Paisley Natural History Society

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,Continue 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 aContinue 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 youContinue 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 ourContinue 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 GovernmentContinue 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 theContinue 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,Continue 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 justContinue reading "Streak of the Purple Hairstreak"

Glorious grasslands

PNHS has had a botany-filled fortnight starting with the first of our study group visits to Whinnerston Braes on 29 June followed by our Beginners Botany outing on 6 July. Whinnerston Braes is a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its flower-rich grassland and a group of us went along to have a look andContinue reading "Glorious grasslands"

Jenny’s Well events, Sunday 11 June

There's lots of exciting activities happening at Jenny's Well Nature Reserve this coming Sunday 11 June. Friends of Jenny's Well are holding a celebration of World Environment Day from 11am till 2pm and then from 2.30pm onwards Paisley Natural History Society are having a bioblitz. All are welcome to come along and join in. WorldContinue reading "Jenny’s Well events, Sunday 11 June"