Merkinch Month

Words, the authors as credited. Photographs and illustrations Nick Sidle

Merkinch Local Nature Reserve (photograph – click on image for enlarged view)

Welcome to the first Cùra special feature, a full month dedicated to a single nature reserve, Merkinch in Inverness. For years from 1800, Merkinch itself was increasingly a place of small industry and the land, which the reserve occupies, was unused and polluted marsh, not an auspicious start for a nature reserve and perhaps even less so by now being on the edge of Inverness, the city it has become. Merkinch however has been an immense success, a combination of biodiversity and conservation and amenity to the local area and visitors, enjoyed by people and wildlife. The work is constant and the ranger, volunteers and management have built and maintained a natural oasis. Merkinch month on Cùra celebrates the results of their efforts and the habitats they have created. The adjacent Carnac Point has been included although it is technically not part of the reserve. It is impossible to separate the habitats and it is managed under a lease by the reserve team.

Map, Merkinch Local Nature Reserve. reproduced courtesy of the reserve

As well as the LNR itself, this window on Merkinch as a wildlife haven includes the easternmost stretch of the Caledonian Canal where it joins the sea, which runs adjacent to the reserve boundary. The canal paths are used by many visitors and the animals and birds make no distinction, so the canal is very much part of home for the resident wildlife and the experience for visiting people. All of which means that the success in the habitat and enjoyment of the amenity also owes much to the work of Scottish Canals and their team.

For the full collection of images from Merkinch on Cùra see the Merkinch LNR album

European Robin, Erithacus rubecula (photograph)

“Cùra Guardian is about stories as well as the science and that is going to apply in this case to the Merkinch Nature Reserve. Stories tell us how we can live with nature. We are a part of nature and somehow we seem to have forgotten that. 

Nick Sidle’s nature photographs are brilliant and will do much to help publicise Merkinch Nature Reserve to anyone who hasn’t yet visited. I’ve been very happy to support the work of Heartstone, and this latest in a whole series of excellent projects.”

Cllr Chris Ballance, Depute Leader Inverness and Area

“I am delighted to have had the opportunity to engage with Cùra Guardian’s Merkinch Month. The Local Nature Reserve is a real treasure, and visitors who are there regularly, like myself, have the delight of seeing redshanks, otters, curlews, herons and more sharing the wonderful coastal environment with us humans. The Cùra/ Heartstone message of respect and harmony with the natural world has never been more important. This is a brilliant project and Sitakumari, Nick Sidle and the team are to be congratulated.”

Dr Michael Gregson, Councillor for Inverness Central

“The 50th designated LNR in Scotland is in its 19th year. Merkinch Local Nature Reserve is very much a hidden gem in the Highlands. It brings together abundant wildlife and a place where people can come and hopefully relax.”

Ali Locke, Chair Merkinch LNR

“I am delighted to see this focus on the Merkinch reserve.  It is highly valued by all those who know about it and I welcome this opportunity to increase the number of people who do know about it, both locals and visitors from further afield.  It is a delightful sanctuary in the heart of Inverness where wildlife thrives in close proximity to both industry and residents.  The photographs published here not only highlight the huge range of plants and creatures that you can see, it also helps those less knowledgeable to identify what they are seeing (and I include myself in this group, so thanks from me personally)”

Councillor Michael Cameron

I have been invited to take part in ‘Merkinch month’ here at Cura Guardian, so I better introduce myself. My name is PC Katie Johnstone and I am a community beats officer dedicated to the west side of Inverness. I have been a police officer for 15 years, and a community officer for the last 4 years. The heart of my role is to listen to the community, be involved where I can in community events, coming together to tackle any community issues, or just be out patrolling. I am grateful to have a beautiful area that is Merkinch Nature Reserve within the beat, which I patrol by foot and on a bike. I regularly see people looking for wildlife, walking their dogs, out for family walks, or cycling within the nature reserve. I am committed to assisting in the preservation of the reserve as best I can.

PC Katie Johnstone, Community Beats Inverness

Merkinch Local Nature Reserve (photograph)

“Scottish Canals is pleased to support Merkinch Month and the opportunity it provides to celebrate the natural environment and how it links with the local community, its people and its connections to the Caledonian Canal. The canal has long been part of Merkinch’s heritage and everyday life, and we value the strong relationships we have with local residents, community groups and partners. We look forward to continuing to work together to ensure the canal remains a safe, welcoming and positive place for everyone to enjoy and an important habitat for a wide range of species.” 

Craig Cummings, Operations Manager, Caledonian Canal

Eastern end of the Caledonian Canal adjacent to the Merkinch Reserve (photograph)

“It is fantastic news that Cura Guardian is shining a spotlight on Merkinch Local Nature Reserve. Remarkably, despite being less than two kilometres from Inverness city centre, this exceptional reserve is still not as widely recognised as it deserves to be. This initiative brilliantly highlights the extraordinary richness of wildlife and habitats found within such a compact area. Cura’s work is creating powerful connections with nature on a global scale, while also inspiring people to discover and value the incredible natural environment right on their doorstep. Nick Sidle’s photographs are stunning and bring this landscape and it’s huge variety of creatures into focus. I’m looking forward to visiting the site with the Cura Guardian Team and Merkinch Primary school in the coming weeks.”

John Orr, High Life Highland Countryside Ranger, Inverness Area

Encounters from the reserve

You will not see all of these animals and birds on every visit, in fact it may take years. These images have been built up from many visits, almost since the reserve opened but all the photographs are from Merkinch. What those visits do say though, is that it is very rare to be on the reserve and see almost nothing. It is an animal and especially bird hotspot and every arrival prompts the question “what today”?

Nick Sidle

Day 13

Eurasian Wigeon

Eurasian Wigeon – Anas Penelope, Merkinch (photograph)

Wigeon have been identified from traces back to the mid Pleistocene, about 1.5 million years ago. They have been recorded as first breeding in Scotland in 1834 in Sutherland. Now they are more concentrated on the North East, with a small number of breeding residents, and there is also a winter migration arrival,  which is widely dispersed when the British population is estimated to be half of the total for Western Europe.There is also the very closely related counterpart of the Eurasian Wigeon, the American Wigeon, which is restricted in its range to North and Central America. A few occasionally turn up in Europe, mostly in autumn or winter, lost or blown off course is not certain, probably a mixture of both. A notable event for birdwatchers and scientists, an American Wigeon was seen in Merkinch in November 2016.

American Wigeon – Anas americana, Caledonian Canal, Clachnaharry, 2016 (photograph)

In both Europe and America, the whistling sound of the calls of Wigeon has made them regarded as warnings of approaching harsh winter weather. Given that the birds migrate to escape the worst of the cold, this would make sense, colder weather moves in, the birds migrate, their calls are heard where they have arrived, the colder weather moves in after them although mostly it will not be as severe as where they had left. The whistling call has also been regarded as a warning of danger to other ducks but possibly of use to people as well. 

Nick Sidle

An Sgòr Gaoithe

Merkinch Reserve and Beauly Firth (photograph)

Nam shuidh nam aonar

gun guth air a’ ghaoith,

bha mi coimhead a null

cun Sgòr Gaoithe.

`S thàinig e thugam

gur dòcha gun robh 

an Sgòr car aonaranach 

gun guth air a’ ghaoith 

I was sitting alone,

on a windless day,

looking across

to the Windy Ridge.

And it came to me

that maybe

there Ridge was a mite lonely

on a windless day

I wrote this poem while sitting on a bench on the edge of the Merkinch Nature Reserve

Keith John Scammell 

Soapwort

Soapwort – saponaria officinalis, Merkinch (photograph)

Not strictly a native anywhere in Britain, Soapwort originally comes from the Middle East. Exactly how or when it arrived is not recorded but it was a long time ago, so it is listed as an ancient introduction. Not widely distributed in Scotland, Inverness and the surrounding area is one of the places it is found. So, another wildflower with a quaint, eccentric name, except it isn’t. Soapwort contains saponins, now recognised to have a small potential to be toxic, so health and safety has advanced, it would not be widely used now without precautions and careful supervision in preparations, but if you rub the leaves you get a slippery froth and if you boil them a green lather. These genuinely act as a soap removing grease and dirt and have been used for centuries to clean clothes, animals, including sheep and for people to wash with. Even if you do guard against any small risk of toxicity, you would think it had no place in the modern era. Again, this would be wrong, Soapwort is much more gentle than modern soaps and has been used by The National Trust to wash ancient fabrics, including curtains, by the Victoria and Albert Museum on old cloth in their collections, by modern exclusive silk designers and producers and in the care of medieval tapestries. In the Romanian village of Șieu-Odorhei, it was adopted as a soap replacement for those with dry skin conditions because it is more gentle.

Nick Sidle

Day 12

Roe Deer

Roe Deer – Capreolus capreolus, Merkinch Nature Reserve (photograph)

In ancient Scottish beliefs, Roe Deer and less frequently, Red Deer are sometimes referred to as the cattle of the faeries and cared for by them. It was also thought that they could be enchanted, with some women capable of transformation into hinds. This supernatural feel to Roe Deer has been enhanced by their behaviour in that usually only single individuals or pairs are seen in the woods as opposed to the larger numbers encountered with Red Deer which also favour more open ground and so are not regarded as being as elusive. In small numbers, Roe Deer assist in the growth and development of woodland and forest, if too numerous they become a real problem for the trees. Hunted almost to extinction in Britain by 1800. they have now recovered to the point where their numbers are causing pressures on the habitat. The extinction of their natural predators, Lynx and Wolves, has meant that active management of Roe Deer numbers is now used in population hotspots where there are severe issues.

Nick Sidle

South Kessock Ferry Disaster Memorial

(Photograph)

Snowdrop

Snowdrop – Galanthus nivalis, Clachnaharry (photograph)

The conventional history is that the Snowdrop is an introduced species brought by monks from Europe in the 1^st Century AD. It then remained in cultivated settings till 1770 after which it became established in the wild. Its British distribution, however, at least raises questions about whether it became established much earlier in the wild and was possibly a native species, albeit with a very limited range. The meanings it is given can be confusing. Bringing a single flower into a house is bad since it resembles a shroud but a bunch of Snowdrops is good, unless you keep chickens because their egg laying will be interrupted. Sometimes you just can’t win.

Nick Sidle

Day 11

Red Kite

Red Kite – Milvus milvus over Merkinch reserve (photograph)

The Red Kite is a bird of prey that is almost exclusively a scavenger but does sometimes hunt smaller animals with their upper limit being around the size of rabbits. It is large with a wingspan of up to 6 feet, faithful in that they mate for life and the pair return to the same nest each year and, in Scotland and England, for a time extinct, the last birds known being in the 1800’s. Their decline was mostly through persecution by people, they were not respected, cared for or popular. They had been in medieval times when they were valued for their role in clearing waste from the growing cities, so much so that they were protected by Royal Charter. Their fortunes changed in Scotland in1457 when King James II listed them as vermin to be killed on sight, protection continued for longer in England. Improving sanitation and rubbish handling in cities made them less useful and by Victorian times sporting estates, egg collectors and a demand for stuffed birds to display finally sealed the Red Kite’s fate.

Red Kite – Milvus milvus over Merkinch reserve (photograph)

Their extinction is recorded as 1871 in England and 1879 in Scotland with the last birds in Inverness-shire. In Britain, the only remaining foothold for the Red Kite was Wales but the numbers there fell to twenty at their lowest. Only conservation efforts, wildlife legislation and reintroduction programmes have brought them back to Scotland, including on the Black Isle, starting in 1989 with chicks from Wales and Europe. Although not resident on the reserve, for a consummate master of flight like the Red Kite the distance from The Black Isle is easily covered and they are seen occasionally patrolling over Merkinch. 

Red Kite – Milvus milvus over Merkinch reserve (photograph)

Nick Sidle

Pied and White Wagtails

There are two very closely related black, white and grey types of Wagtail in Scotland, the Pied and the White. The Pied Wagtail only breeds in Britain and is darker, especially in adults on the back which is almost black. The White Wagtail is found across Western Europe but essentially only occurs in Scotland as a migrant in Spring and Autumn with only a very few pairs breeding in Britain each year, most of these are in Scotland. The two types were separated by the rising level of the North Sea after the Ice Age and technically are sub species of the overall species Motacilla alba.

Pied Wagtail – Motacilla alba yarrelli, Merkinch (photograph)

The Pied wagtail is found throughout Scotland and the UK in summer but it is largely absent from the North of Scotland in winter, with Merkinch being an example of the Northern edge of its all-year range. Its arrival as it moves South in the autumn, just when seeds are formed on plants, gave rise to a Scottish alternative name, ‘Seed-lady’. The folklore place of the Pied Wagtail is ambiguous in Britain. It can be seen as bringing harm and has been called ‘The Devil’s Bird’ but can also be viewed as simply a harbinger of a meeting with strangers. On  Dartmoor, it was said that no cat would kill a Pied Wagtail suggesting that the bird had supernatural powers to defend itself or, if you think of cats as associated with dark spiritual forces, possibly just an example of professional courtesy. It’s good news bad news for the Wagtails, there is no reason to think they are working for the devil but there is also no reason to believe they are immune to cat predation in Devon.

White wagtail – Motacilla alba alba, Merkinch (photograph)

The White Wagtail when seen on migration has been associated with many of the same stories as the Pied Wagtail.  There is also a reference to the White Wagtail as a candidate for the Caladrius of legend, a white bird that could foretell death or absorb the sickness of someone who was ill. It does not seem a very strong candidate from its relatively small size and a plumage that is far from all white as usually described but the connection has been made.

Caladrius at a sickbed, Medieval period (illustration)

Slender Speedwell

Slender Speedwell – Veronica filiformis, Merkinch (photograph)

Not a native plant to Scotland or Britain, the Slender Speedwell was introduced from Turkey as a garden flower in the early 1800’s. It ‘escaped’ from the cultivated settings to become established in the wild especially from the 1920’s onwards. It is a close relative of the truly native species like the Germander Speedwell. 

Nick Sidle

Day 10

Great Cormorant

Great Cormorant – Phalacrocorax carbo, Merkinch (photograph)

Breeding in local settings widely distributed round Scotland’s coasts the Great Cormorant is known for its distinctive way of perching with wings outstretched to dry them or catch warmth from the sun. The Cormorant has a real need to dry its feathers unlike most other birds living in fresh or saltwater habitats its plumage is not waterproof, it really does get wet. 

Great Cormorant – Phalacrocorax carbo , drying wings, Merkinch (photographs)

The Cormorant feeds on fish caught underwater with small fish eaten below the surface but larger fish brought up to the surface before being swallowed whole. Seeing this earned the Cormorant the dubious distinction of being a symbol for greed in literature, including Shakespeare, and being identified as a threat to fisheries resulting in persecution. Elizabeth I listed them as vermin in an edict of destruction.

Great Cormorant – Phalacrocorax carbo, Merkinch (photographs)

Their largely black feathers has earned them an association with dark lore and comparisons in this respect with Crows. ‘Sea-crow’ was an alternative name for Cormorants. The term  Cormorant itself is thought to arise from Latin ‘corvus’, Raven, or old French ‘corp’, Crow, and ‘marinus’ or ‘marenc’, sea. Even comparing them to crows is a long way short of Milton in Paradise Lost using them as a metaphor for Satan himself. Scottish Cormorants are partly migratory with approximately 10% of birds ringed in Scotland being identified in other countries, including Norway. Whether this started to get away from views like those of Milton is not clear.

Nick Sidle

Great Cormorant – Phalacrocorax carbo, Merkinch

Flowering Currant

Flowering Currant – Ribes sanguineum, Merkinch (photograph)

Three Currants are found in Scotland, the Red, Black and Flowering. Most are garden escapes or deliberate plantings but the Red form does occur as truly wild specimens, often associated with deciduous woodlands, river banks and damp scrubland. The Flowering Currant was introduced from North America but has subsequently become naturalised and established in the wild. All are excellent early pollen sources for bees and other insects and currants have long been used as fruits and to make drinks, including remedies for sore throats, which was also a use for the Flowering Currant by native Americans. In Scotland and Northern England, there was a specific belief that it was unlucky to bring Flowering Currant into a house, something that was also applied to other early flowering shrubs possibly arising from a common-sense principle of not reducing the first food sources for the bees.

Nick Sidle

Day 10 – Merkinch Primary School

The cormorant looks like a dinosaur – Mia

The cormorant feels like he’s doing a happy dance in a film – Sonny

Day 9

Saturday, two hours starting early on the Reserve, just some of the encounters today.

Nick Sidle

Eurasian Blackbird – Turdus merula, with newly hatched chicks to feed, Carnarc Point, Merkinch (photographs)

European Goldfinch – Carduelis carduelis, Carnarc Point, Merkinch (photograph)

Lilac – Syringa vulgaris, Carnarc Point, Merkinch (photograph)

Hooded Crow – Corvus cornix, foraging for food in seaweed, Merkinch (photographs)

European Greenfinch – Carduelis chloris, Merkinch (photograph)

Chaffinch – Fringilla coelebs, Merkinch (photograph)

White Hawthorn – Crataegus monogyna, Merkinch (photograph)

Black-headed Gull – Larus ridibundus, Merkinch (photographs)

Herring Gull – Larus argentatus catching crabs, Merkinch (photographs)

Crab Apple – Malus sylvestris, Merkinch (photograph)

Follow the story of apples as we know them and where Unicorns fit in – see the special feature ‘The Missing Unicorns”

Grey Heron – Ardea cinerea, Merkinch (photograph)

Bird Cherry – Prunus padus, Merkinch (photograph)

Eurasian Oystercatcher – Haematopus ostralegus , Merkinch (photograph)

Bluebells – Hyacinthoides non-scripta, Merkinch (photograph)

Day 9 – Merkinch Primary School

We have oystercatchers at Merkinch Primary, they visit our playground after break and lunch time.

The sea gulls nest on the roof of the gym hall.  You can see them in the courtyard.  At the summer picnic they try to steal our lunch.

Oystercatchers laid eggs on my roof about 2 years ago – Sonny

Bluebells grow in me and my dad’s garden – Luke

I have blossom trees at my house, they’re lovely – Annabelle

When we went on the trip to the nature reserve we saw a heron – Ty

Sometimes there are loads of herons all together near the canal.

The photographer has done a really good job to get the pictures of the sea gull, it’s really hard to do that. – Melody

Will the crab not nip the sea gulls tongue? – Callum

The chaffinch in chubby, I see them in my back garden – Caleb

Day 8

Eurasian Oystercatcher

Eurasian Oystercatcher – Haematopus ostralegus, Merkinch (photographs)

The Oystercatcher is a bird with a problematic name. Firstly, no predator catches Oysters, find them possibly, catch, no. There are no underwater scenes of Oysters being furiously pursued across the seabed, running for their lives. They are capable of a very limited movement to aid their distribution by expelling water from their shells but this would definitely not serve in a desperate flight from danger. Secondly, Oystercatchers in Britain don’t even really eat Oysters. Shellfish yes, especially Mussels and Limpets but not Oysters. The name came over from North America in the 1700’s and the Oystercatchers in North America do eat Oysters but even there they form a small part of their diet.

Eurasian Oystercatchers – Haematopus ostralegus, Merkinch (photograph)

Oystercatchers have a history in legend of helping the holy using macroalgae. There is an account that they once hid Jesus from pursuers by covering him with seaweed. The same story appears only with them saving St Bride (St Brigid) in the same way. From these acts, they are seen as a force for good and holy. They appear in Christian legend as protectors and serve in the same role by warning seafarers and fishermen of storms.

Eurasian Oystercatcher – Haematopus ostralegus, Merkinch (photograph)

At the more day to day level, the Oystercatcher is a strikingly marked wader with an unmissable call that in many locations is a defining presence on the coast. They eat marine worms and shellfish and are long lived. Some sources quote a lifespan of up to 15 years. There are records of even longer lives. An Oystercatcher was trapped and released as part of a scientific study on ‘The Wash’ in Eastern England in 1967. The same bird was trapped and released again in Lincolnshire in 2002 meaning it lived at least 35 years, the longest span for any wader recorded in the UK. 

Eurasian Oystercatcher – Haematopus ostralegus, Merkinch (photograph)

Returning to names, the British ‘Mussel Picker’ and ‘Mussel Cracker’ are far more accurate but less poetic. ‘Scolder’, from their call, is also perhaps not capturing the image and feeling people have towards them, with the possible exception of Cockle fishers who have clashed with the presence of the birds, who they feel are depleting the stocks significantly. Another old name, ‘Sea Pie’ does not advocate eating them but is a reference to their pied colouration.

Nick Sidle

Eurasian Oystercatcher – Haematopus ostralegus, Merkinch (photographs)

Peacock Butterfly

Peacock Butterfly – Inachis io, Merkinch (photograph)

Often simply referred to as ‘The Peacock’, the butterfly is a common resident species in England and Southern Scotland but less so in the North where it only migrates to in the early summer. Eastern Inverness-shire is around the limit of its Northern resident range. The caterpillars feed on Nettles. In the 1600’s and early 1700’s the butterfly was known as ‘The Peacock’s Eye’ from the wing markings. By around 1750, ‘eye’ had been dropped from the name to make it simply The Peacock.

Nick Sidle

Hedge Mustard

Hedge Mustard – Sisymbrium officinale, Merkinch (photograph)

Hedge Mustard, which is part of the cabbage family has been used as a herbal medicine for rheumatism, jaundice and as a purgative. An alternative name for it is ‘The Barbed-wire Plant’ coming from its rigid, often entangled, stems. Whether its ‘scratchy’ reputation suggested its use for throat conditions is not clear. In France, this even went far enough for Hedge Mustard to be known as ‘Singer’s Plant’ for its positive effects in developing the voice and treating its loss.

Nick Sidle

Day 8 – Merkinch Community Council

Merkinch Community Council has been involved in Merkinch for nearly 50 years. In the small building which was the ticket office for the ferry before the bridge was built, we have the history of the area right from St Kessock in the 5/6th century. We also have an amazing collection of photos, Including the late Queen when she visited our area. When the Community Council was set up one of the first things we did was put two benches on the shore for folk to sit and watch for the Ferry boat coming in, that was In 1978 . There is still one left there, the other was hit by a council truck when we were working with the BBC Beach Grove Gardens and Action for Children, teenage girls that won first prize along with a group from Edinburgh. The prize was a trip to America, New York and then right on to Washington and the White House. The BBC picked our Girls project to film. They created the picnic area that’s in the Drone picture at the launch with all the children. They also painted the mural on the wall of the building and planted one Hundred and twenty-five trees in the woodlands. I am still in contact with two of the girls.

Over the years, 70’s, 80’s,90’s and in the 20’s the effort is still ongoing, there was a lot of work that Merkinch Community Council have been involved in and an amazing amount of work from Housing, saving the local school from closing and the local Nursery and play areas. We created a Community Woodland in the 90’s, now the Local Nature Reserve. 25 years of Action for Children, the Merkinch Community Centre, and much more, including helping with research on the dolphins (we are all volunteers). We received a medal from the King for all the work we have been involved with and still are. This is just a brief summary of what we have been involved with, to create a better environment, and heighten awareness of what is in our area, which is amazing.

We have had people from all over the world come here and love it. I have a visitors’ book that folk write in from Alaska to Australia, and of course, Inverness, and Merkinch .

Del McClurg, Chair Merkinch Community Council

Day 7

Little Grebe

Little Grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis, Caledonian Canal, Merkinch (photograph)

Found mostly on freshwater but also the shallow sea, Little Grebes feed by diving for small fish, insects and molluscs. At Merkinch, they can be seen on the ponds, on the canal and on the shallow tidal sea area bordering the reserve. They are shy, dive quickly to escape attention and then bob up having swum away underwater. It was this behaviour, which earned them names like ‘water-witch’ and ‘hell diver’ in folklore, a view reinforced by descriptions of the call as sounding like maniacal laughter, they got a negative image which was then built on and reinforced. Their nests are floating structures anchored to vegetation, which look like they would be swept away. When most survived, more accusations of the use of dark magic by the birds followed.

Little Grebe – Tachybaptus ruficollis, Merkinch (photograph)

Little Grebes are seen feeding their chicks feathers and adult birds also sometimes eat feathers themselves. There is a very practical reason for this behaviour. The feathers form a protective lining in the bird’s stomachs offering protection from sharp fish bones and spines on the fins of some of the fish they catch. Little Grebes are not sinister, they have been around for 70 million years and have learned one or two things on the way. The birds seen at Merkinch are residents not migratory, and they are adapted to the landscape and very definitely belong.

Nick Sidle

Little Grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis, Caledonian Canal, Merkinch (photograph)

Sea Pink

Sea Pink – Armeria maritima, Merkinch (photograph)

Also known as Thrift and by several other names, the Sea Pink is a flower found in the wild coastal areas of much of the Northern Hemisphere. They have a remarkable tolerance for high copper concentrations in soil and a metabolism that is adjusted significantly if atmospheric carbon dioxide is high. It is also favoured by high lead levels in soil, which lead to a belief it could cure lead poisoning. It has been used in herbal treatments for a range of other conditions, including in Scotland in the 1700’s  as a cure for Tuberculosis. More prosaically, a treatment made from boiling the whole plant was used by sailors to cure hangovers, possibly a frequently used idea in past times.

Nick Sidle

Jewel Reed Beetle

Jewel Reed Beetle – Plateumaris sericea, Merekinch (photograph)

Notable for its very variable colour, the Jewel Reed Beetle is named from the overlap between all the tints found and the striking colours used in jewellery through the ages.  It has also been known as the Variable Reed Beetle for the same trait.

Nick Sidle

Day 6

Harbour Seal

Harbour Seal – Photo vitulina, Merkinch LNR (photograph)

Found around the coasts of Scotland, Harbour Seals are usually seen hauled out of the sea in groups on the rocks and shore. In the sea, they are observed closer to shore than the Larger Grey Seals. They eat a range of food but fish and crustaceans form the majority of their diet. 

harbour Seal – Photo vitulina, hunting fish (illustration)

Perhaps the main cultural association in Scotland is the lore of the selkies, seals who emerge from the sea, temporarily shed their skins, and walk on land in human form. Seals have also been linked to the souls of the drowned.

Nick Sidle

Harbour Seal – Photo vitulina, Merkinch LNR (photograph)

European Honeysuckle

European Honeysuckle – Lonicera periclymenum, Merkinch LNR (photograph)

Seen throughout Scotland, the Honeysuckle is mostly found as a climbing plant twining clockwise around trees and woody shrubs. Its scent is strongest at night to attract pollinating moths. Widely thought of as a positive force in magic, the Honeysuckle was particularly used around May 1^st to protect against dark forces appearing in wreaths, especially around barns and livestock. In Moray in the 1700’s, there are records of sick children being passed three times through a wreath of Honeysuckle lowered over their heads to treat them. Honeysuckle growing around the door of a house would protect the family living there and Honeysuckle was also associated with strength of love and in Scotland was used in wedding ceremonies. Honeysuckle flowering near a house was regarded as a sign of a wedding within a year.

Nick Sidle

European Holly

European Holly – Ilex aquifolium, Merekinch LNR (photograph)

An evergreen shrub common throughout Scotland and Britain and in folklore widely believed to protect against witches, faeries and evil forces. Partly because of this, it was regarded in most places as a bad omen to cut down a Holly tree, although paradoxically Holly boughs were widely used as decorations at Hogmanay and also at Christmas marking an incorporation of much of the older folklore and beliefs around Holly into Christian celebrations. Its protective qualities were thought in part to simply come from the sharp points on the leaves making it difficult for evil spirits to pass. This mixture of physical and spiritual strengths also meant that when it came to livestock protection, Holly was often used for hedging making an effective fencing to keep the animals in and a barrier to keep evil out. Holly was also planted in Europe close to houses to protect them from thunder storms and Holly became associated with the thunder gods, Thor and Taranis. There is some scientific basis for this, the sharp points on Holly leaves do actually act as miniature lightning conductors providing at least some protection for the tree and adjacent structures.

Nick Sidle

Day 5

European Goldeneye

European Goldeneye – Bucephala clangula, Caledonian Canal, Clachnaharry (photograph)

Mostly seen in the UK as a coastal area visitor from Northern Europe in winter, there is also a small inland breeding population estimated at 200 pairs in Highland Scotland. Even as winter migrants, the Goldeneye is not a common British species but an estimated 21,000 reach the UK each winter. 

European Goldeneye – Bucephala clangula, catching crabs, Carnac Point (photograph)

Feeds by repeatedly diving from the surface and finding mostly molluscs and crustaceans in winter on the coast and aquatic insects in summer inland when it is breeding.

Nick Sidle

European Goldeneye – Bucephala clangula, foraging for crustaceans (illustration)

For an in depth look at the Goldeneye, see the Cùra special feature ‘More Than Just a Duck’

Painted Lady

Painted lady – Vanessa cardui, Merkinch (photograph)

The painted lady is not a full time resident Scottish and UK species. It arrives here in the summer having migrated from Morocco, there is no real evidence for the Painted Lady successfully surviving a winter and it certainly does not do so in any significant numbers. The numbers arriving in the summer vary greatly, with occasional exceptional years like 1996 seeing millions successfully make the journey and other years where total records can be very small with 1967 having only 100 recorded individuals. Once in Britain, a warm summer can mean several generations but there are only a few records of a return migration South in the autumn. Recent research however has suggested that there is a very significant southerly movement but that the return occurs at high altitudes, which is why it has not been noted before. This would mean a round trip journey of 9000 miles made over six consecutive generations of butterflies. When they do arrive, they can be seen almost anywhere but are attracted to thistles, which serve as the food plant for the caterpillars and are a source of nectar for the adults. This butterfly was seen sunning itself on the wooden walkway at the Southern end of the Silver Pool at Merkinch. Scotland has always been a known destination for the migration in the UK but sightings are less common than further South, especially the South coast of England where the butterflies arrive having crossed the channel. It is believed that orientation to the sun is the most important navigational tool for the Painted Lady. With this ability, the Painted Lady has become the most widely distributed butterfly species on earth.

Painted Lady Butterflies – Vanessa cardui, migrating South over South coast of England (illustration)

The name Painted Lady comes from the resemblance of its markings to some cosmetics, especially historically with the use of rouge and white lead and black ‘beauty patches’. There was a short period in England when it was known as The Thistle Butterfly, a name seen long term in the Netherlands and in Spain both themes emerge as it is called Bella Dama o Cardero, The Pretty Lady of the Thistles”.

Nick Sidle

Day 4

River Kingfisher

River Kingfisher – Alcedo atthis, Merkinch (photograph)

Seen in Celtic belief as symbolic of freedom, courage and adventure, described as a ‘living jewel’ and in Greek mythology ascribed the power, if seen by two lovers together, to bless them with eternal happiness, the Kingfisher is a small bird with a great deal to live up to. Add to this that they are said to have the ability to calm a stormy sea, are possibly only able to be seen by people who are righteous and, back to Celtic belief, act as messengers between the mortal world and spiritual realms, but since they move between air and water embody tranquillity, balance and patience, an adult kingfisher has  very real responsibilities carried by its 6 inch (15cm) body. Perhaps that is why so much of their time can be described as ‘gone fishing’

River Kingfisher – Alcedo atthis, Merkinch (photograph)

Nettle-tap Moth

Nettle-tap Moth – Anthophila fabriciana, on Corn Marigold, Merkinch (photograph)

A small daylight flying moth found throughout Scotland and the UK. It is not just Britain or even Europe where the Nettle-tap is seen, the moth is found to the East as far as Japan including China, Afghanistan and Russia and in 2013, was recorded in Canada. The Nettle-tap has stinging nettles as its food plant for the larvae and adults are often seen around nettles during the day. it also comes to rest between flights on nearby flowers. The frequent, highly mobile flights and rapid movements when they first settle on a flower to feed have meant that some descriptions of the Nettle-tap place it in a category of ‘dancers’ amongst the moths and butterflies, giving rise to the ‘tap’ part of the name and making the nettle leaves and flowers its stage. The scientific name, Anthophila fabriciana, translates as ‘Fabricius’s Flower-lover.

Nick Sidle

Day 4 – Merkinch Primary School

Kingfisher

It’s so cute and amazing – Kacey

They are very cute, amazing, cool and colourful – Harper

They are very beautiful and very, very cute – Serena

Nettle-tap Moth

It has aura – Caleb

It is very black, it is so sick – Victor

Day 3

Bottlenose Dolphin

Bottlenose Dolphin – Tursiops truncatus, from Merkinch (photograph)

Not strictly on the reserve but seen from the path along the sea edge at Merkinch, a Bottlenose Dolphin catching Salmon on the rising tide in the deepwater channel in the Beauly Firth. The Moray Firth dolphins are estimated to be a group of 200 centred on the Firth but known to travel widely from it as well. The group are the most Northerly established Bottlenose Dolphin population in the world. They are also sometimes recorded venturing further inland and into the Beauly Firth where they are seen from North Kessock and the Merkinch LNR.

Bottlenose Dolphin – Tursiops truncatus hunting Atlantic Salmon (illustration)

Not just of conservation importance, the Moray Firth dolphins are estimated to bring at least £4 million to the Scottish economy each year through tourism.

Bottlenose Dolphin – Tursiops truncatus, from Merkinch (photograph)

Bottlenose Dolphins are large, up to 4m long, very acrobatic and fast, and can be aggressive to each other and rival cetaceans, especially the Harbour Porpoise. In Celtic lore, they are generally thought of as positive spirits and some Celtic traditions see them as ‘The Watcher of the Waters’, guardians of the sea and aquatic realms. To seafarers they are seen as good luck and even  protectors who could guide ships to safety.

Nick Sidle

One particular and much loved Dolphin that was seen in the Beauly Firth was given the name ‘Kess’. She was first recorded in 1990 and kept returning up to her death in 1998 when her body was found on a Nairn beach. She suffered from scoliosis and kyphosis, meaning that her spine was excessively curved sideways and vertically but appeared to be very active and a high status individual, who also gave birth to four calves two of which survived to adulthood. When she died, sightings in the Beauly Firth dropped sharply and one possibility is that her high status meant she was followed and there was something in the Firth that had appealed to her as a setting.

Story shared by Dell McClurg

Common Carder Bee

The most numerous of the bumblebees and making a surface nest usually amongst dense vegetation, Common Carder Bees have pollen baskets on their hind legs to carry pollen back to the nest. There they build wax pockets at the base, which are filled with pollen as a food source for the larvae as they hatch.

Common Carder Bee – Bombus pascuorum, Merkinch (photograph)

Customs in Scotland identify bees as essentially sacred and important parts of the natural world. Specific customs mostly centre on kept bee hives, which were regarded almost as part of the family, and Scotland shared the belief of ‘telling the bees’ with other parts of Europe in which it was a duty to go to a hive and literally tell the bees about important events, births, marriages, deaths, departures, arrivals affecting the household, their household. If this was not done, then the bees could desert the hive, stop producing honey or die. However, this is regarded today scientifically, modern mental health care would fully recognise the value of verbally telling the story of major life events, there may have been a very real supportive value in the tradition and whist the duty was to a family bee hive you cared for, a story could also be told to wild bees if you wanted to, they would be good listeners.

Nick Sidle

Day 3 – Merkinch Primary School

The dolphin is so cute eating the fish – Iris

The dolphin is adorable and soooo cute. I would like to swim with them – Tom

Carder Bee – It’s so pretty, cute and fluffy – Hollie

Day 2

Merkinch Month Launch

On Friday, May 1st, ‘Merkinch Month on Cùra’ was launched at Merkinch Nature Reserve with some of the main individuals and organisations who have come together to be part of this project. Merkinch Nature Reserve is a ‘hidden gem’, a nature reserve on the edge of the city of Inverness. What started as marshland and industrial wasteland has become a rich habitat for a wide range of animals and plants, including some of the endangered species in the UK today.

Now, for one month, from May 1st- 31st  the Reserve is the focus of a special feature on Cùra Guardian. What makes it so appropriate is the abundance of stories of the natural world connected with it, incorporating the latest environmental science, cultural story and history. Each ‘Merkinch Month’ day opens with a photograph of one of the species found on the Reserve taken by Nick Sidle and some of the facts behind it, then added to with contributions from people who work on or live near the Reserve. Many of Nick’s photographs are posted on Flickr and have just reached a milestone of over 6m views from a global audience. These albums provide the backbone of Cùra Guardian from which the rest follows. 

River Kingfisher – Alcedo atthis, Merkinch (photograph)

Just one example of the many connections being made in this project, relates to the Kingfisher. This has become the route to connect with another of Cùra Guardian’s partners, in Kisumu, Kenya. The latest ‘Feature Story’ is on the theme of Lake Victoria, their local lake and the second largest freshwater lake in the world, also home to the Kingfisher but now badly impacted by plastic pollution and climate change (https://curaearth.com/the-tale-of-nam-lolwe/). Despite the difference in size, there are common issues affecting both locations which is helping to forge this unique link building to a special interaction later in the month.

Photograph – Merkinch Month launch

The invited guests on Friday, all supporting the project and pictured here against the splendid backdrop of the Reserve were Cllr Chris Ballance, Cllr Michael Gregson, Merkinch Local Nature Reserve Chair – Ali Locke, Chair of the Community Council and Merkinch Nature Reserve Board Member – Dell McClurg, volunteers who work on the Reserve, Inverness Ranger – John Orr, PC Katie Johnstone – Highland & Islands Community Beats police officer and an important part of the Merkinch community, Caledonian Canal – Rebekah Stevenson, Highlands & Islands Climate Hub – Aisling Phillips. All emphasised the importance of reaching the next generation, and the presence of Corinne MacCallum and the children from Merkinch Primary School completed the photograph perfectly.

Photograph – Merkinch Month launch

In the run up to the event there was also a demonstration of just how good the wildlife experience at the reserve can be. Nick, our photographer, was there early and had just under an hour to go for a walk with his camera before everyone arrived. These are just a few of the things he saw and photographed in just that hour.

Sitakumari, Director, Heartstone

Northern Wren – Troglodytes troglodytes, displaying. Merkinch (photograph)

Grey Heron – Ardea cinerea, fishing. Merkinch (photograph)

Dunnock – Prunella modularis, displaying. Merkinch (photograph)

European Greenfinch – Carduelis chloris, Merkinch (photograph)

Willow Warbler – Phylloscopus trochilus, Merkinch (photograph)

Day 1

Eurasian Curlew

Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata, Merkinch (photograph)

Curlew, celebrated in poetry going back well over 1000 years, ‘I take my gladness in the sound of the curlew instead of the laughter of men’, the Curlew has almost been defined and named by its call. Curlew, as a name from its song, definitely dates back to 1340 CE and this is one of the more recent references. The call can be eerie and is often associated with the supernatural and the song of the Curlew has been described as being from something half spirit and half bird. Curlews are thought to be the origin of ‘The Seven Whistlers’, mysterious birds flying at night whose calls from another world predict disaster.

Eurasian Curlew – Numenius arquata, Merkinch (photograph)

It is the Curlew itself however which is under threat, numbers have declined in Scotland more than 60% in just over 20 years.

Nick Sidle

Sea Aster

Sea Aster – Tripolium pannonicum, Merkinch (photograph)

The Sea Aster is found in coastal habitats and was once popular in gardens until it was displaced by the introduction of the related Michaelmas Daisy from America in the 1600’s. It was used as a herbal treatment for wounds and an antidote to some poisons as well as having a medicinal use for eye diseases. It is also mentioned as the birthday flower for 1^st May making it very appropriate for the first floral encounter in Cùra Merkinch Month. The name Aster comes from the Greek goddess Astraea and the flowers were said to come from her tears which turned to stardust and then made the flowers when it fell to earth.

Nick Sidle

Day 1 – Merkinch Primary School

The Curlew is a chicken with a trumpet! LOL – Iris

Sunset from Merkinch Nature Reserve (photograph)

Photographs (or as attributed) and illustrations ©Nick Sidle, all rights reserved