Wildlife in the Vale of Leven
Our thanks again to regular contributor Benjy Boyle for these 6 wild-life photos taken at various place in the Vale and on the Loch in the past 2 years.
White Deer. This was taken on the Burial Island, Inchcaillach. Benjy was coming down the path from the grave-yard to the jetty when he came virtually face-to-face with this albino roe deer stag. It paid no attention to Benjy but continued to graze until he got his camera out, which was when it turned to look straight at him and Benjy got a hurried shot. The stag then sauntered off into the undergrowth in its own time, completely unfazed by Benjy’s presence. As most people who have encountered roe deer will know, they usually flee humans. However, when they are on the islands on the Loch, they seem to have less fear of humans and although they will usually move off, quite often they do so slowly.
There have been albino stags between Balmaha and Luss for many years – the string of islands across the Loch more or less between the two villages has been a migration route for deer since time immemorial. The first sighting of a white stag of which we have a record was more than 50 years ago, when one was spotted swimming with some hinds between Inchfad and Inconnachan, but it’s very likely they go back a lot further than that around the Loch. Since that first sighting they have been spotted quite regularly by anglers, walkers, farmers and, very early in the morning, by workers on the Loch Lomond Golf Course. This is, however, the first photo of one which we have seen.
We have termed the deer “albino”, but in fact no zoologist has confirmed that they actually are albino and there may be another explanation for their colour.
Fox breaks cover on Pappert Hill. The fox used to be a completely rural animal, rarely seen in the Vale other in any other urban setting. That has changed substantially and throughout the country it has become something of an urban pest with its raids on dustbins and fondness for cats. In the Vale houses have encroached on its habitat and although this photo was taken not far from houses, it was in the sort of surroundings which the fox could rightly claim to be its own.
Injured Roe Deer in the Snow. At first when Benjy caught sight of this deer he was surprised that it did not make off more quickly than it did, but when it did turn to run it seemed that it might have an injury to one of its rear legs. Sure enough a day or so later Benjy found its carcass about half a mile from where this photo was taken.
Heron standing on the banks of the Leven. The heron is one of the most frequently seen birds in the Vale, although people don’t usually realise they’re looking at it – Alexandria Fountain is topped by a figure of a heron.
Although it is not exactly common and is rarely seen more than a few hundred yards from water, a stroll along the banks of the Leven, particularly but not exclusively the tidal stretch, will often bring you into contact with a heron.
Roe deer on the skyline at Pappert. There are many roe deer on the hills on both sides of the Vale and in the countryside to the north on both sides of the Loch.
Although they are by nature timorous and avoid contact with humans, the severity of the last couple of winters has brought them down into people’s gardens, which has been a pleasant surprise for many householders first thing on a winter’s morning.
A Buzzard on Pappert Hill. Changes in land use and management in the Scottish countryside has seen a huge rise in the population of birds of prey of all types in the past fifty years. In the Vale forty years ago, birds of prey were a rarity and few people could have distinguished between them because they never saw one.
There was supposed to be a pair of buzzards based somewhere about the Black Woods which worked the east side of the Vale from about the Stirling Bridge to the Lions Gates. There was also a pair of peregrine falcons somewhere up about Arden, and that was it.
No sparrow-hawks were recorded. The nearest magpies, which technically aren’t birds of prey, but they don’t know that although the small birds certainly do, were at Drymen Bridge. Now there’s a surfeit of birds of prey and we in the Vale have lost a considerable part of our small bird population. A pair of buzzards probably still nest up to-wards Pappert, but they have been joined by many others along and across the Vale.
Another pair of buzzards can often be seen covering the wider area from the Auchencarroch road at Westerton over to the Boturich road.
The White Rainbow
This is not about wildlife, more of a natural phenomenon. On 7 February this year it was very foggy in the Vale. I decided to go for a walk and to get above the fog line. I started up the Boturich road and as I came through the edge of fog into bright sunshine I saw what looked like a white rainbow.
Unfortunately the only camera I had with me was on my mobile phone and I struggled to find a position where I could get a shot of this. By the time I got this one it had started to fade but it is still clearly visible. My subsequent research suggests that this is quite rare and actually called a "Fogbow".
"Rainbows are formed by raindrops which are so large that rays passing through them follow well defined 'geometrical optics' paths. With the very finest droplets, such as those forming mist or fog, the light is no longer reflected and refracted within the drops, but is diffracted by them instead to produce a much broader and pale bow - the fogbow. In other words the fog and mist droplets are too small to refract light. Light hitting the tiny droplets merges into white, rather than being separated into rainbow colours. "
