Iona.

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After a serious soaking cycling across Mull, I got to spend several (mostly) sun drenched days on Iona. Albeit with a chilly north wind.

There was loads of lovely birdlife. The male were in show off mode so lots of singing, and displaying. Their brilliant super plummage in perfect condition.

The corncrakes hadn't arrived yet. But it was brilliant to see a few twite. I don't often come across them.

Iona and Derry share the St Colmcille connection. Which is no doubt partly why I love visiting it so much.

I went to the service in the Abbey on Sunday morning. Very nice prayer service with an excellent sermon by a lady Methodist Minister, about looking after our wee planet, climate change etc. She referenced the recent landmark case in the ECHR won by a group of Swiss ladies and the funeral for the planet held on Earth Day in Bath. I couldn't help feeling Colmcille and the ancient Celtuc Church would have approved.

I love the way that ferns are allowed to grow naturally on the walls and window sills inside the Abbey.

The north side of the island, looking towards Staffa and The Treshnish Isles is relatively flat and has short grass as it is grazed by farm animals. I went for a couple of evening walks in that direction as the sun shines over your shoulder lighting up Staffa and the hillside of Ardnamurchan beyond. Both times I was treated to views of red throated and great northern divers in their spectacular breeding plumages.

The southern end of Iona is much more rugged. It has a mountain feel of rocks, little mini-peaks and bog. I spent an afternoon wandering around it. I sat for an hour or so seawatching from a rocky promontory that sits in the middle of the boulder beach on which Colmcille landed in the sixth century.

After a wet morning the sun had now broken through. Looking south I could see Islay, and the Paps of Jura. Both of these can be seen from the hills near home, so it really doesn't feel all that far away.

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Photos

Twite
This is one of the species I rarely see near home. I'm sure I must have overlooked them many times.

Sharing breakfast with a vey hungry bee.
I found thsi poor bumble bee staggering and rolling around on the worktop in the little kitchen one morning. A friend of mine said he has feed sugar solution to hungry bees on several occasions. I had no sugar, so I put a drop of honey on the worktop. After twenty minutes of gulping it down, she was buzzing against the window. flew off strongly.