By Caroline Anderson
Doesn’t this path make you want to explore? Let me take you on a daunder through the Taynish Pollinator Trail and beyond. The usual stops at the boardwalk were, as always, fruitful. Plenty of dragonflies and damselflies flying around; hawkers, chasers and darters buzzing in and out of the trees and over the bog with the usual selection of damselflies also evident. The bog asphodel is in full bloom and the tufty heads of the bog cotton were nodding in the welcome breeze on what was a very warm day.
Along the path sides the Speckled Wood and Ringlet butterflies rested briefly on the ferns and the bracken before soaring off again. If you are lucky enough to spot the underwing of the Speckled Wood it is just stunning for such a wee brown butterfly!
So on down to the Mill and the Hemp Agrimony was beginning to flower – pollinators LOVE this plant and when it fully blooms in a few days it will be the most perfect dining table for a large number of insects. This little green bug was impatient to get started and was weaving in and out each bud. Good job at disguising himself – if it wasn’t for the movement I’d never have spotted him!
Time to go off-piste – let’s take the path next to the mill waterfall and head over the hill. This is such a beautiful walk through the oak woodland with patches of fragrant Honeysuckle (an excellent plant for day flying moths), and lush ferns and mosses on the woodland floor. I was captivated by the light bursting through the trees and landing on the ferns.
It was such a hot day this wander through the wood made for some welcome shade. More Speckled Woods and Ringlets flying and the mature lime trees at the end of the wood were absolutely humming with the bees enjoying the flowers, the smell was just glorious.
The path takes you across a field which was crammed with wildflowers of every kind – purples, yellows, whites – nature’s patchwork, and the bees and butterflies enjoying each flower in turn, particularly popular were the Birds-Foot Trefoil and the Bramble flowers.
It was lovely to also see a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly enjoying the Meadow Thistle, also very popular with the bees. Whilst there were butterflies around they were not in great numbers compared to previous years.
Another plant adored by the pollinators is Meadowsweet, the bees were completely immersing themselves in the flowers getting covered in pollen so being very effective pollinators – good job bees!
Passing the sheds and back up to the car park, the path gave up more plants and insects – I was particularly taken by these two merging in with their surroundings.
I hope you enjoyed that virtual wander through one of the Taynish trails, please come and see for yourself what a magical place it is!
Our offer to you: Do you want to help Scotland’s pollinators? We can send you free wildflower seeds! If there’s somewhere you would like to grow wildflowers to help support our pollinators drop us an email at biodiversity@nature.scot. One pack covers approx. 1m2.
Seeds sourced from Scotia Seeds. 2 options. Container mix = autumn hawkbit, kidney vetch, rock rose, selfheal, thrift and wild thyme. All Scotland mix = devils bit scabious, meadow vetchling, ox-eye daisy, red campion, red clover, selfheal, tufted vetch, white campion and yarrow.
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Scottish pollinators 