A group of us went to look for waxcaps, earth-tongues and club fungi - the indicator species of unimproved grasslands.  Within an area of about 300 x 100 metres we found 9 kinds of waxcap, which signifies that the site is of "regional importance" according to the scale normally used.  These two are the Snowy Waxcap, one of only two all-white waxcap species, and the Golden Waxcap, which is very sticky on top.

The very slimy Heath Waxcap, recognisable by its glutinous gill edges, and the Scarlet Waxcap, which also has a slimy cap, sometimes, but not always, yellow-edged as here.

The Honey Waxcap, which smells of honey, and the Meadow Waxcap, one of the larger species, easily recognised by its whitish stem contrasting with the pastry-coloured cap.

The Parrot Waxcap is the only species with any green colouring.  The amount of green varies and is greater on young specimens.  Both cap and stem are very slimy; you can see the glutinous layer on the edge of the cap in the photo.  The greyish one is Hygrocybe lacmus, I think, but am awaiting expert determination.  It was out of the ground and the stem base could not be located, so H flavipes can't be ruled out.  We also found the Crimson Waxcap but I omitted to get a photo of it.

We found two kinds of Earth-tongue.  This is Geoglossum fallax, with a dry surface.  The stem is clearly distinct from the club, the stem being a dark brown colour and the club black.  The stem is covered by a network of hair tufts.

This one is Geoglossum glutinosum, the Sticky Earth-tongue.  The whole thing is covered in a layer of slime which shows well in the close-up picture (the stem is torn in this pic).

We only found one kind of club fungus at our target site, the densely tufted Golden Spindles.  At another site nearby which some of us visited after lunch, we found the Yellow Club Fungus, which occurs in looser clusters.

We tried to concentrate on grassland indicator fungi and ignore all the other intriguing kinds around us, but I did get the camera out for these two, the Saffron Parasol (Cystoderma amianthinum) and a Blackish Puffball with the entire length of its stem fused to an old bracken stem.

Just as a taster of what else is out there, here are a couple of very small species that I've had to give up on.  The first were in the layer of moss on top of a rock.  The gills and stem are hairy, but I couldn't get a spore print.  The second looks like an Omphalina, but there was no lichenised material around its base, and the stem base is remarkably bulbous.  The picture was taken at home.  Again no spore print.  I find these tiny delicate mushrooms fascinating but I'd spend a fortnight poring over books and microscopes for every day in the field if I insisted on identifying them all. 

A view of the site.  You can see traces of an old field system in the centre-left.  The land is grazed by sheep and cattle, keeping the turf short, ideal conditions for waxcaps.

Parts of the site had numerous anthills which were completely grown over with moss but had active colonies of the Yellow Meadow Ant inside.  The site we visited after lunch was not so good for waxcaps but we did see this splendid Ground Beetle, Carabus problematicus.

All photos and other content copyright © Carl Farmer

We caught the 10:00 hours ferry from Port Appin and we were soon walking around the coast by 'The Point' of Lismore. Looking north-west across to the mainland, mist was hanging low above the water allowing the hills to show themselves. Several Common Seals were close by in the sea inquisitively checking us out. We passed a small pebbly beach at Port Aineainn where a Rowan Tree was full of berries and a Blackthorn bush was growing prostrate over some large rocks of limestone.

We came to Park, a small farm, where we joined a good track heading towards Port Ramsay. After stopping to look at a pair of Lime Kilns we discovered some Red Bartsia at the side of the track. We stopped for a drink and a snack, sitting on some upturned boats looking over to Eilean Ramsay an idyllic spot. As we sat taking in the view, a group of about 30 Ringed Plover landed on a spit extending from the island. There were also several Grey Herons about, giving away the fact that this was also the home for a small heronry. The route now took us past the old white painted cottages at Port Ramsay, which I believe are now mainly holiday lets, then continuing on to Fennachrochan with its group of four or five houses.

As we followed the track by the houses a Stonechat attracted our attention in the scrubland off to the right, chatting away on its visible perch.  Once past the houses we turned south following a footpath down to a bay overlooking the salmon farm which is situated in front of the small island of Eilean Loch Oscair. In the background, across Loch Linnhe on the mainland we could see the vast Glensanda quarry.

After crossing a large ladder stile we past another lime kiln to our right and on the damp stony track ahead, we came across a few patches of Yellow Saxifrage.  Continuing along the coast we came to two ruined cottages, where we had our first glimpse of Castle Coeffin in the distance.  The sea was now close by as we walked along some low cliffs getting nearer to the castle with every step.

To avoid a rather difficult route to the castle we entered a gate and crossed to the track leading to Clachan. This meandered uphill for a while before flattening out and providing a very pleasant walk back to the main road. The Heritage Centre and Café were signed to off to our right in 750 metres and although in the wrong direction, the idea of a hot drink and something tasty to eat was too tempting.

An example of an old crofter's cottage sits beside the Heritage Centre and gives an interesting insight into the construction and living conditions.  The walls must be four foot thick, with the thatched roof held on by thick ropes.  We sat outside on the balcony of the café and enjoyed our coffee and scones in pleasant September sunshine. The walk was taking longer than expected, so we opted for the 18:35 hours ferry so we were able to take our time walking back along the road to the ferry at 'The Point'.

The Parish Church at Clachan probably stands on the original site of the historic Cathedral Church of St Moluag's,. whilst in the field opposite lies the ancient Sanctuary Stone. Continuing back along the road north to the ferry we recorded several plants in the roadside verges including Angelica,  Meadow Cranesbill, Autumn Hawkbit, Hogweed, Prickly Sowthistle, Bush Vetch, Ox-eye Daisy, Ragged Robin, Red Campion, Nipplewort, Pignut and Tuberous Comfrey to name but a few.

The road north affords excellent views in all directions and it was a pleasure completing our walk back to 'The Point' and our ferry back to Port Appin.  We arrived back in plenty of time to catch the 18:35 hours boat back across the short distance to our starting point at the Pierhouse Restaurant. The walk had been a distance of eight miles but with all the wonderful distractions it had seemed a lot shorter.

Richard Wesley - Seil Natural History Group

SNHG Website :- http://seilnature.spaces.live.com/

This month's Seil Natural History Group midweek recording walk took us to Glencruitten House Woods, an area of mostly coniferous plantation of which there are plans to manage in a more nature-friendly way. 

Thanks to the wet weather the mushroom season has started early, and we spent much our time foraging among the fungi.  These two are Russula species.  The red one may well be Russula emetica.  The purple one is past its best and probably not possible to identify.

 
This handsome brown mushroom the colour of polished furniture is Tricholoma fulvum, growing under Birch and known as the Birch Knight.  Thanks to Geoffrey Kibby for the ID.  The young one on the right is also associated with Birch; it's the Brown Birch Bolete, Leccinum scabrum.  The mosses at its base are Polytrichum formosum (probably) and Thuidium tamariscinum.  This Bolete was one of the commonest mushrooms in the woods; we found it in several places.

Tricholomopsis rutilans, or Plums and Custard, growing on an old stump, and the False Chanterelle, Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca, on another.

The Wrinkled Club Fungus, Clavulina rugosa, and its close relative the Crested Coral Fungus, Clavulina coralloides, both formed extensive patches on the gloomy Spruce floor.

 
The dark forest depths also had Micromphale perforans, which is fruiting abundantly in Spruce forests across Argyll at present.  It forms large troops but the individual mushrooms are small, the caps mostly no more than 1 cm across.  Each stem is densely covered with short dark hairs and attached to a dead spruce needle.  On an altogether different scale are these chunky Lactarius deterrimus with their remarkable orange and green colouration, not easy to capture at such low light levels.

 
We found two conspicuous slime moulds, both showing signs of having been battered by heavy rain.  I think the first may be young Lycogala terrestre (Wolf's Milk).  Thanks to Malcolm Storey for nudging me in the right direction.  The second is unmistakable, the orange-pink Tubifera ferruginosa, made up of tiny tubes packed together.

While we admired Oban Bay from one of the forest's high viewpoints, I took this picture of a Heather Fly (Bibio pomonae) feeding on Heather pollen.  It plays a major part in pollinating the heather plants, so both benefit from the relationship.  It's similar to the St Mark's Fly (Bibio marci) which is so common in the Spring, but the Heather Fly has the top part of its leg red, as can be seen in the photo. This Ruby Tiger caterpillar was walking across the path, perhaps looking for something to fatten itself up on before hibernation.  They eat a wide range of common plants.

Below is the panorama of Oban from the viewpoint and to the left is Angel Wings (Pleurotus porrigens) which was found on our way back to the car park.

Carl Farmer and Richard Wesley

Our field trip today took us to the solitude and beautiful landscape of the intriguingly titled "Black Lochs" near North Connel.  Leaving the A85 main road we followed a track towards Achaleven Farm and on past Cuil-uaine to the lochs.  They are renowned for their variety of dragonflies and damselflies, but we did not expect to see too much as the weather forecast was  poor.  Luckily it remained dry, and there was a lot of damselfly activity despite the lack of sunshine.

Most numerous were the Common Blues.  This is a pair in tandem.  The female is of the usual green form; occasionally they are blue like the males but they always have much more black than the males.

Female Emerald Damselflies were fairly numerous.  They are said to rest with their wings half-open.  In practice they seem to do this half the time and rest with wings closed (like other damselflies) half the time.  The pictures show both positions.

Blue-tailed Damselflies were also present; the one on the left is a female.  The only dragonflies seen were one or two Black Darters, like the female on the right. As we sat by the loch side having lunch we were entertained by Swifts, House Martins and Sand Martins which are all attracted by the loch's rich insect pickings.  Frogs and toads were seen among the loch-edge vegetation.

Common Green Grasshoppers were leaping about and outwitting everyone's catching skills, but the one on the left was spotted resting on a bracken frond, and the RH one landed on a coat lining, and liked it so much there it allowed a close approach.  The two are different colour variants, one having green sides and the other brown.  Most grasshopper species vary a lot in colour, but the Common Green can be recognised (out of the 4 Argyll species) by the shape of the pronotum and its lack of a broad pale hind margin.  This is an indicator species of unimproved grassland and is common in the west of Scotland where a lot of such habitat survives.

Another insect that tried to join our party was this Forest Bug, which was noticed on a rucksack when we stopped to eat.  It was reluctant to leave and would happily have accompanied us back to Connel.

As we approached Kilvaree we were treated to a nice selection of interesting birds. Firstly a male Wheatear appeared on a rock close by and then a family of Whinchat were heard chatting and calling between the bracken and a post and wire fence. Accompanying them was a juvenile Pied Wagtail on the wire and further along  a group of Twite were feeding on the ground,  looking like small mice as they extracted loose seeds from the track.

The black spiny caterpillar determinedly crossing the track will soon be a Peacock butterfly.  It has left the nettle web where it grew up and is looking for somewhere to pupate.  The second generation of Small Tortoiseshells are already on the wing and looking very fresh and bright.  We found some of their abandoned webs on a clump of nettles, together with one small caterpillar that had been left behind, probably parasitised.  We also found several abandoned Painted Lady webs on Creeping Thistle, so we should get a second generation of those soon.

Many Green-veined Whites and Meadow Browns were seen, and a probable Dark Green Fritillary. Trailing St John's Wort was a pleasing find here and there along the track.  Other interesting plants found were Great Willowherb in waste ground at Connel, Slender Sedge along the loch edges, and Whorled Caraway in great abundance in the Kilvaree area.  The Ink-cap fungi on the right were growing on the site of a former manure heap.

Carl Farmer and Richard Wesley

We had good weather once again and a record turnout of sixteen for our midweek
recording walk to Eilean Buidhe.  I've put some pictures in the album and there are
already some great ones in there by others who were on the walk - more to come,
I hope.

The island was very flowery with lots of Thyme, Yellow Iris, Catsear, Thrift,
Ragged Robin, Bell Heather and many other colourful plants. Heath Spotted
Orchid was plentiful, and Common Spotted, Northern Marsh and Northern Fragrant
Orchids were also seen. The latter (Gymnadenia borealis) used to be regarded as
a subspecies of "Fragrant Orchid" but has been made a full species following DNA
analysis. Most Fragrant Orchids found in Argyll will be this species. The
other two new species of Fragrant Orchid are unlikely in Argyll but not
impossible. Any Fragrant Orchid with the lowest petal clearly broader than
long, or with the two side flaps more than 5 mm long and only 1 mm wide, should
be investigated carefully.

The island is notable for the amount of Juniper, a species of conservation
concern. Both male and female bushes were present, the latter with plenty of
fruit. Two galls associated with Juniper were found. The fungal gall
Gymnosporangium cornutum has alternate generations on Juniper and Rowan, and the
Rowan saplings on the island were very heavily infected by it, to a much greater
degree than I've seen on Rowan elsewhere. This is doubtless because they were
growing in or near Juniper from which the fungal spores can spread to them in
large quantities. As the Juniper itself didn't seem to be much harmed by the
fungus, you could almost say that the fungus is beneficial to it by preventing
Rowan from taking over. The other gall was that of the gall-midge Oligotrophus
juniperinus.

Rosy took these excellent photos below of a  juvenile Wheatear confirming breeding at

Puilladobhrain and a Meadow Pipit.  Out at sea there was a raft or should I say crèche of

about thirty juvenile Greylag Geese without their parents. On the mainland we saw Stonechat

and heard Sedge Warbler, along with a Rock Pipit along the water's edge.

Butterflies observed on the island were Painted Lady, Meadow Brown and Common Blue,
while Small Copper was seen on the Seil mainland nearby.

A blue damselfly was also seen on the island, awaiting examination of photos.

There will be a complete species list provided shortly, which as normal is stored in the files

section on the SNHG Yahoo Group.  If anyone has any further records from the

trip that we might not have heard about, please let us know.

Carl and Richard

Today I was at the Seil Island Hall at Ellenabeich where a very exciting project is underway.  The area around the hall is being made into gardens with the help of the BBC's Beechgrove Garden team, and will soon feature on the programme.  There will be a wildlife garden, also flower and vegetable gardens, native hedging and a variety of other features.  All of it will be managed with wildlife in mind, and the results will be closely monitored.  To start off with, I'm surveying the whole site in its present form.  All the species present are being recorded, so that we can observe how they respond to the changes and see which new species move in and old ones move out as the site develops.

Here are a few photos I took while doing the survey.  I only surveyed one long grassy embankment; there is a lot more to do!  The embankment was built long ago with waste from slate quarrying, and has many slates on its surface exposed to the sun.  On a hot day like today these become extremely warm.

Ideal conditions for ants, and they make the most of it.  Many of the slates have colonies of the Black Garden Ant underneath them, like this one with workers and larvae.  Look out for their flying swarms around August.

There are virtually no other invertebrates under these slates.  Perhaps the ants eat them all.  The chunk of slate in the RH pic has a hollow beneath it where a toad lives; the fern is the Black Spleenwort, growing in thin soil over slate on the bank.  This kind of habitat has been colonised by plants typical of natural rock outcrops, such as Wild Thyme, Birdsfoot Trefoil, Herb Robert and English Stonecrop, which all attract bees and butterflies.

Here's a Small Copper butterfly feeding on English Stonecrop flowers, and then resting on a slate to show its underside markings.  Other butterflies seen were Painted Lady, which is currently present in Argyll in large numbers, Orange Tip and Green-veined White.

The flowers on the bank were visited by several Carder Bees (Bombus pascuorum) while I was there.  I noticed other kinds of bumblebees in other parts of the garden but could not tell what they were.

Parts of the bank with bare slate lacking any soil covering have species typical of disturbed ground, such as this Smooth Hawksbeard, much like any other yellow Composite on top, but with a delicate red, white and yellow pattern to the floret undersides.

Sheep's Sorrel is another of the ruderals that take advantage of the bank's bare slaty bits.  The Seil Island Hall is in the background.  The House Sparrow is having a dust bath in the track that runs along the bottom of the bank, which is yet to be made up.

A Silver-ground Carpet moth fluttered over the bank, landing on various leaves, sometimes with its wings half-closed and sometimes keeping them open.

Areas of the bank with deeper soil support grasses and tall herbs, the most conspicuous elements at this time of year being Sweet Vernal-grass, Tall Oat Grass, Red Fescue, Ribwort Plantain, Cowslip (perhaps originally planted) and Nettle.  These pictures show Nettle galled by the fungus Puccinia urticata, and Red Fescue stems ringed with Epichloe festucae, in its white "Neotyphodium" stage, without fruitbodies.  If the fruitbodies form it will turn yellow, like this one (a related species), but E festucae has never yet been known to form fruitbodies in Britain.  Thanks to Stuart Dunlop and Malcolm Storey for help with the identification.

The find of the day was this 11-spot Ladybird, a vice-county first according to the NBN map.  It was not on the bank but on the slaty slope leading down to the water near the Hall entrance.  (Picture is posed, not in situ)

We had fine weather for our midweek recording walk at Kilmartin on Tuesday, and guided by Alan who lives nearby, we walked around the hill Barr Mor, recording in squares NR8399 and NR8499. This route gave us great views of the surrounding countryside and of the Kilmartin valley down to Moine Mhor and the Crinan Canal. Also in the foreground was Kilmartin Castle, which has been restored in recent years.  

As we began the walk a Grasshopper Warbler could heard reeling close to the village and a female Stonechat sat up on a perch nearby.  Cuckoo Flowers were blooming merrily and the Cuckoo itself was heard too. There were huge numbers of Wolf Spiders hunting over the grass, and caterpillars of  both the Garden Tiger and Drinker Moths were quite plentiful and conspicuous.   

One of the highlights was a freshly emerged Emperor Moth which allowed us to approach as close as we wished. Dor Beetles (Geotrupes stercorosus) were also out in numbers, as were the attractive Copse Snails (Arianta arbustorum).  Off to the west was a small gravel pits, where probably two hundred Sand Martin were swirling around the sandbanks.

       
Further ahead a male Stonechat could be seen on a perch with the female close by in a bush.  Climbing Corydalis was present in several places amongst the bracken and one clump had good early flowers, despite having hardly started its climb, which keeps pace with the bracken stalks. As we climbed towards the summit of Barr Mor a Great Spotted Woodpecker was drumming in the distance telling us spring was definitely here.

As we descended back to the village a male Blackcap was singing gloriously, welcoming us back to the village and our lunch at the Kilmartin Hotel.

Carl Farmer & Richard Wesley

This weeks midweek recording walk to Loch nan Ceardach was affected by the rain which, as forecast, got worse as the morning progressed, but we managed to reach the pub before the really heavy stuff came down.  It was too wet to take many photos, however the first one is a bit of a cheat as it shows toads mating in the loch during my quick recce a week earlier, which was on a very fine day. The loch was full of toads on that occasion, but yesterday all we could see were dead ones, probably attacked by Grey Herons. We also found spawn in various places away from water which was probably thrown up by herons or other birds after eating toads that had spawn inside them. Clearly the loch is a major breeding place and this will also attract birds. We did see and hear a Little Grebe on the loch .

Before reaching the loch we had a look round a birch wood with a sprinkling of ash trees, including one half-dead ash that had a rich coating of lichens including Sticta sylvatica, Sticta fuliginosa, Nephroma laevigata and Lobaria pulmonaria, all of which can be seen in Sallie's photo below to the right. There was one puzzling lichen with yellow dots on, which on examination appears to be an elderly Sticta colonised by an unknown yellow (green in good light) powdery species.

The fifth picture shows the cinder fungus that was on a bark less area of the ash, this is Hypoxylon multiforme, the Birch Woodwart, which we previously found on birch at Barnacarry. 90% of its records are on birch, the rest are on a variety of trees including, very infrequently, ash. Also found were three crustose lichens one on a birch tree, Pertusaria amara the bitter wart lichen, (taste it with a wet finger and it should be bitter) and two others on rocks which were identified as Fuscidea cyathoides and Lecidea lithophia.

,

The picture below shows the small mushroom growing on sheep dung on the track after we passed the loch, which I think is Panaeolus semiovatus, which we also had on the Ellenabeich walk. This species rejoices in the English names of Dung Roundhead or Egghead Mottlegill, not sure which is worse. You can see the
mottled gills, due to the dark brown spores, in the picture to the right.

The total number of records will be less than on our other walks owing to the weather, but we did get some new species including the easily recognised mosses Ulota phyllantha and Hedwigia stellata.  

Thanks to all who took part!

Carl and Richard

Thanks to everyone who came on yesterday's midweek recording walk in Scammadale. There was a good turnout of nine, and the weather was kind once again. We walked along the River Euchar where there were some fine ash trees with an endless supply of interesting lichens, in fact we were in danger of spending all morning on the first tree. The photos below show Pertusaria pertusa,  which is made up of chunks like dice with various numbers of  dots and close by we discovered Pannaria rubiginosa.

Then we went into some Hazel woodland where we recorded the distribution of Hazel Gloves, the fungus that indicates ancient untouched Atlantic Hazelwoods, which was not previously known from this site. Thanks to everyone's sharp eyes we found a good number of specimens including the stonker shown below which I'm glad to say added a new word to Alan's vocabulary.  Another  fungi discovered was Exidia repanda (Birch Brain Fungus) on a fallen birch twig suspended from a hazel branch,  with a  jelly-like consistency of the familiar Yellow Brain Fungus, but it is less contorted (or perhaps just less brainy? )

We also found Birch Polypore, Hoof Fungus, Pink Curtain Crust,(see below) and Alan discovered some of the green-staining wood fungus Chlorociboria aeruginascens. The best fungal find was some more of the flimsy bracket fungus Plicatura crispa (see below) which had been found previously at Glen Feochan. This fungus has an eastern distribution and had not been recorded this far west at all but seems to be a constituent of Atlantic Hazelwoods  now that it's turned up in two of them. It seems the fungi of these woods have been researched a lot less than the lichens and there must be many more discoveries to be made.

As you'd expect, the Hazel woods had a rich lichen flora dominated by Lobarion lichens, and often three Lobaria species (L pulmonaria, L virens and L scrobiculata) were found growing next to each other, but we didn't find the fourth one, L amplissima.

We had plenty of opportunity to compare the smooth plum tarts of Degelia plumbea (see above) with the crusty ones of Pannaria rubiginosa, as well as with the tartless Degelia atlantica, and the quartet was completed by Pannaria conoplea which also lacks tarts.The final find was a cushion jelly lichen Collema fasciculare (see above) found by Richard. Thanks again to everyone.  Looking forward to the next walk.

 
Carl and Richard

We had a record turnout of nine people today for the midweek recording walk, despite the off-putting weather forecast. We enjoyed a bit of a weather window as the rain wasn't too bad at all, compared to how it was immediately before and after the walk. The wind was pretty strong on the tops, but we found plenty of sheltered places to hunt for things.

In the first part of the walk we saw a lot of Gorse and Hawthorn, the latter was very rich in mosses and lichens (with especially fine examples of Ramalina fastigiata and Melanelia exasperata), but there was very little on the Gorse apart from Yellow Brain Fungus (Tremella mesenterica) and Velvet Shank (Flammulina velutipes), both of which prefer dying or dead stems. We looked at the lichens on the shore including vertical rocks covered with Sea Ivory (Ramalina siliquosa) which in places had been grazed  probably by either land slugs or the Small Periwinkle which lives on the extreme upper shore and can graze in the splash zone.  Another was Dermatocarpon miniatum, a spotty brown lichen that Alan found on rocks by the shore, a good find as it is not one of the more abundant coastal lichens.

The ants found under slates were the Yellow Meadow Ant (Lasius flavus) and the Black Garden Ant (Lasius niger). The sandhoppers were Orchestia gammarellus and  Catherine's centipede was Geophilus easoni.  Sally's beetle was Nebria brevicollis, a ground beetle that's found in any kind of sheltered conditions that are not too wet and Rosy's snails were the Smooth Glass Snail (Aegopinella nitidula).

We then went into an old slate pit which was rich in bryophytes and gave us a few new vascular plants as well. Then we followed a Hawthorn-lined burn  into a mossy Birch wood which didn't have many lichens, suggesting the wood was not very ancient. It did give us Birch Polypore (Piptoporus betulinus) and what I think is Root Rot Fungus(Heterobasidium annosum - to be confirmed). There was a mystery flowering plant here, but not flowering, if you see what I mean - we will have to go back later in the year to find out what it is. There's was also a large woody gall we saw on Rowan which is called Crown Gall and is caused by Agrobacterium tumefaciens.
 

On the way back we passed a couple of Hazels which yielded several Lobarion lichens and Ramalina fraxinea, the fourth, and least common, Ramalina of the day. Just as we were about to leave the square Rosy discovered a spectacular colony of Jew's Ear (Auricularia auricula-judae) on Elder. It's not common this far north as the NBN map shows
http://data.nbn.org.uk/gridMap/gridMap.jsp? allDs=1&srchSpKey=NHMSYS0001475388 . 

On the underside of the branch with the Jew's Ear was a very decrepit bracket fungus turning green with algae.  This was really in too poor condition to identify, but it had one odd feature, black root-like things growing out of some of the pores.  I've asked around about these but so far I have been met with stunned silence.

Thanks to all for coming and spotting so many things.

Carl Farmer

Another Seil Natural History Group visit to this Atlantic hazelwood, accompanied by lichenologists Andy Acton and Anna Griffith, who showed us some of the species that make this such a special habitat.

One reason these humid western hazelwoods are so good for lichens is the high rainfall.  This was in evidence during our visit, so regrettably photos are very few and rather poor.

Often in the reserve you will come upon a group of hazel twigs apparently glued together in mid-air.  This is caused by the Glue Fungus, Hymenochaete corrugata, which forms a sticky surface on a living Hazel twig to catch other twigs as they fall.  The fungus thus gets first chance to feed on the twigs before they can reach the ground where numerous other fungi lie in wait for them.  The Glue Fungus, which is quite common, is itself devoured here by the rare Hazel Gloves fungus, shown in a blurry photo on the right.  Hazel Gloves is confined to ancient uncoppiced Atlantic hazelwoods and is a sign of a rich lichen flora.

The wood is rich in the Lobarion lichen community, of which the Green Lungwort, Lobaria virens, is a prominent member.  Here we see it parasitised by the pink fruitbodies of the fungus Nectriopsis lecanodes.  The lichen has turned brown where affected by the fungus. 

Crustose lichens are also abundant, completely covering the younger Hazel stems.  The one on the right is on Blackthorn, taken on the way out of the wood when the rain eased off a bit.  It is Caloplaca ferruginea

Several scarce species were found including Parmelia testacea and Thelotrema petractoides.  Thanks to Andy and Anna for braving the weather to show us the wonders of the wood.

As we walked down the road to Kilbrandon House and the entrance to Ballachuan Nature Reserve the roadside verges were full of wild flowers. Some of the more common species identified included Red Campion, Common Sorrel, Pignut, Catsear, Bird’s Foot Trefoil, Tormentil, Silverweed, Wild Thyme and Foxgloves. In the ditches we also found rarer species such as Ragged Robin, Marsh Cinquefoil and Valerian.

Once into the reserve there were many Heath Spotted Orchids and several of the darker purple Northern Marsh Orchids. Although it was rather cool we soon spotted the first of several Small Heath butterflies and a couple of Common Blues. A few black Chimney Sweeper Moths were also evident low in the grass and rushes. A Sedge Warbler was singing loudly from the ditch on the edge of the reserve and a Stonechat accompanied him chatting away close by.

We were now searching for the rare Marsh Fritillary butterfly which breeds on the reserve and although the conditions were not perfect we did find one specimen which was very obliging and allowed some photography. This is a UK Biodiversity Action Plan species which is in severe decline, except here in Argyll. Its food plant is the Devil's Bit Scabious which is abundant here on Seil.

We left the grassland and headed into the hazel wood in search of more species. We were soon rewarded with a couple of Speckled Wood butterflies which prefer the more shadier conditions of the woodland, but more surprising found another Marsh Fritillary butterfly which again gave good opportunities for photography.

As we emerged from the woodland near the entrance we were lucky not to tread on a male Golden-ringed Dragonfly which was vibrating its wings on the edge of the path. This completed an excellent morning giving our members the chance to observe several rare species.

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

This morning we had a Seil Natural History Group midweek walk to the Toad of Lorn, which is the hill in the picture above.  If you can't see the resemblance to a toad there's no hope for you...

It was a very calm day with the sun more in than out.  There were a lot of Small Heath butterflies about, also a yellow moth with black spots which wouldn't settle long enough for a photo.  We heard a Blackcap singing in the woods on Seil from across the sound.

Here's a view of the islands to the west after gaining a little height on the mainland side of the Clachan Sound.

  A Seil Natural History Group visit to the reserve at Ballachuan to look at, and photograph, moths caught in a light trap by Pete Hardy, who had camped there all night.  The previous Tuesday, Pete had given a talk on digital photography to the group.  He is a professional wildlife photographer and his work can be seen at Pete Hardy Images.  There are many inspiring photos there and he also runs photography workshops.  It was a very exciting experience to see all these moths close to (they are very docile early in the morning) and was greatly appreciated by all who attended.

All identifications are by Pete.  There were some that he couldn't name for certain in the time available and these are indicated with terms such as "probably" or "possibly".  The only exception is the Lesser Swallow Prominent which on comparing the photos with the books is clearly that species.

Left: the Early Thorn.  Middle: the Brown Silver-line, which is often seen in the day but must fly by night as well.  It's resting in a different posture to the one I showed 2 days ago, and looks a completely different colour which is probably due to the difficulty of photographing deep into an egg-box.  Right: the Flame Carpet.

The Nut-tree Tussock, which along with the Brown Silver-line was the most numerous species in the trap, and two shots of the Puss Moth.

The Pale-shouldered Brocade and the rather similar Lychnis.

The remarkable Pebble Prominent, whose even more remarkable caterpillar we had back in Aug 2005.  Nice to catch up with the adult moth at last.  The other one is probably the Engrailed.

The Peppered Moth and the Scalloped Hazel.

Two shots of the dazzling Brimstone Moth, and a rather drabber one of unknown identity.

The Lesser Swallow Prominent and a probable Common Wave.

A couple that have previously featured on the site, the White Ermine and the Clouded Border.  The buff form of the White Ermine was also in the trap, but my pics of it deep in its eggbox don't show the buff tinge so I'll leave them out.

And the star of the show, the Poplar Hawkmoth.  I'd never seen anything like this before in my life!

Thanks again to Pete for a momentous moth morning.  We also went for a short walk among the bluebells and looked at the flowers which were so prolific in the woodland including some Early Purple Orchids.  The hazel wood is at its best this time of the year and is a place of supreme beauty and tranquility.

All photos and other content copyright © Carl Farmer

Mon 15 Apr 2008 Seil

A Seil Natural History Group midweek walk on a splendid summer-like day.  Starting and finishing at the Clachan Bridge, we walked through woods and then up the coast on the west side of the very narrow Seil sound, reaching the north-eastern tip of Seil where it is possible to walk across to the mainland at low tide.  We then came down the Puilladobhrain coast on the other side of the peninsula, and then back overland to the Tigh an Truish for lunch and a pint.

A view up the Seil Sound from our starting point.  Seil on the left, mainland on the right.  In the bright sunlight Sea Bootlace was conspicuous in the water from the Clachan Bridge.

Juniper was quite common on the heathy and rocky coastline; it ranged from near-prostrate to almost tree-like.  This specimen at well over 6 ft was the tallest I've seen on the West Coast.  All round the shore Thrift is putting up its pink buds.

Looking back southwards down the Seil Sound to the Clachan Bridge.  During our walk round the peninsula we saw an otter holt, with fresh spraints (but no otters seen) and a Kestrel's nest with the owners flying above.  Two lizards were seen by quick-eyed members of the party, but not by me.  It looks like being a good year for lizards. 

Plants seen in flower for the first time this year were Greater Stitchwort, Buckshorn Plantain and Bugle.  Dog Violets are now out in great numbers.

I fell in love with this whole NE peninsula of Seil, definitely my favourite part of the island so far (but there's a lot of it I haven't seen yet).  This is typical of the views you get on the Puilladobhrain side.

In the afternoon I explored part of the nearby mainland...

Here is Buckshorn Plantain in a natural slate crevice close to the Clachan Bridge on the mainland side.  The slate is angled at about 45 degrees as is common in this area.

The Knotgrass Leaf Beetle (Chrysolina polita) was resting on dead marsh vegetation next to Loch Seil (a mainland freshwater loch).  There were a pair of Mute Swans on the loch.  Also saw the first Green Tiger Beetle of the year.

I then made my way to the Dubh Loch in the hills to the west of Loch Seil and stayed there some time fascinated by the liquid trilling song of the Little Grebe (of which there were at least 3 on the Loch) and the honks and barks of 3 Whooper Swans, which seem to have basically two sounds, one goose-like, the other dog-like, but combine them in an ingenious variety of ways.  These birds are winter visitors and will shortly depart for somewhere more Arctic.  There were also a few Tufted Duck on the loch, but they didn't join in the concert.

A Seil Natural History Group visit to Mull.  We were taken around by David Woodhouse of Isle of Mull Wildlife Expeditions, and had some amazing sightings of big game.

Several Sea Eagles and Golden Eagles were seen.  At one point there was a male Sea Eagle and female Golden Eagle in the air together, the sexes being determinable because they were both the same size.  We were able to get plenty of practice in distinguishing the two species and telling adults from immature birds.  We would often see the eagles circling in the air to gain height, on one occasion disappearing into the clouds.  Due to his knowledge of the terrain David was able to spot eagles perched on the skyline, and could often predict their behaviour.

Through the telescope that David provided we watched a Golden Eagle perched on a hilltop.  When it eventually took to the air, it was mobbed by a Kestrel, which looked tiny in comparison.  Another time, a pair of Ravens rose up when a Golden Eagle passed through their area, to try and see it off.

David knew the Golden Eagle territories in the area and explained that the young eagles we were seeing were looking for territory for the season, but would be chased off from everywhere by the established eagle pairs.

Buzzards were more numerous than anywhere I've seen them.  We watched a dispute over territory or food between three buzzards, one of which was very pale in colour.  David told us that it had been an albino ten years ago, but had gradually acquired more feather markings with each moult.

The highlight for me was seeing Hen Harrier display flights for the first time.  Three females were in the air at once, apparently competing for the attentions of a single male skulking in the forest, whom one or two of us saw briefly.  One of the females treated us to a prolonged display of the spectacular undulating sky-dance, which is performed by either sex.  She also showed the threat behaviour of drooping wings and outspread tail, towards the other females.  While we were watching these birds a trio of buzzards, one carrying prey, flew into the midst of them.

We saw several other female Hen Harriers during the day including another one displaying.  We also saw the Meadow Pipit display flight which was the first of the year for me.  We got good views of a Greenshank, with a Redshank close by for comparison, and in another place spotted a Redshank standing on a fencepost.  Snipe were performing their chippering song.  Lapwings were seen in several places.  Other birds included a pair of Linnets, two Great Northern Divers, a Grey Wagtail, a Great Spotted Woodpecker (heard, not seen).  At Pennyghael a Sparrowhawk appeared from nowhere to land on the back of a wader on the shore; the wader escaped and the Sparrowhawk dashed back to cover.  Opinions varied as to what its intended prey had been (Oystercatcher, Redshank?) as there was only time to look at the retreating hawk.

An Otter fishing in a bay nearby frustrated us for a while as it would keep appearing above water for about a second in between lengthy dives.  David explained that it was catching Butterfish and that sooner or later it would find something larger and take it to the shore to eat.  We motored round to get closer to the point where it was likely to climb onto the rocks with its meal.  Sure enough, it soon did this and, after eating its catch, marked its territory on the seaweed, rolled around for a bit and then settled down for a nap.

We weren't near enough to anything for my camera take usable pictures, but I thought I'd give a brief write-up to a fantastic day out.  Richard told us that this year was a high point in the vole cycle, providing good conditions for Hen Harriers, Buzzards, Kestrels and Short-eared Owls.  I don't know whether the cycle on the mainland is synchronised with that on Mull, but I have noticed a few voles about.

There were 8 Black Guillemots together in Oban Bay as we boarded the ferry, and on the way back there were 2 Gannets at about the halfway point of the journey, one sitting on the water, the other flying right over the boat.  But generally speaking the ferry crossing was devoid of wildlife interest as on my last visit in July.  It is never without scenic interest though.

First Dog Violet of the year in flower noticed on Mull.

We met at the Tigh an Truish at 0800 hours for our journey down to Gigha. Our numbers had swelled to twelve, so we were able to take three fully loaded cars.  Our journey down to Kintyre was uneventful and we arrived safely at the car park at Ronachan Point by 1000 hours. The weather was still dry and the sea fairly calm as we gathered to do some sea watching, a new experience for some of our members.

A group of five Shag sat on one group of rocks whilst two Cormorant were on another.  Common Seals of varying colour and size lay lazily on some more rocks and despite our presence were not disturbed. In a bay over to our right a Great Northern Diver kept disappearing from sight as it dived for food. We also recorded Red-breasted Mergansers, Oystercatcher,  a single Ringed Plover and gulls.  To add to our growing list three winter plumaged Black-throated Divers showed well in front of us, their black and white throats clearly visible.

Our next stop was Rhunahaorine Point next to the West Coast Salmon site further down the peninsula.  We walked down to the beach and as usual here the birds are closer to the shore. We had excellent views of another three Black-throated Divers and in the distance a Red-throated Diver completed the set of all three divers. We soon picked up a beautiful summer plumaged Slavonian Grebe near a group of eight Eider Duck and six Red-breasted Mergansers were close by. A further five Black-throated Divers brought our total to eight.  A Black Guillemot flew to our right and a single Razorbill was also noted. To complete an excellent selection of birds a group of around twenty Common Scoter moved away to our left. 

Once everyone had had an opportunity to see these birds, it was time to head for Tayinloan to catch the 1200 hours ferry to Gigha.  On the way south some members had good views of several hundred White-fronted Geese in the fields past Rhunahaorine and possibly a few Barnacle Geese.  We arrived at Tayinloan in good time for the ferry and several members had a walk into the village, whilst the rest checked out the bay to discover Shelduck, Wigeon, Lapwing and Curlew.  We reassembled back at the ferry terminal as the ferry arrived from Gigha.  We soon all aboard and heading for Gigha and our lunch.

Within twenty minutes we were landing on the island and heading towards to the Gigha Hotel.  Gigha is  the most southerly and one of the most beautiful of the Hebridean Islands. It is seven miles long by a mile and a half wide, and is situated three miles west of the Kintyre peninsular. Gigha is breathtaking – sandy beaches, clear green seas, and a host of wildlife.  The island is community owned with a  population of about one hundred and thirty and was purchased by the residents in 2002.

We continued along the road by Ardminish Bay and crossed a field to arrive at the Hotel. We had all now built up a good appetite and after collecting some drinks from the bar enjoyed an excellent meal in the comfortable restaurant. We discovered that a photographic exhibition was opening in a building next to the hotel so some of the group took advantage of this and a glass of free wine. The remainder of us took a walk up to Achamore Gardens and then visited the ruins of Kilchattan Church and the cemetery. The graveyard held some fascinating grave stones and we spent some time reading the inscriptions.  Situated just behind the ruins of Kilchattan Church, is the Cnoc A'Charraidh (Hill of the Pillar) on which stands the well known Ogham Stone.

It was now time to head back to catch to the ferry at 1530 hours and we joined up with the others at the hotel to return to the ferry terminal.  This had been a full day out, with excellent company, not to mention the obliging birds, and as we crossed the short stretch of water back to Tayinloan, I felt this had been a most enjoyable and rewarding day. 

  The weather was set today to provide us with the opportunity of an excellent mid-week walk. We met at Cuan ready to catch the 0945 hours ferry to Luing. As we stood waiting for the ferry two Black Guillemot flew through Cuan Sound and a Rock Dove was almost missed, as it slowly probed along the shoreline. We had a good view of the strong currents in Cuan Sound where depending on wind and tide there are sometimes standing waves.  We were soon boarding the ferry, and in no time being met by Rosy and Zoe to swell our numbers to eight.

We left the slipway taking the path beside the ferry shed and followed the small bay, passing through a gate. We left the pylon on our left and followed the path between old water filled quarries and an old derelict building. The whole area is full of old slate  workings and commands views across to Ellenabeich, Easdale and Mull. We discovered a pile of discarded slate, full of iron pyrite (fool's gold).  This slate was classed as low grade, for when the pyrites are loosened it can leave holes which allow the ingress of water.

Further on Zoe pointed out some large limestone boulders containing wafers of marble (calcium carbonate).  These seams were created by the recrystalisation of the pre-existing rock at the beginning of the Tertiary period, some 60 million years ago.  The eruption of the volcano on Mull produced such heat and pressure that these seams were formed.  The whole area was covered in these unusual rock formations.

We continued on round to Port Mary and investigated the beach, to discover several species of seaweed. There were four types of brown seaweed which grow on the upper shore, channelled, serrated, spiral and bladder wrack, and two types of green seaweed, sea lettuce and cladophora which grow lower down.  Some of the larger red Oarweed  had also been washed up on the shore, probably from one of our recent storms.  From here we had good views across the Firth of Lorn to the Garvellachs and to Belnahua where old derelict buildings are still visible.  These formed the houses and quarry buildings of a time not too long ago.

We turned inland now, passing several Luing cattle, and followed the farm track uphill and passing through a farm gate.  As we did so, two Skylarks called as they flew overhead, giving the impression that spring was not far away. At the brow of the hill, we had good views down towards Torsa, Ardinamir Bay and Craobh Haven.  On reaching the main road we turned south to have a look at two small bays hoping to see the otters.  In the last bay we found a Curlew, several Red-breasted Mergansers and two Mallard.  Then to our delight Rosy spotted the two otters playing in the sea near Torsa Beg, a mother and her young.  They then headed towards Torsa Beg and spent some time playing amongst some rocks on the foreshore.

It was now unfortunately time to return to the ferry, to catch the 1230 hours crossing back to Seil. As we approached the caravan park, we spotted Rosy's husband Mike out with his camera. We soon realised what he was trying to photograph as to our amazement four Bottle-nosed Dolphins were darting about and leaping out of the sea, giving an incredible display.  This was my first experience of Dolphins close to the island and it was a great thrill.

The Dolphin pictures are by courtesy of Mike and Rosy Barlow

This walk had produced more than I could ever have imagined, great scenery, history, geology, seaweeds, birds, otters and those wonderful Bottle-nosed Dolphins.  How will I ever find another walk to match this superb walk on Luing.  Our thanks goes to Rosy Barlow and Zoe Fleming, two of our members, who made this all possible. I don't think it will be too long before we are returning to Luing to discover more of it's secrets. 

Richard Wesley

We started out from Balvicar at 0700 hours and had an uneventful journey to Blairdrummond Safari Park, where we met John Simpson our guide at 0930 hours.  On our way to the Slamannan Plateau we stopped off at the Carse of Stirling to look at a flock of about five hundred Pink-feet Geese. They were distant views, but with our telescopes they were clearly identifiable. In another nearby field was a small flock of about fifty Greylag Geese.  This was obviously Goose country !

We travelled south now on the M80/A80 and then left the motorway at Castlecarry. The area we were to cover was approximately five square miles with the chance of the Bean Geese being in any one of around three hundred and fifty fields. Add this to the fact that Geese are very secretive and this task was going to be very difficult. This area had previously been opencast and had been replanted and restored, although some areas were not as good as others. Our search took us to various prime locations but without success. There was a shooting party in the area which was also a hindrance. A call at the mining village of Slamannan produced Pink-feet and Greylag's again but not the elusive Bean. We eventually took to walking and visited a bridleway leading to Beam Farm a favoured location of the Bean Geese. Still no success, but we did meet the landowner from Beam Farm who expressed the problems he was having with the local planning authority. As this is a specially protected area, restrictions have been placed on applications. However there is a payment scheme to encourage landowners to attract Bean Geese to their land.  Despite not finding the Bean Geese we got a good feel for the area and some of the difficulties in maintaining this very important over-wintering species here in Central Scotland.

Check out BBC article on Bean Geese Protection :-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/nolpda/ukfs_news/hi/newsid_4702000/4702798.stm

Lunch was a quick affair at the Castlecarry Hotel before heading north to Argaty. We arrived in good time and took up our place in the observation hide. Argaty Red Kites is situated north of Stirling on Lerrocks Farm, a working farm in the Braes of Doune. It is with the help of the SNH and the RSPB that this facility was made available for enjoying this very special bird. A small amount of food (venison) was put out close to the hide and we waited for the action. Several Red Kites were circling in the sky but all seemed reluctant to come down for the chunks of venison. The first recipient was a Common Buzzard followed by three Magpies.  It took nearly half an hour before the Kites, unable to wait any longer, swooped down for the food. There were approximately seventeen to twenty Kites in the air at any one time. The warden explained that the food was restricted, and to later in the day, so as to prevent the Kites becoming too dependant on this food.

   

This group of re-introduced birds here in Central Scotland is one of three sites in the United Kingdom, the others being Oxford and the Black Isle near Inverness. All these populations have been successful and are growing steadily. This reintroduction into Central Scotland sees the Red Kite back here after one hundred and thirty years. Each bird is fitted with wing tags, the left wing to identify the site e.g. Red for Central Scotland and the right wing tag represents the year e.g. Purple for 2007.

More information can be found on the Argaty Red Kites website :-

http://www.argatyredkites.co.uk/

  

We left Lerrocks Farm at three o'clock and arrived back at Balvicar at six o'clock after several stops to keep awake. It had been a tiring day, but very worthwhile  !

I met Carl Farmer at the Tigh an Truish car park at 08:30 hours to complete a Bird Atlas TTV survey for NM71U.  From here we took one car and parked on the road leading down to Ardencaple. As we reached the bridge and the estuary leading to Loch Caithlim,  several Wigeon could be heard whistling and a group of four Teal were skulking in the background.

After speaking to Carl Bonner the gamekeeper about our route we set off through the black gates on the left just below the lodge and made our way to Ardfad Castle. We climbed the hill at the side of the house and took in the views across to Mull.  We then dropped back down behind the house to see the small lake with two resident Mute Swans.  It was good to see the edges of the lake well endowed with Reed Mace and Soft Rush. It was also good to see the overflow planted with Phragmites, the first I had seen here on the island.

Continuing on we came to a sheltered bay to the north-west of the castle, and enjoyed a few minutes taking in the Little Grebes, Red-breasted Mergansers, Oystercatchers and the total peace and quiet.

All that remains of the castle is a flattened mound with a single tree to one side, but close by are some old cottages which remain in good condition, with glass still in the windows. On inspecting the mortar filled walls surrounding the cottages we discovered Maidenhair Spleenwort, Black Spleenwort, Wall Rue and Hart's Tongue Fern, all new species to be recorded by myself.

We returned keeping close to the house this time, with the lake to our right but never entering the private grounds of the house, which is of course out of bounds.