The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)

MAKING THE MOST OF MARVELS OF MACHAIR

The rich landscape of South Uist’s low-lying grassy plains provides the perfect environmen­t for a host of wildflower­s, insects and birds

- With Keith Broomfield

Polka-dotted with the golden blooms of buttercups and silverweed, this wondrous machair on South Uist stretched as far as the eye could see, a verdant carpet of life that brimmed with the wild calls of breeding waders. This was heaven on earth, the air crystal clear, the sun shining warm, and only the gentlest of breezes ruffling the grasses and abundant wildflower­s.

THE BIRDS HAVE A WORD

A lapwing took to the air on broad, floppy wings and wheeled above me, calling “pee-wee, pee-wee” all the while. It had chicks nearby and was concerned by my presence, trying to draw me away with its persistent low passes.

Another bird called, a rattling purr, unfamiliar in tone and one which I didn’t immediatel­y recognise. A small

brown wader materialis­ed in the short tangle of grass and wildflower­s ahead of me – a dunlin, looking resplenden­t with its lightly streaked fawn breast and black underbelly.

Dunlins are charismati­c little birds, often seen by our shorelines in winter

in large wheeling flocks, but are much less frequently encountere­d on their summer breeding grounds on the hills and coasts of northern Scotland.

A redshank was also making its presence felt, perched on a fence post, uttering short, high-pitched calls. A pair of oystercatc­hers lingered not too far away, their black and white plumage contrastin­g starkly with the green, flower-patterned machair.

Then, the strangest of noises – a rasping “crek, crek” – from deep within a damp flush where a sweep of yellow flag irises prospered. A corncrake had spoken and fallen swiftly silent once more.

A summer visitor from Africa, the corncrake is one of our most mysterious and secretive birds. Not much bigger than a mistle thrush, they are scarce breeders in Scotland, confined mainly to the Hebrides and Orkney.

Related to coots and moorhens, but adopting a dry-land existence, they lurk in thick grass and other vegetation, with their brown cryptic plumage making

them extremely difficult to spot.

FALLING FOR THE PLAIN

After a while, I sat on a lichen-encrusted rock and breathed in the wildness of the landscape. Machair is a Gaelic word and means a fertile low-lying grassy plain. The underlying substrate is comprised of calcium-rich shell-sand, blown in from the wild Atlantic over the millennia, creating one of the world’s rarest habitats, but one which typifies the western fringes of the Uists and some other exposed western coasts of Scotland and Ireland.

Such areas have been low intensity farmed by crofters for generation­s, creating a rich landscape where wildflower­s and bumblebees abound. It is a colour tapestry that never fails to impress.

As I was about to rise to my feet, a harsh “kark, kark” filled the air. I glanced up in time to see a red-throated diver swoop overhead on fast-beating wings. It was heading towards its fishing grounds out at sea; the urgency of its flight indicating that it had hungry youngsters to feed, which were probably lying low by the edge of a nearby

lily-fringed lochan.

INFORMATIO­N

Many different types of wildflower occur on the machair, including red and white clover, tufted vetch, kidney vetch, red bartsia, eyebright, lady’s bedstraw and northern marsh orchid.

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 ??  ?? The wide green spaces are home to many wildflower species and provide perfect cover for birds and other wildlife.
The wide green spaces are home to many wildflower species and provide perfect cover for birds and other wildlife.

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