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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A visit to Hallaig on Raasay’s east coast yesterday with some of the family gave me these three records: Black-spotted Longhorn Beetle Rhagium mordax Sawfly: Strongylogaster multifasciata Argyresthia goedartella Brassy Y or Bronze Alder Moth We counted the spikes of Thyme...
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More or less as soon as I said no more moth traps in June a dryish night allowed a final try and I caught 25 moths including two new to my June list and one of the group of Minors that need expert determination. Also, on the last day of June, I caught a micro-moth in the garden which turned out to...
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I have covered some of these in previous posts, but my West Suisnish (home and immediate environs) list for June has increased by seven, five of which are additions to the total list – which now stands at 273. Three of the all-time additions are micros. I have adopted the vernacular names...
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In Loch Groidean on Raasay, I spotted these holes in Nymphaea alba (White Water-lily) leaves. Nymphaea alba (White Water-lily) leaves with added holes. The only thing I can think of is the larvae of Brown China Mark (Elophila nymphaeata) moths, which we have here and which cut part-circles...
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Two weeks have slipped by since I wrote anything here, but I have not been entirely idle. Nor have my botanical comrades. On the plant front, Joanna has added Vicia sativa subsp. segetalis (Common Vetch) to the vice-county flora with some plants at Kyleakin. Vicia sativa subsp. segetalis...
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At the eastern end of my visit to the Àird na Meacan area, the next tetrad looked tempting for a very old and vague record of Mertensia maritima (Oysterplant). Yesterday I went to have a look, but while there was indeed suitable-looking habitat there was no Mertensia. However, I added three more...
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Doire Domhain is an abandoned township on the east side of the island that I hadn’t visited for quite a long time. I checked up on one of the island’s populations of Ophioglossum azoricum (Small Adder’s-tongue) that I hadn’t visited for 15 years. It seems to be doing well,...
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There were lots of ichneumonids around, perhaps all of one kind, but I had other fish to fry. Bugs featured largely, with the following six noted, two of which need expert help: Elasmucha grisea Parent Bug Orthops basalis maybe Pentatoma rufipes Forest Bug Tachycixius pilosus...
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Yesterday I went to Àird na Meacan near Kinloch on Skye. I was hoping to re-find two plants not recorded in the 10 km square NG71 since before 2000. In the event, I found four plants in that category plus a native plant that was completely new to the hectad: Aira caryophyllea (Silver Hair-grass...
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I added 15 species of moth to the West Suisnish list for May of which two were completely new to the list: Least Black Arches and the micromoth Pammene rhediella (Fruitlet Mining Tortrix). Least Black Arches Pammene rhediella (A bit worn) Out and about on Skye and Raasay, the highlight...
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During Skye Botany Group’s recent excursion to Claigan and Lovaig Bay, Phil netted a Small Purple-barred moth (Phytometra viridaria). This appears to be only the second Skye record and the first since 1978. Small Purple-barred Image: P Knott In the garden the micro-moths Acleris...
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David’s Epipactis helleborine (Broad-leaved Helleborine) has emerged near Portree, though the Scilla verna (Spring Squill) turned out to be a false trail. A recent report of Vicia sepium (Bush Vetch) in Portree turned out on inspection to be the variety ochroleuca, a first for the west coast...
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The visit to Kyleakin led to my finding the oomycete Albugo lepigoni on Spergularia media (Greater Sea-spurrey). Oomycetes are a distinct phylogenetic lineage of fungus-like eukaryotic microorganisms. There are only 30 records on NBN for this species. Albugo lepigoni on Spergularia media A...
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In the Suardal area, Seth has re-found Melica nutans (Mountain Melick) in NG62. Although known recently just over the 10 km square border in NG61, this is the first record in NG62 since 1989. Melica nutans Image: S Gibson In Kyleakin a few days ago, of which more later, I spotted Ervilia...
Marc Calhoun
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In May I was fortunate to go on a boat trip organized by John Humphries of the Gatliff Trust. I was even more fortunate in that it departed from the old jetty at Rhenigidale; possibly the first time in decades that a large group has used the jetty.As we waited for the boat to arrive, Widget came by...
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Last month I had the privilege of a guided walk with Alasdair MacEachen to two of the abandoned settlements of Nunton Hill. Nunton Hill lies in the centre of Benbecula, between the highway and the sea, and I wanted to visit it due to two books I'd read. The first was Coco is Crubagan: A Hebridean...
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I've just returned from two weeks in the Western Isles to attend the book-launch events for Thirty Years of Adventures in Search of the Past: The Outer Hebrides. We had a good turnout at the Harris Hotel on May 14 and the Uig Community Centre on May 21 - some photos below. I also managed to do...
Treshnish Farm
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May and June are my favourite months of the year, as the wild flowers and particularly the orchids appear. There are 14 different species of Orchid on the farm. Some of them are very easy to find, and quite abundant. Others don't flower as regularly or nearly as abundantly. Those...
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There has been a lot of Aurora activity during the winter. Sometimes the weather works and sometimes it doesn't!Unfortunately on the night of 10th/11th May when there was the strongest activity in decades, Treshnish and a lot of Mull was clouded out. It didn't stop me from taking my...
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It feels like the wild flowers start quite slowly in April. But as the month progresses so many different ones start flowering, it is difficult to keep track. Every year I think I am going to do a portrait of each flower and every year I become overwhelmed by the number of new species...