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Hebridean journal

Wednesday, 13 June 2007

Wednesday 13th June 2007


One advantage of sleeping badly is that you see sights other folk are not fortunate enough to view. This is 2.40 a.m.


And 3.40 a.m.


And 5.15 a.m.


And now it is 5.40 a.m.


And a more reasonable hour – 6.40 a.m.


And the time of day that many people would at last think sensible – 10.15 a.m. One of the things that seems to grow particularly well on the island is the fence post.


This morning’s coffee was at The Woodlands Centre.


And we added a Blue Tit to our list of birds seen so far this holiday.


We went out on the Liurbost road, passing Jo’s favourite little island in the process.


We went alongside Loch Leurbost in the hazy sunshine.


And then over the hill to Ranish where the skies cleared completely and the sea became the deepest blue.




Around here even the most decrepit and abandoned buildings can have an air of romance.


King of the road.


In fact, they are everywhere!



Why do the windmills so rarely turn? At least today there was one turning.


And back to Stornoway where a scraggy looking Herring Gull was still guarding the boats.


Having bought a copy of Peter Cunningham’s book ‘The Castle Grounds’ I was anxious to explore them further so GB dropped me off there and he went home to work for a few hours, picking me up later in the day. I made a start by going along the Willowglen Trail. There are many fine trees in the grounds including this stand of Douglas and Grand Firs.


And stately Lawson’s Cypress bearing no resemblance to the stunted and mangled things we use as hedging in urban areas on the mainland.


An unusual shrub alongside the path was Leycesteria formosa, sometimes known as Himalayan Honeysuckle.


Throughout the woods there are ferns galore including the attractive Hard Fern which has two sorts of frond – the wider sterile ones shown above and the narrow fertile ones below.



Another unusual shrub was the Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) with its orange berries.


After spending some time in the woods the path winds put onto the golf course with a view over Stornoway and Broadbay.


The path re-enters the woods and goes alongside the nursery and Lews Castle College and before reaching the castle itself there is a fine example of a Sugar Maple.


Because of its dangerous structural state the Castle itself is deserted and boarded up but there are plans afoot to renovate and re-open it.


I walked round the edge of the outer harbour for a while.


I wouldn’t like to get on the wrong side of that beak.


And then made my way to the inner harbour and back into the woods.


Near the entrance I came across a Jackdaw ballet.


I was due to meet GB at the Porter’s Lodge at 5.30 pm and in true Edwards fashion he was there within 30 seconds of the appointed time.


Going back across the Braighe the waters were an almost unbelievable blue. Bayble Bay (with Tigh na mara on the right) was equally stunning.



And so, at 10.50 pm as the light finally began to fade, I headed for bed...


Posted by tigh-na-mara at 12:01 AM BST
Updated: Thursday, 21 June 2007 3:53 AM BST
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Tuesday, 12 June 2007

Tuesday 12th June 2007


At 4.30 this morning the mainland was visible across the Minch – not that sensible people were aware of the fact!


We had coffee in An Lanntair.


From the window I photographed one of the sculptures that can now be seen around Stornoway.


On the way back to the car I came across a second winter Herring Gull on the edge of the dock.




Coming out of Stornoway back to Tigh na mara GB took me to see the Iolaire monument.


One of the local inhabitants. I wonder what it thinks of the new sewage plant!



We stopped on the Braighe and I photographed the coastguard and the ferry.


The afternoon was cold and showery but I did not let that stop me from spending it on the shore below Tigh na mara.


On the cliffs I came across a Painted Lady sheltering from the buffeting winds.



The waves were bashing into the rocks and the sound was wonderful. I could have stayed there listening to the crashing roar for ever.


I must have spent a couple of hours photographing the waves and the pebbles on the shore, totally oblivious to the rest of the world.



As on my last trip down to the shore here there were Wrens galore – both young and adult.


The sky darkened and the waves continued to crash onto the rocks.


If there is one flowering plant for which the island should be noted it is Thrift. Whether it is covering the machair or an individual plant on a cliff face it is a beautiful flower.


Posted by tigh-na-mara at 12:01 AM BST
Updated: Thursday, 21 June 2007 3:36 AM BST
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Monday, 11 June 2007

Monday 11th June 2007


Having spent a brief spell below the horizon the sun was well up again at 4.55 a.m.


The combination of blue sky and rising sun has been magnificent this last week and today was no exception. (All the photos on this site have been taken without filters and are as the sky appeared.)


The mainland was not visible at 8 a.m. but the clouds which blocked it out were worth photographing in their own right.


After breakfast we set off for a day around Harris whose mountains can be seen in the distance from near Bayble. As we drove down the main Stornoway to Tarbert road we passed through Balallan, the longest village (4 miles measured from end to end) in Lewis (and also in northern Scotland). Straggled along the head of a long sea loch between Arivruach and Laxay, it developed due to a mixture of crofting along the loch shore and fishing. It sits at the head of Loch Erisort.


Those on the loch side were each given direct access to the loch for their boats as well as access to the moorland behind for their sheep. They also attended to their croft, given relative shelter from the elements by the high ground to the west.


Just south of the village there is a cairn that stands as a memorial to the Deer Park Raiders. It is one of three Land Struggle Cairns to have been commissioned on the Isle of Lewis.


It doesn’t matter whereabouts on Lewis or Harris you may be there are always signs of the depopulation that has occurred over the years. The remains of crofthouses sprinkle the whole island and whilst they may have a certain romantic beauty to the artist’s eye they are really a testimony to the hardship endured by this community for centuries.


There is no clue on the road as to when one is leaving Lewis and arriving on Harris but gradually the mountainous scenery confirms one has done so. In this border country there are plantations, some which, like those near Garynahine, suffered the ravages of the Pine Beauty moth some years ago.


We then came to Loch Seaforth – one of Dad’s favourite areas on the island. The skyline here is filled by the mountains of Harris with Clisham, 2622 feet (or 799m for those younger than I), the predominant feature.


Looking back towards Lewis from the climb up from Loch Seaforth.


Clisham, the highest peak in the Western Isles.


At West Loch Tarbert - one has to ask is the car’s speed really relevant in these circumstances!!!


Tarbert is the main township of Harris and the port for the ferry from Skye.


I just love picturesque little scenes like this with a boat in them. Strange really, since I have a phobia about water!


We travelled down the East side of Harris, admiring the hundreds of offshore islands.....


...and the thousands of little lochans.


As we drove along I was fooled for a moment by what I thought was an otter.


Sadly it turned out only to be a Hoodie – the grey of its back merging into the grey of the water and giving it an outline not normally associated with a bird.


However, GB stopped the car and the spot gave us sightings of Greenshank (above) , Whimbrel and Redshank so the experience was not all wasted.


The Redshanks kicked up a great fuss and circled around overhead, alternately landing on the top of a tree and the summit of a little hill nearby.


Throughout our trip down the East coast the call of Cuckoos was constant and on a few occasions we saw them sitting on the telegraph wires, often with a small bird beside them. Since they were cuckooing adults on the wire they were obviously not youngsters being fed by the smaller bird – was it trying to discomfort them and make them move away from their nest site?


At Leverburgh the ferry was just leaving for Berneray and we watched it depart as we had coffee in the cafe.



Between Northton and Scarista on our way back up the West side of Harris we saw lots of Oystercatchers in the loch.


In passing I took a shot or two of the standing stone at Scarista. This fine 6 ft tall slab has two fallen stones close by, one of which may have formed an alignment with it.


Nisabost beach (Traigh Iar) and the Macleod standing stone.


We paused to photograph the Macleod Stone, an impressive monolith 10 ft 6 inches high, perched on a hilltop looking out over to Taransay, the island made famous by the BBC's Survivor programme. It has been suggested that this stone was erected by prehistoric man as part of a calendrical system: at the equinoxes the sun sets exactly due west over St Kilda, as seen from the stone.


At Luskentyre the machair was covered in Thrift.


And the tide was in. I always find it hard to believe how many miles of sand are exposed at low tide, so gradual is the slope of Luskentyre beach.



Among the flowers hereabouts were Ragged Robin and Wild thyme.


From the hill above Luskentyre it is even harder to believe that all that area, almost out to Taransay in the background, is sand at low tide.


There are places on Harris that look more like a moonscape than a British landscape.


Heading back home from Tarbert, looking towards the whaling station on West Loch Tarbert and the mountains of North Harris.


Another view to conclude our trip around Harris.


Posted by tigh-na-mara at 12:01 AM BST
Updated: Tuesday, 19 June 2007 10:37 AM BST
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Sunday, 10 June 2007

Sunday 10th June 2007


A misty start to the day at 3 am


And it continmued misty for a few hours.


This turned to rain for a brief spell around 9 am


And then back to sunshine by half past 10.


Pat and Dave called around for a coffee.


Not forgetting Briagha though she had to do without the coffee.


The light this morning was somehow much paler than the last few days and the sea and sky responded accordingly.


GB and I spent much of the day sorting out the loft – but don’t tell anyone we worked on a Sunday!! I would break off every now and then when an insect like this Heliophilus pendulus hoverfly came into the house.


The day continued a mixture of sun and occasional cloud.





Until, between 22.08 and 22.15 the sun gradually set over Lower Bayble. And finally it disappeared for a few hours.


Posted by tigh-na-mara at 12:01 AM BST
Updated: Monday, 18 June 2007 4:06 PM BST
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Saturday, 9 June 2007

Saturday 9th June 2007


I make no apologies for all the sky photos which appear on this Blog. In most urban areas little can be seen of the sky because of surrounding buildings and the slight reduction in brilliance caused, even nowadays, by pollution. Here on the Isle of Lewis the sky is not only an integral part of the landscape and seascape but also an ever-present glory in its own right. (I am purposefully forgetting some of the experiences of previous holidays here where the nearest one could get to seeing the sky was a cloud a few metres above the ground and horizontal rain a few metres in front of one's face.)


This is Lower Bayble from Tigh na mara at the same early hour of the morning.


As well as pandering to my needs and desires, GB has been working hard in his garden in this brief spell between trips away. (Note the bright red garage door which Pat and Dave can see from all the way across the valley in Upper Bayble - and which Pat likes so much - Not!)


It did not take long for the Painted Ladies to be swarming over the rockery plants in GB's garden this morning, renewing their energy after their long flight.


The Painted Lady is a long-distance migrant, which causes the most spectacular butterfly migrations observed in Britain and Ireland. Each year, it spreads northwards from the desert fringes of North Africa, the Middle East, and central Asia, recolonizing mainland Europe and reaching Britain and Ireland. In some years it is an abundant butterfly, frequenting gardens and other flowery places in late summer.


We called over at Pat and Dave's and sitting on their front door was a Netted Mountain Moth. Regrettably it did not stop long enough for me to get a photo. Instead I photographed the view over the valley to Tigh na mara.


"Let me out!" Briagha has recently had an operation and is not yet allowed out off the lead....


GB and I headed out for the day and went across the Isle of Lewis on the Barvas road. I like the little huts used by the peat cutters along this road, though they cannot match the summer shielings on the Pentland Road for picturesqueness. (OK - so there is no such word as picturesqueness but you knew what I meant!)


As we have been travelling I have been taking dozens of pictures through the car window and many of them have been surprisingly successful. On today's run the weather was so clear I took a number with the mountains of Harris and Uig on the horizon.


At Shawbost it began to get misty. We stopped here for a while and after photographing a boat on a little loch we had a walk across the moor to the Norse Mill and Kiln which has recently been restored.


Lewis was once home to 200 small horizontal wheel mills. Here this was housed in the further of the two thatched buildings. The front one was the kiln in which the grain was dried.


This is the mill. Shawbost Mill, also known as The Mill of the Blacksmiths, was operational until the 1930s. The last operational mill on Lewis only stopped turning in 1945. This was first restored in the 1960s and again in 1995 with a smart new path added from the road in 2003.


This is the interior of the mill.


On we travelled, turning left at Carloway which think is one of the prettier townships on the island with its distinctive church and bridge.



GB then took me to the blackhouse village Na Gearrannan - a marvellous place.


As we were leaving the village we heard two Corncrakes quite close. Their call, like the sound of a comb being played, is certainly one of nature's most distinctive and compelling sounds. It seems strange to think that in my mother's youth they could be heard every year in the field across the road from her house - well within the boundary of the City of Liverpool. Now, even here on Lewis they do not seem as common as when I first came up to visit GB in the 1970s.


Some Silverweed was in flower at the side of the road as we looked over the crofts in the outside (and vain) hope of seeing a Corncrake.


Between Carloway and Callanish, as we passed through the area around Breasclete, I continued to take lots of photos through the car window as I have done all holiday.


At Callanish we called on Ann and admired her garden which a Large Red Damselfly was also enjoying.


The views from Ann's house and garden include the sea loch, the stones of Callanish and the mountains of Uig. Not a bad location!!!




Meet Ann's greyhounds - Dandy and Shona.


And one of Ann's next door neighbours.


At the Callanish Stones we were greeted by a Skylark singing his heart out from the top of one of the stones - a most romantic perch.


As always the Callanish Stones provided the photography and atmosphere that typify the island for me. The view from the stones over the sea lochs was magnificent.


Each individual stone is a wonderful thing – a work of art in its own right.


It is thought that the Stones were erected by a Mediterranean peoples who colonised the Western side of Britain by sea and built not only Callanish but Stonehenge as well, in the second millennium B.C.


Close by the main Callanish Stones are two more circles – Callanish II (above) and Callanish III (below).



This is my chauffeur!


The road home – across the moors of North Central Lewis.


The occasional stand of planted conifers can be seen – some have been replanted after the original Lodgepole Pine and Sitka Spruce (planted from 1968 to 1972) were ravaged by the caterpillars of the Pine Beauty moth in the 1990s. I think there are beautiful views along the A858 though for some the scene would be too desolate.


GB stopped in Acha Mor for me to take photos of a ruined crofthouse that has been in that state for at least thirty years. This has been a favourite spot of mine for a long time and I have pictures of it taken in the pre-digital age.



From there we went across the moorland road which I love for its little shielings, some of which are so attractively painted.


We paused to photograph a man stacking his peats, a job I recall helping GB with in the 1970s. (Or at least taking photographs while he did the work!)


After a day of constant sunshine we suddenly hit the mist as we drove across the Braighe onto the Eye peninsula.


Posted by tigh-na-mara at 12:01 AM BST
Updated: Monday, 18 June 2007 11:33 AM BST
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Friday, 8 June 2007

Friday 8th June 2007


At 4.15 this morning a huge flock of Starlings descended on the bush opposite GB's front gate. Despite the light nights it was too dark to photograph them properly and only those silhouetted against the skyline showed up. The rising sun created some beautiful scenes in the sky.


Sadly, it gave way to cloud before too long.


Question - What do they grow on Point? Answer - Fenceposts!


The question as to which is the front of Tigh na mara and which the back has been the subject of debate for some years but both its owner and I say this is the front.



We went to Stornoway for coffee and I set out before GB, walking over the moor past the peat workings and nearly as far as the main road at Garrabost before he picked me up.


Those who know me will appreciate I have always had a thing about post boxes and have taken many photos of them over the years. Those in Scotland provide additional scope for this ridiculous hobby because in certain cases they lack the Royal cipher. This one, for example, has been made in the time of Elizabeth II. Since Scotland had no Elizabeth I an EIIR cipher would be inappropriate so the Scots just settle for the crown on them instead.


In the afternoon I had a walk down at the beach and spent ages just taking in the delights of waves, sky, and seascape.


On the way down to the shore I came across a moth - a geometer; some sort of carpet moth. Sadly it wouldn't open its wings for definite identification.


On any beach I love examining the pebbles and stones that have been rounded by the action of the sea and brought to rest on the shore. Here they are primarily gneiss and granites.


The Thrift (Armeria maritima) has been fantastic all over the Island this last week.


Primroses (Primula vulgaris), which have been over for some time down South, are still flowering well on the cliffs hereabouts.



On the cliffs and the shore well over a dozen Wrens were wandering and flitting around. Some were parents and others, like this one, were youngsters with the remains of their yellow gape visible.


Both young and old were noisy as Wrens usually are and though they let me come very close they kicked up an awful fuss about it.


An Orchid - one with spotted leaves - was just beginning to come out by the shore - as yet to be identified. (This is a composite photo to show budding flowers `and leaves,)



There were Arctic Terns on the shore and they gave me the best photos of that species that I have ever managed.



A Ringed Plover was on the beach as well but at times it was so well camouflaged it took me ages to pick it out on some of the photos.


On the way back up to Tigh na mara I noticed that almost every Yellow Flag Iris had its resident spider. In the evening Fiona and Ann came for dinner. Painted Lady butterflies also came to feed - on GB's garden flowers. Fiona came from Knock, Ann from Callanish but the Painted Ladies started out on continental Europe somewhere so they get the prize for being most attracted to GB's repasts!


Mind you, the Painted Ladies didn't get offered stuffed mushrooms with haggis, chicken, and drunken raspberries which the rest of us had! At the light began to fade around 11 in the evening the drumming of Snipes could clearly be heard over the crofts at the back.


So here ends another day, the abiding memory of which is of baby Wrens.


Posted by tigh-na-mara at 12:01 AM BST
Updated: Monday, 18 June 2007 3:50 PM BST
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Thursday, 7 June 2007

Thursday 7th June 2007


The day started cloudy but with the promise held by enough blue to make a pair of sailor's trousers - as my grandmother would have said.


After breakfast we drove into Stornoway for coffee at An Lanntair.



From its windows I watched the freight ferry while we did our daily crossword from The Times.


Going back over the Braighe I stuck the camera through the window and photographed the memorial cairn. which stands in the village of Aignish. It was erected in the memory of the men and women of Point who raided the farm in Aignish on the 9th of January 1888. This event was part of the great land reform struggle that took place in the late 1800s, when impoverished crofters and tenants challenged the authorities to improve their conditions and their rights to the land on which they lived.


Tigh na mara is in Eagleton and this is taken half way down the township which is unusual for the Western Isles as it is one of only two that consist of fisherman's holdings as opposed to crofts. These were small allotments created to provide land for local fisherman to build a house and to grow essential crops. Tigh na mara is the house at the end on the left but is hiden behind others in this photo.


There have been a large number of Snipe Flies around since we arrived and so far all of them appear to have been Rhagio scolopacea. There are a number of related Rhagio species with less heavily marked wings and this one that I saw this morning was also quite a bit smaller.


The common Daisy (Bellis perennis) may be abundant and it may be a 'weed' in most circumstances but that does not stop it being an attractive little fellow though this one was destined to meet GB's new paving tool in the near future.


After lunch we went to the Water Wheel Project in Stornoway Castle grounds. In the woods there were some fine clumps of Dame's Violet (Hesperis matronalis). An escaped garden plant this fragrant flowered species is found in woods throughout Britain. A large patch of Yellow Iris (Iris pseudacorus) was coming into flower and should be spectacular in a week or so.


Opened in October 2005, the Water Wheel Project is a restored water mill. The mill was originally constructed in 1816 but destroyed by fire in 1890. The restoration project revives an aspect of Stornoway’s history and has created an additional visitor attraction for the area, while creating general interest in renewable energy.



The waterwheel generates 4kW of hydro power which is used for lighting the castle grounds.


By the wheel was a splendid Wych Elm (Ulmus glabra). These are so hard to find nowadays since the outbreak of Dutch Elm Disease in the 1970s. I didn't check if I could hug it. This turns out to have been a mistake since the definition of a mature elm, for the Elm Map purposes, is one that is too big to hug! See http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/biodiversity/elm-map/elm-map-index.html


We then drove round to the Woodlands Centre and parked up to have a walk along the harbour shoreline to the River Creed and then up into the woods.


The views of the boats in the harbour in the strong afternoon sunshine were excellent.


One of the boats was a Ness sgoth, built in the style of a traditional wooden fishing boat that was widely used at the turn of the last century in Lewis. The tradition of building and sailing these boats was almost lost. But recently there has been a revival in interest.


Oystercatchers were, as usual, the most commonly seen and heard birds on the shoreline.



Despite the pervasive nature of the dreaded Rhododenrdron ponticum it has to be admitted that it can form a beautiful foreground to the scenery in areas like the castle grounds on a sunny day like today.


Using the camera's remarkable telephoto facility I took a picture of An Lanntair - where we had had morning coffee - from this opposite shore. An Lanntair is the building with the pink corner.


The table at which we sat is in the centre window!


A Herring Gull went overhead and fore once my attempt at a photo of a bird in flight did not look like the creature had been thrown across the photo.


Arnish lighthouse, past which the incoming ferry passes was clearly visible from this shore. According to the records, Arnish Light came into being in 1852, earning its place in the Northern Lighthouse Board's history as their first ever prefabricated tower. The 'Sailing Directions' for the east coast of Lewis, dated 1867 describe a ' lighthouse, painted white, stands on the eastern horn of Arnish Point, on the western side of the entrance to the harbour; and from an elevation of 56 feet above high water is exhibited a revolving white light, which attains its greatest brilliancy every half minute. The light should be seen in clear weather from a distance of 12 miles'.




We walked alongside the River Creed and I took loads of photos, playing with different shutter speeds to see what the effects were on the appearance of the water.


As we climbed another view of Stornoway opened out below us.


On the way back to Tigh na mara a Hooded Crow was kind enough to pose and GB kind enough to stop in the middle of the road. A quite satisfactory end to the photographic day.


Posted by tigh-na-mara at 12:01 AM BST
Updated: Wednesday, 13 June 2007 5:44 AM BST
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Wednesday, 6 June 2007

Wednesday 6th June 2007


The clouds visible from GB's in the morning soon cleared to leave the day sunny and bright. After breakfast I went for a walk along the road and over the moor to Loch an Duin. The large-flowered cultivar of Bistort Persicaria bistorta 'Superba' is grown as an ornamental plant but can also be found wild at the roadside near GB's.


As I walked along I was amazed at the number of flies of various sorts to be found on the Creeping Buttercups, Marsh Marigolds, Yellow Flag and Silverweed. Anything yellow was covered in them. The human population may be sparse in Eagleton and Lower Bayble but for Diptera it is the great metropolis.




Out on the moors the Sphagnum mosses and the Common Cotton Grass were abundant.


Oystercatchers were scooting along at Loch an Duin raising merry hell as they always do. It never ceases to amaze me how far their peeping carries.


I photographed Dun Bayble - the site of an ancient stone fort or dun on an island in the loch with a causeway out to it.


The Dun does not appear at its best from ground level and a satellite shot - from the Google Maps site - shows it to better advantage.


A Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) settled on a patch of Sphagnum for me. A robust damselfly this is one of our most common species and is found throughout the UK from May to September.


A variety of plant types make up the moorland around here - grasses, sedges, rushes, mosses, lichens, and flowering plants. Among the lichens was a Peltigera species - one of the Dog Lichens.


Another lichen here is the incorrectly named Reindeer Moss (Cladonia sp. - probably C. rangiferina).


Even the fence posts are covered in lichens so clean and fresh is the Island air.


Red Rattle or Marsh Lousewort (Pedicularis palustris) was one of the showier flowers hereabouts and, with Tormentil (Potentilla erecta) and Cuckoo Flower (Cardamine pratensis), the most common. Quite the opposite, an inconspicuous little bedstraw (Galium sp.) hid among the grasses and mosses. Sorrel (Rumex acetosa), Marsh Marigolds (Caltha palustris), and Meadow and Creeping Buttercups (Ranunculus acris and R. repens) are other common species on the moor here. Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata) can be found alongside the roads and paths.


We went out later in the morning to Tiumpan Head to look at the Kittiwake colony on the cliffs and checked out GB's new spotascope in the process.


The cliffs were not only covered with Kittiwakes but a colony of Guillemots was keeping them company.


A number of Fulmars were also nesting there and a pair can be seen here with a Kittiwake flying nearby.



Shags could also be seen nesting in fair numbers though they were very hard to pick out - there are four in this photo alone.


A Meadow Pipit was gathering food for its young as we left the summit of the headland and had to wait for us to leave to get at its nest.


In the afternoon we popped over to Tolsta to the garden centre where a ground beetle - as yet unidentified but possibly a Bembidion species - posed for me. One of the same species was found dead in the study a day or so ago.






On the way back to Tigh na mara the road was being remade so we had to wait for a short spell and took the opportunity to call down at the jetty where I photographed Bayble Island, Tigh na mara and Lower Bayble.


Back at GB's the Rock Pigeons were still happily feeding at his 'birdorium' which has now been enhanced by a birthday present of a bird bath from Pat and Dave.


Somewhat further away - well out in The Minch - a host of Gannets, gulls and terns were finding their own food having gathered in a flock presumably because of the proximity of a shoal of fish, probably sand eels.


Posted by tigh-na-mara at 12:01 AM BST
Updated: Tuesday, 12 June 2007 7:35 AM BST
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Tuesday, 5 June 2007

Tuesday 5th June 2007


Another beautiful sunrise began another sunny day.


The mainland was clearly visible across The Minch with Canisp and Suilven made conspicuous by the latter's shape. It is a mere 2389 feet high - not a Munro, not even a Corbett but it remains magnificent. For Suilven is "wonderfully remote, breathtakingly craggy and blessed with the sort of scenic panoramas that prompt a landscape photographer out of bed in the wee small hours of the morning". In my case at 5.10 a.m.


The early morning warmth soon brought out the White-tailed Bumblebees in the garden. After breakfast we went into Stornoway and while Barry went in the Autoworld I watched the Rooks and Hooded Crows. Rooks are only found in Stornoway itself, not around the rest of Lewis at all.


We went to the Woodlands Centre and had a walk around the Castle grounds. The varied woodland was planted by Sir James Matheson in the 1850s and developed further in 1875 and at the turn of the 20th century, In the woods were plenty of ferns including Hard Fern (Blechnum spicant).


We had a wander around the outside of Lews Castle which is now closed because of its dangerous condition.


I just love these folk who are on the South-eastern corner of the building.


Despite the fact that the Common Seal is also known as the Harbour Seal these are Grey Seals in Stornoway harbour. Half the world's population of Grey Seals (Haliochoerus gripus) are found on and around British coasts and numbers have doubled since 1960. Today there were four of them in the harbour and two were practising synchronised swimming.


Outside the Woodlands Centre, where we went for coffee, there are two models of the Lewis chess pieces. Originally discovered on the Isle of Lewis around 1170, they are of Scandinavian origin and form the earliest known European chess set. The originals were carved from ivory and walrus tusk and are now on display in the British Museum. These six foot high models are carved from single blocks of wood.


Back at Tigh na mara for lunch an Angle Shades moth was sheltering from the wind on the garden gate.


We drove back into Stornoway and out to Loch Stiapabhat where there is a Local Nature Reserve. From the Braigh the Ferry was visible just leaving Stornoway. By the Loch, in a part of Fivepenny Machair that was full of daisies, a couple of Rabbits were happily feeding until we disturbed them.



From the hide we saw a great variety of birdlife including Whooper Swans, Mallard, Arctic Terns, Lapwings, Herring Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, Redshank, Dunlin, Skylark, and others.On one occasion the Lapwings and gulls and terns took to the air with a great clamour and we thought they were arguing among themselves. Only when I got home did the photos reveal a splodge which are reasonably sure can be interpreted as Hen Harrier.


The second time they were upset we saw the cause before they even took to the air - a Peregrine. Wonderful.


On at least one occasion I saw and GB heard a Whooper Swan whooping.



From the Loch we went to the Butt of Lewis lighthouse and looked at the cliff-nesting birds, the rock formations and the dashing waves.


On the way back we stopped to watch and photograph a Rock Pipit, undoubtedly one of the most common birds of the Hebrides. Back at Tigh na mara the sun was illuminating the headland rather beautifully as it gradually moved around to set.



Posted by tigh-na-mara at 12:01 AM BST
Updated: Sunday, 10 June 2007 9:19 AM BST
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Monday, 4 June 2007

Monday 4th June 2007


Happy birthday GB - or do you stop 'celebrating' and start 'miserating' once you are past 60+! The day began misty but here that is not necessarily a 'Bad `Thing' and the views can be brilliant in the mist as it gradually sinks down into the valley with the sun coming up. A Cuckoo was calling away very close by but not from any perch that we could see. (Can I add a bird to my 'holiday list' if only hear it?)


The mist left water droplets on the cobwebs. A Buzzard was observed from the study window as it has been a few times since we got here - sometimes perching on the fence posts. Most amazing bird so far to me was the Snipe which thrummed its wa over my head so close as to make me duck as I was just over the garden fence this morning. Apart from the mechanical nature of the noise, its volume and the shock it was also the fact that I was se it was going to hit me. Needless to say the camera was on macro setting at the time even if I had responded quickly enough.


We went into Stornoway and I had a brief walk in the woods while Barry shopped. The lichens on the trees are very healthy - a sign of the unpolluted air. There is a beautiful Larch just outside the lodge with both young and old cones on it. We had coffee in the library and searched unsuccessfully for a water lily for GB for his birthday.


I photographed the boats in the harbour. Boats always look so romantic in the sunshine - so long as one does not have to go out to earn one's living in them.


As always there was a Herring Gull on guard duty on one of them. A friend of Barry's came around for lunch during which I momentarily broke off to photograph a Hooded crow. Considering how common they are I have had few chances to photograph one as yet.


In the afternoon I played at photographing the garden birds such as a regular visitor, the Greenfinch, before wandering down to the shore and playing with the camera at low tide.



Barry dug out more of his prospective waterfall and claimed to have been hard at work but as this photo from the shore showed he spent part of the time chatting!


The way down to the shore takes one alongside the stream in the adjacent croft and the Yellow flag are just beginning to come into flower there but they cannot as yet match the yellow carpet of Marsh Marigolds. As elsewhere throughout the island every damp part has a good sprinkling of Ladies' Smock.



The quiet little beach immediately below Barry's, with its view of Bayble Island just offshore, was as beautiful as ever. And, also as usual, the lichens so cover the rocks above the water line that their original ground colour is invisible .


The boulders at the top of the beach caught my eye - in particular the beautiful graining of the Gneiss. Gneiss (pronounced 'nice') was formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from preexisting formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.


An Oystercatcher posed politely on the rocks for me.


Among the other birds on the shore were the inevitable Herring Gulls, a Lesser Black-backed Gull, and a Ringed Plover, seen above in flight.



A most attractive Cyanea lamarckii jellyfish was washed up on the sand (Barry tells me that I am not allowed to call it beautiful since he can concede how I might think it attractive but not beautiful!) It was a delightful purple colour.



Another tiny jellyfish was floating around - possibly a baby Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia aurita).


One of the seaweeds on the shore was Dabberlocks ( Alaria esculenta) - the length of which can be seen from the bootprint in the sand in the foreground. There was plenty of Sea Lettuce (Ulva lactua) floating around.


A lovely delicate species which I think may be Porphyra umbilicalis was another seaweed being washed around at the tideline.... Barry's friends Pat and Dave came for dinner and Fiona called in at he cheese and biscuits stage. All in all a most pleasant day.


Posted by tigh-na-mara at 12:01 AM BST
Updated: Friday, 8 June 2007 5:06 AM BST
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