Sunday 5 January 2014

A month with a few shields, a snuff, a rush and also with a spooky tale! Ho, Ho, Ho!

Short days, late breakfasts, so out at mid-day meant only three and a bit reasonable hours of daylight, not the best of recording months.  However, not all was lost and despite there being less need to look for new locations for the green shield moss (Buxbaumia viridis) a few encounters were made.  Early in December I made a visit to the site where green shield moss spores were released way back in the summer, and checked
Marker flag left & green shield moss capsule right
to see if any new capsules had appeared, I was a bit taken aback to find that three capsules were very close to the red marker to show just where spores were placed on the log.  At each spore inoculation location spores were released, in water, and the site marked with a cocktail stick with red tape “flag” whilst close by another cocktails stick was stuck into the log to act as a control, ie, where no spores were released.  There were no capsules anywhere near the control site.  Could this be the first time that we were witnessing a successful introduction?  In all, spores were placed at ten different locations, either on felled Norway spruce logs or on root buttresses of felled trees, very typical of the wood habitats where I had found the moss during earlier searches.  At a couple of sites inquisitive mammals, probably red squirrels, had pulled out the marker sticks so a check of photos taken at the time of spore release was needed to re-find the right spots.  Then it happened again.  Two green shield moss capsules were found growing close to another red “flag” inoculation site!  Sillily, I had made the visit without a decent measuring tape and so late in the day that it wasn’t possible to take decent photos, so I would have to make a repeat visit.  In the meantime I was able to check with Dave, the scientific brain behind the experiment, what he thought of my initial finds.  Photos and accurate measurements was the reply but also very interesting.  So, a few days later I made a second visit armed with measuring tape, camera and tripod.  Getting up close to the marker sticks and capsules I began to have doubts about whether my spore release was responsible for the new capsules, the distance between marker and first capsule seemed just too far, the nearest measurement being 9 centimetres.  The flow of the droplet of water with spores could have been responsible, but probably I had just picked a very good location, typical of where I had seen the moss on so many occasions growing naturally.  There was no evidence of the moss having grown at either site before (no old capsules) so more measurements will need to be made linking inoculation spots with other capsules that I have now found in the wider area.  A few days later and after a day in the house, I chose a section of Abernethy Reserve called Craigmore for a stretch of
The Norway spruce log with abundant green shield moss capsules
the legs.  The short loop took me up a hill and back via an area of Norway spruce, unmanaged since it was planted just after the Second World War.  The walk was going well and I was focused on walking rather than stopping to look at every stick, grass or moss along the way.  The root plate of one fallen Norway spruce though shouted green shield moss possibility, so I had to stop and look. Sure enough, four capsules were found.  Passing on the information to RSPB I was informed that at some time in the near future, the spruces were due to be thinned, so I thought it would be worth my while to have a closer look at the stand of trees to see whether it was “rich” in green shield moss capsules.  A denser stand of tree was searched without success, but an area close to my original find proved more productive and a few capsules from last season were found at three locations.  I then came upon the find of this growing season anywhere so far.  A small, fallen, Norway spruce, about six inches diameter had a population of 21 bright green capsules from this year and a further 20 old capsules from last year, an important wee log in the world of this “bug on a stick” moss.  Hopefully, this section of spruces can be left un-thinned when management does eventually get underway.  Watch this space.

In the last diary there was mention of a blackcap in the garden, on the 18 November to be precise then nothing, we had to assume that it had headed south.  Well, it, or another male, turned up again, exactly a month later, feeding on bits of peanuts dropped by blue tits and house sparrows, and with the odd snowy
Male blackcap
day, we felt sure it would become a regular visitor.  But no, and until the 31 December we hadn’t had another sighting.  With the first lying snow though it was nice to get the camera going and capture a few shots of birds in the snow.  The change in weather made it easier to stay in and slowly all the records in my diary were added to my MapMate database ready to be forwarded to the RSPB, plant gall and lichen folk and to Murdo at the Highland Biological Recording Group.  It is always a great worry wandering around day by
Dunnock in snow
day knowing that in my jacket pocket was a diary, with lots of records, some only arrived at by evenings spent working with the microscope, that only I knew about.  So it was a great relief to have caught up with data entry and that after the 31st the diary will take its place with all the others as a memento to another years worth of recording effort.  It was nice to hear back from Andy at Abernethy informing me that so far, and even with names of additional new species due back from Kew, 50 species were added to the reserve list during 2013, with 38 of these coming from yours truly.  With a bit of luck my total alone could rise to 50.  Andy also mentioned that bog restoration work was planned, by drain damming, in an area where the reserve’s only tiny population of Dutch rush or rough horsetail (Equisetum hyemale) had been found earlier
A single stem of Dutch rush
Equisetum hyemale
in the year and that I might like to visit the site to see the work and possibly look for more plants.  The carrot had been dangled and so, with a few days to go before New Year, I headed for the site.  The first surprise was a very pleasant one.  As I made my way along one of the tracks someone had transformed one of the tiny spruce saplings into an outdoor Christmas tree, and though devoid of flashing lights, the brightly coloured baubles made me stop and smile.  Brilliant, and so unexpected.  The route to the Dutch rush site was aided by following a series of peat dams installed in the main drain a couple of weeks earlier by a mini-digger, big enough to do the job whilst causing the minimum of damage to surrounding ground.  In the distance I could see the red and white marker tape, installed by Andy to identify the rushes location and ensuring the digger
A big population of Dutch rush with
distinct white nodes
avoided the site.  A very old juniper bush attracted my attention a little way from the drain and just beyond it I spotted the tell-tale signs of a small, population of the rush, tall and rough to the touch, but with the give away white bands on the older plants (stems persist for more than one year) at the junction of each stem node.  A good start, with a new group of over a hundred plants.  Within the taped off area I could see the scattered plants already recorded, so I avoided this area and headed along the slope above the main dammed drain.  The new site seemed to me to be just within the established trees but also being a mix of Dutch rush growing with possibly soft rush (Juncus effusus), so this was the habitat I started to look for.  The Juncus areas close to the drain just didn’t seem suitable but as I looked up the damp, flushed slope, the
The green shield moss surprise on willow branch
growing with Protopannaria pezizoides lichen (pale dots).
general habitat looked much better, and so it proved.  At first, a scatter of plants was found and as I followed the flush up the slope more and more plants appeared until by the time the Norway spruces and Scots pines were reached a mini-“reed” bed of Dutch rush plants was found.  The reserve can now boast a population of a few thousand plants rather than the previous few hundred.  Despite wandering up and down the slope as I made my way along the drain, nothing more was found, but checking several dense stands of willow (probably Salix cinerea or hybrid) for lichens proved worthwhile, and a dead willow stem covered with the distinctive lichen Protopannaria pezizoides held an additional surprise when seven green shield moss capsules were spotted – two for the price of one!  Checked site five days later and only two capsules remained.

During the month daughter Ruth moved house so a few trips were made to look after the boys as preparations were made for the move.  Thankfully, on the day of the actual move Janet and myself were on grandson duty for the day with Ruth and Lewis having arranged for friends to help with moving of furniture.  The new house location has woodland nearby and a very interesting looking bit of rock outcrop on the hill
Ruth's house & stone circle
above, a spot I have had on my “to visit” list having seen its impressiveness whilst driving up and down the A9.  In a field in front of the house is a well preserved stone circle, thought to date from about 2000 BC, with experts suggesting the stones alignment is correct for the setting sun at winter solstice - 21 December.  Driving back and forth to Ruth’s former house in Insh I had noticed a wee sign on a small gate by the side of the road on Rothiemurchus Estate saying CHURCH, but had never made the effort to visit.  A request from
Candlesnuff fungus (Xylaria hypoxylon)
the Highland Biological Recording Group to look for a fungus associated with fallen fruits of beech trees, called beechnuts or beech mast, made me think that a visit to the area of the church and ancient beech woodland surrounding it would be worthwhile.  Another surprise lay in store.  Firstly, I made a search for the beechmast candlesnuff fungus (Xylaria carpophila) and, knowing it was a relative of the much larger candlesnuff fungus (Xylaria hypoxylon) which is found growing on slightly buried deadwood of broadleaved trees, I knew I would have to delve around in areas of dead leaves to find old beech mast probably from previous years.  Shallow areas of fallen leaves failed to produce anything but closer to the edge of the church
Beechmast candlesnuff  (Xylaria carpophila)
area the leaves were deeper, with older deposits of beech mast and eventually tiny white tips of the fingers of the fungus were found . By gently parting the leaves the black part of the fungus was revealed along with its beech mast host.  This was a fungus I had thought about looking for for a while, so it was nice to know I now knew where to find it, adding just the third location to the Highland area map.  Of course the search didn’t quite end there and then and to date the fungus has been found in another half dozen beech woods locally.  And why are these two fungi known as candlesnuff fungus?  It all comes down to the resemblance to a burnt candle wick, particularly after the burning candle has been “snuffed” out.  The search had lead me
Doune Church remains
conveniently to the gate in the fence giving access to Doune Church, now a walled ruin, and with dozens of graves within the yew hedged graveyard.  Completely invisible from the nearby B970 road the scale of the place was quite amazing and had obviously been the church serving the Grants of Rothiemurchus and their many house servants, estate workers and tenants of the estate farms.  Though the church is no longer suitable as a place of worship, burials still take place in the graveyard and flowers had been placed recently on a couple of graves.  One of the first gravestones I saw had the unusual name of Tertia Liebenthal engraved on
Tertia Liebenthal memorial
it, unusual enough for me to check if there were any links on the Internet, the results of which you can see from the link below.  Groups of graves showed that a few local family members had probably all been buried there from the early 1800s through to the present time.  As I circled the graveyard a strange metal gridded “grave” caught my eye and when I reached it I was surprised to see that on the tops of five stones below the metal grid where lots of coins, and from those also lying in the grass it was obvious that most had been there for quite some time.  I thought it very odd they had not been interfered with, particularly in this day and age.  It was difficult to make out the wording on the headstone so I set up the tripod and took a photo for checking later.  On the way back to the B970 road I followed a good track up towards the field by the
Grave with stones topped with coins - don't touch!
road.  The sloping bank above the track was covered in masses of beech mast and a quick probe found many more beechmast candlesnuff fungi, but very hard bright green cones also lying on the ground had me a bit puzzled until I found a few bits of branch tips, a couple with cones attached.  The tree from which they had fallen was huge and the soft, corky bark lead me to think of an American redwood.  Once home I was able to check the cones and branches and ended up with the name Sequoiadendron giganteum, the giant redwood.  I also checked my photo of the headstone from the gridded grave and the wording revealed was: - “The Grave of Seath Mor Sgor Fhiaclach victor in the combat at Perth 1396”.  So, lots of leads to follow on the internet the most revealing being the text below, copied from the Scotland Magazine web-link below.
“THE FOREST OF ROTHIEMURCHUS, INVERNESS-SHIRE
In a secluded corner of the Forest of Rothiemurchus is the burial place of Seath Mor Sgor Fhiaclach, a chief of the Clan Shaw, who lived in the 14th century.  Shaw was by reputation a formidable warrior, standing over 6ft tall with a twisted smile that struck terror into the hearts of even his own followers.  Over the centuries, travellers through the woods, passing through a certain wooded glade, have spoken of encounters
Seath Mor Sgor Fhiaclach tomb wording
with a gigantic figure challenging them to battle.  If they accept, no harm is done to them and the figure disappears.  But the saying goes that if anyone shows fear when they meet him, they will never be seen again.  The tomb of Seath Mor lies close to the kirk of the Doune of Rothiemurchus, and upon it are five-cylindrical stones which resemble white cheeses.  Local tradition has it that anyone who dares to tamper with these stones will suffer the terrible wrath of the guardian spirit, an elf called Bodach an Duin (Goblin of the Doune).  In the early 19th century, a man threw the centre stone of the five into the River Spey.  The following morning, the stone was back in its place and the man was found floating dead in the river.  More recently, similar behaviour by local youths, as some sort of rites of passage initiation, has prompted the authorities to place a wrought iron grate over the grave making it impossible to remove the stones.”  Mentioning my visit to a couple of locals a few days later brought the immediate response “I hope you didn’t touch the stones!”  So who knows, there might be something odd about the stones and I was happy to state that I didn’t touch the stones nor the money placed on them.  Scary!

They did warn us it was coming, and early on the morning of the 5th December I was woken up by the wind and the force of the rain being driven against the bedroom window.  It all seemed to really get going about 5am, with wind and rain then thunder and lightening at 6.15am but by 8am, whilst still windy, things had calmed down a little.  By 8am the whole of the Scottish rail network had been closed down and the radio
A group of windblown ancient Scots pines
was full of which roads were closed due to fallen trees.  By 10.30am it was snowing heavily, with about four inches accumulating by lunchtime.  A drive into Grantown mid-afternoon was okay but I could see where a few trees and lots of branches had been removed from the road earlier in the day.  Up the road towards Loch Garten several trees were down across the road and a visit the next day to an area called Tore Hill to check a few facts for a paper I was writing, found dozens of trees flattened on the top-most section of the hill along with a few across the track.  Word eventually filtered through about lots of big old Scots pines blown
WOW!
over in the upper parts of Abernethy with many down along the course of the River Nethy.  A rough estimate puts the total within the Abernethy Reserve at 1000-2000 trees, deadwood creation on a scale that no one locally can remember in recent times.  In the past, wind-blown trees on this scale would probably have been harvested and sold but, with the accent on the reserve now very much on naturalness, the trees, away from roads and tracks will be left where they fell, testament to a major natural event in December 2013.  Sadly, one of only 5 mature oak trees within the reserve also came down so it will be interesting to see what new
Low barometer reading
species might turn up on the now accessible upper-most branches.  These few trees have added about 20 new species to the reserve species list, and that is without the “real” experts having visited them.  A similar event was also predicted for just before Christmas but despite the mayhem in other parts of Britain and the lowest pressure reading I can remember ever seeing on the house barometer( below 950 millibars) we got off lightly. Though wet and quite breezy nothing, apart from the Drumochter Pass section of the A9, ground to a halt.  At 8pm the same day it was announced that Nelson Mandela had died.

Happy New Year, enjoy the read and best wishes for 2014.  Fingers crossed that in 12 months time we will still have a United Kingdom.

Stewart and Janet
  
Tertia Liebenthal grave Doune graveyard.
Scotland Magazine with article about Seath Mor Sgor Fhiaclach and the legend behind the grave and its stones.
http://www.scotlandmag.com/magazine/issue14/12006413.html  and scroll down to THE FOREST OF ROTHIEMURCHUS, INVERNESS-SHIRE.
Battle at Perth 1396 – though Seath Mor Sgor Fhiaclach not mentioned.
A little more about Seath Mor Sgor Fhiaclach.
Highland Biological Recording Group
and how to join HBRG


Giant redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum) cone & branch
The surprise Christmas tree
Fertile Pseudevernia furfuracea lichen

Photos © Stewart Taylor