Islay Birding News

wilderness food and nature

2009-07-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

We avoided the rain, and watched a Golden Eagle, Common Sandpipers and Pipits too. Finding plenty to forage and cook on an open fire on the beach. Wonderful. Wild gourmets!

nature report

2009-07-05T12:36:00.000-07:00

summer summer summer..and orchids everywhere!

.............and other wonderful flowers as well as skylarks singing.

this week i was with a couple of folks and we were riding bikes traveling through the nature. It is such a great way to experience all sorts of happenings. Time to watch, time to slow down and easy to stop. Time also to sniff the ever changing air as it is now full of all sorts of smells. there are now amazing flowers that have suddenly appeared. It also allows one to hear a wilderness orchestra and how it changes as one progresses. the really nice thing is that as one rides a bike one finds oneslf within the nature and can become part of it. I have noticed that birds and animal are less disturbed by bikes than when one is on foot. Strange but true! We watched Chough, Buzzards, Eiders, Linnets and plenty of Oystercatchers as well as Arctic Terns and Hen Harriers but best of all we saw plenty of wild orchids.

On the folklore side of things it is commonly thought that any purple orchids were magical plants ("lus an Talaidh" - herb of enticement). Used in love charms. It has two roots, one larger than the other, representing a man and
a woman. The plant is to be pulled by the roots before sunrise, facing South.
Which-ever root is used is to be immediately placed in spring water; if it sinks the person in question will be the future husband or wife. The root can also be ground up and placed under the pillow to bring dreams of your future partner.

Of course I would not recommend this as it is illegal to pick any wild flower.....but who knows what would have happened in the past!

for a full report see www.isleofislay.info

biking bushcraft

2009-07-05T12:32:00.000-07:00

We had a really great time exploring the wilds on bike and camping, foraging and watching. We were lucky with the weather and although there were a handful of clouds and wetness we remained mostly dry and enjoyed looking for flowers and plants that sustain and nourish and heal - brilliant. The birds were, of course great too: Chough, Terns, Harriers and Oystercatchers. A large Sea Bass also launched itself just as we were cooking an evening meal on the beach - fantastic!

help me to help others....

2009-06-22T14:32:00.000-07:00

here is my just giving site....every penny counts and goes towards the fund - we have covered the costs of the race ourselves- and there has been a separate collection on Islay....

http://www.justgiving.com/jeremyhastings/
THANKS

Off to paris!!!

2009-06-22T13:20:00.000-07:00

In the morning I begin the long journey to London - bus, boat and train then bike from London to paris. riding in the London to paris Sprortif and raising monies for the Geoff Thomas Foundation. 600 Kms on fixed wheel.....back next week.

4 days of wilderness

2009-06-22T13:17:00.000-07:00

Last week we were wildness living with two franco-americans - brilliant fun. Not only foraging, finding and exploring but alos we were lucky enough to see Sea and Golden eagles, Gannets, Chough, Fulmars, Red deer, kestrel, Buzzard, Skylarks, pipits, yellowhammers and numerous others too. Plants were good too: orchids, mosses and lichens - fabulous. We also had plenty of time for reflection and just being...

harrier harries eagle!

2009-06-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

Out on the Rhinns and we missed the rain. Great Northern Divers, Auks, Gannets, Atlantic Grey seals, Chough, Cuckoo and this afternoon we watched eagles. Firstly being mobbed by corvids on a cliff then being chased by them and a male Hen Harrier too. Soon it was right over the landrover and ourselves. Fabulous views of one specifically - so close it was too much for binoculars!

wilderness 24

2009-06-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

returned from a 24 hours in the wilderness with a biologist from the Isle of man. An excellent time - plenty to see - sea birds: Fulmar, Auks and Ducks as well as superb plants both edible and non edible. Good night around fire and sleeping in caves. Long talks about education, folklore, travel and everything in between....wonderful trip

around the rhinns

2009-06-09T15:23:00.000-07:00

Brilliant weather and great birding today: GND's, Arctic Terns, Sedge Warblers, Hen Harrier, Gannets and Sandpipers - and a Golden Eagle too. Marsh Fritillaries at Claddach were a delight to see amid Orchids, Eyebright and Sea Pink. Fabulous day.

walking portnahaven

2009-06-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

Walking safari today. excellent weather and light meant that our folks got great sightings of wee bird: Sedge Warblers,
Whitethroats, Chough, larks, Roe Deer, Gannets, Lapwing, Curlew and Common Sandpipers. we heard three Chough too. Plenty of opportunity for the camera to click! Later after lunch was enabling a family to discover the wild of the coast, foraging and eating it's bounty - lovely!

gravity gathering

2009-06-03T15:35:00.000-07:00

off on Thursday with a bunch of kids from Port Mor Wheelers to the World Cup mountain bike championship, camping and biking in Nevis Range - back on Sunday......

golden eagle afternoon

2009-06-01T14:14:00.000-07:00

Guided a regular group of clients who come over mainly for the golf but they love their nature as well.It was a splendid afternoon, warm, bright with distant views of Ireland and the Garvallachs in opposing directions. we were high on the Glen Road, having spotted several Warblers, Raven, Kestrel and Red Deer. we did not have to wait long for the eagle but at first it was quite a distance away on a thermal, it dropped and delighted us all by getting considerably closer - so much so it filled the binoculars! Brilliant.

todays afternoon and yesterday's...

2009-05-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

...dawn. good birds again - Harrier, Curlew, Merlin, Stonechat, Chough, Fulmar, Gannet, Redshank, Lapwing and Oystercatchers...brilliant. After the wet dawn a lovely afternoon today. We then headed off with a landrover of kids to the home Coming Parade in Bowmore - marching with the YA's - excellent fun thanks to the distillery organisers - Jim McEwen and John Cambell

lovely day lovely....

2009-05-26T12:54:00.000-07:00

..families to guide. Excellent views of many species today: Raven, Curlew, a cracking Peregrine right in front of us, Buzzards, male Hen Harrier, Seals, Eider, Shelduck with young, Stonechats, warblers including a Gropper and Little Terns at the head of Loch Indaal. A calling Corncrake after our sausage sizzle was good too!

Cuiart Breac

2009-05-25T01:18:00.000-07:00

Eagles and Harriers and Gannets and Auks and Fulmars and Swallows and Adders and Toads and Wild Goats and Red Deer and wee brownies (wild brown trout) and edible plants and time to be..... and just watch, listen and enjoy.

until saturday...

2009-05-19T00:49:00.001-07:00

I am away till Saturday running the Cuiart Breac wilderness expedition...until then.....

Wheels and wings.....

2009-05-17T14:02:00.000-07:00

Our first one today and what a great one to do it on! Sun rain and wind. We enjoyed great Northern Divers, , Eiders, Terns,
Ringed Plover, Oystercatchers, Swallows, Martins, Wren, Raven and Whitethroat as well as Willow Warbler. We enjoyed the riding too and the coffee and hotchocolate at Debbies during the debrief! Excellent and eco too!

shearwaters and skua

2009-05-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

We headed onto the Rhinns today in brilliant sunshine and warm. Diverse Divers, Gannets, Guillemots, Razorbills, Terns and Fulmars then a Bonxie stormed through good to compare size against a nearby Gannet - not much difference! Later we found out that it had been over Tormisdale too. Hen Harriers and a distant Golden Eagle, Buzzards and Whitethroats too. A warm day birding wise and weather wise too!

nature notes

2009-05-10T12:56:00.001-07:00

April showers.....

...ran into May this week and ran fast too! The wind was furious and those poor folks who were camping had a hard time of it! May is such a good time to come to Islay and a hopeful one too. Unfortunately not so this week. The weather patterns meant some interesting birds though: Iceland Gulls at Coull Farm and the delight of a glimpse of Hen Harrier being rushed across a field by storm force winds. It has also been cold so we have been wrapping up too! In between the rough and wild weather there have been some fantastic moments, like earlier this week when i was out guiding - we were stuck in the landy when all of a sudden the rain stopped and Skylarks started to sing and flash! like a lightning bolt a Peregrine falcon stormed through them all. We waited for a kill but no luck - the falcon left.... hungry.

Except for today, Sunday, whence it has been glorious and spring like. This morning out on the moss below Foreland Bog Cotton was beginning to show and earlier this week Cuckoos were calling too. The ground is still wet from inches of rain and with the sun the grass grows strong and verdant. Violets, Marsh Marigolds and willow are Bluebells are flowering well.

Oystercatchers are on eggs and so too are Lapwing with there vigilance on high alert as Raven, Gulls and raptors seek food in the form of eggs and chicks.

Whimbrel have been stuck here in the gloom till today, and have been heading off north to their breeding ground in the arctic region. In fact, last night I was able to hear quite alot move through over our wee house. It is nice to see folks out enjoying the nature and the wilderness, on bikes as well as on foot. Plenty of birdwatchers are around too. Watching Little Terns, Great Northern Divers, Gannets and Mergansers on Loch Indaal. Eiders are paired up as well. It is a fine time to watch and just catch some rays of warm. Indeed, it has been the only time this week to do so...long may it continue!

iceland gulls

2009-05-06T09:15:00.000-07:00

Early dawn was dry but, of course, as we headed out, the wet stuff came down and stuck with us all day. Whimbrel, Greylags, a single Greenland Whitefont, Common Sandpipers, Grey Wagtails, Chough and superb views of a male Hen Harrier behind Port Charlotte.

wet whimbrel wet

2009-05-05T08:52:00.000-07:00

From early dawn till now it has been raining. Lots of it and windy too. However we were not to be disappointed. Around Loch Indaal we traipsed; Common Sandpiper, Sandmartins, Turnstone, Dunlin, Great Northern Divers and Ringed Plovers too. We enjoyed seeing a Snipe displaying and then dropping in 10 metres from us to look at for a good time. Up behind Black Rock we spotted a cracking male Wheatear and going back for a good look I picked out 4 Whimbrel - superb, busily feeding and sheltering from an every building wind. On our return a Peregrine stormed out infront sending everything into a mass panic. At the spit we delighted in terns and watched a little Tern offering a Sand eel to it's partner - fabulous.
A great custom tour ended with a debrief at Debbies warming ourselves with hot chocolate and espressos!

things can be this good

2009-04-28T11:37:00.000-07:00

It was warm and bright and Ardnave was spectacular today. Some excellent views of good birds. Buzzards on posts, Snipe underfoot, Chough in the air - we had it all. The blues of the atlantic and far views of Mull and beyond were fabulous. Otter tracks on a beach, rock Pipits, Plover, Curlew and Black Tailed Godwits resting before heading northwards. It was good.

latest nature report....

2009-04-26T12:07:00.000-07:00

April showers bring forth May flowers. maybe an old fable but the rain and the warmth seems to be infront of itself and as i rode through Bridgend today the Bluebells were beginning to show. Marsh Marigolds/Kingcup - a very important plant in the past, that farmers would have used to increase their milk yield. Even nowadays there are folks who believe that by hanging garlands around the horns of cows will be especially favourable. The cows do not eat it and at this time of the year - Beltane - connections to past folklore are still hugely important - and - even more so - in the outer isles such as North Uist; it was said to protect the cows from witchcraft and the evil eye. the gaelic name is A'chorra-fhod (f) from corra meaning
a heron and foid or fod meaning clod, peat or turf. 'The heron of the peat'. interestingly the family name is Ranunculus and comes from the Egyptian word ranah, the Gaelic word ran and Latin rana all which mean frog presumably because the places that these plants inhabit are also frequented by frogs! not only Marsh Marigold but, Wood Anemone, Columbine, Hellebores, Love-in-a-mist, Meadow Buttercup, Lesser Celandine and Crowsfoot too.

Beltane is the the start of the time of light and end of the dark times. When things start to move, grow and become open and in the past when cattle were taken to the high pastures. gardens are plated, women marry, men would have gone to battle and the women would be left to look after the house and livestock. interestingly enough these dates were not fixed in the celtic calendar. The calendars turning was of determined by nature, after the spring equinox, bright light, warm enough on the ground to plant and cattle and sheep bringing young into the world. A positive time for all. nowadays we take a holiday - May day and from way back in the Celtic times it is still celebrated. Beltane can be translated as 'the fires of Bel' connected with the ancient and old sun god Belanos from Gaul. It was a time of celebration for the darkness had been conquered and frosts beaten. Planting could begin and the migration well underway.

we have had plenty of interesting birds this week: Marsh Harrier, Iceland Gull, Lesser Yellowlegs, Long Billed Dowitcher, Common Sandpipers, Black tailed Godwits and as my young son and I rode back from Debbies this evening we delighted in a wee group of Whimbrel in the field near Port Charlotte.

This week the Wildwood Wisdom programme begins in schools funded by The Mactaggart Third Fund and the children will be enjoying the spring nature explorations as much as the rest of us!

french agents

2009-04-25T15:39:00.000-07:00

Welcomed our French agents today and took them to visit lots of places and see even more. Wheatears, Arctic Terns, swallows, Skylarks, Hen Harrier and a single Pale Bellied Brent Goose as well as several gannets feeding too.

nature report

2009-04-19T15:53:00.000-07:00

Spring has arrived and the geese are gone. green grass is abundant - well early and the lambs gambol in the meadows. it is warm save for a chilling easterly that started to blow this week.

Arctic Terns have started to come in -I love them and their acrobatics too. Soon the air will be filled with new summer noises, different light and smells too.

Plants begin to shoot too, we notice primarily the primrose and lesser celandine, both yellow and sunlike. Interestingly enough in some parts of the world Lesser Celandine is a weed!

Irish Gaelic - Grán Arcáin  Latin family: Ranunculaceae

Lesser Celandine is one of the first flowering plants to appear at the end of the winter (February to May). The plant itself is small (5-30cm tall) with dark, heart-shaped leaves. The flowers, which appear on a short stalk, form a carpet of yellow stars in woodland and bogland edges (more common on Islay), under hedgerows, in ditches and along streams.It is found on damp soils in the pH range of 4 to 8, but is more commonly found in pHs of 6 to 6.5. Lesser Celandine is an important early nectar source but, in wet and windy weather, the petals close.

However, Lesser Celandine is an herbaceous, perennial plant and sis part of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). Plants have a basal rosette of dark green, shiny, stalked leaves that are kidney-shaped to heart-shaped. The flowers open in March and April, and have 8-12 glossy, butter-yellow petals that are 1 inch wide, and are borne singly on delicate stalks that rise above the leaves. Pale-colored bulblets are produced along the stems of the above- ground portions of the plant, but are not apparent until late in the flowering period. The root system is made up of a cluster of tuberous roots. When in bloom, large infestations of lesser celandine appear as a green carpet with yellow dots, spreading across the shady and sometimes wet field edge floor. This plant reproduces by seed and underground bulbous tubers. interestingly it was know as pilewort and used thus as a cure all for such. made into a poultice and rubbed on the accusing areas (ouch!) . There is no evidence that it worked but like a lot of these these folklore medicines it obviously had some kind of efficacy to survive the old stories in order o be passed down from generation to generation!
It was even mentioned by Shakespeare!