Mouse click on thumbnail to enlarge image
A juvenile Knot turned up on the shore of the loch during early August. A common winter visitor around Scotland’s coasts it is rarely met with inland. At barely two months of age this bird had already flown thousands of kilometres south from either Greenland or arctic Canada. The Narrow-headed Ant (Formica exsecta) has a strange distribution. In the UK it is only found in southern England around Bournemouth and in Scotland in a small area on Speyside. It chooses to make its nest on wetter sites than other Wood Ants, from which it may by easily identified by the deeply notched top to the head. The Bog Raft Spider (Dolomedes fimbriatus) is only slightly more widely distributed than the Narrow-headed Ant, again it has a distinct north-south bias in its population distribution. During July and August the large female spider leaves the water to stand guard over a silken tent containing a cocoon containing an egg sack or newly hatched spiderlings. In the Highlands the Nursery-web Spider can also be found breeding along side Dolomedes. Common Lizards probably include the spiderlings of these two species in their diet. These three were basking together on a dry hummock on a forest bog. The Common Darter is a widespread species. It is however more usual to see the Highland Darter, a northern sub-species, in our area. The Keeled Skimmer Dragonfly has a very much western distribution in the UK. In the Highlands it is not common but can occasionally be found along the western seaboard as far north as the Isle of Skye. The Emerald Damselfly is latest damsel fly to emerge. It is often on the wing well into September.
August 2011
