Tomich, Glen Affric and Cannich area

 We have just returned from a week up near Tomich in Glen Affric, Highlands. before we went, the weather forecast looked grim for the week, but it turned out not as bad as predicted. We still had some rain everyday except the Saturday, it was a Sunday to Sunday trip, that was fine and warm. The rest was mainly sunny with showers but it was quite cold all week.

The area seemed quite quiet for wildlife, maybe the weather was keeping things down. The hoped for Pine Martens didn't materialise, leaving our bait untouched despite them being nightly visitors to a house just a few hundred metres away. We didn't even see a single deer of any kind!  Very unusual that.

Still' a few things of interest did show including Osprey, Red Kite, a single juv Golden Eagle viewed from the bottom of the house garden over the Affric hills. Its white tail base, wing flashes and Golden nape could be seen clearly in the sunsine through the scope. A Red Squirrel ran along the road side near Beauly.

This is the house we stayed in Glen Affric View, Hilltop, Tomich, a lovely quiet place. The access track was a bit steep and undulating in the car, but otherwise, great.

As you can see from the top image, we were surrounded by birch woodland so the moth trap was deployed to see what was around. Despite the cold nights sometimes with white frost, moths were caught every evening. Highlights below - 

Acleris logiana, only one caught.

Barred Umber, one or two each night

Glaucous Shears, only the one caught.

Grey Birch, a few taken each night.

Ringed Carpet was my only new moth, 2 caught on one night. 

Scarce Prominent, maybe the moth of the week. Before this week I had only seen one, last year in our garden. This week up to a dozen per night! 

Pearl bordered Fritillary, only the third time I have seen this butterfly, this was my first in Scotland, in the garden by the summerhouse.

Some other odds and sods in the garden -

Orange Tip, female

Platismatia glauca, a nice lichen.

I kept seeing lighting fast beautiful shiny small beetles in the lawn. They were Poecilus versicolor, a Greenclock beetle. A new one for me.

This Harvestman Rilaena triangularis wasnt even seen until back home looking at photos of the lichen.

Oak Ferns in the birch woods, a new one to me.

Cowberry, Glan Affric

A few more of the local scenery - 

Above, all Glen Affric.

Plodda Falls, impressive...

The lovely village of Tomich.

We also were given a site in Strath Glass for Beavers. We visited and saw the lodge and some tree gnawing but no Beavers. Had we been staying a bit closer I would have put more effort in.

New additions to the PSL - Ringed Carpet, Oak Fern, Haplodrassus signifer, Plasmatia glauca, 

Highland Moths...The Moths of Allt Beithe.

This is the weeks list of moths from 4 overnight trapping sessions with a 125mv Robinson. Some other day time sightings too. Many moths are day flyers up here as there is only 3 hours of darkness!

1638 Fox Moth 1 female
1657 Common Lutestring 1
1713 Riband Wave 1
1722 Flame Carpet 5
1724 Red Twin Spotted Carpet 3 new to me.
1727 Silver Ground Carpet 8
1744 Grey Mountain Moth 1 new Striped Twin Spot Carpet. Still new though.
1752 Purple Bar 1 new.
1759 Small Phoenix 12
1761 Autumn Green Carpet 1 new
1768 Grey Pine Carpet 4 very small looked like Chestnut coloured Carpet?
1776 Green Carpet 3
1828 Satyr Pug 1 new
1834 Common Pug 1
1837 Grey Pug 1
1887 Clouded Border 9 trapped but very common during the day.new.
1893 Tawny Barred Angle 2 new.
1903 Barred Umber 1 new. A scarce species apparently.
1918 Lunar Thorn 2
1920 Scalloped Hazel 10
1954 Bordered White common in pine woods.
1955 Common White Wave 3
1969 Grey Scalloped Bar 2 new.
1981 Polpar Hawkmoth 6
1994 Buff Tip 1
2006 Lesser Swallow Prominent 2
2040 Four Dotted Footman 5 on one night. new.
2059 Clouded Buff 9 caught on all four nights. Tremendous. new.
2060 White Ermine 8
2102 Flame Shoulder 8 on one night.
2118 True Lovers Knot 3
2147 Shears 10
2158 Pale shouldered Brocade 3
2163 Broom Moth 1 new.
2286 Light Knot Grass 4 new.
2289 Knot Grass 1
2302 Brown Rustic 8 all of the blackish melanistic variety.
2326 Clouded Bordered Brindle 4 both light and dark forms noted.
2412 Silver Hook 1 new.
2441 Silver Y 1
2470 Small Purple Barred 1 new.

Some of the best new to me are below...

 

Above - Fox Moth and Common Lutestring.

 

 

 

Above - Purple Bar and Grey Mountain Moth Striped Twin Spot Carpet

 

 

Above - Autumn Green Carpet and Satyr Pug.

 

 

 

Above - Barred Umber and Grey Scalloped Bar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above - Four dotted Footman and Clouded Buff

 

 

 

 

Above - Light Knot Grass and Silver Hook.

Thanks to Roy Leverton who helped me with some Pugs and Micros.