13th June 2020 #30DaysWild

Northern marsh orchid, beside East Cottage

Hybrid NMO near East

Lots of Peacock butterfly caterpillars near East Cottage. This is why we encourage Nettles! 

Foxgloves, lots of bees! 

Milkwort, an unusual colour. 

Ragged robin

The Heath spotted orchids are going over now.

Forget me not and Ragged robin

More Ragged robin

Green tiger beetle

We walked up on the top of the Point last night.  The light was extraordinary.  

Met a Wheatear on the way back down! 

Rewarded with a wonderful sunset. 

12th June 2020 #30DaysWild

Noctilucent clouds.

Heaven.

At the edge of the earths atmosphere. 

Possibly more astonishing than the Northern Lights.

From the garden gate.

My first attempt at a stitched together panorama

11th June 2020 #30DaysWild

On the way down the road I met some young stags in our neighbours field. 

I was on the beach at 5.20am having posted some letters in our nearest phone box.  Just me, a few noisy Oystercatchers, a solo Curlew and several hundred Herring gulls.  Amazing to see such a large number of them, lots of juveniles. The sun was slowly rising over the hill behind Calgary Castle.  It wasn’t warm but there was no wind and the sea was calm.  The tide was low.  The last few storms have deposited so much seaweed which lies in tide lines up the sand.   

At this time of year we have an early warning system if there are birds of prey around. This afternoon a pair of Golden eagles entered the Common gull colony and caused a huge ruckus.  We stood at the back door and watched. They wouldn’t give up and the gulls swooped and mobbed them but didn’t stop one of them from diving down to try and pick off a chick.  It didn’t look like they had any success as they eventually flew off and the hillside quietened down again.

We walked out onto the Point in the evening.  The cliff on the south side looking over to the Treshnish Isles was looking wonderful with huge clumps of Bloody cranesbill and Birds foot trefoil.  It was difficult it to know where to step without treading on something lovely.  

As the sun began to set and we walked back, everything was rosy and golden. Huge patches of Mountain everlasting with the sweet fragrance of Fragrant orchids  and an agitated Wheatear flying round and round worried that I would disturb their nest.  

In the Black Park, more deer. 

10th June 2020 #30DaysWild

We walked up to the Reudle schoolhouse gate this evening to pick up the Kubota Farmer had left there when they started the hill gather on Sunday.  It was a softly cloudy and sunny evening, with a slight breeze so no midges. 

It was lovely out there, not many people walk across this bit of hill apart from us.   We saw and heard Cuckoos and Curlews, Skylarks and Snipe drumming. 

I have never seen Bogbean flowering and so we detoured to the bog in between Larach Mhor and Glag Gugaraidh to look for them.  We are a bit early for them.  

Four spotted darter

Beaked sedge?

Bogbean leaves

The Harbro lorry, the Ensay bridge and the 'plague house'

Heath bedstraw 

A solitary Foxglove 

9th June 2020 #30DaysWild

#30DaysWild slipped my mind today.  #musttryharder. 

These photographs are the only ones I took today which remotely think of wild.  

The verge along the track between the Studio and the farm building.  Bluebells are just about over now.  Red clover is flowering, with Pignut, Lady's mantle, Heath spotted orchids. 

 

One of the Hawkweed family.  

8th June 2020 #30DaysWild

My only non work time outside today was walking between the farmhouse and the farm building.  

7th June 2020 #30DaysWild

The one and only Frog orchid. 

The Fragrant orchids are showing up in lots of places through the Black Park and the Haunn field.

Wood bitter vetch on the banks along the track through the Haunn field.

Flag irises near Duill Cottage

Tonight's beautiful sunset.

I didn't know what this plant was, so asked Prasad.  He sent it off to the County Recorder to ask her advice and she confirmed that it is New Zealand willow herb.  So very different from its name sake, Rosebay willow herb.  It is minute for a start with these tiny white pendant flowers, growing on the bank beside the biomass container.