Wonderful Wildlife

The Raptor was up at the Ardnamurchan Point lighthouse the other day, a place which has an enviable record for sightings of whales, dolphins, seals, otters and other sea life, and was rewarded with this minke whale.

This little chap, who was singing his head off on the top of a bush a few yards from our house, was easily identified as a warbler, but there are a lot of different types of warbler.  The Raptor thought it might be a wood or tree warbler.

This is our local buzzard who spends a fair bit of his time sitting on the stob which holds up Hughie's pigs' electric fence.  But it was only when we looked carefully at this picture that we realised he has a gammy foot.  It must make life more difficult for him, particularly as the buzzards are under pressure from a seemingly exploding population of crows.

There's so much wildlife around that we can't even enjoy a peaceful evening drink on our terrace at the top of the property without something coming visiting.  This bug was very friendly, even over-friendly, and took a fair bit of persuading before he flew off.

The local common lizard, who lives in the drystone wall right by the terrace, seemed less interested in the bugs than in enjoying the sunshine.

Every wildflower has its year, and one of this year's flowers is the eggs and bacon plant, also known as bird's-foot trefoil, Lotus corniculatus.  This one is host to some cuckoo spit which, disappointingly, has nothing to do with the cuckoos who've been making such a noise along Ormsaigbeg this year. It's secreted by the nymphs of a sap-sucking insect known as a froghopper, for whom it acts as protection both from predators and from dehydration.

Many thanks to The Raptor for the minke picture.