Photos from Jonathan Farooqi

At last I can show Jonathan's excellent photos from his recent visit to Islay. We had image storage problems with the blog (because we're posting so much!) so sorry for the delay in posting this. I was delighted to receive these photos from 11 year old Jonathan Farooqi who visited the Centre with his family. They tested the new Weights Quiz for me! These are fantastic photos. Well done Jonathan!
Becky

Basking Shark in the Sound of Islay

Choughs at Ardnave

Frog Orchid at Killinallan

Osprey, Bowmore

Common Toad, Bridgend

Professor Mithen speaking at the Centre

Professor Mithen is back on Islay with his digging team and will giving us an update on his fascinating talk last year about Mesolithic Man on Islay.

Fyn and Kit's visit

Fyn and Kit visited the Centre this morning and spent hours doing quizzes, showing me a video they'd taken of a Basking Shark and making pictures. Here is Fin with his Basking Shark picture. We're looking forward to the video . . . Thanks for visiting guys!
Becky

Ramble at Kilchiaran, 24th August 2012

There were only three of us for today's ramble, but what a glorious day for it! Ann and Olivia are two of our newest members and they spent a lot of time with us last week, both in the Centre and out. It was a pleasure to have them on the ramble today, not least because they kept spotting things. No Oystercatchers today - I think that's a record! We collected some more caterpillars for our pavilion though, which  I was very pleased about. I'm later than usual in writing this post because of difficulties with uploading photos from my computer so I may well have forgotten something! I'll add photos later. Thanks for all your enthusiasm you two!
Becky

BIRDS
Raven, Chough, Rock Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Twite, Goldfinch, Wheatear, Linnet, Gannet, Common Sandpiper

FLORA
Meadow Buttercup, Marsh Thistle, Spear Thistle, Creeping Thistle, Common Centaury, Eyebright, Thrift, Wild Thyme, Lesser Spearwort, Common Milkwort, White Clover, Red Clover, Bird's Foot Trefoil, Lady's Bedstraw, Common Nettle, Selfheal, Tormentil, Kidney Vetch, Harebell, Hawkbit, Black Knapweed

INSECTS AND INVERTEBRAE

Spider sp., Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Small Copper, Green-veined White, Bombus lucorum, hoverfly sp., Bombus pascuorum

Harebells

Garden Bumble Bee - Bombus horturum

Small Copper

Bruichladdich Rockpooling

It's about time I blogged our rockpooling at Bruichladdich last Sunday. The full species list for this is upstairs in my room, and after today's long walk with  mum (Becky Williamson) it's staying there! Sorry for the disappointment.. Here are the best finds from the day.

Mystery worm/leech.

One of two trays we emptied the buckets into back at the visitor centre, before deciding what to keep in the tanks.

James introducing us to Benny the blenny!

Breadcrumb sponge. This one is demonstrating a lack of algae due to little light, shown by its orange colour. As in the Port Mor specimen from Tuesday's activity session, they are usually green.

Sand/small brittlestar. Found in abundance under stones at Bruichladdich, particularly in muddy pools.

Chiton.

Lorna

Benny the Blenny

Welcome Benny, another arrival to our sea tank. James joined us for rockpooling at Bruichladdich on Sunday (blog to follow soon), finding this impressive blenny under a rock. There were hundreds of slippery rocks separating us at the time, so we heard him shout "Wow, this thing is massive!" before we saw it. Of course, we were very excited. Benny is now happy living amongst the piecrust crabs and sea scorpions. He has become part of the gang, spotted using the latter as a tummy rest this afternoon! Check out that pucker!

Lorna

A Link to Facebook

We seem to be experiencing problems uploading photos to the blog at the moment, but I didn't want to miss the opportunity to post some photos from Jonathan Farooqi who was on holiday here last week and took some amazing photos of wildlife. Check the link here:
Becky

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.391425884256237.89664.129850690413759&type=1

Slime Mould

Every so often someone sends me a photo of something they describe in negative terms and I can just imagine their faces screwing up in disgust as they do so. It's called slime mould and I've posted pictures here before with a health warning! Here goes again - this time thanks to Beki, Crystal and Mary from the RSPB for seeking this out.
Becky

Slime Mould between Bunnahabhain and Finlaggan

Family Activity Session - Rockpooling

Around 20 intrepid explorers set out for the final rockpooling session this afternoon. The rain arrived on cue as we clambered over the slippery rocks, but it was well worth it. The highlights were plenty of 3 spined sticklebacks (nearly 30 of them), ragworms, baby shorecrabs and shannies, and a worm pipefish. Plenty of lion's mane jellyfish have been reported washed up on the shore, and today they were indeed lining the rocks. We also delighted in the breadcrumb, and estuary sponges, comparing textures and 'squidgyness'. Thanks everyone for spending your afternoon rockpooling with the INHT!

Looking for shore crabs

Brilliantly coloured breadcrumb sponge (left) and estuary sponge (right). Sponges are one of the world's simplest animals as they lack internal organs such as a brain, heart or lungs! However they do have a skeleton, which when washed up, finds its way into our bath tubs.

Species List

shanny
hermit crab
shore crab
3 spined stickleback
worm pipefish
prawn
breadcrumb sponge
estuary sponge
beadlet anemone
flat winkle
periwinkle
rough winkle
topshell
limpet
ragworm (possibly estuary or nephtys caeca)
kelp
egg wrack
spiral wrack
bladder wrack
lithophyllum incrustans

Lorna

Goat Video

Goat Video a video by Sgeir Mhor on Flickr.

Thanks to Ewen McNulty for sending us this short video clip of feral goats near Soldier's Rock on The Oa.

Nature Ramble at Ardnave - 20th August 2012

Our first nature ramble in a fortnight!!! The sun shone all morning and then, as if on cue, as soon as I'd switched the engine off, the rain started. It was a heavy downpour, but all five of us were determined to carry on with the ramble. Then, just as I was considering a curtailed ramble as Olivia's feet were getting very wet, the sun returned - much to our delight. Sheepsbit Scabious was a new flower for us I think at this locality, so that was a highlight and the Chough performed well, calling for us as they flew overhead.
Becky

BIRDS
Herring Gull, Turnstone, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Curlew, Redshank, Common Gull, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Raven, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Chough, Starling, Rock Dove, Oystercatcher, Swallow, Wheatear, Greylag Goose 

FLORA
Bird’s-foot Trefoil, Meadow Buttercup, Water Cress, Water Mint, Forget-me-not sp., Silverweed, White Clover, Daisy, Mouse-ear sp., Eyebright, Marsh Thistle, Spear Thistle, Creeping Thistle, Thrift, Lesser Spearwort, Ragged Robin, Common Nettle, Yellow Iris (leaves), Common Storksbill, Ribwort Plantain, Bracken, Cat’s-ear sp., Chalk Milkwort, Red Clover, Harebell, Grass of Parnassus, Bog Pimpernel, Pineapple Mayweed, Self-heal, Wild Thyme, Tormentil, Marsh Willowherb, Purple Loosestrife, Slender Stalked St. John's Wort, Water Speedwell, Devil's-bit Scabious, Sheepsbit Scabious, Heather, Bell Heather, Common Nettle, Red Bartsia, Harebell, Common Burdock, Purple Loosestrife, Goosegrass

LICHEN
Lecanora sp. (white crustose lichen with black 'jam tarts'), Xanthoria parietina (yellow foliose lichen)

BUTTERFLIES AND DRAGONFLIES
Small Copper, Small Tortoiseshell, Green-veined White, Common Darter

SHORE CREATURES
Shore Crab, Cockle Shell, Common Whelk, Limpet

Goosegrass -  Galium aparine

Sheepsbit Scabious -  Jasione montana

Sheepsbit Scabious -  Jasione montana

Daft sheep

Seen on the rocks at the north end of Bruichladdich this morning, with Bowmore in the background. All sheep are daft, of course, so what should these be called, "pseudo-goats" or, though it is hard to say, "seashore sheep"?
Malcolm

Toddler Wall

I have spent a lot of time at the visitor centre the past 2 weeks painting a selection of Islay wildlife, complete with their habitats. The aim is for the youngest of our visitors to match the laminated creatures to their twin on the wall where I have stuck the painting. Here is a sneak preview:

Toddler wall

The touch tank residents have been welcoming me in the morning, by swimming to the side I am standing at, and right up to the surface in the hope of some breakfast.

Hungry shannies

Lorna

Walk to Rubh' a' Mhail

Yesterday six of us set off for the long, boggy walk to Rubh' a' Mhail lighthouse looking for adders, Basking Sharks and Otters. We saw Lizards, Red-breasted Carrion Beetles and Small Coppers instead but never mind. We nearly didn't set off in the first place because, despite the forecast, it started off so drizzly and overcast that we didn't see much point in going. Within half an hour, however, the cloud had lifted and the sun blazed down on us for the rest of the day. Falling asleep in the back of the car on the way home I opened my eyes just long enough to see the Osprey (at last!) fishing on Loch Indaal. This was very exciting but we couldn't stop to take a photo because it's the bit of road where's there's nowhere to pull over. What a fantastic day!
Becky

BIRDS: Yellowhammer, Kestrel, Hen Harrier, Great Black-backed Gull, Stonechat, Whinchat, Meadow Pipit, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Curlew, Grey Heron, Willow Warbler, Shag, Gannet, Wren, Manx Shearwater, (Osprey)

FLORA: Heather, Bell Heather, Bog Myrtle, Eyebright, Bog Asphodel, Milkwort, Round-leaved Sundew, Long-leaved Sundew, Cottongrass and probably loads more

INSECTS AND INVERTEBRAE: Red-breasted Carrion Beetle, Peacock Butterfly, Small Copper, Grayling Butterfly, Meadow Brown, Keeled Skimmer, Common Darter, Common Hawker, Wolf Spider, Small Heath

REPTILES, AMPHIBIANS AND MAMMALS: Common Lizard, Common Frog, Red Deer, Grey Seal

LICHEN: Fuscidea cyathoides, Usnea sp

SEA CREATURES: Butterfish, Beadlet Anemone, Butterfish, Limpets, Acorn Barnacle

Common Darters mating

Grayling

Grey Heron

Red Deer

Red-breasted Carrion Beetle

Small Copper

A non-flaming moth

Moths are supposedly attracted to flames, but here's a moth which should itself have been flaming and wasn't! The Flame Carpet is shown in the books with a rose-red band of colour across the middle of its wings between the two blackish stripes and with a further patch behind the head. This one seems not to have bothered with all those pigment cells, with just a faint indication of the rose-red showing. The pattern of black stripes identifies the moth even without the colour, and the ever-helpful Danny Arnold confirmed that this washed-out form does occur occasionally. If I catch a fully coloured one, I'll post a photo here.
Malcolm

Family Activity Session - Woodland Wonders

It was a beautiful afternoon for our stroll through Bridgend Woods today and there was a good turn out of all ages for this activity. We saw Coal Tits, Green-veined White, Peacock and Small White Butterflies, Common Darter, Common Frog, Wolf Spider, Frog Hopper, hoverflies, Buff-tailed Bumblebee and Common Carder Bee. Right at the end of the session a few of us were slightly peturbed by the sight of a giant stinged flying insect. I later identified it as a Giant Wood Wasp (Urocerus gigas). Thanks for coming everyone!
Becky

Orla smells Meadowsweet

Our butterfly was made very rapidly at the end of the session

Hoverfly_1 (Sericomyia silentis)

Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)

Examining a Common Frog

Some of the Woodland Wonders explorers.

Basking Sharks

This photograph of a basking shark by Chris Gotschalk is in the public domain

Up to four Basking Sharks off Wester Ellister in September 2010, photographed by Mark Reynier

We have been receiving reports of Basking Sharks off the Rhinns in the last few days and can expect more. In the latter part of August last year, there were an estimated 40 in Loch Indaal off the southern part of the Rhinns. Jane Dawson counted 23 from her office window at Easter Ellister!
A fascinating study by SNH and Exeter University has recently marked several of these huge fish with satellite tags. You can read about the study and see maps of the tracks at:
http://www.wildlifetracking.org/?project_id=753
including of one which was marked off Tiree on 13th July but which has moved to the waters off Colonsay.
Malcolm

The New Weight Quiz

Visitors to the Centre this afternoon were brave enough to try our new weight quiz! It's all hands-on and great fun so come and have a go, but be prepared to stand on the scales yourself!
Becky

Port Charlotte by Donald McKinnon

Pinks and Blue.  Port Charlotte last week by Donald.  Seems a long time ago as the rain hammers against the windows today.

Guillemots and Grasshoppers - Steve Thom

Sand eels at Currie Sands

Common Guillemot off Bruichladdich

Common Green Grasshopper (Omocestus viridulus)

Thanks to Steve for these shots....

Lobster Activity at the INHT

lobster a video by Sgeir Mhor on Flickr.

Also after the gala, we saw rare activity in our lobster tank (the lobster whose name will soon be revealed!) It was coming out for mussels so I caught the moment on video!

Dusk and anemones at Portnahaven

After the Gala, Lorna and I drove down to Portnahaven to do some crab fishing. We looked in some of the rockpools there (as is our want!) and were delighted to discover this Gem Anemone. Neither of us had seen it before. It is not rare, but it has only been recorded at a few locations in south-west Scotland and Shetland, including Portnahaven on another occasion! It is found on the shore in localities exposed to strong wave action but also in sheltered places. Its base is up to 25 mm in diameter and it has up to 48 tentacles, mottled in colour. We also saw a delicate Brittlestar and possibly another species of anemone, as well as the more common Beadlet Anemone.
Becky

Aulactinia verrucosa - Gem Anemone (bottom), tentacles retracted. The anemone on the top of the picture may be a different species.

Aulactinia verrucosa - Gem Anemone - tentacles extended.

Sunset over McKenzie Island.

Kilchoman Gala

The well-attended Kilchoman Gala took place at Port Mor yesterday afternoon and, like the Agricultural Show on Thursday, wellies were not needed for the first time in some years as the weather was warm and dry and the ground was firm underfoot. And a cooling breeze kept the midges away. Becky and Laura were kept busy face-painting and the photograph shows a mum wondering which animals her two daughters have chosen to have painted on them and what they are going to end up looking like. Delightful moments come in face-painting when a mirror is held up and the children can see the result for themselves!
The "Find the Otter" board was in use again and the lucky winner of a bottle of Laddie 10 (a gratefully acknowledged donation from Bruichladdich Distillery) was Les Wilson.

Roe Deer

Thanks to Jan for this shot of a couple of Roe deer taken as cyclists on The Ride Of The Falling Rain pedalled past on the Rhinns last weekend.

Follow the prints . . .

On another glorious, but ramble-less day, I took the opportunity to repaint the footprints which lead down the path to our door. I'd rather have been seeing real wildlife though!
Becky

Guess who?

I found this little fella amongst some dead heather on Colonsay on Wednesday. The heather was quite young, yet great blocks of it were brown, particularly the north facing slopes, could this be an effect of the large numbers of heather beetle in the Spring? Is there something else going on?

And who is he? An albino Emperor moth caterpillar? A very poorly one? I'd be mighty interested if anyone knows...

Crystal