A daring decision was taken to undertake this trip, as the forecast was for force six southerly winds, but as we assembled at Balvicar Jetty, it was apparent we had made the right choice. The weather was dry and the wind had dropped slightly.

Our first sighting was a Little Grebe fishing close to the jetty, and several Eider were out in the bay. As we moved down Seil Sound,  Eider and Red-breasted Merganser moved out of the way as we gained speed heading south for Torsa, Luing, Scarba, Jura and the Corryvreckan Whirlpool.

Seil Sound produced Herring, Common and Black-headed Gulls and a single winter plumaged Black Guillemot. As we approached Cleit's Rock near Torsa, the island was hardly visible as it was covered in sixty-seven Shag.  Passing down the east side of Torsa we had good views of Con Castle (Dog's Castle) and we learnt a little of its history. At the southern end of Luing we had a good flock of twenty-five Lapwing, a fairly uncommon sight these days.

We picked up speed again now, heading for the Corryvreckan.  Our first sighting of White-tailed Sea Eagle was a juvenile sat in a stand of trees close to the shore. He eventually took flight and moved south, giving wonderful views. The sea now became very rough as we entered the Corryvreckan, an experience not to be missed.  A good number of Wild Goats were feeding on the northern end of Jura and a Red Deer could be seen on distant rocks. Two Golden Eagles were sighted, an immature bird and an adult, in an area that regularly produces these birds.

We nearly ran down a Guillemot as we navigated through the whirlpool, and this was only one of two we counted. More excitement followed as we picked up one then two adult White-tailed Sea Eagles heading East along Scarba. David turned the boat and followed the two birds around the coast of Scarba.  We hadn't gone long before the two Eagles were soaring above us, giving wonderful views. The two previous Golden Eagles sightings, seem to pale into insignificance.

We continued north now to head through the Grey Dogs at the north end of Scarba. We had good views of a stag Red Deer here before moving north again past Fladda Lighthouse. This is close to Belnahua one of the original Slate Islands and an interesting place to visit, with some derelict slate workers cottages.  A Common Seal was noted near Cuan, but no Grey Seals. Moving back towards Balvicar along Seil Sound we again disturbed a winter plumaged Black Guillemot, probably the same bird as before. A single Grey Heron was sat fishing on the shore close to the heronry at Ballachuan and several Black-headed Gulls floated by.  We arrived back at Balvicar Jetty, exhilarated by the experience and thankful we had dared to risk the weather

I met Bob Grove at the Tigh an Truish at 1400 hrs on 29th November 2007 to show him the Tetrad NM71 (Z) for the Bird Atlas 2007-2011. More importantly I introduced him to Fiona behind the bar whilst I drank a glass of Highlander. As we started our walk, the weather was reasonable, considering the amount of rain that had preceded our visit.

Buzzard and  Raven were quickly noted, and looking north from Clachan Bridge a pair of Great Black-backed Gulls were sat on the water in Clachan Sound.  Pheasants were calling from all directions, probably following a recent release of young birds.

To our left a pair of Mistle Thrush sat on the telephone wires and a group of five Long-tailed Tits were busily feeding in a small bush.  At Auchnasaul we turned right towards Ardmaddy as a pair of Hooded Crows flew along the ridge above us.  Another bird attracted my attention as it flew across the road into some trees, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a fairly uncommon species in this area.

To our right over open marshland a Sparrowhawk glided silently east, whilst to our right a Kestrel hovered over the marsh.  As we approached Ardshellach Farm, a group of thirteen Meadow Pipits sat on the wires along with a single Pied Wagtail. After chatting with Doreen Gilbert from the farm we made our way along the new access road towards Clachan Seil Sound.

We finally reached the shoreline and whilst I was interestingly looking at a good selection of seaweeds, Bob shouted "Otter". I later discovered at the Community Council Meeting, that a dog Otter has been regularly appearing in the Sound at about 1600 hours most days, and has also been observed by several thrilled Scottish Water workmen.

We continued along the strandline to Clachan Bridge occasionally making detours away from the water where access was difficult. It was almost dusk now and the whistles of several Wigeon could heard clearly, and Curlew also landed on the opposite bank.  Eventually as the tide was coming in we had to leave the shoreline and find our way across rough scrub back to the road. This was hard going, but on reaching our goal we proved this circular walk was possible. The whole walk had taken us two and a half hours but the "Otter" sighting had made the experience very worthwhile.

This field trip was billed as an introduction to Ballachuan Hazel Wood but it was more than that. The inclement weather took us into the beautiful Kilbrandon Church as though drawn by some external force. I was soon, without thinking, giving a sermon according to Natural History with a bit of early pagan Celtic history thrown in. It didn't altogether feel right but it was what I had planned to say.

Apart from introducing our members to the wonderful reserve we have on our doorstep, I had taken the opportunity to do a count of a very special lichen here at Ballachuan, 'Hazel Gloves'  (Hypocreopsis rhododendri) that grows on trees, especially hazel. It is a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species and a Local(BAP) species here in Argyll. The fruiting body has swollen orange fingers that radiate from a central point and can look like a small orange glove that often clasps the hazel stem. Throughout our two hour visit to Ballachuan the rain was torrential  and only the shelter of the trees made the experience tolerable. With the help of Fiona Lackie's son Callum, we managed to count seventy three 'Hazel Gloves' and that was only on the periphery of the path through the wood. This was a good count and indicates what a important site for this BAP species this represents.

As we emerged from the western side of the wood, we flushed a Woodcock, but it soon flashed passed us, and disappeared back into the hazel wood. The rain was still persistent and had soaked most of us through. Despite this, the morning had been enjoyable and our eleven members headed back to their cars with some sense of achievement. If we can survive this, we can survive anything !!

http://seilnature.spaces.live.com/

The climate here on the West Coast of Scotland is influenced by the 'Gulf Stream', which produces a warm oceanic current flowing through the area. This climate, unique in Europe is described as extreme oceanic i.e. it is influenced by the surrounding seas.   This produces extreme humidity and high rainfall, with persistent cloudy days particularly in winter, similar to the period we have experienced over the last week.

Woodland Lichens, Fungi and Algae all thrive on this mild wet climate and local trees are dripping with these species. A number of these Lichens are endemic to Scotland which means there are found no where else in the world.  Lichens are a good indicator of air quality, for they do not grow well where there is air pollution. Scotland however holds the largest reservoirs of pure air in the United Kingdom, if not Europe and Seil is no exception.

Atlantic Hazelwood's are fairly unique to this part of the world and form pure woods on steep slopes facing the sea. They have occupied these sites for many thousands of years and the thinner stems are covered in a dense pale mosaic of lichens, whilst the older growth supports a different range of leafy species e.g.Lobaria Pulmonaria as shown below.  One example of this is the Ballachuan Hazel Wood nature reserve managed by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, which is at the southern tip of Seil Island. With over 250 species recorded, the reserve has been designated a site of international importance for lichens by the British Lichen Society.

Photographs courtesy of Astrid Horward and Richard Wesley

Walking along the bay this week I met a Winklepicker, (no not the shoe) but a collector of Winkles.  This led me to ask a few questions and I was soon learning about a world I knew very little. Common Periwinkles (to give them their correct name) are apparently best harvested at a full or new moon when the tides are at their lowest and it is also helpful if the barometric pressure is high.  When the tides are low more periwinkles are exposed and they are easier to collect. This week therefore had the perfect conditions for a good haul

Winkles prefer stony ground rather than mud and can also be found under seaweed.  They feed on microscopic algae that coat the rocks. Obviously a strong back is a requirement for this employment and I would not last two minutes with my bad back.  Most Winkles end up in Spain or France these days as they are more highly prized than here in the United Kingdom.  This led me on to consider other mollusc's that inhabit the bay and a list ensued i.e. Mussels, Cockles, Scallop, Limpet, Barnacle, Whelks, Razor Shell and finally Oyster.  A veritable feast one might say, all free to collect and with the right cooking, delicious to eat.

So get out on the shoreline and see how many species you can identify. That includes seaweeds, jelly fish, starfish, crabs, eels and lugworms. There are also beautiful lichens growing on the many rocks that abound the Isle Of Seil.  Take a digital camera with you and record everything you find.  Then you can sit in the comfort of your own warm home later, and take time over the identification.

There are three Divers (Loons as they are called in North America) that it is possible to see around these waters out of the breeding season, These are Great Northern, Black-throated and Red-throated Diver. Probably the most common would be Red-throated Diver and at this time of the year, they would appear in their winter-plumage as shown below.  So it was not too surprising to discover a Red-throated Diver in Seil Sound on Wednesday afternoon.

I have included below pictures of Black-throated  and Great Northern Diver to help with identification. As you can see identifying them is not easy, particularly at distance. The Red-throated Diver is slighter than the other two with a grey and white head and upturned bill which gives it a particular jizz. The Black-throated Diver below has a distinctive white patch to the rear flank and has a more clear black and white head.

The Great Northern Diver is the daddy, looking chunkier and more powerful.  It is lacking the smart contrasts of the Black-throated and is generally a more messier looking bird, without the rear white patch. In the breeding season they all transform into more beautiful birds with stunning plumages.

 There are three Divers (Loons as they are called in North America) that it is possible to see around these waters out of the breeding season, These are Great Northern, Black-throated and Red-throated Diver.

Probably the most common would be Red-throated Diver and at this time of the year, they would appear in their winter-plumage as shown above. So it was not too surprising to discover a Red-throated Diver in Seil Sound on Wednesday afternoon.

I have included below pictures of Great Northern and Red-throated Diver to help with identification. As you can see identifying them is not easy, particularly at distance. The Red-throated Diver is slighter than the other two with a grey and white head and upturned bill which gives it a particular jizz. 

The Black-throated Diver above has a distinctive white patch to the rear flank and has a more clear black and white head.

The Great Northern Diver is the daddy, looking chunkier and more powerful.  It is lacking the smart contrasts of the Black-throated and is generally a more messier looking bird, without the rear white patch.

In the breeding season they all transform into more beautiful birds with stunning plumages.

The beginning of October is the time to look skyward and listen for the first trumpeting calls of the Whooper Swan as they move south from Iceland to their wintering grounds.  The Whoopers equivalent in North America is the Trumpeter Swan and it is probably a more suitable title as it has a loud bugling call. 

Mute Swans make little sound, apart from the noise of the wind passing through their flight feathers and Bewick Swans do have a call but is more subdued than the Whooper. Bewicks are also a rare winter visitor here on the Isle of Seil. 

So the group of twelve Swans flying south towards Ballachuan on Wednesday  in v-formation making an awful noise were most certainly Whooper's. They do sometimes drop down for a break on Teddy's Pond and Ballachuan Loch, so its worth checking all Swans at this time of year.

The Whooper Swan can also be told from the Bewick's by its larger size, longer neck and larger amount of yellow on its wedge shaped bill. It is a similar size to the Mute Swan but easily distinguished in good light by the bill colour and shape. It tends to carry its neck stiffly erect and holds its head more horizontally than the Mute Swan.

They are usually found feeding in damp grasslands, marshes, agricultural land, lakes and reservoirs. Their food consists mainly of grass, grain, potatoes and other vegetation such as the roots of aquatic plants.

They over winter here in Western Scotland, Northern Ireland, Northern England and parts of East Anglia and return north to Iceland from mid-March onwards.

On Monday walking on the road past Winterton a small flock of Yellowhammers were feeding on the seed heads of Common Knapweed on the roadside verge.  This was the second record of numbers of Yellowhammers at Balvicar in the past week, the last being a small flock of ten near the golf course.  It would appear they have had a good year, as records of this declining species are hard won.

As I continued along the road towards the sea I noticed some plants were still flowering on the sheltered verges, Devil's-bit Scabious, Meadow Buttercup, Yarrow, Red Campion and Common Knapweed.  They were not aware autumn was about to betray their confidence, as night frosts were not far away.

On reaching the sea I looked across Seil Sound and found something interesting on the water. My first impression was a Guillemot, but as it moved closer I was still unsure. My uncertainty was well founded as this was a winter plumaged Guillemot which I had not seen before. As with many sea birds they change their plumage as winter approaches. It would appear that this has something to do with camouflage when fishing.

Other items of interest included the last sightings of our summer visitor the Swallow on 1st October and the arrival of both of our winter visitors from Scandinavia, Redwing and Fieldfare by the 5th. These latter birds (which belong to the family of thrushes) spend the winter with us and may be seen until the spring months, when once again they wend their way far northwards.

September is nearly always a good month for birds with our summer migrants returning to their winter quarters;  to be  replaced by our own winter visitors. This coming and going results in a good mix of species including passage and vagrant birds, so you never quite know what will turn up.

So probably not surprisingly three new species were added this week. The first was a Snow Goose with a flock of thirty-five Greylag Geese in Strongorm Fields, seen from Cnoc Mhor. This bird was probably a vagrant  from introductions that have taken place on Mull and Coll over the past years.

The second was a Great Spotted Woodpecker which flew into the top of a conifer tree on Cnoc Mhor and finally a Mistle Thrush which was sat on top of a electricity post close to five Redwings on the wires, also seen from Cnoc Mhor.

The Great Spotted Woodpecker and Mistle Thrush both resident breeding species on the mainland do not occur regularly on the island so both were interesting finds. It may be that the Mistle Thrush was accompanying the Redwings which have just arrived from Scandinavia to escape the long hard winter.  Other migrant thrushes such as Blackbirds, Fieldfares and Song Thrushes also join our resident birds to compete for food through autumn, winter and early spring.

I was down at the Ballachuan Nature Reserve today with several other volunteers, David Croucher and the Scottish Wildlife Trust Reserve Manager, Simon Jones to try and find evidence of the Marsh Fritillary butterfly.

The butterfly flies in late May and June. The female then lays batches of eggs on the underside of Devil's-bit Scabious leaves. From July until late September the black, spiny caterpillars feed together on Scabious leaves inside a silken white web.

During the winter they hibernate together in this small web, hidden in the sward. The caterpillars emerge in February or early March and separate; sometimes wandering several metres to find fresh Scabious leaves. By late April–early May the caterpillars change in to a chrysalis and emerge as adult butterflies 2–3 weeks later.

It was these webs we were searching for amongst the damp, flower-rich grasslands of the marsh. Grassland which contains a mixture of rushes, heather, long tussocky grass and the plentiful Devil's- bit Scabious.

It was a glorious day, but hard work stumbling amongst the tussocky grass and marsh but we were fortunate to find approximately fifty of these silken webs, with their small black caterpillars searching for food.

It will be interesting to return on a warm sunny day next June to organise a transect count of the butterflies to see how many have survived the life cycle.

September can be an interesting month with birds passing through on reverse migration and breeding birds returning to their wintering grounds. This has already begun with numbers of Wigeon and Teal increasing gradually on the Lochan, and Curlew, Redshank and Oystercatcher in Balvicar Bay.

Similarly Goosanders which are normally found in freshwater habits can sometimes move to estuaries and sheltered bays following breeding. This morning was such an occasion as a female eclipse Goosander was feeding in the Balvicar Bay.

The remaining migrant warblers such as Willow Warbler and Whitethroat will all have left by the end of the month along with the hirundines, Sand Martin, House Martin and Swallow, the latter usually being the last to leave.

Other species such as Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, Yellowhammer and Twite start to flock in autumn along with Starlings and some Corvids. There is safety in numbers from predators and when food is sparse during the winter, flocking can help find what's available.  For if a few eyes are good, then more eyes are better.

August is the time here at Balvicar to look out for small flocks of Twite returning to the coast following breeding, as they search out food on unimproved or semi-improved grassland. They feed on a variety of seeds including those of dandelion, sorrel, annual meadow grass and thistle. Most of their time is spent feeding on the ground and they are reminiscent of small mice as they move around with their legs lying flat to the ground.

The Twite is a small, unobtrusive finch, slightly smaller than a Linnet, the Twite being its upland counterpart, but with a longer tail and shorter bill. Its back is tawny brown, streaked dark brown. The buff wingbar  is similar to Redpoll. In breeding plumage the male's rump is pink but this is much more subdued during the rest of the year. Its twittering call, sung from a low perch or in flight is similar to the Linnet's, but more significant is the characteristic drawn out nasal 'tveeiht' (hence Twite !!).

They breed on the moorlands of the Scottish Highlands, northern England and N Wales. In winter some remain in N and W Scotland, near the coast, while others, including Continental birds, move to the coast of eastern England where they can be found on saltmarshes and coastal fields. 

Breeding areas are occupied from May to August and they nest in heather or sometimes bracken. Twite nest close to the ground and usually lay five or six eggs. Birds then move out of their upland range, going to more coastal areas. They can stay on the coast from September until April, before the cycle repeats itself.

Although the last two days have probably been hottest of the summer, the sight of eclipse Wigeon always makes me realise autumn is not far away. 

Eclipse plumage is found most notably amongst ducks. It replaces the breeding plumage after the breeding season and appears at a time when the main flight feathers are moulting. Moulting is a process where feathers are replaced. This improves flight performance and maintains the waterproofing in the case of ducks.

Eclipse plumage tends to be much duller than normal plumage which makes a lot of sense if you are a duck without fully working flight feathers and want to keep well hidden from predators.

Male ducks acquire eclipse plumage towards the end of the summer but it is a fairly short-lived phase. Some male ducks begin to regain their colourful breeding plumage before their flight feathers are fully renewed so it would appear that the advantage of developing colourful breeding plumage earlier than your rivals in terms of successfully mating can outweigh the additional danger of shedding your camouflage before you can fly properly.