Six of us took the car ferry over to Whalsay, the sixth largest of the Shetland islands. Three of us headed over to Challister to record in a coastal monad including the edge of Loch Vats-houll. We found around 85 species.
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| Leaving mainland Shetland behind |
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| View from the ferry |
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| Sheep's-bit (Jasione montana) | |
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| Large frog |
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| Ragged Robin and Marsh Ragwort growing by the Loch |
Our second monad included the East Loch of Skaw. Here we found two different Eyebrights which we collected for identification and potential candidates for whole genome sequencing. We recorded 66 species in this monad giving our group a total of around 95 species for the island. There was noticeably less diversity than on the mainland, especially amongst the sedges, but this made it all the more interesting.
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| Eyebright growing in a grassy patch between coastal rocks |
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Collecting Eyebrights
Photo: B. Ellis |
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| Scots Lovage (Ligusticum scoticum) |
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| Eyebright growing in short grassland by the golf course |
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Failing to reach the Sparganium bed
Photo: B. Ellis
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| White flowered Sheep's-bit (Jasione montana) |
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| Northern
Buckler-fern (Dryopteris expansa) |
Botanical highlights: Ligusticum scoticum, Sparganium angustifolium, Dryopteris
expansa
Non-botanical highlight: Ferry trip
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