Rambling Russells

This month has been very unusual in that the weather has been very mild. The wind has been so gentle that the leaves are still on many of the trees showing off their beautiful autumn colours.  There has been no frost to put an end to the growth of  many summer plants so we still have cosmos, nasturtiums and dahlias flowering! Moths and butterflies have almost disappeared from our records this month though on sunny days the odd few have still been spotted. Moth traps and accessories have been officially put away for the winter! Our max for this month is as follows: Red Admiral - 7 Small tortoiseshell - 1 Silver Y moth - 1 (a day-flying moth) Many birds have reappeared this month - house sparrows and starlings have been most numerous but it has been nice to see a good variety. We have also seen geese flying overhead as they return to D&G for the winter, often hearing them before we actually see them! However we have said goodbye to House Martins and Swallows as the...

A much better month for weather - some lovely sunny days although the evenings are beginning to draw in and cool down! Much of the wildlife this month has been butterflies again. The sunflowers and buddleia have finally fully opened their blooms and the butterflies have loved them!  The max for each species seen is as follows: Painted Lady - 1 Peacock - 10 Red Admiral - 7 Small Tortoiseshell - 7 There have also been numerous white butterflies flitting around the garden. We have noticed a good number of day flying moths around the garden too - especially on the sage! Usually a Silver Y, which is a very pretty moth, named for the mark on its wings. They have not however been caught in any numbers in traps. Moths in the traps have still been in short supply. Cooler evenings have probably had something to do with it. New for us however is the Bulrush Wainscot (pictured on the right below) and Agonopterix arenella (pictured bottom left) A few birds seem to be re-appe...

We set off from Annan on a journey to Argyll hoping to see lots of autumn colour along the way. The weather wasn't exactly encouraging - mist and drizzle accompanying us. Photos were not therefore a very good idea until we got beyond Glasgow, and even then they were difficult. However there were some spectacular colours on the trees alongside the road and further in the distance. Beyond Loch Lomond the visibility improved slightly and the colours began to intensify... The return journey, on Sunday, looked much more promising.... The sun was shining! As we had plenty of time we took the more scenic route home - beginning with a short detour through Stronmilchan. Only 2 miles to the village but the hills were ablaze with colour. It was not a difficult decision then to take the road along Glen Orchy as our way back to Tyndrum. With the weather and the colours we had already seen we were sure to see more. All along the road the colours were beautiful. We ...