temperature reached the dizzy heights of +5 deg C and for a change it was nice to hear the patter of rain on the roof. 15 February and 80% of the track to Forest Lodge was clear of snow and ice and the thoughts of cycling to work looked a distinct possibility in the next few days. The last time I managed to do that was 16 December 2009. However, a knee injury whilst kneeling down counting green shield-moss capsules on 7 January was going to make this difficult, and gentle walking was the order of the day to try and get the knee mobile again. So the 15th saw me drive part way up the Forest Lodge track, walking the rest of the way – gentle walking just as the doctor had ordered. 6” of snow on the 16th meant the car was left at the end of the track again, all hopes of getting back “to normal” had to be put on hold, especially as the frost returned with a vengeance. Minus 10 deg C on 17th, minus 15 on 18th, -16, -17 and -18 deg C the three nights up until the 23rd but with brilliant sunny days. The mayhem star
ted at 11am on 24th with light snow falling, and though the flakes were not of the 50p size variety, little by little the depth on the ground started to grow. 12” was lying at 7am on 24th and the snow had yet to stop, with about an inch an hour accumulating. Another 7” at dawn on 25th and another couple of inches had fallen by lunch-time. Finally, after just over 48 hours of continuous snow a watery sun could be seen in the sky and the snow restricted itself to the occasional shower for the afternoon. The depth of snow on the Firwood drive (photo right) was back to New Year (photo above left)proportions and for the last 24 hours all major roads into the Highlands were closed due to drifting snow. Nice on the top lip after a glass of milk and nice on the top of a pint of Guinness but everyone is getting rather fed up with a huge “drop of the white stuff” on the ground! Somewhere in the garden is a row of turnips which haven’t seen the light of day since late December, we will let you know what they taste like later in the year!The severe weather since New Year has meant that there has been little opportunity to c
omplete the second round of survey visits for the winter period of the BTO Atlas. The 5 tetrads (2x2 km OS squares) are all a bit remote and with the deep snow from the New Year period and the regular frosts it would just take too long to get round each of the sites. Two have been walked, but the number of bird contacts are just not representative of what is known to be there, a 2 hour survey on 24th (left) produced just 5 species comprising a total of 13 birds. I still haven’t heard a wren and now, with the recent frosts and yet more food covering snow, perhaps most of the population in the forest has been lost. Contacts with goldcrests are still quite regular showing that most folk have been worrying about the wrong species. This was also shown during my common bird census work in Abernethy during the severe winter weather of the early 1980s, many more goldcrests survived to breed than did wrens. Despite the cold robins, chaffinches and siskins have all started to sing (3 February), with the chaffinches slowly edging further out in to the forest on the milder days. There was a dunnock singing in the garden today (27 Feb) and the great spotted woodpecker has started to proclaim his territory by drumming loudly on the pine tree across the road. The rooks have also been sorting themselves out in the small rookery on the way into the village, though sticks for nests must be hard to find in the snow. During the brief thaw the grassy verge to the Speyside Way into the village re-appeared and there, in the grass, were a series of tunnels and holes where the voles had been eking out a living during the first cold snap. No doubt it will have been re-occupied during the last few days. In the same area, but over the fence in the boggy bit of the field, Janet found fresh frog spawn on 8 February, no doubt encased in ice currently.The article on the green shield-moss that I wrote for Field Bryology as
mentioned in the last diary, was published in mid February though I have yet to receive a copy. It is though, one of two articles from this edition that can be read, as a PDF, on line at http://www.britishbryologicalsociety.org.uk/ and click on Buxbaumia viridis in Abernethy Forest and other sites in northern Scotland Stewart Taylor to see it. Thinking of deadwood I continue to be amazed by the scale of snow damage to some of the trees from the earlier snow fall. A tree which stopped me in my tracks was found close to the Strathspey Steam Railway line in Boat of Garten. I was on my way to photograph an unusual lichen when I came up 
on this beauty. A few hundred years ago, when this tree was a young sapling, something probably damaged the trees leader, the single, uppermost shoot, and when this happened a couple of the side shoots took over the leader’s role. One grew tall and straight and the other grew with an enormous bend at its base. Despite having grown like this for a few hundred years the New Year snow was heavy enough to bring the branch crashing to the ground, wrecking the farmers fence but providing a huge bit of future deadwood if it isn’t cleared up for firewood.One of the more unusual jobs in the last few weeks involved a cat – daughter Ruth’s cat Monty. Monty has a habit of following Ruth and family when 
they go for their local walks and usually everyone returns home safe and well. On the day Ruth headed through the houses in to Aviemore Monty tagged on and despite several attempts to shoo him away he kept following. The paths from house to Aviemore follow the steam railway line right up to where the trains reach the station but when they reached the station, Monty wasn’t to be seen anywhere. In the hope that he had returned home they carried on into the village, did their shopping and headed home. No Monty! As darkness started to fall still no Monty so everyone put on wellies, coats and with the wee one tucked up in the pram, they re-traced their steps back to the village. Monty has done this before and once detached from the family, he stayed put and waited for Ruth to return. Fingers crossed that he had done the same this time. No Monty. With the children tucked up in bed and Ruth getting quite worried, she 
walked the route again but without luck. Next day, a dozen posters are made up and I pop over to help keep dog and children together as we all walk once more into Aviemore, putting posters in a few obvious locations. At the Strathspey Railway sheds Finlay enjoys watching the railway staff repairing the boiler on one of the steam trains before we turn round to walk back. Ruth’s phone rings – “I’ve just seen one of your posters and there was a very friendly cat at La Taverna Italian restaurant last night” the caller says, the restaurant being on the south side of Aviemore about 2.5km away from home! We dash back home and while I look after the two wee ones, Ruth borrows my car and heads for the restaurant. Nothing is found at the eatery despite a lot of calling but on a hill behind the restaurant there were lots of rabbit holes – Monty heaven. And there he was, tired and hungry and very glad to see Ruth…8 lives to go.
At the time of the last diary I was in the process of putting together a talk for the RSPB’s Scottish Staff Conference in Pitlochry on 12 February, my last chance to see many of the Scottish team before hanging up my clogs at the end of March, almost 34 years to the day from my arrival at Loch Garten. 34 years in 30 minutes a bit of a tall order but, being the last conference presentation AND following the final rallying call from our Chief Executive Sir Graham Wynne (New Years honours list) before also stepping down, I thought I had better stick to time. The final power point presentation was completed at the end of January and sent to the conference organisers so that there would be no fiddling about with downloading from “cards and sticks” on the day. It would be already loaded on to the conference PC and apart from a “standard” title slide to start with, would be as sent. Endless emails flew back and forth empha
sising and re-emphasising the tight timetable and there was even a slot arranged for a trial run through on the morning of the talk. If I didn’t know what I was going to say on the morning of the talk not really much point in going! However, the run through did allow me to add the words “Agabus wasastjernae” to one of the slides so that the audience could also read what I was trying to say. This is John Owens famous fossil beetle which I am sure appeared in an earlier diary. My biggest worry was being able to get to the venue as I was only attending the final morning of the conference and I had to negotiate the infamous Drumochter Pass, in winter, to get there. In the end, it was a perfect morning, very frosty but with a brilliant rising sun as I arrived in Pitlochry at 8am. The first part of the morning went well and listening to Sir Graham give his presentation seemed to get rid of any nerves, and despite being well prepared with lots of prompt notes, these were dispensed with after the second slide (I couldn’t read them anyway) and I managed to only run over by 2 minutes. So my final major performance was complete and quite enjoyable, in the end.
In the boot of my car though was my set of outdoor clothes, rucksack and Leki poles. To go all the way to Pitlochry and not spend a bit of time in the area would just be a waste. Just round the corner from the conference venue
is the Kindrogan Field Studies Centre and yes, you have guessed it, in the woods above the Centre was an old site for the green shield-moss. There was just as much snow at Kindrogan as there was at home and, with the wood I was visiting completely in the shade, everything was very icy. There was just a bit too much snow to be able to check everything but there were some amazing lichens to see on a rocky outcrop in the woods including Peltigera bitannica (above right) and something I needed to check at home, the very similar Peltigera membranacea, a species new to me. Ravens overhead but not a sign of the green shield-moss in the 3 hours available. A brilliant sunset over Pitlochry on the way back from Kindrogan made the day.
The highlight though since the last diary was a day in the field
with world renowned lichen expert Dr. Brian Coppins & Sandy his wife also an expert (right). RSPB and SNH had asked if they could re-survey the ancient aspen trees at the RSPB Insh Marshes reserve so that the trees important for rare lichens could be identified and marked. The rare aspen hoverfly has its main stronghold at Insh and is dependant on a steady input of dead wood to breed successfully. See http://blogs.btcv.org.uk/natural_talent/2010/02/aspen-hoverfly-conservation-or-what-i-did-over-the-summer.html to see what Geoff as been doing with the fly, or 
http://www.sbes.stir.ac.uk/people/rotheray/index.html to see Ellen’s earlier work with the hoverfly. One way of helping the fly is to artificially create dead wood by felling a tree every few years and to ensure none of the important lichen trees were felled Brian and Sandy were carrying out the survey. Brian was heavily involved in the first survey in 2001 so he had an idea where the important trees were, but all the trees were looked at over a two day period to ensure nothing had been missed. Knowing just how bad I am at remembering the Latin names of the lichens I asked Brian if I could be with them for a day as “un-official” photographer, taking close up shots of the important lichens and also the trees where they were growing, listing the names as we went along. And it worked, Brian and Sandy have some good photos for their report and I know a little more about the important aspen lichens. One of the more amazing lichens we saw was a tiny pin-head species called Sclerophora pallida (above left) and being fairly obvious I thought it was a species I could look for elsewhere. 
However, there is a very similar but less rare relative S. peronella and without a good microscope and the right chemicals to test the lichen (different species react differently to 3 key chemicals) I can, so far, only record finds as Sclerophora species, but with a photo of the tree and a GPS reading, hopefully the experts will be able to re-visit the sites and decide which one! Trees with these lichens have so far been found at two new sites. To learn a little more about lichens and what they are see http://www.britishlichens.co.uk/whatarelichens.html . So a lot more to learn but looking for just one species is teaching me a great deal about many more. A second lichen of note was Anaptychia cilaris or eagles claw lichen on account of the talon like appendages at the end of each branch (above right), one of only 2 or 3 locations currently known of in Scotland.
Whilst we were checking on of the Insh aspens and man in a bright florescent jacket came past walking his dog. “What are you photographing” he asked on seein
g my camera close by atop its tripod, “I’m a freelance journalist and would be interested to see if what you are doing would make a local story”. So with that introduction Sandy spent the next 5 minutes explaining that all “the stuff” hanging from all the surrounding trees were lichens. “I wondered what they were” came the reply! It was going to be a long interview! “Will you still be here if a go and get my camera from Kingussie?” So I offered him mine and, despite him being “a Canon man” he managed to take several suitable photos, one of which appeared in the local Strathy last week. It’s amazing what you can get up to whilst minding your own business in the countryside. Hopefully Andrew is now a little wiser about “the stuff” hanging from his local trees.
That’s it, enjoy the read.
Best wishes
Stewart & Janet
they go for their local walks and usually everyone returns home safe and well. On the day Ruth headed through the houses in to Aviemore Monty tagged on and despite several attempts to shoo him away he kept following. The paths from house to Aviemore follow the steam railway line right up to where the trains reach the station but when they reached the station, Monty wasn’t to be seen anywhere. In the hope that he had returned home they carried on into the village, did their shopping and headed home. No Monty! As darkness started to fall still no Monty so everyone put on wellies, coats and with the wee one tucked up in the pram, they re-traced their steps back to the village. Monty has done this before and once detached from the family, he stayed put and waited for Ruth to return. Fingers crossed that he had done the same this time. No Monty. With the children tucked up in bed and Ruth getting quite worried, she 
walked the route again but without luck. Next day, a dozen posters are made up and I pop over to help keep dog and children together as we all walk once more into Aviemore, putting posters in a few obvious locations. At the Strathspey Railway sheds Finlay enjoys watching the railway staff repairing the boiler on one of the steam trains before we turn round to walk back. Ruth’s phone rings – “I’ve just seen one of your posters and there was a very friendly cat at La Taverna Italian restaurant last night” the caller says, the restaurant being on the south side of Aviemore about 2.5km away from home! We dash back home and while I look after the two wee ones, Ruth borrows my car and heads for the restaurant. Nothing is found at the eatery despite a lot of calling but on a hill behind the restaurant there were lots of rabbit holes – Monty heaven. And there he was, tired and hungry and very glad to see Ruth…8 lives to go.At the time of the last diary I was in the process of putting together a talk for the RSPB’s Scottish Staff Conference in Pitlochry on 12 February, my last chance to see many of the Scottish team before hanging up my clogs at the end of March, almost 34 years to the day from my arrival at Loch Garten. 34 years in 30 minutes a bit of a tall order but, being the last conference presentation AND following the final rallying call from our Chief Executive Sir Graham Wynne (New Years honours list) before also stepping down, I thought I had better stick to time. The final power point presentation was completed at the end of January and sent to the conference organisers so that there would be no fiddling about with downloading from “cards and sticks” on the day. It would be already loaded on to the conference PC and apart from a “standard” title slide to start with, would be as sent. Endless emails flew back and forth empha
sising and re-emphasising the tight timetable and there was even a slot arranged for a trial run through on the morning of the talk. If I didn’t know what I was going to say on the morning of the talk not really much point in going! However, the run through did allow me to add the words “Agabus wasastjernae” to one of the slides so that the audience could also read what I was trying to say. This is John Owens famous fossil beetle which I am sure appeared in an earlier diary. My biggest worry was being able to get to the venue as I was only attending the final morning of the conference and I had to negotiate the infamous Drumochter Pass, in winter, to get there. In the end, it was a perfect morning, very frosty but with a brilliant rising sun as I arrived in Pitlochry at 8am. The first part of the morning went well and listening to Sir Graham give his presentation seemed to get rid of any nerves, and despite being well prepared with lots of prompt notes, these were dispensed with after the second slide (I couldn’t read them anyway) and I managed to only run over by 2 minutes. So my final major performance was complete and quite enjoyable, in the end.In the boot of my car though was my set of outdoor clothes, rucksack and Leki poles. To go all the way to Pitlochry and not spend a bit of time in the area would just be a waste. Just round the corner from the conference venue
is the Kindrogan Field Studies Centre and yes, you have guessed it, in the woods above the Centre was an old site for the green shield-moss. There was just as much snow at Kindrogan as there was at home and, with the wood I was visiting completely in the shade, everything was very icy. There was just a bit too much snow to be able to check everything but there were some amazing lichens to see on a rocky outcrop in the woods including Peltigera bitannica (above right) and something I needed to check at home, the very similar Peltigera membranacea, a species new to me. Ravens overhead but not a sign of the green shield-moss in the 3 hours available. A brilliant sunset over Pitlochry on the way back from Kindrogan made the day.The highlight though since the last diary was a day in the field
with world renowned lichen expert Dr. Brian Coppins & Sandy his wife also an expert (right). RSPB and SNH had asked if they could re-survey the ancient aspen trees at the RSPB Insh Marshes reserve so that the trees important for rare lichens could be identified and marked. The rare aspen hoverfly has its main stronghold at Insh and is dependant on a steady input of dead wood to breed successfully. See http://blogs.btcv.org.uk/natural_talent/2010/02/aspen-hoverfly-conservation-or-what-i-did-over-the-summer.html to see what Geoff as been doing with the fly, or 
http://www.sbes.stir.ac.uk/people/rotheray/index.html to see Ellen’s earlier work with the hoverfly. One way of helping the fly is to artificially create dead wood by felling a tree every few years and to ensure none of the important lichen trees were felled Brian and Sandy were carrying out the survey. Brian was heavily involved in the first survey in 2001 so he had an idea where the important trees were, but all the trees were looked at over a two day period to ensure nothing had been missed. Knowing just how bad I am at remembering the Latin names of the lichens I asked Brian if I could be with them for a day as “un-official” photographer, taking close up shots of the important lichens and also the trees where they were growing, listing the names as we went along. And it worked, Brian and Sandy have some good photos for their report and I know a little more about the important aspen lichens. One of the more amazing lichens we saw was a tiny pin-head species called Sclerophora pallida (above left) and being fairly obvious I thought it was a species I could look for elsewhere. 
However, there is a very similar but less rare relative S. peronella and without a good microscope and the right chemicals to test the lichen (different species react differently to 3 key chemicals) I can, so far, only record finds as Sclerophora species, but with a photo of the tree and a GPS reading, hopefully the experts will be able to re-visit the sites and decide which one! Trees with these lichens have so far been found at two new sites. To learn a little more about lichens and what they are see http://www.britishlichens.co.uk/whatarelichens.html . So a lot more to learn but looking for just one species is teaching me a great deal about many more. A second lichen of note was Anaptychia cilaris or eagles claw lichen on account of the talon like appendages at the end of each branch (above right), one of only 2 or 3 locations currently known of in Scotland.Whilst we were checking on of the Insh aspens and man in a bright florescent jacket came past walking his dog. “What are you photographing” he asked on seein
g my camera close by atop its tripod, “I’m a freelance journalist and would be interested to see if what you are doing would make a local story”. So with that introduction Sandy spent the next 5 minutes explaining that all “the stuff” hanging from all the surrounding trees were lichens. “I wondered what they were” came the reply! It was going to be a long interview! “Will you still be here if a go and get my camera from Kingussie?” So I offered him mine and, despite him being “a Canon man” he managed to take several suitable photos, one of which appeared in the local Strathy last week. It’s amazing what you can get up to whilst minding your own business in the countryside. Hopefully Andrew is now a little wiser about “the stuff” hanging from his local trees.That’s it, enjoy the read.
Best wishes
Stewart & Janet
Sunset over the Cairngorms
Sunset over Insh Marshes after a brilliant day with Brian & Sandy CoppinsAll photos © Stewart Taylor
