Glenloywildlife

Having our lunch in bright sunshine, when a bat appeared and proceeded to hawk amongst the conifers in front of the Lodge. It spent a good 20 minutes flitting about. Probably a Pipistrelle that has woken early from hibernation and in need of some sustenance. We saw another, also during the day, last week. It was cold overnight so there would not have been much flying then. Indeed, we took a trip a bit further up the glen today to see what was about and there was very little o...n the wing. The only lepidoptera we saw were a few basking Peacocks. There were very few birds other than Meadow Pipits, a Buzzard, Crows and Ravens. Angela did find the first Dog Violets in flower of the year, and also the first Butterwort leaves. We did, however, find a couple of Common Lizards, scuttling through the undergrowth, as is there wont. These are remarkably hardy little creatures, and once warmed up by the sun do not seem to be put off by cold air temperatures. #lizard #spring #springfirsts #springsunshine🌞 #dailyexercise
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Yesterday we saw our first Dor Beetle of the season, crawling across the canal towpath and as is their burden, heavily infested with mites. Went one better today, however. when I spotted an Oil Beetle just by Loy Bridge at the foot of the Glen road. The Violet Oil Beetle Meloe violaceus is one of the most striking beetles that we see locally. These can be found in the spring wandering through short vegetation or crossing open ground. The female has a large distended abdomen,... which protrudes well beyond the short wing cases. Oil beetles have a fascinating lifecycle. The much larger female lays several hundred eggs close to a bee’s nest. The larvae, known as triungulins, then climb up to the top of a flower, where they hope to attach themselves to a visiting bee’s leg. Once ensconced in a bee nest the larvae then feed on both the bee’s eggs and pollen store. The name is taken from the fact that a smelly, oily substance by the adults when threatened. Just for good measure I turned to look over the bridge parapet and was treated to a flash of blue as a kingfisher swept from the River Loy over the canal #beetle #oilbeetles #insectsofinstagram #dailywalk #staysafe #nature #dailynaturefix
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Hope everyone has a lovely Easter weekend. #stayhome #staysafe #eatcake @ Banavie, Highland

Another interesting bird in the garden today, a beautifully coloured cock Greenfinch. We very rarely see these at the Lodge, although when we first moved here they were regular visitors. Greenfinch, above all the finches, seem to have been highly susceptible to coccidiosis and their numbers have crashed in the last ten years. It would be great to hear them wheezing from the tops of the trees around the garden once more. Whilst peering through the persistent rain I also spotte...d a Treecreeper, edging its way up one of the beech trunks. Although not rare locally, they are only occasional visitors to the garden, and always welcome. We've also had goldfinches most days at the feeders. The rain was so heavy this morning that we had to bring the moth trap inside to empty it. Despite the wet it was quite mild last night, and the number of Hebrew Characters that are being caught continues to grow – 81 last night. #gardenbirdsuk #gardenwildlife #lockdown2020 #staysafe #scotland #stayhome
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Exciting day. First of all we had the novelty of our weekly shopping trip to Fort William. Can still just about remember how to get there! Large single Raven on the way to Banavie. Decided to take a slight detour on the way back and were fortunate enough to see an Osprey. Very pleased to have it confirmed that this was likely a bird returning to our nearest nest, on a peninsula jutting out into Loch Lochy. This is a built platform, close to the site of a long-standing nest on... the branch of a pine that snapped off in high winds. The ospreys used the platform in the first spring after it was built, fledging two young in 2018. We also observed them mating on this nest last year, but unfortunately they moved on after a couple of weeks, probably because of high winds at the time. Let’s hope that conditions are more favourable for them in 2020. At least they should not be disturbed by boats this spring . Near Glen Loy we spotted a large raptor shadowed by two smaller ones over the woodland above Erracht. Closer inspection revealed this to be a juvenile White-tailed Eagle, accompanied by a pair of Buzzards. The Buzzards were merely circling round the eagle and not mobbing it. It flew leisurely eastwards. Not bad for a shopping trip! #osprey #whitetailedeagle #seaeagle #essentialtravel #scotland
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Spent some time yesterday doing some pond dipping in the garden pond at the Lodge. Plenty around though a lot of filamentous algae clogging the water. Tried to avoid the mass of newly hatched Common Frog tadpoles. The most impressive creature we found was a large male Palmate Newt. More intriguingly we fished out several efts, which are presumably last year’s young, as it is unlikely that our newts have even laid eggs yet. If so they are very slow to grow, particularly as the...re is plenty of food available. Nice to see plenty of Water Crickets keeping company with Pond Skaters on the surface. The former are surprisingly colourful. Also managed to finds a couple of small Water Boatmen, plenty of water beetles, including Common Whirligig Beetles and (probably) Black-bellied Diving Beetle as well as some smaller cousins. Careful searching also revealed a couple of Alderfly larvae, a damselfly larva (probably Large Red Damselfly, a Water Louse and Water Mites. Great way to pass a couple of hours. Will repeat when the weather gets a little warmer, and hopefully increased plant growth will have cleared some of the algae. #ponddipping #pondlife #tadpoles #newts #gardenwildlife #stayhome
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Great excitement today as Angela spotted an otter from the dining room window. A first for the garden, at least while we have lived here. It was casually lolloping under the bird feeders towards the wee burn at the bottom. She thought it was small, so could well have been a female. Otters often use a natal holt some distance from a major water body, usually in woodland, so it would be great to think that there is even a possibility of breeding otters behind the house. We had a look to see if it had gone down to the River Loy, but no joy. Spent the afternoon repairing camera traps just in case! #gardenwildlife #otter

For the past couple of mornings a heron has been visiting our garden pond. Although the frogs spawned a few weeks ago, there may well be some still around, and they should be starting to breed soon, followed by the newts. There must be something for the heron to catch as Angela saw it lunge and gulp! The heron only ever visits at this time of year and is always very wary. The pond is in a quite enclosed position so the lines of escape are no doubt tricky. At the front of the house we have had some interesting visitors in and around the bird feeders. These have included a bullfinch, a pair of goldfinch, a yellowhammer and also a pair of woodpigeons – all scarce visitors #gardenwildlife #lockdown2020 #gardenpond

Glad to see that this issue is being addressed, we want to still have this wonderful access to the land when this is all over. However it does go both ways so we shouldn't be abusing it and give a thought to other users and those working on the land by wearing gloves to open and close gates & not touching animals. @wildscotland #covid19 #scottishaccesscode #bekind

Amongst the wonderful sound of birdsong that is serenading us whenever we venture out into the sunshine we were so peased to hear the didtinctive call of the yellowhammer. Even better, he was singing from a prominent perch in a tree and the sun was just catching his glorious yellow plumage. #springbirds #yellowhammer #farmlandbirds #spring #birdsong

Brilliant news! Both Arkaig ospreys have returned, one yesterday the other today. Look forward following their progress this year. @arkaigcommunityforest @woodlandtrust #arkaigospreys #arkaigforest #migrantbirds #ospreys

Took advantage of the fine spring weather this morning to go for a decent walk. Only got as far as the front door step where we were distracted by bumblebees on a flowering Pieris. Close inspection revealed a Tree Bumblebee with a notably furry, ginger thorax and white tip to its abdomen. This species has been spreading rapidly throughout Britain, but this is the furthest north I have seen it, and indeed the first record for the garden. Tree bumblebees nest communally in bir...d boxes amongst other structures, and can defend their home quite aggressively. It will be interesting to see whether and where they breed at the Lodge. Elsewhere the few goat willows in the area were a buzz with bees busy harvesting pollen from the yellow male catkins. We also came across a solitary unidentified species of mason bee and bee-like flies, the parasitic fly Tachina ursina. Impressive though these were, we were more taken with a stunning iridescent ground beetle, the Rainbow Greenclock Poccilus versicolor, which certainly added a splash of colour in the sunlight. #bees #beetles #insects #climatechange #spring
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Squirrels continue to entertain us. A favourite place is in the seed tray under the bird feeders. Jon puts some seeds in every day and they always go. #redsquirrel #gardenwildlifeuk #viewfrommywindow

Fresh snow on the tops overnight. Remarkably some hardy moths braved the rain and the cold with over 30 in the trap, albeit mostly Hebrew Characters. No sign of the Heron by the pond this morning, but Angela found a male Palmate Newt hidden in a chunk of vegetation she had just weeded from the pond. Our smallest newt, in the breeding season the males have a ‘spike’ extension to their tails, and their hind feet are webbed (hence the name). I had one of my best ever views of ...a Goldcrest, which are usually hard to see. This busy little bird was foraging in the grass underneath our washing line. It was quite bold and seemed undeterred by my presence. It was busy picking morsels from the lawn, but these must have been rather small tit-bits, as I couldn’t see what they were. After lunch we had another surprise – a cock Reed Bunting up in one of our beech trees, keeping company with Crossbill and Redpoll. This is a first for the garden, if memory serves me correctly. There were more treats in store on our afternoon outing to the River Lochy. We saw two Dippers , a pair of Goldeneye and several Wagtails, both Pied and Grey. As our eyes followed the latter, by the edge of the water we alighted upon a handsome drake Merganser, basking on the shingle. In the fields was a large flock of Meadow Pipits, readying to disperse into the glens. There was also a small flock of Redwing, no doubt on their way back north. Overhead we heard a skein of geese, but could not see them because of cloud. From the barking noise these were making, I suspect it was a flock of Barnacles, also returning to their breeding grounds in Svalbard. “ #riverside #covidwalk #spring #birds #springmigration #gardenwildlife
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New shoots This year's crop of lettuce just beginning #growyourownfood #spring #greenhouse #greenshoots

Just in case anyone's missing out on seeing pine martens. This is our veteran matriarch, still going strong. She's looking a bit scuffy as she begins to moult, starts at her nose. Wild Scotland #pinemarten #gardenwildlife #lockdownentertainment #scottishwildlife

As we're missing all our guests at the moment we wanted to share some of the things we regularly do at Glenloy Wildlife. So, why not start in the garden with the moth trap, which Jon sets up throughout the season to monitor which moths are around. It's always fascinating to see what's flying about at night and how beautiful and varied moths are. For anyone wanting the full 'experience' then there's a longer video on YouTube which also includes a squirrel! https://youtu.be/cjnJR9IDRxc UKMoths Butterfly Conservation #covid19wildlife #slowadventure #slowtv Wild Scotland ALS - Moth Traps and Natural History Products Butterflies Of Britain Nature Education programme

Lovely walk along the River Lochy today, amidst sunshine and showers. Heard our first local chiffchaffs of the year – two males competing against each other. Meadow pipits also in the mood, with spectacular parachuting display flights. What we were really looking for, and found, were the first sand martins of the year. Saw none on the nearest sand banks, but plenty hawking a little further upstream. Not afraid to give some close fly-bys, showing sandy backs and white collars.... Great to see. A few more plants now starting to flower – lots of dog’s mercury out (if you can call it that) by the river, along with celandine and opposite-leaved golden saxifrage. Highlight of the walk was quite unexpected – a glimpse of a water shrew dashing into cover along the side of a well-vegetated drainage ditch. #spring #covid19exercisewalk #springiscoming #springmigration #springflowers #scottishwildlife
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