West Coast Islands Blogs
Blogs (web logs) provide an ideal opportunity to explore the traditions, culture and wildlife of Wild Lochaber. We have put together a collection of local blogs and provide the titles and text snippets to give a taste of each entry with direct links to the main blog entry on the host website. We hope you will find time to explore the full articles and further information on the host blog sites.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any suggestions for blogs you would like to see here.
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By the front gate there is a small Hawthorn tree (Crataegus monogyna). Yesterday I spotted a small moth larva that turns out to be a young Light Emerald. Light Emerald larva Apparently this species overwinters as small larvae lying flat along stems of the food plant. As you can see the larva...
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I’m not going to comment on what’s going on in the world. Frankly we’ve never been great at ‘normal’ anyway and there is quite the irony in the whole world heading as far away from normal as it’s been in my whole lifetime less than a year after we aimed to rejoin...
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Yesterday, I spent a few minutes with my camera at an alder by my front gate. It turned out rather well…. This is the larva of the sawfly Platycampus luridiventris with no records on NBN for the west of Scotland. Thanks to Chris Johnson and Ian Andrews for i.d. Platycampus luridiventris...
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Seth has spotted a Mock-orange bush near the river at Budhmor: Philadelphus near Budhmor Image S. Gibson The underside of the leaves are pretty hairy suggesting that it is one of the hybrid groups, in which case full identification will have to wait until there are flowers next year....
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Spider near the dog kennelsWe had a meeting with some advisors working on a new pilot scheme for delivering biodiversity within a sound farming system. It was lovely out on the Point, and we saw Carline thistle flowering and even a bit of Wood bitter vetch. The Bog asphodel looks amazing...
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Seth had a good day on Wednesday, finding two plants that are new to the vice-county. Firstly, Persicaria wallichii (Himalayan Knotweed) has encroached onto the road verge from a garden near Loch Bay House in Waternish: Persicaria wallichii (Himalayan Knotweed) Image SJD Gibson One of the...
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Good calm weather has enabled me to get the drone in the air, so I have been working on a couple of projects which is quite exciting. One is for a collaboration with a textile artist called Eve Campbell, who is having an exhibition at An Tobar next spring - all being well. I am going...
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I was away for a couple of weeks, but here are a few iems from before or after, mostly seen with Seth and/or Neil. Acleris emargana Notch-winged Tortrix Galls caused by the sawfly Euura venusta on Salix caprea (Goat Willow) Euura venusta larvaEuura venusta gall This Grey Dagger larva...
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I have not been able to identify a small tree at Gedintailor on Skye that was found a few weeks ago. Tree at Gedintailor My initial thoughts were of Prunus sp. but then these ear-like stipules suggested a Salix. Stipule There were the remains of inflorescences: Remains of...
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The final batch of Hieracium specimens for the year produced two notable species, H. dasythrix (Dense-haired Hawkweed) on Glamaig with only one previous record in the vice-county (in 1973) and H. cyclicum (Round-leaved Hawkweed) from Leathad Beithe (Talisker) which has five earlier records, one in...
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A not quite lockdown but certainly not back to normal world birthday for Davies this year as he turned 20. Certainly the very best present was having Megan here to share his birthday with him this year. As always birthdays mean you get to choose the food and plans for the day. Davies is...
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Isn't this absolutely stunning?I stumbled across this gorgeous beehive cell a year ago on a walk through the Hamnavay area of southwest Lewis. I had decided to visit this particular site because the 1854 OS map indicated it had a two roofed structures of some sort, drawn as squares, which later...
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I do not need to introduce this blog post really. 2020 has been the most dramatic year the world has seen in any of our lifetimes. We have lurched from one gripping news story to the next. Every single life has been affected in some way, some forever changed, some beginning to return to some...
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Along with most of the country / world we have begun to tentatively come out of lockdown. Adhering to the ever changing guidelines, and sometimes even deciphering them has proven quite tricky at times so like everyone else we have been using common sense and our own risk assessments to decide how...
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I recently received an irate comment on an old post. It was a post that described my one, and only, visit to one of those small Hebridean islands whose owners consider it their private kingdom. That visit was back in 1998, and I was only able to find a boatman willing to take me there on a day when...
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A family expedition to Brochel at low tide produced this fine fish under a rock: Shore Clingfish Lepadogaster lepadogaster Yesterday, walking to the south of the River Drynoch I spotted this proliferative Dactylis glomerata (Cock’s-foot). This is a known phenomenon in this grass...
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Flying at Croig, early evening Port na BaCroig pierComing in from the fishing boatCalgaryCaliach headlandAlong the trackSun setting through FuchsiaIt hasn't been sunny all the timeSome of the sunset light from some of our August nightsAnd this morning the sun came out again
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Ludicrously, I had never been to Spar Cave near Glasnakille on Skye – until last Tuesday. It is well worth a visit, but one needs to be prepared for a steep climb down, slippery rocks on the shore and total darkness in the extensive cave. Spar Cave Unsurprisingly, there was no plant life...
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Wild angelicaDevils bit scabiousGreen veined white?KnapweedPeacock on Devils bit scabiousA field of KnapweedKnapweed, in Wigwam 1 Heather on the SitheansSo many Scotch argus this year, difficult to photograph - this one was in the dome, sitting target! Common lizard outside...
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My latest effort with the moth trap produced three moths that I have not seen here before, which takes my total number of adult moth species seen here to 190. Common Footman Dotted Carpet Northern Spinach Meanwhile, out on the hill there were several Brown China-mark (Elophila...
