As late summer rapidly merges into early autumn there is much of great interest to see in terms of the local flora and fauna.

A stroll along the riverside walk reveals some of the later flowering plants such as: devils’ bit scabious, Succisa pratensis, with its’ characteristic purple flowering head; St.John’s wort, Hypericum perforatum, with a yellow star like flower, well known in herbal medicine for its positive effects on seasonal affective disorder and bitter vetch, Lathyrus linifolius, with its pinky purple pea like flower. The aniseed tasting, nut like, root of the bitter vetch was traditionally used to sweeten the breath after drinking whisky and today it is the subject of research into its potential as an appetite suppressant, which may lead to it being grown commercially in the future. The deep purple flowers of self heal, Prunella vulgaris, are also still evident, as its common name suggests, this was regarded as a cure all with the flowers collected in the late summer, dried and then saved for use over winter often as a cough mixture. Other plants still flowering include: eyebright, Euphrasia sp, used in herbal medicine to treat eye infections, tormentil, Potentilla erecta, knapweed, Centaurea nigra, red clover, Trifolium pratense, which is lovely in salads and the occasional foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, from which the heart medicine digitalis is derived.

Historically this would have been a very important time for our ancestors as nuts and berries would have been harvested in preparation for the winter ahead. Carnoch hazelwood behind the campsite is still a good collecting ground today, with hazel, Corylus avellana, nuts weight for weight having 50% more protein than eggs, see the fact sheet for more information on this fascinating species. Carnoch is also a good collecting ground for the now ripening brambles, Rubus fruticosus.

Another useful species is the wild rose, Rosa canina, a few months ago the petals could be harvested to make a lovely jam and now the vitamin C rich rosehips are ready they can be made into syrup, cordial or wine. The hairy seeds inside the fruit making an excellent itching powder!

Other common native trees and shrubs with useful autumn berries include: hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna, where the fruit can be made into a delicious form of fruit leather, as demonstrated on the Ray Mears Wild Food series; rowan, Sorbus aucuparia, where the easily collected bright red berries can be made into a tart jelly to accompany meat and elder, Sambucus nigra, where the small purple fruits can now be harvested, boiled up with sugar, cloves and orange juice, strained and made into a very effective and tasty winter cough remedy. Another local delight is the wild cherry, Prunus avium, a few of which are scattered around the policy woodlands, although this year was extremely poor for fruit production.

As well as the native species, the non native beech, Fagus sylvatica, and horse chestnut, Aesculus hippocastanum, are also fruiting, beech nuts can be roasted and the horse chestnut bears the ever popular conker, the vicinity of the deer larder being particularly good. It is worth noting that the beach trees of the policy woodlands are often covered with a leafy lichen called lungwort, Lobaria pulmonaria, which is regarded as nationally rare. Lichens are very good indicators of pollution levels, showing Applecross has particularly clean air. This lichen, as indicated by its common name, resembles the pattern of the bronchioles in the lungs and interestingly has been reputedly used as a cough remedy.

A stroll around the Roes Walk may also reveal another joy of late summer, the chanterelle, Cantharellus cibarius. This whole area is bountiful in wild mushrooms as well as the edible species including chanterelles and ceps, Boletus edulis, there are also many poisonous species here including a spectacular show just now of the fly agarics, Amanita muscaria. Attractive as the rhododendron tunnels are, Rhododendron ponticum is very invasive and causes problems for native species. A native, but invasive species which is very common here is the still flowering yellow ragwort; Senecio jacobaea, a member of the daisy family, ragwort is harmful to horses and it is common to see piles of the pulled up plant around the estate.

Looking at the animal life of the area; the pine marten, Martes Martes, although regarded as nationally scarce is still common in the north west highlands. This is a good time of year to at least see evidence of them, often in the form of spraint full of rowan berries. Pipistrelle, Pipistrellus pipistrellus, and daubenton’s, Myotis daubentoni, bats are both found here, and both are listed as priority species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. The young pipistrelle bats are born in nursing roosts in July, these are often under the roof slates, and the young bats first fly at about three weeks. From about twenty minutes after sunset the twisting and diving flight of the bats is easily seen.

Otters, Lutra lutra, toads, Bufo bufo, frogs, Rana temporaria, slow worms, Anguis fragilis and adders, Vipera berus, have all been seen throughout the summer, with one dog receiving an adder bite on the Applecross to Kenmore path. Young adders are normally born around now, however if it turns unusually cold the mother will continue pregnancy throughout hibernation and give birth next year.

Ascending over the Beallach mountain hares, Lepus timidus, may be seen, although as winter approaches and they turn white they are more easily seen, unless of course it’s snowy.

Of the resident bird population blackbird, Turdus merula, blue tit, Parus caeruleus, coal tit, Parus ater, great tit, Parus major, chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs, robin, Erithacus rubecula, heron, Ardea cinerea, buzzard, Buteo buteo, and tawny owl, Strix aluco are all commonly seen. By now the adult cuckoos, Cuculus canorus, have probably flown south for the winter, the chicks follow about a month after the adults, some of the visiting geese, Anser sp have been seen flying south and the swallows, Hirundo rustica, are also leaving.

Winter visitors soon to come to Milton Loch are the whooper swans, Cygnus cygnus.

Looking at coastal activity, it was another good season for mackerel fishing, razor fish, Ensis siliqua, can still be found at Sand at the lowest tides through the autumn. There was a surprising lack of jelly fish this summer, lions mane jellyfish, Chrysaora isosceles, which have a particularly nasty sting were largely absent and very few moon jelly fish, Aurelia aurita, were seen either.

The present deep purple of the moorland is largely due to the flowering bell heather, Erica cinerea. Common heather, Calluna vulgaris, crossleaved heath, Erica tetralix, the sticky leaved insectivorous sundews, Drosera sp. and butterworts, Pinguicula vulgaris, and the yellow flowering stems of bog asphodel, Narthecium ossifragum , which can be used as a saffron substitute are also present, along with beautiful bog mosses, Sphagnum sp. and many species of grass and sedge.

For more information on some of the priority habitats and species of the area refer to the species fact sheets.