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