Kilpatrick Hills, East/West Dunbartonshire

Camping Trip!

Last year I got a bat detector for my christmas, but so far I haven't had many opportunities to use it. It enabled me to listen to Common Pipistrelles in the backgarden: these bats make a series of clicks which turn into 'wet slaps' at lower frequencies (the deepest slaps are at 45khz- the peak frequency).

I set off on a short camping trip, up to Burncrooks Reservoir, to do a bit of exploring with my bat detector, thinking that maybe I'd get a chance to hear Daubenton's or Natterer's Bats.

Duncolm to the left, looking towards the distant mountains surrounding Loch Lomond 

Dumgoyne in the distance

Hare's Tail Cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum)

Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) juvenile

Rowan tree (Sorbus aucuparia)

Small Heath butterfly (Coenonympha pamphilus)

Someone else had pitched their tent beside Burncrooks dam, so I had to find another spot - along the treeline of Burncrooks valley (near the old sheep shelter). Midges were biting me viciously, even as I was putting my tent up, and it wasn't even dusk yet. Exhausted, I crept into my sleeping bag and slept for a few hours, until the last red glow had vanished from the sky.

Strange animal noises filled the night. First, the qwavering 'HOooo HOoo' of a male Tawny Owl. Later, when I emerged from my tent, the terrifying (even when you know what it is!) 'old-man-coughing-turning-into-a-dog's-bark' of a male Roe Deer - very close. As I approached the sound, a pair of disembodied glowing eyes reflected the light from my head-torch.

I switched on the bat detector and made a short circuit, following the edge of the forest. I briefly managed to pick up the call of a pipistrelle - I kept having to seek refuge in my tent from the swarm of face-eating midges.

Midges were biting my eyes, my hands, my scalp...the air was so thick with them, I was breathing them in...It was unbearable :(

I was pretty glad my tent had a built-in mosquito net!

Twice during the night, a mystery animal passed close to my tent, purring loudly and deeply. I still have absolutely no idea what it could have been. A feral cat? It seems unlikely, given the remote location.

Kilpatrick Hills, West Dunbartonshire

I took another walk over the Kilpatrick Hills with a friend and this time we walked from Duntocher to the Jaw Reservoir (via the Test), then to the Kilmannan Reservoir, to the Whangie and eventually to Carbeth: where we caught a bus back to Glasgow.

At Little Round Top, amongst the few Hawthorns still blossoming, we found this specimen with unusually pink flowers.

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)

Wild Pansies (Viola tricolor) are in full flower on the grassy hill near the Test. We disturbed a Brown Hare at the Test: it loped along slowly, crossing the small river and disappeared into the heather. In the heather I found a Stoat's skull, which I took home to add to my collection :)

Water Avens (Geum rivale) were flowering in the marshy area between the Greenside and Cochno Reservoirs.

Water Avens (Geum rivale)

The fragrant root of Water Avens can be boiled in water to produce a chocolate-like drink which is strongly astringent due to its high tannin content.

Near to the Jaw Reservoir we saw numerous Small Heath butterflies (Coenonympha pamphilus) - a common species whose larvae feed on grasses.

Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus)

At the Kilmannan Reservoir there are both Common Spotted Orchids (Dactylorhiza fuchsii) and Northern Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza purpurella). The Northern Marsh Orchid can be easily distinguished by its unspotted leaves and magenta-red flowers with diamond-shaped unlobed/shallowly lobed lower petals that are marked with irregular lines and dots.

Northern Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza purpurella)

The dried bulbs of Dactylorhiza genus orchids can be ground into a nutritious flour called Salep (which contains the polysaccharide glucomannan). Salep flour can be used to make the beverage salep and is a key ingredient in the Turkish ice-cream dondurma: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dondurma

Along the Audmurroch Burn near the Kilmannan Reservoir, there were many bright orange Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries (Boloria selene) feeding on thistles. This species is very similiar to the Pearl Bordered Fritillary (Boloria euphrosyne) but the main differences are its smaller size, greater number of white pearl markings on the underside of the hind wings and its slightly later flight period. The larvae of both species feed on Common Dog Violet and Marsh Violet.

Boloria means 'fishing net' in Latin and describes the chequered patterning of the wings; selene is the name of a Greek titaness/moon deity.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene) female

The moorland around the Whangie was covered in candy-pink Cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccus) flowers - I'll have to wait until late summer to pick the berries.

Cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccus)

We followed the A809 from Queen's View to Carbeth: a dangerous road with speeding vehicles and without a pavement. Walking along this stretch of road requires you to press yourself against thorny hedges and walk through patches of nettles and brambles :(

Poplar Hawkmoth (Laothoe populi) female

Poplar Hawkmoth (Laothoe populi) female

The Poplar Hawkmoth (Laothoe populi) is an impressively large moth whose larvae feed on Poplar and Sallow. Adult moths are sluggish, slow-flying and do not feed. The hind wings are held in front of the fore wings at rest - this unusual wing posture is part of the moth's dead-leaf camouflage.

Before we got the bus home from Carbeth we had something to eat at the Carbeth Inn: a friendly place full of motorbikers which serves cheap greasy food.