Falls of Kirkaig, Sandpipers, Butterwort flowers and Black-throated Diver on Fionn Loch, 12 May 2011

The walk up the river Kirkaig starts off through birch woods, covered in mosses and ferns with bluebells and primroses at this rime of year.

I have yet to identify this plant.  Any ideas anyone?

Butterwort flowers.

On the other side of the river the hills were blackened by the recent fires that swept though the hills near Inverkirkaig.

There is a steep climb down to the Falls of Kirkaig, which are spectacular and too high for salmon to get further upstream.

We had lunch at Fionn Loch.  The top of Suilven was in the clouds.  And since it was raining as well we decided to attempt Suilven on another day if the weather improved.

In the distance was a solitary duck.

It looks like a Black-throated Diver, which was a rare sight; only a couple of hundred breed in Britain here in the N W Highlands.

Common Sandpipers breed here close to fast flowing rivers.  There is one on the rock by the river, above.

In winter they fly south.  Click here to see a Sandpiper and other wintering birds at Ferring Beach in January 2011.

The rain had produced puddles on the path and this Pipit was taking full advantage of a bath.
It was a great walk in strong winds and rain, which did not dent the pleasure of walking in such lovely places.

Orchids, Bogbeans, Sea Campion and Red-breasted Mergansers at Stoer Head 11th May 2011

We walked from the lighthouse at Stoer Head to Stoer Point and the Old Man of Stoer, above.

The cliffs here are about 120m high and in the distance you can see the cliffs of Handa Island and its nesting sea birds.  Several Gannets flew past low on the water but I was unable to get a picture.

This pair of Red-breasted Mergansers were great to see.
The wind was quite strong this day with some light rain.

 At 160m above sea level it was cold atop of Sidhean Mor but the view was worth it.

Scan across this 180 degree panorama.

 We had walked along the valley beneath the Quinag mountain range twice the day before, so it was great to see it again from this distance.

Quinag again from across a field of Cotton grass.
We picked our way across a couple of bogs, where peat had been cut sometime in the past, to see if we could get across. 

In one bog was this lovely Heath Spotted-orchid.

I had to be quick as I was slowly sinking into the Sphagnum bog.

The Bogbean plants above were in flower.  I was sinking even faster as I took this shot!

Back on the cliffs, a Sea Campion was clinging to a rock.

Wheatears were common -- here a male.

The orchids were abundant and stunted on the exposed cliff tops as we returned to the Lighthouse.

A short, yet inspiring walk.  Click on any picture to expand it.

Heath Spotted-Orchids near Lochinver, Scotland on the 10th May 2011

I've just returned from 6 days in the N.W. Highlands of Scotland and have seen some great wildlife.
The cliffs, bogs and hillsides were, on occassions, carpeted with Orchids; Heath Spotted-Orchids that is.

This specimen was "close to" the mountain of Suilven, which we wanted to climb but didn't due to high winds and adverse weather forecasts,  We did get to walk around Loch Druim Suardalain, above, near Lochinver in search of a particularly rare diver, of which more later!



In Sussex, it is expected to flower from early June.  This is in flower before mid May.