A blustery day but reasonably bright so decided on a walk to Burrow Head. We parked in the car park at the top of Physgill Glen.
Young House Sparrow on the fence.
This is a well walked route for those who take the pilgrimage to St Ninians cave
Italian Lords-and-Ladies (Arum italicum)
There are quite a few exotic plants in this glen like this American Skunk-cabbage (Lysichiton americanus)…
…which has giant leaves!
Physgill Glen, the path lined with wild garlic at this time of year
It was a bit dark but this is a wrens nest amongst the ivy which had several babies in and we watched at a distance as the adult visited
Warbler
Valerian
Yellow Iris
St Ninians cave
Rock Pipit
Thrift
Sea Campion
Prickly Sow-thistle (Sonchus asper)
Birds-foot Trefoil
Pretty path!
Looking back across Port Castle Bay towards the cave
Dyer's Greenweed (Genista tinctoria)
Dyer's Greenweed (Genista tinctoria)
Lots of tiny grasshoppers about
I was intrigued by this plant…
..I looked it up and to me it looked like Sea Carrot which is rare up here, however a local expert put me straight…
… he identified as Wild Carrot (Daucus carota subsp. carota)and wrote “Carrots on the Wigtownshire coast are frequently identified as subsp. gummifer, which they resemble in some characters. However, in leaf shape they match Wigtownshire inland subsp. carota, and do not match true subsp. gummifer in south-west England. Evidence so far points to their being a locally evolved ecotype of subsp. carota. There are other examples of local ecotypic adaptation up the Scottish west coast. Anyhow, my stance as vice-county recorder is that true gummifer does not occur in Wigtownshire. Others may disagree.” Interesting stuff, no wonder I was confused!
Common Rock-rose (Helianthemum nummularium)
Giant tooth!
Great cliffs along here!
Spring Squill
Mining Bee-Andrena sp
Herring Gulls nesting on rocks
English Sedum (Sedum anglicum)
Purple Milk-vetch (Astragalus danicus)
Mining Bee, this ones been collecting paler polllen
Moth
Cinnabar Moth
Great Black-backed Gull nesting
Wild Thyme
Drifts of thrift!
Linnet
Fulmars nesting
Orb Spider - larinioides cornutus
Spiders Lair
Small Copper Butterfly
Beetle cryptocephalus-bipunctatus
Beetle cryptocephalus-bipunctatus
Six-spot Burnet (Zygaena filipendulae) caterpillar
Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)
Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)
7 Spotted Ladybird
Wall Butterfly
Cinnabar Moth
Cinnabar Moth
Rove Beetle Platydracus stercorarius
Walking the coast path
Don’t look down!
Lichen covered wall
Good to see a well marked path
A lovely time of year to walk the coast paths
Thift and dry stane dyke
Almost at Burrow Head campsite where we decide to turn back
Grey Seal offshore
Very rocky coastline
Mike taking a low shot, hope he gets the horizon straighter than I did!
Father and son sharing a joke!
I think this Oystercatcher may be nesting on the wall…
…as he is making a lot of fuss!
I think this is the Devils Archway
Pretty in pink
Wall butterfly
Early Bumble Bee (Bombus (Pyrobombus) pratorum)
Wood Sage (Teucrium scorodonia)
Grasshopper on Mikes bag
Common Blue Damselfly
Unidentified grubs
Small Heath Butterfly
Silver-ground Carpet Moth
Herring Gull
Back to Port Castle Bay
This sign has seen better days!
A great pastime on this beach is making pebble towers!
Walking back along Physgill Glen
Valerian
In the shade of the trees
Red Horse-chestnut (Aesculus carnea)
Red Horse-chestnut (Aesculus carnea)
Back to the car park-what a great walk, tons of wildlife, great views and only met a few people on the way!
I love Dumfries and Galloway, the natural place to be!
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