Wildlife

The Diary is always thrilled when readers send in material about West Ardnamurchan.  A regular contributor is Kilchoan Early Bird, and he has sent in this superb picture of an otter.  Otters are frequently seen along the coastlines of West Ardnamurchan: at the moment we have three regularly visible from our house.  They're a pleasure to watch but very easily disturbed.

Also from Kilchoan Early Bird is this photo of a mink.  Mink are a pest here, and every effort is made to control them, but they keep popping up.  The Early Bird found this one in an old oil drum.

By way of some fun, here is a mystery posed by Rob Gill, who runs a highly successful business, Geosec Slides, from his home at Achnaha.  Rob says, "Readers might like to try guessing the identity of this plant. It is very common and everyone will know it. The photo was taken in my garden on 10/5/2008. It will be a bit later before it is visible this year."