Screivin on willyart beasties

Friday, the first day of the 2010 Mountain Festival, and it seemed that the Red Squirrels had planned to steal all the lime light. Even before I was fifty metres down the road from Lochranza one had winkled its nose at me from a hawthorn tree while a second bounded across the road. At Sannox third russet rascal showed that it was Sciurus vulgaris and not cyclists, riders or walkers that I had to give way to. Despite their best efforts to distract myself, and the five other navigators, from orienteering around Brodick Castle the wildlife highlight of the day was lurking in the waters off Corrrie; a nine metre basking shark swimming back and forth opposite Corrie Primary School.

Saturday was the day of the Northern Eggar Moth caterpillar. While we paced on fixed bearings through bracken and heather intent on demonstrating our competence with the compass, they concentrated on gorging on the heather and competing to see who could do the best impression of a brown furry stripped chipolata.

Sunday I hoped to catch a glimpse of a ptarmigan on Beinn Bharrain, at the southernmost edge of their range in Scotland. However it was Red Grouse that encouraged us to go-back; despite frequent their exhortations we stayed the course to claim Arran’s sole Graham.

Monday the weather front, which the day before had moved north, rolled back overnight to park itself over Glen Sannox and Cir Mhor. And so it seemed that the only wildlife on view was clad in waterproofs of varied hues milling around the car park at Sannox Bay. Little did we appreciate the treats, avian, entomologic, herpetologic, and mammalian that awaited us in Glen Rosa.

As we dropping down towards Fionn Choire two Red Deer hinds crossed over ahead of us to join a third on the meadow below the Mauvais Pas on the A’ Chir ridge. With the lower skirts of the sirrus clouds shredding over the granite tors of A’ Chir we paused on our descent to see how many deer we could spy in the inner sanctum of Coire Buidhe.

Descending further down into Glen Rosa we gazed up the eastern wall of the valley to watch tree Golden eagles wheel and gyre over the Stacach Ridge and North Goatfell. Strangely it was the oldest member of the group that first spotted them as the youngsters fumbled to clean the rain smudges off their glasses. The eagles presaged the return of the sun but obviously not soon enough for the male Adder basking on the footpath by the close to the Garbh Allt footbridge. As he we stood around watching him he failed to spot the Mottled Grasshopper perched on his coils, until finally a passing shadow sent him on his way.

Our final animal encounter was awaiting us as Glen Rosa turned eastward below Glenshant Hill. On the hillside below Creag Rosa a recent landslide scar revealed itself to be a Meerkat gazing back up the glen to the shy peaks which finally cast aside their dreich shrouds to catch the warmth of the autumnal sun.

Chae