A special Saturdayevening walk this month, led by our friend and bat buff, Zóra Tamás. We’ll ramble along the River Almond, looking for bats and blethering about nature, climate action, biodiversity, or whatever comes to mind.
Who: all West Lothian residents. No unaccompanied children under 18 When: Saturday 7th September, 7:30pm Where: Almondvale Park, Livingston. We’ll meet on the hill above Almondvale Play Park (across the river from the skatepark):
All participants were encouraged to continue recording pollinators in their local area and on the National Cycle route 75. Identification guides for bumblebees, moths and butterflies, as well as links for recording applications were provided to help them on this journey.
This event has been supported by funding from the Scottish Government through Sustrans Scotland’s Love Your Network grant. Almond Valley Nature Action is grateful for their support. A big thank you to Anthony McCluskey too for leading the session and making this an enjoyable and informative experience for everyone!
There is a lot of useful information online on small and big things you can do, or incorporate in your garden to support pollinators. I include some links below:
Butterfly Conservation’s Wild Spaces website has many ideas on how to make more room for butterflies and moths, in big and smaller areas (such as planters, pots and window boxes).
Bumblebee Conservation Trust’s Bee the Change project offers lots of gardening tips, including ideas of what to plant each month
NatureScot’s Make Space for Nature gives us different tips for each season. Their podcasts aim to inspire everyone to take action for nature.
Join us for a pollinator identification workshop on Saturday 03 August 2024 – please book a free ticket on Eventbrite.
In August, we will be joined by Anthony McCluskey, who will lead a relaxed, guided walk focusing on pollinators. Attendees will learn about pollinators like butterflies and bees, and find out how to take part in schemes to record their numbers. This walk will use the National Cycle Network so people of all abilities are welcome to attend. No experience is necessary, and under 18s should be accompanied by an adult.
Tickets are free but spaces are limited and priority will be given to West Lothian residents. General admission tickets may become available closer to the time.
Location: Easter Inch Moss and Seafield Law, Seafield, West Lothian. The event will take place on a section of Cycle Route 75. The site offers wide, flat surfaced footpaths, however, we might also use some informal paths.
Please note: there are limited rest points on the site.
How to Get there: The event is held on National Cycle Route 75, please choose active travel if you can. The nearest bus stop is Seafield Arms, you can check Traveline Scotland to plan your route.
Weather: Please check the weather forecast and wear suitable clothing and footwear, and bring water, sunscreen, hot drinks and a snack as appropriate.
Photography: Members of Almond Valley Nature Action will be taking photos and videos for use on our social media, website and other forms of publicity. If you prefer not to be included in any photos, please email us at almondvalleynatureaction@gmail.com
A separate photography consent will be sought at the start of the event, for any photos that can be shared with our funder.
Feedback: Attendees will be asked to fill in a short feedback form at the end of the event, to help us measure the impact of this project.
Almond Valley Nature Action aims to promote participation in Citizen Science projects, we hope after attending this event, participants will continue to record wildlife in their local area and their local sections of National Cycle Network regularly.
Not a member yet? Join Almond Valley Nature Action – complete our membership form here.
This event has been supported by funding from the Scottish Government through Sustrans Scotland’s Love Your Network grant, to host this event.
No rambling this month. We’re going to take it easy and share our thoughts on nature and the environment over a biscuit or two in the park
We know not everyone can comfortably walk for an hour. So this month, instead of a Ramble & Chat, we’ll sit down to enjoy a picnic as we blether about nature, biodiversity, climate action, or whatever comes to mind.
This is a free event but bring a packed lunch. Tea/coffee and biscuits will be provided
We’ll meet at the picnic tables in front of Howden House:
When: Sunday 14th July, 1-3pm Where: Howden Park, Livingston – in front of Howden House Getting there: The closest bus stop is near the staff residences at St John’s Hospital. Most buses stop there but check Traveline Scotland to plan your route
Dress for the weather: keep an eye on the forecast and dress accordingly. If the weather looks good bring a hat and stay hydrated. In case of bad weather we have the indoor option of The Kitchen@Reconnect (refreshments at your own expense)
If the weather allows, we’ll spend some time doing a PoMSFIT Count to help monitor pollinators. That stands for Flower-Insect Timed Counts:
Spend ten minutes watching flowers and insects in good weather! This simple survey collects data on the total number of insects that visit a particular flower, ideally chosen from our list of 14 target flowers. FIT Counts can be done anywhere, including gardens and parks, in warm, dry weather during daylight hours from 1 April to 30 September – source
It’s officially summer and the invertebrates that are out and about can make a summer walk so entertaining, observing which species are around! Recently while walking at Loch Lubnaig in the Trossachs, I was treated to the sight of the wonderful mountain bumblebee, Bombus monticola. It’s known as the blaeberry bumblebee in Scotland, and bilberry bumblebee down south (how nice to have 4 names!). This gorgeous bumblebee has two pale yellow striped bands and up to half of its body is covered in ‘Irn Bru’ coloured orange hairs – what’s not to love!
Bombus monticola the mountain bumblebee
They’re generally found in mountain and moorland areas with queen bees having a strong preference for the pollen of blaeberries, hence the common name, and they often nest underneath them or close by these shrubs. The Latin name monticola itself means mountain dweller – very apt!
Like many others species, they are in decline, mostly from habitat loss and degradation and they also have a lower heat tolerance, which makes this lovely bumblebee at even greater risk from a warming climate.
There is a single record of the mountain bumblebee in the Almond Valley area from 2016, where it was seen on the West Lothian side of the Pentland Hills at East Cairn Hill. The National Biodiversity Atlas shows other recorded sightings nearby in the Pentland Hills on the Edinburgh side. There is also a single record from nearby Wilsontown in South Lanarkshire, and one record just north of Blackridge in West Lothian. Rather oddly there are no records from the Bathgate Hills, possibly present but not recorded.
So why am I telling you all this? Well, last year there was a further sighting in Almond Valley! The record on iNaturalist has not yet been verified but the recorder is certain of what they saw. It was seen just south of the village of Breich, near the A704 road. So here is a little summer challenge for you! Look out for this stunning bumblebee while you are out and about. If you see it, snap a photo and help put it on the map. Let’s see how many records we can contribute to the dataset, not only in Almond Valley but wherever you see one!
The Bumblebee Conservation Trust recommends iRecord for this with further details on recording bumblebees available on their webpage. Alternatively, iNaturalist is very user friendly for beginners at biological recording.
For more bumblebee recording you can join Andri at the regular BeeWalk, recording many different bee species in Livingston Village Park. This runs on the last Saturday of the month at 11am – see blog post below for more details.
It has been a cold and at times blustery June this year and the weekend weather for our Ramble & Chat was looking mixed to say the least. This ramble coincided with PondWatch weekend – perfect for going out to look for newly emerged damselflies! These small matchstick sized insects are much daintier than dragonflies, earning them their ‘damsel’ name. Damselflies are not strong fliers and will roost in the vegetation around ponds when it’s windy. They also need to be a certain temperature before they can fly making weather an important variable in spotting them! With temperatures on our ramble hovering around 12oC it was not ideal – but the sun shone and the wind dropped!
We walked along to the pond and looked around the bulrushes and eventually found some of the blue-tailed damselflies – hooray! Their vivid blue colouring can take a little while to develop after emerging which gives them a more milky appearance, demonstrated in the photo above. Female blue-tailed damselflies can have their thorax in one of 5 different colours and we managed to spot the orange-pink colour (rufescens), and green and blue varieties.
Overall there were not many flying, perhaps because of the cooler weather, and only one pair were seen breeding in their characteristic mating wheel. Only one other species was seen on the day, the blue and black striped common blue damselfly. You can read more about how to identify damselfly species here.
Also out on the pond were a family of newly hatched ducklings, all yellow and fluffy brown. Check out some of Peter’s beautiful photos of the ducklings and damselflies in the comments on our Facebook post!
Northern marsh orchid
After a hot drink and a chat, our hour of time had passed but we had not had enough nature yet! We decided to walk on to take a look at the river and walk one of the trails in the woodland. We passed some aspen trees along the way that make their characteristic rustling noise in the wind and are something to see later in the year with their showy autumn yellow display. Walking beside the river a beautiful orchid stood out on its own, very showy amongst the green!
Yellow rattle
We wandered up past the field boundary to the old fallen tree and back down through the woodland ride. A patch of yellow rattle wildflowers are growing quite well here. This plant is commonly called the meadow-maker due to its parasitic ability to tap into the roots of grasses. As they are robbed of their water and nutrients the grasses growth slows and the yellow rattle takes advantage and expands!
We passed a couple of trees that we took a moment to identify. Using a tree field guide and after Andri spotted a cone higher up in the canopy they were identified as alders.
The chiff-chaffs and the song of the willow warblers accompanied us throughout our walk and we saw hoverflies, bumblebees and scorpion flies throughout the woods. Many wildflowers were growing along the margins, including greater and lesser stitchwort, purple vetch and red campion among others, and the grasses were lush and long! The reddish Yorkshire fog grass added its own colour to the meadows – but also begs the question, what do Scots call this grass? If you know, let us know!
The last observation of the day was on the path leaving the woods where the aptly named silver ground carpet moth posed long enough for a quick photo.
There’s always something to see in the woods, no matter the weather and something to learn from others while out together in nature. Why not join us for our next outing in July for a Picnic & Chat, details to follow!
May’s Ramble & Chat featured an expert guest who led us on a foraging walk through Almondell Country Park
Last month we had a special event led by local forager Amy Rankine. We rambled through Almondell Country Park where we learned about wild plants, connected with nature, and snacked on wild woodland treats!
We were a nice wee group of 12, the perfect size to move through the park without disruption. From our meeting point at the South entrance, we immediately found and learned about the teasel plant with its large, crinkly leaves. We wandered a little way down the main path but soon struck off into the trees where we met woodruff, wych elm, wild garlic, and many more.
As well as exploring the uses of various plants, and their history with humans, Amy was careful to stress the need for care and respect when foraging. These are not quite the words she used, but it very much reminded me of this, from Native American botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer:
The Honourable Harvest, a practice both ancient and urgent, applies to every exchange between people and the Earth. Its protocol is not written down, but if it were, it would look something like this:
Ask permission of the ones whose lives you seek. Abide by the answer.
Never take the first. Never take the last.
Harvest in a way that minimizes harm.
Take only what you need and leave some for others.
Use everything that you take.
Take only that which is given to you.
Share it, as the Earth has shared with you.
Be grateful.
Reciprocate the gift.
Sustain the ones who sustain you, and the Earth will last forever.
Many thanks to Amy Rankin, forager for her time, her knowledge, and a massively entertaining and informative walk. Amy regularly runs events of her own locally. Check her website and socials for details of those.
Links to free printables, recommendations for foldable identification guides, phone apps and more, for beginners
“It seems to me that the natural world is the great source of excitement: the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.”
David Attenborough
As the days grow longer, the temperatures rise and the rain stops, many of us spend more time outdoors. I often find myself asking what’s that bird, what’s that tree, what’s the name of that flower, while on a walk. It is so satisfying when you manage to identify your observation!
While technology helps answer these questions quickly, some prefer a more active approach of flicking through a book’s pages, looking up information in a guide or even attending a training session to expand their knowledge.
This blog will list free printables, fold out guides, apps and webinars to help you notice, observe and learn more about nature.
Free printables
The Woodland Trust’s educational Website includes many printable resources . To find them, click on Activity Finder and then from Type/Topic select Printable sheets
Buzz & Scuttle has beautifully illustrated insect printable resources that can be used for free for educational purposes.
Guides
Field Studies Council has developed multiple waterproof, fold out guides. These cost about £5 each and you can even find them in local garden centres
The Woodland Trust sells Swatch guide books, these might suit younger children
You can also find pocket fold out identification guides on the RSBP shop.
For online garden wildlife identifiers follow this link to Gardener’s World website.
Apps
Merlin – for bird song identification
I Naturalist – for all wildlife. Just upload a photo/sound recording and wait for another app user to have a look and suggest an identification
Picture This or PlantNet – for plant identification
Webinars and in person events
It is always worth checking Eventbrite for any events on subjects of your interest. For example the EntoLive Webinars from the Biological Recording Company
The Bumblebee Conversation Trust delivers beginners and intermediate identification webinars, check out their calendar for future dates
You can find upcoming webinars and recordings of previous events organised by the National Plant Monitoring Scheme on their Training Webinar page
The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) have a suite of bird identification videos on their website
Sign up to take part in campaigns like The Big Butterfly Count (July-August) or The Big Garden Bird Watch (January). The postal packs sometimes include an identification guide. The Wildlife Trusts’ 30 Days Wild project (June) sometimes also sends freebies to those who sign up.
Check your local library for identification books, or guides you can borrow for free
Do you have more tips to share? Let us know by leaving a comment.
If you are on social media, why not follow us? We frequently share citizen science projects to get involved with, and online and in-person nature related events.
On Sunday the 9th of June we will be going for our monthly Ramble&Chat to the beautiful woodland of Easter Breich Wood. The wood is situated a couple of miles outside of Livingston and sits between the villages of Seafield, Polbeth and West Calder. On this particular weekend, the Dragonfly Society are celebrating and raising awareness of ponds in their Pond Watch weekend. We’ll be looking to see if the damselflies have emerged after overwintering as larvae in the water, and if the weather is good we may see the occasional dragonfly hawking around the reeds! Bring your binoculars if you have them as there are often families of mallard ducks with their many ducklings on the water, and the little island is often home to a couple of moorhens!
The woodland itself has a diverse variety of birds with over 70 different species recorded there. It has wildflowers aplenty and lots of interesting bugs, beetles, butterflies and bees. Oh and there’s trees, lots of trees including aspens – the whispering tree, rich in folklore!
Meeting Point:
The entrance across from Oakbank Cottages beside the noticeboard (marked with red arrow on the map below).
Public transport to Seafield is on the No.72 bus, or to West Calder on the No.74 bus Lothian Country Buses both of which run from Livingston. The woodland is then about 1 mile walk from Seafield to the Oakbank entrance, and 1.5 miles from West Calder (which follows part of the Shale Trail). There is also the option of a train to West Calder station followed by a walk.
Parking at the woodland is limited, however it is possible to also park at the Fraser Road entrance and walk about 25 – 30 minutes to the meeting point.
There are cycle racks where bikes can be secured beside the noticeboard.
This is a leisurely walk on hardcore paths and unsurfaced woodland trails. There are no steps on this walk and the majority is on fairly level ground with occasional small inclines.
Walk route:
After leaving the meeting point by the noticeboard we’ll walk to the pond and try to see some of the amazing invertebrates living there. We’ll have the greatest chance of seeing the damselflies if it’s sunny, warm and not too windy. There’s a lot more to this wood than just the pond so we’ll then cross the little wooden bridge to walk alongside the Breich Water river that feeds into the River Almond. We can then walk through the woodland ride which is a long wide clearing in the woods and take one of the side trails that criss-cross through the main body of the wood. We’ll end the walk back at the meeting point.
If you’re nervous about walking in woods on your own or simply want the company of like-minded people please do come along, we are a friendly inclusive group and everyone is welcome!
Male emerald damselflyGreater stitchwortRed-tailed bumblebee
PHOTOGRAPHY
AVNA members may take photographs during the event which may be shared on social media, with our funders, and in other written and online publications. If you do not wish to appear in any photos or videos then please let us know.
Please keep an eye on the weather forecast and dress accordingly. In the event of severe weather please check our social media for updates.
In Scotland it has been estimated that there’s around 9 hectares of garden space for every 1000 people. That’s a lot of green space where people could take action for nature. One such way would be getting involved with Plantlife’s No Mow May campaign. This is a simple and easy way to use your garden space to help nature. The idea is to put the lawnmower away for the month of May and let the grasses and wildflowers grow. If this was adopted by even a small proportion of those 1000 people, it would result in an enormous area being given over to wildlife.
Attitudes about garden lawns are changing, with even the Royal Horticultural Society providing information on how to manage No Mow May for wildflowers. Recent research from the Butterfly Conservation Trust reported an increase in butterfly numbers of up to 93% when gardens get wilder and grass is left to grow long, we definitely know that wildlife benefits.
I tried No Mow May for the first time last year, leaving most of my lawn unmown. I cut an access path to the bench and I kept some edges short so that it had a slightly intentional look about it. It did look very different from the usual short lawn but I liked it!
There were some pluses and minuses to doing No Mow May. On the plus side, a single cuckoo flower grew (for the first time ever) and lots of little moths made their home in the grass. I also saved a lot of time not mowing and while I was sitting on the bench looking for new surprise plants (only that one cuckoo flower appeared ho hum!), I noticed there was a tree bumblebee nest inside the hedge, perfectly hidden by the long grasses. I probably wouldn’t have realised they were there if I hadn’t done No Mow May, braw! There’s such a simple joy in noticing nature, especially right outside your own home!
On the minus side, there were far fewer daisies than I’d normally see – likely crowded out by the extremely tall grasses. Cutting the lawn at the end of May was pretty challenging too, requiring a combination of shears and strimming and the brown bin got really, really full! There were no orchids or rare flowers either like some people have reported.
I removed the cuttings to reduce the soil fertility but it may take a few years of doing this before the nutrient content decreases enough to get anything approaching the beautiful wildflower meadows that other people seem to have!
Narcissus bulb fly
The cutting back was done in stages as it was quite hard going, but I was rewarded by a Narcissus bulb hoverfly joining me on the grass! This is a pretty good bumblebee mimic – stripy and furry! Hoverflies are great in the garden, being a major class of pollinators. It stayed long enough for a photo before flying off, hopefully continuing to pollinate my garden. In the end I cut about 2/3rds of the grass back and left the rest of the grass to stay long until September when I cut the final 1/3rd.
So now it’s May 2024 and time to let the grass grow again. A friend and I scythed it in preparation in April (getting some practice in after learning this skill in the woodland!) and we raked and removed all the clippings.
Getting ready to scythe
There is a debate over cutting the grass at the end of May. This is very much the growing season when everything is active, and clearing the new long grass habitat away will also clear away any animals that may have moved in. Insects will have laid eggs and others will have set up home during this time. For this reason I’m going to leave mine alone, and when I do cut in September, I’ll keep some long grass for any overwintering wildlife. If you do cut the grass at the end of May, please be mindful of the creatures that may be enjoying that new lush habitat. Look out for toads, hedgehogs and other small animals, and work slowly from one end to allow them to escape.
Not everyone can or wants to do No Mow May, especially those with children who play in the garden or who have pets. There are plenty of other things though that can be done for wildlife even if you do need to keep your grass short. You can refuse to use pesticides, be less tidy and manage things less, plant native nectar rich flowers, leave the leaves instead of raking away, and keep the seed heads on plants. All simple things but they will provide resources for our hard pressed wildlife. Here’s hoping we’ll have a wild scuttling, buzzing, hopping, fluttering garden full of life!
Almond Valley Nature Action 