Shifting light and shadows at Gruinart and Loch Indaal

What a day to be out! I confess I was a little apprehensive about the impending storms when Richard and Hazel contacted me about a morning's birding this week and I strongly recommended we went today, rather than tomorrow. "This is our first view of Islay in the daylight," they enthused as we got into the car. That wasn't because Islay has been in complete darkness for days on end, but because they only arrived on last night's plane. From the moment I met them Richard  and Hazel were enthusing about Islay's beauty. It was a joy to share a day with this couple and hear their romantic story, share their enthusiasm for wildlife, and compare stories from north and south. I'd decided, given the weather, a drive along Loch Indaal would be best and then a visit to the hide at Gruinart. Despite the frequent hail showers, wind and cold we had a delightful day and saw lots of birds. I hope the day compared favourably with your day at Cowdenbeath, Richard!

Oystercatcher, Turnstone, Redshank, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Brent Goose (light-bellied), Wigeon, Red-breasted Merganser, Curlew, Shelduck, Barnacle Goose, Starling, Whooper Swan, Black-headed Gull, Mallard, Rock Dove, Greylag Goose, White-fronted Goose (Greenland), Hooded Crow, Buzzard, Rook, Blue Tit, Lapwing, Meadow Pipit, Goldeneye (18 on Ardnave Loch), Mute Swan, Reed Bunting, Pintail, Shovelor, Golden Plover, Pheasant, Common Gull, Raven, Grey Heron, Pied Wagtail, Teal, Robin, Blackbird, Wren, Fieldfare, Mistle Thrush, Great Black-backed Gull, Cormorant

Roe Deer, Hare

Enjoying the relative warmth of the hide (aided by a hot drink and mince pie!)

The Otter Story

One of my favourite things about welly walks is seeing people's reactions when we see something special. Some people are very reserved and somehow keep their excitement to themselves; others are simply beside themselves with excitement. Anyone that knows me knows I come into the latter category and so today was very special because Jeremy, Carol, Grace and Tom also came into that category when we saw the otter we'd been looking for all morning.

We'd seen signs of its presence in the form of its prints, very clearly defined in the sand. Then, walking back to the cars, Tom spotted it first (younger eyes having an advantage!) We spent the best part of an hour crawling on our bellies to get closer and sharing binoculars to watch it feed - and feed it surely did! And what teeth! Everyone was truly delighted to have such good views - including me. Ten years on Islay and the last thing I saw in the natural world is still always the best! A big thanks to you all for sharing this day with me. Oh, and I love learning new things. Today I learnt that Bran Coes Coch is Welsh for Chough (Red-legged Crow).
Becky

Beinn Bheigier - "Wenn Engel reisen, lacht der Himmel"

I was so excited when a group of 4 friends from Germany asked if they could climb Beinn Bheigier today. Jan, Jurgen Sabrina and Robert come regularly to Islay and combine their love of walking with their love of whisky! "Wenn engel reisen, lacht der himmel," Sabrina quipped when we all commented on the beauty of the day. "It means we are all angels because the sun is shining," she explained. I rather liked that. It was the stillest of days for our traverse of Islay's highest ridge - so still in fact that the midges began to bother us. I never fail to gasp at the beauty of it all; it takes my breath away every time. What a beautiful island we live on! Apart from talking about whisky (a lot), Islay (a lot) and flora and fauna (a lot), we all enjoyed walking through bog (a lot) and heather (a lot). Jan particularly liked walking on Islay's soft carpet of moss. At both summits we enjoyed a surprise wee dram (courtesy of Robert) of Bruichladdich and Kilchoman.  During the day we compared the German language with English and particularly discussed the English language's difficult use of prepositions:

 I put it to them that we saw the biggest tick ever; 

they didn't put me down too much in my attempts at the German language; 

I'm glad they put up with all the bog; after all I had put across to them beforehand the difficult nature of the walk!

I hope I haven't put them off booking another Islay Welly Walk!

Thank you for a memorable day. See you next year!

BIRDS: Raven, Meadow Pipit

FLORA: Heather, Cross-leaved Heath, Bell Heather, Tormentil, Round-leaved Sundew, Thrift, Bog myrtle, Willow sp, Rowan, Oak, Fir Club Moss, Star Moss, Spaghnum Moss, Milkwort, Gorse, Juniper, Bilberry, Bog Asphodel, Cotton Grass, Crowberry, Bracken, Devil's-bit Scabious

LICHEN: Reindeer Moss

OTHER: Rabbit, Red Deer, Tick, Peacock Butterfly, moth sp, dragonfly sp, damselfly sp, Orb Weaver Spider, Common Frog, Grasshopper sp, Emperor Moth chrysalis, Fox Moth caterpillar, midge!

Common Frog

The Sound of Islay

Scary tick!

On top of the world!

Welly Walk at Ardnave

A group of 9 of us set off for the circular walk at Ardnave on Monday. Although rather late in the season we did see quite a number of wild flowers and enjoyed watching the Chough probing in the sand and the Arctic Terns gracefully dancing at the tide's edge with the hitherto tantalizing Nave Island as a backdrop. It was with great satisfaction that Paul observed that he must be one of the few people around that can say he set foot on Nave Island before he set foot on the dunes at Ardnave! Quite a few Lion's Mane jellyfish had been washed ashore, along with the much more diminutive By-the-Wind Sailors, an ocean dwelling species that is found in warmer coastal waters. Below is information from Marlin:

		Velella velella is a pelagic colonial hydroid. The float, which is an oval disc, is deep blue in colour and can be up to 10 cm in length. Short tentacles hang down into the water from the float. A thin semicircular fin is set diagonally along the float acting as a sail. This sail gives the animal both its scientific (i.e. from velum, a sail) and its common name, 'by-the-wind-sailor'. The direction of the sail along the float determines which way Velella velella will travel. If the sail runs north-west to south-east along the float it will drift left of the wind direction, if the sail runs south-west to north-east it will drift right of the wind direction. Velella velella feeds on pelagic organisms, including young fish, caught by stinging cells on its tentacles. The sea slug Fiona pinnata , sunfish Mola mola and violet snail Janthina janthina prey upon Velella velella.

BIRDS:

Arctic Tern, Grey Heron, Mute Swan and cygnets, Sand Martin, Swallow, Chough, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Linnet, Stonechat, Meadow Pipit, Shag

FLORA:

Pineapple Mayweed, Water Mint, Common Scurvy Grass, Redshank, Grass of Parnassus, Harebell, Common Storksbill, Thrift, Creeping Thistle, Marsh Thistle, Spear Thistle, Forget-me-not, Red Bartsia, Red Clover, Eyebright, Ragged Robin, Devil's-bit Scabious, Polypody, Bog Myrtle

OTHER:

Rabbit, Grey Seal

Chough

Grass of Parnassus

Lion's Mane Jellyfish

Polypody with spores

Water Mint
(All photos by Paul Dexter)

Islay Welly Walks at Islay Show

We had great fun painting faces and giving away key rings at the Islay Show - as well as talking about Islay and our walks and meeting other folk who like walking! Thanks to all who stopped by to chat and to those who helped set up the stall - and a big thank you to Islay Baptist Church for the loan of the gazebo!

Cameron's venomous snake

Great wellies - and how we all felt at the end of the day!

Welly walk to Kilnaughton

This was both a welly walk and the opportunity to gain two gridsquares for my mission to photograph every Isaly gridsquare! It was also, of course, an almost unavoidable bracken slog, but we saw some beautiful rocky coastal scenery en route.

Ballychatrigan

Beautiful heather

Port an Eas

Small Tortoiseshell

Vanda at Port an Eas

Beachcombing at Sanaigmore

We set off on a glorious Monday afternoon on a beachcombing mission. We managed to find four things on our 'Eye-spy' sheets (Pied Wagtail, Ringed Plover, Mussel, Mermaids' Purses) and a whole host of other stuff too and learnt about what things should NOT be found on the beach. One of the most exciting finds was a small piece of flint which a young explorer found - not a common sight on our Islay beaches. We also learnt a lot about wild flowers, thanks to the inquisitiveness of our three regular visitors (Phil, Sandy and Carol from London). Just for them (and anyone else who is interested!) I am going to repeat the information about some of the flowers we saw on our walk. It certainly paid off taking my new book on the walk and thanks everyone for making it such an enjoyable exploration!

BIRDS
Oystercatcher, Swallow, Meadow Pipit, Wheatear, Ringed Plover, Raven

FLORA
Eyebright, Red Bartsia, Monkey Flower, Wild Thyme, Spear Thistle, Creeping Thistle, Sandwort, Autumn Gentian, Common Centaury, Thrift (died back), Silverweed, Bird's-foot Trefoil, Self-heal, Water Forget-me-not, Lady's Bedstraw, Red Clover, Pineapple Mayweed, Yellow Rattle, Harebell, Common Sorrel, Redshank

Eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis) - Euphrasia comes from the Greek for 'delight'. From the 14th Century onwards, because it resembles a bloodshot eye, the juice or distilled water was drfopped into the eye to improve eyesight. Drinking tea made from it was thought to aid mental clarity and enable one to detect those telling lies!

Redshank - The blotches on the leaves were thought to be drops of Christ's blood from the cross and as a result in parts of Ireland it was known as bloodweed and used to stop bleeding.

Autumn Gentian (Gentianella amarella) - The Latin name derives form its discoverer, Gentius, the pirate king of Illyria 180-167 BC, who was defeated and imprisoned by the Romans. It also goes by the name Dead Man's Mittens in Shetland, from its resemblance to fingernails protruding form the ground!

INSECTS
Grayling (possibly), Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Brown, Shieldbug sp, Meadow Grasshopper

BEACHCOMBING
Mussel shell, Shore Crab shell, Piecrust Crab shell, Dogfish eggcase, Skate eggcase, Flint, limpets, rib bone, other bones! part of al obster claw, Purple Topshell

Bunnahabhain to Bolsa

This was a challenging, 10 plus mile circular walk with a few midges and rain showers to dampen otherwise very good spirits. I think I managed to convince both walkers that there was a path for the duration of the walk - even when the grass and bracken was waist high! The Golden Eagle, singing seals, cave, sandy beaches, toadlets and stunning views helped compensate for wet feet and the odd tick.

Bagh an Dha Dhoruis

Bolsa cave

Red Deer on Sgarbh Breac

Volcanic Dyke

Rubh' a' Mhail Lighthouse

BIRDS
Yellowhammer, Golden Eagle, Meadow Pipit, Raven, Herring Gull, Shelduck, Oystercatcher, Shag

INSECTS
Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Common Blue, Small Copper, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Carabus glabratus,Dark Green Fritillary, Green-veined White, Dung Beetle, Golden-ringed Dragonfly, Four-spotted Chaser

OTHER
Grey Seal, Red Deer, Toad, Frog

Islay and Jura Youth Action at Killinallan

It was Islay and Jura Youth Action's day at the beach and we had great fun at Killinallan, using all our senses to spot wildlife. We looked at Shore Crabs, Sticklebacks and Six-spot Burnet Moths; listened to Grey Seals, grasshoppers and Oystercatchers, touched the Sea Anemones and smelt Ladies' Bedstraw and Wild Thyme. We thought about pollination, insects and the magic of flowers in all their rainbow array of colours. To safely demonstrate the sense of taste in the natural world and purely for educational purposes (of course!) we each had a chocolate Minstrel. Thanks to Mairi and her crew and to Jim for driving the minibus. It was a great afternoon.

Catching sticklebacks

An unusual grasshopper

A good way to get transported across the beach!

Just a big boy really!

Learning about pollination

Using binoculars

Heiko's Birthday Walk

This was a very special and joyous occasion and it was a privilege to be a part of it. Heiko and Antonella, from Germany, had chosen to celebrate a special birthday here on Islay, inviting friends from all over the world to join them for the weekend. One of the choices for guests on Saturday was a 'walking tour' of the island. After a lot of thought, I decided this should take place on The Oa as Heiko was keen that his guests got a feel for the drama of this wonderful island and the cliffs on The Oa are certainly dramatic and spectacular. They were even more atmospheric than usual on Saturday as one minibus and two cars wound their way cautiously through mist and rain to the car park at Upper Killeyan. After giving out pairs of wellies and walking boots to most of the 14 walkers, we set off just as the rain stopped, walking to the American Monument and then down to Lower Killeyan and back to the cars. We managed most of it in the dry and were very glad for a hot bowl of soup at the Taste of Islay later where we descended for a late lunch. Thankyou everyone for being such an appreciative audience. I really enjoyed it! Thanks also to Jim who took up the rearguard.

BIRDS
Wheatear, Stonechat, Fulmar, Gannet, Sedge Warbler, Wren, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Oystercatcher, Shag, Black Guillemot, Rock Dove

FLORA:
Self-heal, Bell Heather, Heather, Harebell, Thrift, Marsh Thistle, Creeping Thistle, Spear Thistle, Heath-spotted Orchid, Wild Thyme, Grass of Parnassus, Tormentil, Eyebright, Daisy, White Clover, Red Clover, Bog Asphodel, Common Cottongrass, Hare's-tail

OTHER:
Grey Seal, Rabbit, Feral goat, Meadow Brown butterfly

Gannet

Sedge Warbler

Wild Thyme and Bird's-foot Trefoil

Soldier's Rock

It was another beautiful day for our welly walk to Soldier's Rock and Nina was full of admiration for the sheep (amongst other things), which accompanied us some of the way. Once again the flora was outstanding and I was delighted to see my favourite flower - the Harebell - and was reminded of my favourite novel, Wuthering Heights, whose last, irony-filled line reads:

I lingered round them  [the graves], under that benign sky; watched the moths fluttering among the heath and hare-bells, listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth.

The colours were truly amazing today and it was a joy to take such an appreciative audience to one of my favourite spots on Islay, to exchange stories and share the same natural world for a short season. Thanks Nina!

BIRDS:

Whinchat, Fulmar, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Oystercatcher, Red-breasted Merganser, Buzzard, Shag, Twite, Redpoll

FLORA:
Self-heal, Cross-leaved Heath, Bell Heather, Heather, Milkwort, Round-leaved Sundew, Harebell, Thrift, Marsh Thistle, Creeping Thistle, Spear Thistle, Heath-spotted Orchid, Meadowsweet, Wild Thyme, Bog Pimpernel, Grass of Parnassus,  Bog Myrtle, Goat Willow, Bracken, Hard Fern, Devil's-bit Scabious, Tormentil, Butterwort (leaves), Marsh Lousewort, Eyebright, Daisy, White Clover, Red Clover, Bog Asphodel, Yellow Rattle, Red Bartsia, Lady's Bedstraw, Common Cottongrass, Hare's-tail, Marsh Bedstraw

INSECTS:
Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Small Heath, Small Tortoiseshell, Green-veined White, Magpie Moth

Bog Cotton

Crowberry

Daisies at Soldier's Rock

Frachdale - one of the many deserted villages on The Oa

Harebell

Whinchat