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.
Plants of Skye, Raasay & The Small Isles
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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 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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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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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...
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A couple of nights ago the trap yielded 27 moths including four Eudonia angustea – I usually see one or two of those a year A Bee Moth and the star of the show, Satin Beauty – the second record ever for VC 104. Eudonia angustea Narrow-winged Grey Aphomia sociella Bee Moth...
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Yesterday I climbed Glamaig, my nearest Red Cuillin, but one of very few that I have never climbed to the top. One of the sites I had intended to include was Leathad Dubh on the northern edge, but Nick went there looking for bryophytes on Monday and found two of the three vascular plants I would...
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The past week has seen three moths that I have not seen before here at home. Two were attracted to the light on the moth trap but didn’t make it inside: Small Fan-footed Wave Pebble Prominent The third was in the greenhouse and is only the second record for the vice-county – the first...
Marc Calhoun
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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 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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Here I am stuck stateside. I am so jealous, as I hear tales of friends in the UK actually being able to venture out to the isles. But for me that's a 50/50 hope for 2021. A couple of weeks ago I did manage to get to an island. Blake Island State Park is only five miles from my home in West Seattle...
wondering wanderers
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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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It’s been another whole month passed without a post. Oops.Rather than one big long post of everything I’ll spilt up some of the updates into separate posts. So here is what has been happening in the garden. After turning the spare room (south facing, large window) into a greenhouse...
Treshnish Farm
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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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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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The fields are breezing into late summerDogs need to be walkedRope needs to be picked upRagwort needs to be pulled before it sets seedWatching to see when this cow is going to calveThis one has a calf alreadyInquisitiveVegetables from the gardenNyje and Walter waitNo 86 always comes to say hello...
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Rhoda was on her way to work, by boat to Gometra one morning in early March when she spotted something in the water near Camus, at Ulva Ferry. On further investigation she discovered it was an upside down boat, covered in Gooseneck barnacles. She reported it as salvage to the...
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There are 3 Broad leaved Helleborines on the track between the Ensay Burn and the Treshnish Schoolhouse. We have 15 species of Orchid on the farm, and this summer I have been trying to see them all. Unfortunately I didn't find the Early marsh orchid on the path to Crackaig despite...
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Oyster plant at Port HaunnWigwam 1Black ParkWild angelicaGreen orb spiderFaded Dark green fritillary The track to HaunnIn the Haunn fieldEast and Middle morning WestWeather frontField gentian, Haunn
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