bird’s-foot Trefoil
Meadow Buttercup
Bulbous Buttercup
English Stonecrop
Dove’s-foot Cranesbill
Water Cress
Water Mint
Brooklime
Forget-me-not sp.
Lady’s Bedstraw
Marsh Marigold
Silverweed
Germander Speedwell
White Clover
Lesser Trefoil
Daisy
Mouse-ear sp.
Early Marsh Orchid
Eyebright
Marsh Thistle
Spear Thistle
Creeping Thistle
Marsh Lousewort
Thrift
Sheep Sorrel
Cuckoo Flower
Lesser Spearwort
Ragged Robin
Sweet Vernal Grass
Common Nettle
Yellow Iris
Common Storksbill
Ribwort Plantain
Bracken
Cat’s-ear sp.
Butterwort
Chalk Milkwort
Thyme-leaved Sandwort
Kidney Vetch
Carnation sedge
Marsh Horsetail
Mouse-eared Hawkweed
Curled Dock
Cotton Grass Multiflora
Hare’s-tail Cottongrass
Star Sedge
Wall Speedwell

MAMMALS
Rabbit
Hare
Atlantic Seal

SNAILS
Helicella sp.

We are in the midst of a Happy Event

I have just returned from the Centre where our Poplar Hawk Moth eggs are hatching.  Much excitement.  We have given them willow to eat - just hope they take to it...
Carl

Mute Swan with cygnets at Carnain

The pair of Mute swans at Carnain at the top of Loch Indaal have hatched six cygnets again this year - they all disappeared quite quickly last year but this year they all seem to have survived their first couple of weeks OK.  Perhaps they enjoy endless wind and rain...

Silverweed (Argentina anserina)

A picture of a cheerful summery flower, abundant on Islay, to celebrate the return of some sunshine.

Blue-rayed Limpet - Ansates pellucida

Thanks to Martin Armstrong for sending this photo of a Blue-rayed Limpet, a gastropod mollusc that grows up to 15 mm long and lives primarily on kelp (Laminaria).
Becky

Encounter with a Roe Deer

Out for a walk this afternoon with my Labrador, this female Roe Deer came cantering up to within no more than a couple of metres. I've subsequently learnt that she had been seen in the area two days earlier with two very small fawns, I think she was escorting me and dog away from them. He sat quivering beside me while she was standing there looking at us. Fortunately, he obeyed his strict instructions to "stay"! When we moved away, she didn't follow but turned back towards some bushes which presumably hid her fawns.
Malcolm

This photo is not trimmed at all!

Sightings from Brian Turner

Thanks to Brian Turner who sent us these photos of a shy hare and a lichen that he took whilst fishing. The lichen is my favourite lichen, Cladonia floerkaena.

Becky

INHT to join Islay and Jura Marketing Group and RSPB Loch Gruinart at Birdfair

A joint application to the world's largest international birdwatching event by the Islay and Jura Marketing Group with RSPB Loch Gruinart and the INHT has been successful.  The event, held at Rutland Water in the English Midlands, attracts around 20,000 visitors every year but Islay has never previously been represented.
A small team drawn from all three organisations will travel down to man our joint stand and promote our island as a wildlife destination for visitors.
Carl

Bombus cryptarum - 'Cryptic' Bumble Bee

I'm glad someone pointed out this Bumble Bee on yesterday's ramble because it prompted me to go and do a bit of bumble bee study, an area completely new to me. I posted the photo on a couple of wildlife forums and have had it identified by several experts as Bombus cryptarum, a recently separated species from Bombus lucorum (White-tailed Bumble Bee). The black nick in its collar is the key (where wing meets body), otherwise this species is apparently nigh impossible to differentiate from lucorum. The NBN gateway shows that this species is almost entirely restricted to Scotland, but there are no records for Islay or Jura, so could this be a first?

Becky

lobster

This is the lobster I am waiting to come out from his pipe so I can take his beautiful image. Rukmini

First Chrysalis forms in the Centre

Rukmini found the first chrysalis hanging from the top of the butterfly pavillion in the Centre this morning.  We are not sure whether it is a Small Tortoiseshell or a Peacock as yet - we will keep you informed!!

Ghost Moth (Hepialus humuli) - Mary McGregor

Lovely shot of a Common Ghost Moth taken outside the Rhinns Hall, Portnahaven by Mary McGregor.

Flora and Fauna at Sanaigmore 6th June 2011

The weather wasn't brilliant, but we came up with the longest list yet. Thanks to all who attended, including members of the Wharfedale Botanist Group. Please notify me of any ommissions/corrections.
BIRDS
Chough
Raven
Curlew
Skylark
Meadow Pipit
Ringed Plover
Redshank
Starling
Linnet
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Common Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Herring Gull
Black Guillemot
Rock Dove
Blackbird
Song Thrush
Pied Wagtail (with young)
Arctic Tern
Gannet
Lapwing
Great Northern Diver
Oystercatcher
Sedge Warbler
Common Sandpiper
Eider Duck
Wren
Hooded Crow
Swallow
Sand Martin

INSECTS
6-spot ladybird
Green-veined White
Bombus cryptarum
LICHEN
Ramalina (pale green tufty species)
Ochrolechia parella (‘Fish-eye’ lichen - white crustose species)
Xanthoria parietina (bright yellow)
Verrucaria maura (black lichen covering rocks)

FLORA
Tormentil
Greater Bird’s-foot Trefoil
Meadow Buttercup
Bulbous Buttercup
English Stonecrop
Biting Stonecrop
Dove’s-foot Cranesbill
Monkeyflower
Water Cress
Water Mint
Brooklime
Forget-me-not sp.
Heath Speedwell
Heath Bedstraw
Marsh Marigold
Silverweed
Germander Speedwell
White Clover
Lesser Trefoil
Daisy
Sticky Mouse-ear
Early Marsh Orchid
Heather
Eyebright
Marsh Thistle
Spear Thistle
Creeping Thistle
Lousewort
Hard Fern
Thrift
Sorrel
Cuckoo Flower
Lesser Spearwort
Ragged Robin
Sea Sandwort
Sweet Vernal Grass
Common Nettle
Curled Dock
Common Ragwort
Dandelion
Yellow Iris

MAMMALS
Rabbit



Early Marsh Orchid

Becky

Welcome to Islay Evenings

The INHT has teamed up with Bruichladdich to offer a "Welcome to Islay" evening at the distillery.  We have arranged three of these events so far, one a month during June, July and August, with the possibility of further evenings during September and October if various staffing issues can be sorted out.
The format will closely follow the well tried "Visitor Welcome Evenings" which were run very successfully by the Islay and Jura Marketing Group for many years.  Sadly the Marketing Group does not have the staffing resources to manage their evenings this year, so we have stepped into the breach...

We hope to feature Ella Edgar's Highland Dancers and also some local singers and musicians, including pipers.  There will also be an overview of some of the many interesting places to visit around the island plus an illustrated introduction to our wonderful wildlife.

The ticket price to the evenings also includes a week's entrance to the Visitor Centre in Port Charlotte - and a very nice wee dram courtesy of our hosts..  We really hope you will be able to come.
Carl Reavey

Lesser Butterfly Orchid

The first I've seen this summer. They are reasonably widespread on Islay, often in quite boggy places, but have been declining nationally for many years. It was good to find several flowering spikes in an area where I hadn't seem them before. There should be more to see in the next two or three weeks as they grow and the flowers open out more.
Malcolm

Sciapus platypterus and Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary

Thanks to Fiona McGillivray for these pictures, taken yesterday at Tarbert, Jura - and for the ID of the beautiful fly which obligingly landed on her finger! The butterfly looks like a Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, which is a lovely record.

Becky

More evidence of the storm

Visitors to Islay will be familiar with the wind-shaped wood at Lyrabus on the way to Gruinart. Here it is after last week's storm. The wood consists of oak, beech, birch, sycamore and other trees which before the storm were all showing bright green. The wind has certainly done some pruning this year.
Malcolm

Carabus arvensis

This is a beautiful, bronze coloured ground beetle, Carabus arvensis, which I saw on a fantastic walk up The Sgurr on the east of the island today. We saw two of them in two different locations, but I've read they like peaty places, which makes sense.

Becky

Corncrakes and the Shorefield bullocks

The Shorefield bullocks are still enjoying their summer holiday in the field behind George's house.

We will be cutting up and packing the first two bullocks that were slaughtered on 18th May next week and then each  will be distributed to four customers as four equal quarters. 

Two more will be going to the abattoir on 16th June, and then they will be hung for three weeks which means that they will be ready for another set of customers in the middle of July.  We still have three 'spare' quarters from these second bullocks - so if you are interested please get in touch...  We are currently working out the best way of shipping to the mainland.

While we were up feeding them earlier today, we heard a Corncrake calling from the rough ground beyond the newest of George's two 'scrapes' that he excavated for duck and waders behind his house.

The yellow bucket contains a mineral lick which the cattle enjoy.  They probably don't need it from a dietary point of view, but they love the sweetness of it....
Carl

That storm again... And welcome back Gordon and Pauline!!

It was good to welcome Gordon and Pauline Yates back on to the island today.  I think they are genuinely quite shocked at the damage done to the trees and bushes here by the big storm of last week.  Gordon pointed out that the loss of biomass is bound to have serious consequences as the lack of green leaves results in lower insect populations which will in turn inevitably impact on bird populations and brreding success.
The top picture above is what is left of a hawthorn bush in Bridgend.  A Blackcap was defiantly singing away from the middle of all the devastation.  The lower is a shot of a tree that came down on top of my shed in the garden at Lorgba!!
Carl

We love Stinging Nettles

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/stinging-nettles.html#cr

I am just off to collect some from our garden for the Peacock butterfly caterpillars in the Centre...
Carl

Flora and fauna - Killinallan nature ramble 3/6/11

Rock Rose - Helianthemum apenninum

                                    Early Marsh Orchid - Dactylorhiza incarnata. subsp.coccinea                                       

Early Marsh Orchid - Dactylorhiza incarnata subsp. incarnata

BIRDS
Herring Gull
Curlew
Oystercatcher (and nest)
Ringed Plover
Skylark
Sedge Warbler
Pheasant

FLORA
Eyebright
Early Marsh Orchid + subsp. coccinea
Early Purple Orchid (died back)
Pyramidal Orchid
Heath Spotted Orchid
Chalk Milkwort
Marsh Lousewort
Tormentil
Bird’s-foot Trefoil
Silverweed
Horsetail
Water Mint
Marsh Pennywort
Rock Rose (white, not yellow)
Heath Speedwell
Germander Speedwell
Meadow Buttercup
Marsh Marigold
Sea Milkwort
Cuckoo Flower
Thrift
Primrose
Marsh Thistle
Yellow Iris
Black Bog-rush
Daisy
Dandelion
Chickweed
Common Butterwort
Crown Plantain
Dove's-foot Cranesbill
English Stonecrop
Marram Grass
Lady's Bedstraw
Heath Bedstraw
Ragged Robin

INSECTS AND SPIDERS
Click Beetle
Small Heath Butterfly (several)
Small Daddy-long-legs
Spiders sp.

MAMMALS
Atlantic Seal
Rabbit

LICHEN
Xanthoria parietina (bright yellow)
Lecanora gangaleoides (white with  black 'jam tarts')
Ramalina sp. (pale green tufty species)
Caloplaca crenularia (very tiny orange dots on rocks)
Verrucaria maura (black lichen covering coastal rocks)

SHORE
Ragworm
Shore Crab
Pond Skater (on brackish pool)

FUNGI
Puffball

SNAIL
Helicella sp.

Becky

Photos from members

Thanks to folks attending Monday's nature ramble for these beautiful photos of a baby Robin, a Small Heath and a feeding Meadow Pipit.

Becky

The travels of a Brent Goose

On 23rd April, a flock of about 80 Light-bellied Brent Geese fed on the shore in front of Loch Gorm House and I was able to read the letters on the leg rings that one bird was wearing. It had the letter 'N' on its right leg and 'J' on its left. I have now had the details of when and where it was ringed and other sightings of it.


26th October 2003 Caught and ringed, Strangford Lough, SE of Belfast. It was a juvenile, hatched in 2003.
Winter 2003-2004 Seen frequently at Strangford Lough, up to mid-February
Winter 2004-2005 Returned to Strangford Lough on 4th October and seen regularly until mid-April
Winter 2005-2006 Seen Strangford Lough on 5th October and many times thereafter to February
    29th April 2006 Seen on the west coast of Iceland, and again on 3rd May
Winter 2006-2007 No sightings
Winter 2007-2008 No sightings
Winter 2008-2009 Seen Cork Harbour, on the south coast of Ireland on 25 December
Winter 2009-2010 Seen Wexford Harbour, on the south-east coast of Ireland on 5 April
Winter 2010-2011 Seen Strangford Lough four times in November
    23rd April 2011 Seen at Bruichladdich, Loch Indaal
    26th April 2011 Seen at Durness, Sutherland

So, after wintering regularly at Strangford Lough for a few years, it seems to have gone somewhere else in more recent winters. This will be somewhere in Ireland, but presumably where there are fewer observers. To be seen twice in Scotland on the same spring migration is unusual.
These Brent Geese breed in arctic Canada and all winter in Ireland. They make a 2,500 mile (c.4,000 km) migration twice a year, so the bird I saw, which will now be back in Canada having made its 16th journey, has travelled a minimum of 40,000 miles not counting all the shorter journeys it will have made in Ireland.
There's a lot more here: http://www.irishbrentgoose.org/
Here's a photo of some Brent on the Bruichladdich shore that I took a couple of years ago.
Malcolm

Another beetle

This one, which was crawling over a track on the Rinns, is a member of the family called rove beetles (the Staphylinidae). It doesn't seem to have a vernacular name, but its scientific name is Staphylinus erythropterus. It is related to the familiar Devil's Coach-horse Beetle and, like most rove beetles is both a predator on smaller insects and a scavenger of dead plants and animals. I've found a couple of 1980s records for Islay, both on the Rinns, but that's all.
Malcolm

Mystery Egg

Martin Armstrong brought this picture of a single egg found in what looked like a scrape in the dunes at Killinallan to the Birding group last night and despite much thumbing of field guides and peering at pictures by the assembled ornithological glitterati, there was no agreement (or even much of an idea) as to the identity of the parent.  Suggestions anybody?
Carl

A tale of two cotton-grasses

The white heads of cotton-grass are beginning to decorate the moorland. There are two species in this habitat, Common Cotton-grass (Eriophorum angustifolium) with multiple heads and Hare's-tail Cotton-grass (Eriophorum vaginatum) with single heads. Curiously, the former was easier to photograph in the wind than the latter! There's a third, uncommon, species, Broad-leaved Cotton-grass (Eriophorum latifolium), which is only found on the limestone.
The heads were once used for candle wicks, stuffing pillows and dressing wounds, and they aren't grasses at all, but related to the sedges.
Malcolm

Common Cotton-grass

Hare's-tail Cotton-grass

Species list for Bunnahabhain nature ramble 30th May 2011

Here is a complete list of the flora and fauna we saw on our first nature ramble on Monday. Any ommissions, please let me know!  Becky

BIRDS

Spotted Flycatcher

Yellowhammer (2)

Willow Warbler

Grey Wagtail

Pied Wagtail

Common Sandpiper (2)

Oystercatcher (2)

Ringed Plover (1)

Common Gull

Chaffinch

Stonechat (family)

Whitethroat (at least one)

Meadow Pipit

Linnet

Mute Swan

Eider Duck

INSECTS AND SPIDERS

Green Tiger Beetle

Click Beetle

Diving Beetle

Small Heath Butterfly

Spider - Aranidae family

FLORA

Marsh Thistle

Round-leaved Sundew

Lousewort

Common Butterwort

Tormentil

Heather

Thrift

Hard Fern

Sorrel

Silverweed

Foxglove

LICHENS

Usnea

Ramalina

Parmelia saxatilis

MAMMALS

Common Seal

Squat Lobster

Sarah and Innes sent us this email and fantastic photo of a Squat Lobster they saw at the Singing Sands.Thank you Sarah and Innes!

On a recent visit with my son Innes to the Islay Natural History Trust you asked us to email you with any wildlife photos from our holiday in Islay.  I've attached a photo of a crab which we found at Singing Sands on Friday 27th May which I hope might be of some interest.  We had a wonderful visit to the Trust and Innes particulay loved the touching pools and the caterpillars.  Thank you so much for allowing him to feed the fish and lobster he loved telling his granny and grandpa all about it!