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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November has seen a rash of new 10 km square plant records, mostly garden escapes/throwouts/plantings but also a few others such as: SpeciesHectadRecorder(s)Lemna minor (Duclweed)NG24JoannaAnthriscus sylvestris (Cow Parsley)NG15 SethPolypodium interjectum (Intermediate Polypody)NG24SethRosa...
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Skye Botany Group is undertaking a project with the Darwin Tree of Life project. We will be recording Polypodium (Polypody) species and a hybrid (we hope) plus two species of Ophioglossum (Adder’s-tongues). On Wednesday we had a day with pteridologist James Merryweather to look at his local...
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I produced a poster for the Scottish Botanists’ Conference about plants new to vice-county 104 in 2021. I had it all prepared with thirteen species when, four days before the conference, Seth found Borago officinalis (Borage) in Broadford, making fourteen. (There is a dot on the Atlas 2000...
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Neil on Eigg has sent me images of Ambrosia artemisiifolia (Ragweed) that has appeared in his garden, perhaps from birdseed. New to VC104. Ambrosia artemisiifolia (Ragweed) Image: N Robertson Dave G’s Skye hawkweeds have been determined by David McCosh. Of greatest interest was...
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I have been away for two and a half weeks and there are a number of plant-related things that I have not got round to recording here. Firstly, Seth found Gentiana asclepiadea (Willow Gentian) growing on the roadside near Dunvegan, obviously a garden escape/throw-out but flourishing and new to the...
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A couple of days ago, we went to Brother’s Point on Skye to try and find Gentianella campestris (Field Gentian), last seen there in 1964 and last seen in the 10 km square NG56 in 1985. In this we succeeded though only one plant was found and that, unsurprisingly by late September, was...
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I had to get something checked by Highland Motors at Borve and so I was able to spend a couple of hours wandering along the road, then along the Lòn na h-Iolainn and back across the bog, all in the 1 km square NG4447. This turned out to be unexpectedly good botanically with Carex hostiana x...
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Prompted by Neil’s observations on Skye, I went looking for a couple of aphid species here on Raasay. I had to walk all of 200 metres from my front gate to find both: Yarrow Aphid (Macrosiphoniella millefolii) on Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) The pink ones are males. Large Knapweed...
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A sub-group of Skye Botany Group went to Loch Connan and Loch Niarsco, principally to look for Potamogeton berchtoldii (Small Pondweed), which had been recorded in the NCC Loch Survey in 1989 but not since in the 10 km square NG34. We succeeded in Loch Connan, but not in Loch Niarsco:...
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A moth trap at home a few days ago yielded five moths I haven’t had here before: Autumnal RusticDioryctria abietellaIron ProminentPale EggarParsnip Moth Thanks to Keith and Mark for some of the identifications. So far this year I have added 31 moths to my list of adult moths found here...
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Ten members of Skye Botany Group went to Loch na Crèitheach, north of Camasunary on Skye last week. We were in search of Potamogeton epihydrus (American Pondweed) based on a putative record from 1989. It was never fully confirmed and as a native plant it is only known in a few lochans in the Outer...
Marc Calhoun
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More delays. We ran out of beer, so the guide went on strike until we returned to Oban to stock up. Once the bar was replenished we head over to Oronsay. The sea is calm, so a landing on the white sands of Oronsay's east beach is possible. A walk around the old priory is always...
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The following review of Beehive Dwellings of the Hebrides appeared in the Stornoway Gazette. The review was written by Frank Rennie, who has allowed me to reproduce it here. The book can be purchased via the following link: Beehive Dwellings of the...
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Leaving Gigha in our wake I set a course west to Islay. Under rainy skies we pass Port Ellen, where the smell from the giant maltings and whisky warehouses is sublime. I anchor just west of Port Ellen, and set everyone ashore on the sands that cradle Kilnaughton Bay.The guide then leads us down the...
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More delays. Sorry about that. The guide had to go home for a couple of weeks to prepare a video presentation on his book about the Beehive Cells of the Hebrides. It will be shown at the Faclan Book Festival in Stornoway at the end of October. He had so much fun making the video he now wants to...
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After leaving Ailsa Craig we motored over to Campbelltown. The guide had claimed he was a close personal friend of Paul McCartney. So I called his bluff by telling him to take the guests up to visit High Park Farm. Off they went, and an hour later I got a call that everyone was in the Campbelltown...
Treshnish Farm
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Farmer and I were booked on a Grazing School workshop in Cumbria last week. Unfortunately it was cancelled 2 days before it started as 2 of the key people involved had both contracted Covid. (Thankfully they are both recovering). We weren’t entitled to a refund from our accommodation at such...
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wondering wanderers
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(And yes, this has sneakily been back dated!)Back in September we celebrated Davies’ 21st birthday. As Scarlett’s 18th had been at the end of last year it was a lower key celebration than we may have planned in other times with less opportunity for travel, meeting up with family and...
