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Bursaries for natural history courses

Bursaries of up to £400 available for natural history courses Looking to improve your plant ID skills? Interested in recording and identifying wasps? Or would you like to learn how to track mammals? Since 2009, Biological Recording in Scotland (BRISC) and the Glasgow Natural History Society (GNHS) have been offering bursaries for natural history training courses. These bursariesContinueContinue reading “Bursaries for natural history courses”

New Year plant hunt

Two people dressed in waterproofs wearing backpacks and woolly hats bending over looking at plants on the ground. They are standing at the edge of a cobbled lane with stone walls on either side.

Plans for outings are always at the mercy of the weather at this time of year. However, on the morning of the 30th December, the weather looked promising, some sleat was forecast but otherwise it was a dry, clear day. Seven people showed up looking forward to hunting for for wild plants in flower around Oakshaw, Paisley. ContinueContinue reading “New Year plant hunt”

Please help save Coul Links AGAIN!

Screengrab with photograph of coastline with title 'Save Coul Links' and text below

Highland Council votes to grant permission for golf course development despite overwhelming opposition. The Conservation Coalition asks for your help to stop this. Councillors voted by eight in favour, six against to allow the plans by developer C4C for Coul Links, near Embo in East Sutherland, against the advice of Highland Council’s own planning officers,ContinueContinue reading “Please help save Coul Links AGAIN!”

Help with Lichens

twig with a number of different lichens one bushy, one foliose and the rest crust-like with colours ranging from grey, orange and black

Offer of Zoom sessions and short outings Following the talk he gave for PNHS in November, Craig Postlethwaite has offered to run a few short zoom calls to show common lichens and the relevant identification characteristics from the Field Studies Council guides e.g. terminal soredia on Parmelia sulcata. He could then follow up with aContinueContinue reading “Help with Lichens”

Call for Bog Squad volunteers

Group of people with saws cutting down young birch trees

Butterfly Conservation are running a couple of Bog Squad work parties at Sergeantlaw Moss this winter and looking for volunteers to come along and help out. Weather permitting the days are:Saturday 2nd DecemberandSaturday 13th JanuaryTime: 10am – 3pm (but leaving early is not a problem)Tools are supplied and gloves if you want them, but youContinueContinue reading “Call for Bog Squad volunteers”

Celebrating Brocktober!

It’s October – time to celebrate the Badger. The charity Scottish Badgers organise the month-long Brocktober festival to raise awareness of badgers and the issues they face. Entering into the spirit of the festival, Paisley Natural History Society are delighted that Joe Connelly, Species Protection/Information Officer with Scottish Badgers, is giving the talk at ourContinueContinue reading “Celebrating Brocktober!”

Peatlands of Gleniffer

Bog with clumps of flowering yellow Bog Asphodel and pink Cross-leaved Heath in foreground and grassy hill with trees in background

Introduction The general area occupying undulating and slightly elevated land to the the south of Paisley is part of the Gleniffer Braes. As can be seen from the soil map below there are substantial areas of peatland within this area. Some are intact and some degraded or afforested. ©Crown Copyright Scotland’s Soils maps, Scottish GovernmentContinueContinue reading “Peatlands of Gleniffer”

Welcome to the 2023/24 talks programme

Message from our Chair Hi Everyone I hope you’ve all had a marvellous summer being out and about in the field, looking at our amazing natural history – home or abroad. Please send in your pictures too, either on Facebook, Twitter and hopefully we’ll have our own Instagram site up and running too in theContinueContinue reading “Welcome to the 2023/24 talks programme”

Fraser Hamilton

We were saddened to hear that one of our members, Fraser Hamilton, died on 9th August. Fraser was a longstanding and stalwart member of the PHNS. He was a keen hillwalker and bird watcher, and often used to go out on trips with other members of the society. Sadly in recent years, he developed Parkinson’s,ContinueContinue reading “Fraser Hamilton”

Streak of the Purple Hairstreak

PNHS member, Kirsty Menzies, has had another successful year raising Purple Hairstreak butterflies from eggs collected from windblown twigs at Hurlethill. This year she managed to raise 10 butterflies, all males, and was lucky enough to see one emerge from its chrysalis. Here you can see the butterfly streaking across an old oak leaf justContinueContinue reading “Streak of the Purple Hairstreak”