Tag Archives: Scotland

Bearing Down on Ursid Toponyms

Posted on February 19, 2021 by NatureScot

Wild bears have long gone from Scotland’s landscape but echoes of them remain in our place-names … Read in Gaelic It’s far from clear when European brown bears became extinct in Scotland, but it wasn’t yesterday, and it is therefore … Continue reading →

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Mac-talla a’ Mhathain air Tìr

Posted on February 19, 2021 by NatureScot

ʼS fhada on a dh’fhalbh na mathain fhiadhaich mu dheireadh, ach tha na creutairean seo a’ nochdadh – an siud ʼs an seo – nar n-ainmean-àite fhathast … Read in English Chan eil e soilleir cuin a bhàsaich am mathan … Continue reading →

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Land at the heart of nature-based-solutions

Posted on January 29, 2021 by NatureScot

Transforming how we use land is an  essential  part  of our  response  to  the  climate  emergency. Great  progress  could  be  made  rapidly  in  agriculture,  forestry  and  other  land  uses  by  using  existing  technologies. But we will need to go further … Continue reading →

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Soilleireachadh ‘dubhair’ air mapaichean / Shedding light on toponymic ‘darkness’

Posted on January 21, 2021 by NatureScot

Airson ainmean-àite le ‘dubh’ a thuigsinn, ʼs dòcha gum feumar coimhead air slighe na grèine / To interpret place-names with the descriptor ‘dubh’ you may need to look at the path of the sun … Soilleireachadh ‘dubhair’ air mapaichean Is … Continue reading →

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Cairt-làir – lus beag le cliù mòr / Tormentil – little plant with a big reputation

Posted on December 11, 2020 by NatureScot

Ged a tha e beag, tha dualchas iongantach aig a’ chairt-làir, gu h-àraidh am measg nan Gàidheal / Tormentil might be small and little celebrated today, but it played a substantial role in the social history of northern Scotland … … Continue reading →

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Scotland’s Giant Mozzies

Posted on December 7, 2020 by NatureScot

We’ve had several reports recently from people who have been attacked by ‘giant mosquitos’, asking whether this is ‘normal’ in Scotland. The short answer is yes, it is normal, there are several native species of mosquito in Scotland. Some species … Continue reading →

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‘Sneachd’ air Aghaidh na Tìre / ‘Snow’ in the Gaelic Landscape

Posted on November 19, 2020 by NatureScot

Faodaidh ainmean-àite le sneachd innse dhuinn mu àiteachan far an laigh an stuth geal sa gheamhradh, agus àiteachan a thaisbeanadh a dhearbhas dhuinn buaidh blàthachadh na h-aimsire / Gaelic place-names with sneachd can help to inform our understanding of the … Continue reading →

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The Herald of Winter – and other November fungi

Posted on November 13, 2020 by NatureScot

As the trees turn bare and opportunities for momijigari diminish – a Japanese word for admiring the colours of autumn leaves – lower your eyes when out on your woodland walks and you’ll find that there are still a good … Continue reading →

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An Ceòl a bu Bhinne Chualas / The Sweetest Music Ever Heard

Posted on October 20, 2020 by NatureScot

Sgrìobh an sàr-bhàrd Donnchadh Bàn Mac an t-Saoir mu a ghràdh do nàdar. ’S dòcha gu bheil a bhàrdachd fhèin a cheart cho airidh air moladh ’s a tha òran nan cearcan monaidh … The master wordsmith Duncan Bàn MacIntyre … Continue reading →

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A quest to learn more about humpback whales in Scotland

Posted on October 9, 2020 by NatureScot

As part of Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters, Ron Macdonald, chair of the North East Biological Records Centre and an avid humpback whale watcher, introduces a blog by Lyndsay Macneill, a talented and enthusiastic citizen scientist who discovered a love of whales … Continue reading →

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