Christine's walking & birds blog

Yesterday was sunny and quite warm, so we set off up Ullapool Hill to walk out towards Loch Achall. The first sign of life on the steep path was a toad, half-hidden in the shadows of the bracken; it was lucky that Greger spotted it since it didn't seem inclined to move out of the way. In April we saw palmate newts mating and egg-laying in water lying across the path, and now there were several newt tadpoles in the shrunken, shallow puddle. They still had feathery gills which will soon be absorbed, and they will set off across land to find damp dark places to hide and semi-hibernate.


Otherwise, the high moorland seemed empty of life; and it wasn't until we came down to the sheep-fields at the far end that we began to see a few things. Redpolls flew around calling as we ate lunch, and a large, bluish hawker dragonfly whirred past - and kept on going. As we set off towards home, a tiny froglet hopped across the road and gained the safety of the lush verge, and three dragonflies settled right in front of us - common darters, I think.


When we reached the waste ground above the lower quarry, I had a scout around for butterflies. Four dark green fritillaries alternately chased each other and nectared on buddleia or thistles.


Common blues were present on seeding grasses.


Two small tortoiseshells looked smart in the bracken.


And best of all the Scotch argus have emerged, their velvety brown flutterings bringing the hillsides to life.


At home in the last few days, there have been red admirals on our buddleia, and a juvenile willow warbler and a juvenile blackcap in the tangle of undergrowth over the wall at the back. Today has been cool, windy, and wet;  Ullapool Hill, that we climbed yesterday with rising spirits in breezy sunshine, can hardly be seen for low grey cloud and mizzle. To use a Scottish word, it's properly "dreich".