Catching geese

Two scientists from the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust have been on the island this week trying to catch Greenland Whitefronted Geese in order to mark them and be able to study their movements. This has been done before here, but not for many years, while birds marked elsewhere, e.g. Greenland, Iceland, and Ireland are regularly seen on Islay.
Yesterday lunchtime, a catch of 31 was made. It may not seem many but is actually more than had previously been marked on the island. The birds were marked with individually numbered metal and plastic rings and a plastic neck-collar. Two birds were given high-tec GPS collars which record their position within 20 metres every four hours and then transmit this information via mobile phone masts and thence to the scientists' computers. If there's no phone mast within range, the data are stored until there is. The solar-powered battery in the collar should last a number of years, potentially giving a mass of detailed information on where the birds stay during the winter, their migration routes via Iceland, and their breeding grounds in western Greenland.
Malcolm

Holding pens for the geese - the catch site is in the background beyond the rushes. Four cannons fired projectiles carrying the 30 x 15 metre net up and over the feeding geese. Because the geese in the holding pens are in the dark, they stay quiet and don't flap or struggle.

A Whitefront waiting to be marked and measured.

A high-tec collar being fitted. On the front is a solar panel to recharge the battery, and just above it a very small protrusion containing the battery, the GPS and the transmission device. The collar weighs c.40 grams (less than an ounce and a half). This goose weighed 3.025 kilograms or just over 6 and a half pounds.

Once the geese are ringed, they are placed in a small dark tent and then released in batches.

A marked goose in a field at Foreland. This was an old friend, C9L, marked in West Greenland in summer 1992 as an adult, and spending every winter on Islay from 1992-93 until it was found dead in January 2006, at an age of at least 15 years; the goose has clearly not been incommoded by the collar. It always wintered in the same area around Foreland. Some geese, like this one, are incredibly site-faithful. Others visit different wintering areas in different winters. There is much to learn from these marked birds.

Before dawn in Port Charlotte

Wild geese and a crescent moon high over Port Charlotte before dawn this morning.

Marram Grass - Machir Bay

The burn at Machir Bay

Painterly Clouds - Machir Bay

Machir Bay

Mottled Umber

Mary McGregor found this moth on some dead leaves in the woods at Gruinart on Monday and wondered what it was as she couldn't find it in the usual Field Guide. And nor could I, but Danny Arnold, as always, came to the rescue and told me it was a Mottled Umber, one of the few moths that has a winter flying season (October to February). He also said that it is an amazingly variable moth which can be more or less black and white like this one through pale brown to dark brown, and sometimes with orangey markings, and only a few variations are shown in the Field Guide. This appears to be the third record for Islay. What must have been a caterpillar was recorded from Laggan in June 1941 while I saw an adult at the airport in February this year, which Danny also identified for me, but it was so different from this one that I didn't recognise it when I saw Mary's photograph!
Malcolm

A Woodcock drive at Dunlossit

Here follows a series of pictures I took today while attending a Woodcock shoot at Dunlossit Estate.  Islay is considered to be one of the best places to shoot Woodcock in the UK, and the estates expend considerable effort in managing their woodland to optimise the habitat.  The guns today were mostly from the UK and Portugal, with the shoot being organised for Dunlossit by their head keeper DJ MacPhee.

Some of the guns with their beaters

The weather was perfect - cold, clear and crisp.  The guns were positioned on the track with their backs to Ballygrant loch while beaters worked their way towards them.  Numbers of birds were seen, the majority of which escaped.  I saw about six killed, five of which fell into the loch to be recovered by the spaniels.
Carl

Laggan Point yesterday

Two photos from a stroll on the beach at Laggan yesterday.
Becky

Sunset over Loch Indaal

Three shots of what was an exceptional sunset yesterday evening, even by Islay standards.  The weather here during November has been generally rather pleasant.  We have not suffered from the heavy rainfall that has caused much flooding and misery on the UK mainland.

Yet another dawn

I make no excuses for posting yet another sunrise photo taken from Bruichladdich. This is what I see as I sit at my desk. I'm beginning to wonder if there isn't a volcano somewhere over there! I should add that I have not made any colour adjustments.
Malcolm

The Eastern Hinterland

A couple of weeks ago I traversed boggy moorland between Sanaigmore and Gruinart. On Monday my friend Jane and I ventured further east to visit land which I suspected had seldom been subjected to the weight of human feet. With low late November light I stopped often to take photographs of the late autumn colours; it really was magnificent. We passed Loch Laingeadail with its tiny crannog and Loch an Fhir Mhòr which is where my theory that we were almost on uncharted territory fell apart - for what did we come across but a veritable ruined settlement. Apparently it dates from the 19th century and comprises 5 buildings with remains of wall also extant. This little settlement is well worth a visit for it has a huge slate lintel above the fireplace and tiny stone cupboards built into the remaining walls. Trouble is, you have to traipse across sinky bog to reach it. Oh well! I apologised to Jane for telling a lie - I'd asked whether she wanted to come on a boring, featureless and boggy walk; she'd agreed - on that basis - and it turned out to be boggy, yes, but also full of features and definitely not boring. We saw Snipe, Raven and Stonechat, very interesting, colourful fenceposts, goose droppings and lots of lichens. Who's up for another 'boring' walk! For more information on the crannog on Loch Laingeadail, visit http://alturl.com/82hiv. For more information about the ruined settlement near Loch an Fhir Mhòr, see http://alturl.com/wppyk.

Becky

Crannog on Loch Laingeadail

Ruins near Loch an Fhir Mhòr

Red Deer running towards Sanaigmore

Goose droppings in an unusual place

Fencepost (the first for a while!)

Flavoparmelia caperata

Cladonia portentosa ('Reindeer Moss')

Another Cladonia sp

Another dawn

Spectacular skies continue to appear. This morning's seen from Bruichladdich was worth two photos.
Malcolm

Port Charlotte this morning

Shells - Uiskentuie

Queenie - Uiskentuie

Sandy shell - Uiskentuie

Three Roe bottoms - Gruinart Flats

Red Throated Diver - Loch Indaal

Loch Indaal Lighthouse

We can surely never have too many photos of our much-photographed lighthouse!