Edith must have had one of the worst weeks for rain since we started letting our chalet, although this didn't dampen their spirits and they were out and about enjoying the area every day. The rain, when combined with very low temperatures, will cause many young birds to be lost. On a couple of days there was fresh snow on the mountain tops and even at lower levels a hail shower on Wednesday left the sides of the roads white (left)! At Forest Lodge one family of swallows died during the week but amazingly a second family survived and adults and three juveniles were zooming round the buildings during some of the sunny spells late in the week. So far no one has seen a brood of capercaillie chicks but we will have to await the results of the official brood counts during the second half of July to see if any chicks have survived. Pedalling home from work on Monday I came across a family of crossbills feeding on the remains of last seasons cone seeds, right by the road. The birds were very obliging and stayed roughly in the same area until I returned with our chalet guests an hour later, two adults with 2-3 youngsters. The young birds were still begging for food fro
m the adults but were also opening up cones for themselves, a good find in this season of crossbill scarcity.With the weather staying cool the swifts, swallows and sand martins have continued to feed over Loch Garten. Could I get a picture of one of the swifts as they zoomed over the water and trees along the loch shore? I cranked up the ISO rating on the camera to 400 which allowed a shutter speed of 1/1000 of a second, and even this wasn't really fast enough to stop the birds in flight. Anybody watching me must have wondered what on earth I was up to, tripod mounted camera swinging wildly back and forth, clicking rapidly whilst following the birds flying closer to the shore. To a degree it worked, and a picture of sorts was obtained. It's only when you see these birds in flight you realise just what superb flying machines they are. A major hatch of flies towards the end of the week saw f
renzied feeding by mallards and goldeneyes with the surface of the loch almost white with emerging flies.
renzied feeding by mallards and goldeneyes with the surface of the loch almost white with emerging flies. The aftermath of last week's thunderstorm has started to become apparent. Going into work on Monday I came across a big tree, right by the track, with a huge scar running from high up in its crown right down to the ground. Lumps of bark were everywhere, and where the lightening had entered the ground there was a fair sized hole. This is the second lightening strike tree found close to Forest Lodge showing the storm, at its worst, was right over the lodge itself. It's a pity it wasn't at night as it would have made an even more incredible spectacle! Will the tree survive? I am not too sure. The hole in the bark shouldn't pose too many problems, but what will become of the outer sap wood of the tree I am not sure. Three trees hit by a less severe storm a few years ago are all dead but an old "Granny pine" in the woods near Tulloch survived a strike in the 1970's. Ouch!
A walk around the hill supporting the impressive Duke of Gordon's monument (right, just popping out from the trees), close to Aviemore was very rewarding. Seven herons were feeding in the loch, an osprey thought about diving for a fish before heading off to the fish farm at Aviemore, a water rail was heard squealing and a total of 41 species of birds were seen or - the norm for me - heard. I know little about the monument itself apart from the fact 
that it was supposed to have been "hewn" from a ninety foot block of granite. One to research for a future diary page. Progress along the track was slow as there were so many other things to see. First were the patches of chickweed wintergreen (left) Trientalis europaea, growing under the Scots pines, with a clump of common wintergreen (Pyrola minor) nearby. Yellow flowers of common cow-wheat Melampyrum pratense were everywhere, and in the damper ground the heads of melancholy thistles stood t
all and impressive. Something oddly coloured caught my eye on the top of one of these flower-heads and, for the first time in years I had come across a bee beetle Trichius fasciatus. The beetle (right) is a an extremely hairy beetle with wasp, or bee -like black and orange-yellow markings on its elytra (wing cases - yes, as with most beetles it can fly); thorax and abdomen buffish brown. Adults are seen from June to September and visit flowers including thistles and thyme. The beetle is mostly associated with upland areas, and isn't that common. It occurs locally in N Wales, N England and Scotland.
that it was supposed to have been "hewn" from a ninety foot block of granite. One to research for a future diary page. Progress along the track was slow as there were so many other things to see. First were the patches of chickweed wintergreen (left) Trientalis europaea, growing under the Scots pines, with a clump of common wintergreen (Pyrola minor) nearby. Yellow flowers of common cow-wheat Melampyrum pratense were everywhere, and in the damper ground the heads of melancholy thistles stood t
all and impressive. Something oddly coloured caught my eye on the top of one of these flower-heads and, for the first time in years I had come across a bee beetle Trichius fasciatus. The beetle (right) is a an extremely hairy beetle with wasp, or bee -like black and orange-yellow markings on its elytra (wing cases - yes, as with most beetles it can fly); thorax and abdomen buffish brown. Adults are seen from June to September and visit flowers including thistles and thyme. The beetle is mostly associated with upland areas, and isn't that common. It occurs locally in N Wales, N England and Scotland.Also, all over the place, plant stems were covering in little lumps of bubbles or froth. These have been 
developing, getting gradually bigger, over the last few weeks, the froth being home to the larva of a wee insect. The bubbles are commonly known as frog or cuckoo spit, the latter name being derived from the fact that the first signs of the "spit" appear at about the same time as the first cuckoo is heard. Frog spit refers to the name of the adult insect - frog hopper, those funny sort of triangular insects jumping from plant stems during July. The "spit" (left) is created by the larva or nymph as it is normally called. The nymph feeds head downwards with its mouth parts embedded in the tissue of the plant. The froth is created by the insect excreting a fluid made up of undigested plant sap. Air bubbles are introduced through a special valve on the abdomen which acts like a bellows, and contact
with the air causes the liquid to ferment, forming the froth or spit. The nasty tasting spit also deters predators. Enclosed within this froth, the nymph moults several times before emerging as an adult in early summer. The frog hopper shown right is Cicadella viridis. Amazing.
developing, getting gradually bigger, over the last few weeks, the froth being home to the larva of a wee insect. The bubbles are commonly known as frog or cuckoo spit, the latter name being derived from the fact that the first signs of the "spit" appear at about the same time as the first cuckoo is heard. Frog spit refers to the name of the adult insect - frog hopper, those funny sort of triangular insects jumping from plant stems during July. The "spit" (left) is created by the larva or nymph as it is normally called. The nymph feeds head downwards with its mouth parts embedded in the tissue of the plant. The froth is created by the insect excreting a fluid made up of undigested plant sap. Air bubbles are introduced through a special valve on the abdomen which acts like a bellows, and contact
with the air causes the liquid to ferment, forming the froth or spit. The nasty tasting spit also deters predators. Enclosed within this froth, the nymph moults several times before emerging as an adult in early summer. The frog hopper shown right is Cicadella viridis. Amazing. Poor old Janet is pulling her hair out over her garden! We had yet another frost on Friday night, going down to minus two degrees C! Fortunately not too many plants were affected. The frost caused a mist to form along all water bodies 
locally so it was worth getting out of bed early to see how the mist was developing at Loch Garten. Arriving on the shore at 5.30 am, I couldn't see a thing but, perched nearby, perhaps wondering why someone was disturbing her family at this early hour, was a common sandpiper. 
Despite the number of visitors that walk along the shore of the loch, some with dogs, a good number of pairs of sandpipers breed and, in most years, seem to get away with rearing young. Over the next two hours the mist came and went eventually clearing altogether by 7.30am, so plenty of time to click away and see whether what I was seeing around me would come out as a reasonable picture. All this going on and I had the whole place to myself! Chaffinches, coal and crested tits were along the shore feeding on the hatching insects rising from the loch.
locally so it was worth getting out of bed early to see how the mist was developing at Loch Garten. Arriving on the shore at 5.30 am, I couldn't see a thing but, perched nearby, perhaps wondering why someone was disturbing her family at this early hour, was a common sandpiper. 
Despite the number of visitors that walk along the shore of the loch, some with dogs, a good number of pairs of sandpipers breed and, in most years, seem to get away with rearing young. Over the next two hours the mist came and went eventually clearing altogether by 7.30am, so plenty of time to click away and see whether what I was seeing around me would come out as a reasonable picture. All this going on and I had the whole place to myself! Chaffinches, coal and crested tits were along the shore feeding on the hatching insects rising from the loch.Happy reading
Stewart & Janet
Foxglove in Firwood garden
All photos © Stewart Taylor
