Until the formation of OHBR in 2012, almost all the information on the islands’ biodiversity had been gathered by either visiting amateur naturalist or professional scientists engaged in academic research or conducting surveys for various government agencies. Their work has provided the backbone for our species lists and when a potential new species is found […]
Hebridean Naturalist
Seashells on the Seashore
Beachcombing Some of us are inveterate beachcombers and cannot resist the urge to poke about in the flotsam and jetsam, examine an interesting piece of seaweed or collect a handful of shells. For most people this is just part of a walk on the beach and it goes no further. However, for the naturally curious […]
Seashells on the Seashore II
The area we call the seashore lies between the high-water mark, the shoreline, and line which marks the lowest level to which the water retreats on a falling tide. This is a transitional habitat shaped by the action of the sea, the geology of the land and geographical location. The composition of the coastal communities […]
Walking on Water
Sometimes a common term can create very different images depending on how you view the world.So what picture does the term “pond skater” bring to mind?An iconic work of art or an aquatic insect? The serene figure of the Reverend Robert Walker, minister of the Canongate Kirk and a member of the Edinburgh Skating Society, […]
A Profusion of Pipits
The elegant, soaring song flights of larks embellishing a summer morning are celebrated in the the glorious collective term an “elevation of larks”. Alas there is no such epithet for the Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis). The sound of a male pipit ascending to declare his territory is unlikely to send a poet into raptures, but […]