Isle of May, May-June 2015 - the sketching

From May 30th to June 7th 2015 I was on the Isle of May in the outer Firth of Forth, staying in the IOMBOT's 6-bed Low Light lighthouse accommodation. Our group comprised me, Keith Brockie (One Man's Island, Return to One Man's Island) and four others, all of us painters, sketchers, photographers. 

We were there for exactly the same week as the 2013 and 2014 but this time things were quite different, a biting wind blasting the island and every bird & human on it. We still worked outdoors - it's hard to bear being inside when you're over there, there's too much to see - we just had to employ a lot more clothes. For several days I was in thermal, normal and waterproof trousers, plus five layers on top.

I didn't mind the wind, I love wild weather. I find it inspires me far more than blue sky and sun. And an extra treat - the two Anstruther to Isle of May boats were unable to sail on our intended departure date so our stay was extended by a full day and a half.

This week on the May is the most productive week of my year: daylight from half five in the morning until ten or eleven at night; dramatic landscapes and wildlife everywhere you look; other artists to discuss it all with; 92,000 pairs of breeding puffins! This trip west winds made working from birds on the cliffs close to impossible a lot of the time so I looked more at landscape.


- Details of how you too can visit are at the end of this post. 

- To stay up-to-date with island happenings, subscribe to the excellent SNH National Nature Reserve (NNR) blog - www.isleofmaynnr.wordpress.com

To watch the island on webcam, live, click here and here.   

________________________________________


My previous Isle of May blog posts and artworks:
2013 - http://landscapeartnaturebirds.blogspot.co.uk/2013_06_01_archive.html
2013 - https://isleofmaynnr.wordpress.com/2013/06/10/dead-puffins-live-puffins-an-artists-first-view-of-the-may/
2014 - https://isleofmaynnr.wordpress.com/2014/06/05/no-rain-leos-blog-post/
 
________________________________________


My fellow 2015 Isle of May'ers, alphabetical to avoid insult. You know what creatives are like:
www.darrenwoodheadartist.co.uk
www.keithbrockie.co.uk
www.marcopreziosi.it
www.mauriziodevita.com
 
_________________________________________


My 2015 artworks
- pencil, pen, watercolour, ink

**plus**

several spot-the-artists;
one spot-the-photographer;
one spot-the-extremely-well-camouflaged-seabird-researcher.

 

spot the nesting tern (Arctic)

 

 

spot the nesting eider

 

spot the artist. spot the extremely-well-camouflaged-seabird-researcher!

Italian artist on the moon

spot the sketchers

spot the photographer

 ________________________________________


Getting there:

Trips to the Isle of May are by boat from Anstruther in Fife using the May Princess or the RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) Osprey, and from North Berwick in East Lothian on a Scottish Seabird Centre RIB. 

All details are here - www.nnr-scotland.org.uk/isle-of-may/visiting

To watch the island on webcam, live, click here and here.  



Do visit.

Garelochhead BTO BBS bird count - first cuckoo

The reason:
 To Garelochhead by train for less than twenty hours. I was there to carry out number 1 of 2 annual bird counts on my British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) square. Count 2 must take place at least month after count 1, so it'll be towards the end of June. Ideally both counts would be earlier but bad weather prevented me from venturing into the hills a few weeks ago when when I had first intended.

My allocated square kilometre is in the hills between Garelochhead and Loch Lomond, not super-high but it feels quite remote and I see very few other people up there. The lack of litter is telling, I found only one piece, a now-deflated helium balloon.

looking north

spying on Jennifer, having her coffee

Glen Finlas reservoir, Loch Lomond beyond

deep peat pool, crystal clear

deep peat pool, crystal clear, zoomed in

The birds:

The variety of birds on my square is very limited. There are always lots of meadow pipits and lots of skylarks (though not as many as meadow pipits). Most times also ravens (maybe two, three, four, five). Always lots of sheep. Today all I had was meadow pipit and skylark, and lots of sheep. I saw three ravens tumbling on an opposite hilltop, but they were outside my count time so didn't, ah, count. 

The walk up from the road isn't bad. We heard our first cuckoos of the year, at least three individuals calling, one from woods above, two from valley below.

List of all birds seen/heard:

Blackbird
Blue Tit
Carrion Crow
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff
Coal Tit
Cuckoo
Dunnock
Goldcrest
Green Woodpecker
House Martin
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Meadow Pipit
Pheasant
Robin
Skylark
Swallow
Willow Warbler

18 species


The rest:
A caterpillar.

name the caterpillar

name the (same) caterpillar

Fox?

fox?

And boggy, heathy, hilltop flowers starting to bloom. They'll be much more abundant when I return in June.

blaeberry (Vaccinium myrtillus). Thanks to David for i.d.

heath milkwort (Polygala serpyllifolia). I think.
but possibly common milkwort (Polygala vulgaris). ?

ribbed bog moss, (Aulacomnium palustre). Thanks to David for i.d.

opposite-leaved golden saxifrage (Crysosplenium oppositifolium). I think.

marsh violet (Viola palustris). I think.

On the summit plateau we separated for Jennifer to walk a longer return route whilst I counted pipits. As I was finishing the sun emerged from its cloud cover and I found myself in the most wind-sheltered spot of the morning. I stopped and sat and sketched, drinking Earl Grey from my flask.

If you're interested in finding out more about taking part in any of the BTO's volunteer surveys I'd urge you to do so. It's great fun, you learn lots, and there's the feel-good factor. The data is invaluable to understanding and protection of nature. Some free training courses are available.

How to get there:

ScotRail runs regular trains on the West Highland Line from Glasgow to Oban/Mallaig. Garelochead is an hour from Glasgow Queen Street. Timetables here.

My BBS count square is a ten minute drive or a several mile walk from the village.

station view

station tunnel, at night looks like *space* station tunnel

swallows by station

station planters, spot the honey bee

www.helloartisans.org.uk, as part of ScotRail's Adopt A Station scheme

Garelochhead shore

To house a hedgehog - Forth Hedgehog Hospital

Tonight we received our new hedgehog, Daisy.

Daisy was very underweight when found last autumn but thanks to the commitment of Nadia of the Forth Hedgehog Hospital she now weighs more than a kilogram. I want to draw attention to the work of the hospital does, and the easy steps we can take to help reverse the serious decline of our hedgehogs before they vanish from the UK completely.

Nadia's hospital is a registered charity in Rosyth, Fife. This winter it rehabilitated twenty-one hedgehogs, including Daffodil - blind in one eye, found outside, in daytime, in our garden last autumn. Daffodil is now strong and fit and regularly returning to Nadia's garden.

If you've found a hog in Fife you can phone Nadia for advice. If you're not in Fife, Google "found a hedgehog" and you'll see lots and lots of info and people to contact.



If you have a garden, or know someone who does, PLEASE:

- leave some long grass, log piles, wilder patches.

- DON'T STRIM, MOW, BURN, SPRAY without first checking for hogs (and frogs, toads, nesting birds, moths, etc)

- consider building or buying a hog box.

- don't put up fencing that prevents all entry and exit - leave a few small gaps at the bottom or cut a hole or two.

- put a plank or shallow sloped edge  in your pond to save hogs from drowning.

- consider putting out cat food each night.

- put out a shallow basin of water for drinking.

- look at this link to see why these things matter - www.hedgehog-rescue.org.uk/endangered.php.

- Please share this post and encourage others to help.



Some links:

Figures are variable but all agree that hedgehogs in the UK are in serious decline - 30% or more have gone since 2002. Please please take a few minutes to read the links below. It's so easy to do little things that can really help.

How many are left? - www.hedgehogstreet.org/pages/how-many-are-left-.html

Found a hedgehog? Should you do something? - www.hedgehoghospital.org.uk/when-to-call.html

Buy or build a box? - www.hedgehog-rescue.org.uk/houses.php

Please click 'like' on Forth Hedgehog Centre's Facebook page. Please do consider supporting your local hog rescue centre. Help needn't always be financial - cat food, bedding material, hog boxes may be just as welcome.

Please have a look at the Hedgehog Street campaign - www.hedgehogstreet.org



Building a home for Daisy:

There are lots of options for building or buying a hog home but please go for practical rather than too slick or gimicky: if you build your own, for example, a hog probably won't go near it if it's been painted or preserved or built from treated wood.

Here's mine, following the excellent advice at www.hedgehog-rescue.org.uk/houses.php.

And Daisy being given the key.

Thank you for helping.

Good night Daisy.

Scotland by Rail - Garelochhead - 5 destroyers, 35 birds

(My first post under Abellio's ScotRail. Many thanks for continuing support of my ongoing Scotland by Rail work.)

from Garelochhead shore

The village:
A regular spot of mine is Garelochhead, where my soon-to-be-in-laws are. It's only an hour from Glasgow yet feels very west coast, very Highland - refreshing rains, beautifully rich sunlight, carpets of green mosses, lichens dripping from birches. And midgies in summer...

From Garelochhead station walk down the steep road (there's no other way) passing various characterful stone homes until you're in the heart of the village. There's a little shop to buy supplies, or a three minute walk in the direction of Helensburgh gets you to the excellent Café Craft.



Walks & police & plastic:
You can walk as far as you want along the east shore road towards Helensburgh, or the west shore road down the Rosneath Peninsula. Be especially careful on the Rosneath route, the road is ropey - narrow and pathless in many or perhaps most sections. Views are beautiful whichever side you choose. On the Rosneath side you have the interest of looking across to Faslane, and don't be worried if a police car stops to ask, "How are you?".

I was through primarily to carry out count no.1 of my twice-annual BTO BBS bird count. For those less birdy that's the British Trust for Ornithology's Breeding Bird Survey. Volunteer counters are allocated a 1km square and twice during the spring/summer breeding season count the species they see on their patch, following various rules to ensure continuity of results year after year. My BBS square is in the hills between Garelochhead and Loch Lomond.

Unfortunately the forecast was wind, rain and poor visibility so I had to postpone my count. Instead I made short walks around the shore and cleared one full bin-bag of plastic from the garden. The amount of plastic that blows and flows to the head of the Gare Loch is quite incredible. When you look at the high tide line it can be hard to spot much that's natural -weed or driftwood- among the mounds of brightly coloured pieces. Plastic bottles and, for some reason, little plastic sticks like those of cotton buds, seem especially in evidence.


Birds:
It doesn't put off the birdlife though. During two hours I counted 35 species:
Black Guillemot
Blue Tit
Carrion Crow
Coal Tit
Common Gull
Dunnock
Feral Pigeon
Great Black-backed Gull
Great Tit
Greylag Goose (domestic)
House Sparrow
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Magpie
Oystercatcher
Redshank
Shag
Starling
Hooded Crow
Blackbird
Canada Goose
Chaffinch
Collared Dove
Curlew
Eider
Goldeneye
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Grey Heron
Herring Gull
Jackdaw
Long-tailed Tit
Mallard
Red-breasted Merganser
Robin
Song Thrush
Woodpigeon

And my first frogspawn of the year, in puddlepools by the cyclepath. I've seen it there every year.


Naval goings-on:
This was an especially interesting weekend to be on the shore. An operation of some sort was basing itself around Faslane and over two days we watched a Trident submarine, five huge destroyers, a chunky red-cream helicopter and a whole flotilla of smaller naval and police boats.


More walks:
Although I didn't make use of the following fact on this particular occasion, Garelochhead isn't just about the shore. It's a gateway to smaller hillwalks on the Rosneath peninsula and to longer taller ones in the hills where I do my bird count. The Three Lochs Way winds from Garelochhead north to Arrochar & Tarbert and eventually to Inveruglas, towards the northerly end of Loch Lomond; and south to Helensburgh and eventually to Balloch, at Loch Lomond's base.


ScotRail - adopting old station buildings:
I can't talk about Adopt-a-Station when it comes to Garelochhead because no station building there has yet been adopted. There's a lovely signalbox currently derelict on the platform if anyone's interested...

N.B. Although no building has been adopted, in September 2014 the Helensburgh and Lomond Artisans Association volunteers began gardening at the station. Bulbs should be blooming soon and a barrel train planter is timetabled to chuff its way down from Lower Cabrach in Aberdeenshire shortly.

warships and crow, pencil in sketchbook

"please adopt me"

from platform to Garelochhead

views around the town

views around the town (2)

trying to i.d. a goldeneye

gulp

How to get there:

ScotRail runs regular trains on the West Highland Line from Glasgow to Oban/Mallaig. Garelochead is an hour from Glasgow Queen Street. Timetables here.