The Hebridean Marsh-orchid revisited....

So far on this trip, we haven't seen the abundance of orchids that we did when we visited last year - we are three weeks earlier and it looks like it's been a late spring. So I didn't hold up much hope for seeing the Hebridean Marsh-orchid in flower. But .....

Clachan Sands.

Walking to the site...

Rocky knows the score when plant hunting/photographing and enjoyed the rest!

Hebridean Marsh-orchid.

Identifying the Hebridean Marsh-orchid isn't as easy as you might think, so I have taken advice and the photos are of what we 'think' are Hebridean Marsh. 

To quote from the Wild Guides Britain's Orchids book by Sean Cole and Mike Waller (which is an absolutely superb book and highly recommended):

I quote, 'Hebridean Marsh-orchid Dactylorhiza ebudensis. In 2000, a small population of stocky, richly coloured marsh-orchids on the machair of North Uist (Outer Hebrides) were assigned species rank as Hebridean Marsh-orchid D. ebudensis. However, Bateman (2012) reclassified these orchids as Pugsley's Marsh-orchid D. traunsteinerioides' ssp francis-drucei vaar edudensis.' It gets more complicated - but I'll leave it there. 

Whilst photographing, I spotted the tiny Adder's Tongue Fern.

Then you start looking and there were loads!

And Lesser Clubmoss ...

And Twayblade

What an assemblage of species! 

White-tailed Sea Eagle encounter

Wow - the view of the White-tailed Eagle made the walk, which was otherwise just an enjoyable walk across some coastal bog...

We hadn't planned the walk, but being as there was parking and it  it was signed and waymarked with white-topped poles, we did a there and back . 

The first distant sighting of it was as a pale blob...looking through the binoculars confirmed it was a White-tailed Eagle. Luckily, the lie of  the land meant I could creep behind ridges and across bog, to get closer before carefully peeping into a line of sight...

Note the second White-tailed Eagle flying off top left! 

Look at that beak! 

Some small saltmarsh areas..

Four-spot Chaser.

I do like a bog!

Nice Bog Bean reflections.

Sanderling City

Another walk out from the campsite - many hundreds, literally, of Sanderling on the tide line. They are on their way north - it's interesting that this is a known hotspot and that when we last visited, 3 weeks later in the year, they had obviously all left as we saw very few. 

Nice views...

A tideline of Sanderling...

A beachful of Sanderling....

A bayful of Sanderling....

And a rockful of Sanderling.

Loch Druidibeg

With a clear patch of weather - we could see out to sea and the mountains attracting any cloud, we headed to RSPB Loch Druidibeg on South Uist, for a more upland walk...

A view of the mountains before they disappeared.

Royal fern gives the islands a distinctive hue.

Oblong-leaved Sundew Drosera intermedia

Lousewort.

Windswept and rugged.

I couldn't decide - the pic above or this one ...so they both go in! 

Black Bog-rush.

Heath Spotted-orchid.

Nice textures and colours.

Short-eared Owl

 It's always nice to see Short-eared owls in the Hebrides. This one circled round before landing on a trackside post...

An evening walk: Balranald

A pleasant evening walk - with many Sanderling.

'Stinky Bay' - plenty of washed up seaweed.

The shore was alive with Sanderling.

Off they go.

Turnstone - so well camouflaged it wasn't worth putting the photos on - at least you can see it against the rock! 

Eider Ducks - beginning to go into eclipse.

Dunlin.

Sea Campion.

A colourful mix.

Common Gull chicks...

Looking back.

The Yellow Flag Iris is just coming onto flower.

A patchwork of sandy fields.