Scottish Jellyfish Sightings 2015

According to the Marine Conservation Society, our smacks of jellyfish 'should not be ignored.'

There have been reports of high numbers this summer off the UK. However, you might also want to read this Guardian article by Steve Backshall.

I saw the jellyfish in this post when I was in Scotland at the end of June 2015 and have logged my sightings with the MSC. 

Cyanea lamarcki (Blue jellyfish), Campbeltown Harbour, Kintyre, Scotland (June 2015)

Cyanea lamarcki (Blue jellyfish), Campbeltown Harbour, Kintyre, Scotland (June 2015)

Aurelia aurita Moon jellyfish Campbeltown Harbour, Kintyre, Scotland (June 2015)

2015 Scottish Odyssey (4) Toad in the Road

© David Gill (who got out of the car to take the photo and to ensure that the toad was safe!)

I couldn't resist posting this photo of a Common Toad! Isn't it a magnificent creature?

We saw the toad, along with a number of others, in the Kilmartin area, not far from Lochgilphead. It was a wet night. I love the contrasting and complementary speckles of the toad and the road!

2015 Scottish Odyssey (3) Birds

Goosander on Loch Lomond (2015) ... time for a ride

It is time I composed my bird list from my 2015 holiday diary!

The weather (with a couple of exceptions) was not ideal for bird photography on our holiday this year, so I have taken the liberty of re-posting the Eider and Bullfinch pictures I took in 2014.

Those of you who visit my monthly Tree Following posts will know that I love lists. So here goes ... and, incidentally, the location mentioned is the place where I saw a species on this holiday for the first time. It may not be the only place. Birds are posted in the order in which they were spotted. You can find pictures and information about them all on the RSPB site here.

1. Swallow (Loch Lomond)
2. Swift (Loch Lomond)
3. Goldfinch (Loch Lomond)
4. Greenfinch (Loch Lomond)
5. Oystercatcher (Loch Lomond)
6. Goosander (Loch Lomond)
7. House Sparrow (Loch Lomond)
8. Lesser Black-back Gull (Loch Lomond)
9. Skylark (Rannoch Moor)
10. Buzzard (Glengarry)
11. Grey Heron (Eilean Donan)
12. Rock Pipit (Eilean Donan)
13. Pied Wagtail (Broadford, Skye)
14. Blackbird (Broadford, Skye)
15. Hooded Crow (Broadford, Skye)
16. Starling (Broadford, Skye)
17. Robin (Broadford, Skye)
18. Bullfinch (Dunvegan)
19. Cuckoo (Dunvegan - no sighting but David heard it calling)
20. Arctic Tern (Loch Dunvegan)
21. Dunlin (Braes, Skye)
22. Eider Duck (Applecross)
23. Curlew (Applecross)
24. Mallard (Applecross)
25. Wheatear (Waternish, Skye) 
26. Gannet (Waternish, Skye)
27. Golden Eagle (Cuillin, Skye)
28. Lapwing (Staffin, Skye)
29. Stonechat (Quairaing, Skye) 
30. Chiffchaff (Kylerhea, Skye)
31. Ringed Plover (Sleat, Skye)
32. White-tailed Eagle, with salmon! (Skye) Red status conservation
33. Tystie/Black Guillemot (Elgol, Skye)
34. Corncrake (Skye - only the call this year, no sighting) Red status conservation
35. Reed Bunting (South Shian, near Oban)
36. Mute Swan (near Tayvallich)
37. Garganey (near Tayvallich)
38. Moorhen (Lochgilphead)
39. Barn Owl (Kilmartin)
40. Little Owl (Kilmartin)
41. Sand Martin (between Kilmartin and Loch Awe)
42. Razorbill (from Arran ferry)
43. Pheasant (Arran)
44. Treecreeper (Brodick Castle, Arran)
45. Kestrel (Arran)
46. Chaffinch (Dunadd)
47. Herring gull (Oban) Red status conservation

Plus an assortment of geese and gulls, which would probably bring the total up to around 50. I need to brush up on my ID skills for these. Oh, and we also saw a peacock on Skye!

I was surprised to find that while the Herring Gull is still afforded Red Status, the Golden Eagle is listed as Amber. Have you found any unusual birds this summer?

Eider (male)

Eider (female)

Bullfinch (female)

Bullfinch (male)

2015 Scottish Odyssey (2) Amphibians at Culzean

The view from Culzean Castle in Ayrshire, Scotland

In my previous post I mentioned some of the mammals we encountered on our recent Scottish odyssey. This time I thought I would add a couple of amphibian sightings. We saw several toads (and a batch of tadpoles) during our time away, and I may post other photos in due course. 

You never know who may be lurking in a woodland garden ...

We knew the castle, lake and walled garden at NTS Culzean from a previous visit, but had not been to the designated wildlife garden before.

There were several signs about the place. I was particularly heartened to read the one below. 

The first creature we encountered was this Common Toad. I know that skin colours can differ in toads, but I had never seen one like this before. It was large and utterly magnificent. Stuart Babbs on Flicka suggests that a peaty environment may account for dark pigments in toads.

Has anyone else seen toads like this one? Alison Davies posted about black toads on iSpot and it was suggested that a dark colour absorbs more heat. The colour can be an advantage in dark surroundings ... like the frog box.

The photo below shows a newt (or is it still a large eft?). I have not been able to identify the exact species. 

I mentioned signs, and here in the photo below you can see another one, this time on the lid of the frog box. I have to confess at this point that both the black toad and the newt were in the box. We took a quick look and replaced the lid with great care. This kind of wildlife spotting felt a bit too easy - it was a bit like walking into the RSPB Minsmere Bittern Hide and seeing ... a Bittern!

You can see why we like the view from the castle! 

2015 Scottish Odyssey (1) Mammals

We had a wonderful 'summer' holiday in Scotland. The weather was particularly mixed this year; but despite the cool temperatures, we had not expected to find spring primroses and bluebells and quite so much snow around in mid-June. It might even have been good weather for penguins!

Sign on the lovely Scottish island of Gigha

Snow around Kintail

Heading north through Glencoe

Insects were rather thin on the ground this time, but we saw quite a few birds (like the Arctic Terns in the photo below) and an interesting selection of animals.

Dunvegan, Skye      © David Gill 2015

I shall begin with my 2015 mammal list:

• Bottlenose Dolphin (from the ferry to Lochranza on Arran)
• Common/Harbour Seal (largely at Dunvegan on Skye)
• Grey Squirrel (Culzean)
• Hare (particularly at Kilmartin and on the way to the Mull of Kintyre)
• Otter (Skye and Argyll)
• Pine Marten (sadly no photograph, but a first for us)
• Rabbit (Skye)
• Red Deer (several locations)
• Red Squirrel (just one ... adjacent to Loch Awe)
• Roe Deer (several locations)
• Shrew (a nest, Attadale) 

Sadly we failed to see any of the Knapdale Beavers (the weather was particularly deluge-like that day), but we enjoyed looking. Their watery realm was straight out of a fairytale!

Beavers may have eluded us in 2015, but (despite a week on Mull last year), we had our best Otter sightings ever ...

First view: was it an Otter?

Definitely!

 

Last view before it disappeared into the water ...

Bluebells (and Primroses) on Midsummer's Day