Friday, July 18, 2025

I doubt I'll be able to sunbathe in the garden today, as the herring gull chicks were on our roof again this morning and the adult guarding them has already shown its displeasure at my walking out of the front door! It was okay to watch the chimney-stack nest, which is some way away, from our back window; but since the chicks fledged, they seem to have taken a liking for loitering on our roof. 

Yesterday, we both escaped for the day, albeit in different directions - Inverness for Greger, Achnahaird for me. I'd spotted the fledglings on a roof behind our bungalow, and this smaller, still-downy chick is going to be dependent for a good while yet. Oh dear.


The previous day, I'd gone out cautiously and found the roof empty - hooray! I put on shorts and a sleeveless top and set about doing some weeding. I worked happily for an hour, then went in for lunch. After lunch, a familiar peevish whine was heard and I knew the gulls were back. I went out to put my gardening stuff away - and got trapped in the shed. The adult swooped again and again towards me as I stood in the doorway, only rising at the last moment to skim the shed roof - and calling hysterically the whole time. It then landed on the roof of the bungalow and glared down at me.....


.....until Greger came to my rescue with a large umbrella. When the gull switched its attentions to him I got a picture (though I failed to include the gull).....


.....before we both made a run for it to the back door, with the gull chasing us the whole way. Blimey.

Anyway - Achnahaird. The beach and machair were completely empty, so I walked the other way across the cliffs and then turned up onto higher ground and came back over Cnoc Mor, the small hill behind the car park. I sat on the bare rock at the top of the hill for a while, enjoying the stupendous views of sea and mountains - and when I finally left, I spotted two grayling butterflies - a species I've seen here before.


On the drive out of the area, I parked and walked along the road in the hot sun to check on the water lobelia - but alas, I'd left it too late. I'd spotted these in July last year, but now there seemed to be far fewer plants, and what flowers there were, were past their best. Also, what are the leaves behind the flower - bogbean? Much as I love its flowers, bogbean is known to be quite invasive, so could potentially spread and smother the other plants.


The sedge (northern deer grass?) also seems to have spread, while the amount of lesser spearwort appeared similar. In general, there was less open water than last year. However, there was one nice surprise - emerald damselflies, bringing some more life and colour to this little pool.


Birds were conspicuous by their absence. On the clifftops, one of a loafing group of herring gulls had flown up to attack a passing raven, and I reflected how nice it was not to be, for once, the target of their anger.

// posted by Christine @ 4:10 AM
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