30 years on!

A short diary to counter the family criticism that I failed to mention either of our daughter’s birthdays in the last edition! Of course, what everyone forgets is that the diary is written about a month in arrears, so that there is usually lots of topic to choose from during that period. So, with ears burning, here we go...

Thirty years ago I had been at RSPB Loch Garten for just three years and on the 26 May 1979, England were playing Scotland at football. As the final whistle blew Laura made her entry into the world, not that I had any clue as to what the score was because I was deep in the bowels of Raigmore hospital holding Janet’s hand, lending moral support (but little of the pain) whilst witnessing that most amazing event, a natural human birth. Apart from trying to strangle herself with the umbilical cord and spending the first twenty-four hours of her life in an incubator, Laura was fine, mum and daughter were re-united, and settled into the routine of feeding and nappy changing. Amazingly, in the maternity ward at the same time was the wife of the couple who had moved into the cottage on Rum, where we had lived whilst working for the old Nature Conservancy Council (now SNH) up until the time we moved to Loch Garten! Kathy, the wife of the boatman/joiner/handyman on Rum was also in the same hospital suffering from severe back pains.

Meeting up with the couple from Rum whilst at Raigmore I found out that Ian, the husband, was dossing in Inverness, so I offered him a bed down at Loch Garten. On the evening of Laura’s birth we both returned to Loch Garten to a meal of mince and tatties and, thinking back to our move from Rum, I remembered that we had brought with us several bottles of home-brewed Yuletide Ale, a strong, dark beer traditionally brewed for special occasions like Christmas. Well, we had a special occasion, but would the beer still be okay three years after bottling? Opening the first bottle went well; there was a wee hiss as the cap was removed, and the beer smelled fine. We had a trial sip and the warming glow that we felt made me realise that we had something special. It was so powerful however that we decided it was safest to stick to sherry glass sized measures! It was then off to celebrate Laura’s birth with the rest of the osprey staff and volunteers at the then “Osprey Camp”. Three days later Ian also became a dad but before mum and baby would be heading back to Rum, Ian would have to return briefly to get everything ready.

Now the journey from Boat of Garten to Rum by public transport is not easy and, knowing in the back of my mind that there was a rare alpine flower growing on a mountain top somewhere along the road between Fort William and Mallaig (the ferry port) I offered to give Ian a lift as far as Glenfinnan. It was the 1 June, it was very hot and sunny, and this would be the last day before my life would change for ever, Janet and Laura were due home from hospital the following day, and the learning phase and responsibility of being new parents would begin. A quick stop at Corpach just outside Fort William to buy a map then it was cheerio to Ian and the climb up the side of a very steep mountain began. A couple of hours later and with a bit of intense searching around the summit area of the mountain (the old fashion type of search pre GPS!) and there I was, looking down at the flowering cushions of Diapensia lapponica, or Diapensia as it is commonly called. This is a plant that is found on nutrient poor ground often on high mountain tops throughout the world. However, in Britain it is only known from one mountain top, being discovered there in 1951 by a birdwatcher! It’s amazing what we “birdwatchers” turn up! At the site there are many cushions of flowers but you need to be on site at just the right time to see the flowers open and at their best. In 1979 the 1 June was just about right, and there was a brilliant display of big white flowers in amongst the rocks and gravel. One thing though that did shock me was the obvious evidence of clumps having been removed and it would appear that this wasn’t just a “one off”. See the Independent article at http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/black-market-threat-to-britains-rarest-flowers-496453.html for more information on this illicit trade.

Fast forward 30 years, happy birthday Laura, and happy birthday Ruth for earlier in the month. To celebrate the occasion we all met up for lunch at Logie Steading, near Forres, good food, good ice creams and a nice antique furniture shop where Laura treated herself to a wonderful kitchen chair for a birthday present. The day was very hot and sunny, with the settled spell of weather due to last into the start of the new week. The start of the new week was 1 June and I was starting to wonder – would it just be possible to make a repeat visit to a mountain top near Glenfinnan? I had the map but would wonky knees and hip get me there? If the sun shone and problems did start to develop there was always the option of going looking for chequered skipper butterflies, something else I hadn’t seen for almost 30 years. THE TRIP WAS ON!

The morning of 1 June 2009 in Nethybridge was almost frosty, but the sky was clear and the weather forecast perfect if going to be a little hot. A bit like 30 years ago, the day started at 5am, departure at 6am and arrival at Glenfinnan was just before 8am and just like last time, it was hot. Boots on, sun cream on, bag packed and off I set with my trusty Leki poles for ‘support’. One thing I wasn’t hearing on this repeat trip was whitethroats on the wires by the road, though there were plenty of birds singing in the surrounding woodland. Up through the woodland and out onto the open hillside to be greeted by a wonderful display of bluebells, something we don’t see in Strathspey. Bluebells, violets and other flowers got me thinking about butterflies, and sure enough, even at 8am, a green-veined white butterfly was on the go. Another quite dark butterfly caught my eye and when it landed on a clump of bog myrtle I was pleasantly surprised to see a chequered skipper – one of my target species for the day and it still wasn’t half-eight. I was very resolute, and the camera stayed in the rucksack and I remained focused on the climb ahead. Gradually the richness of the lower ground gave way to the typical hill ground of the west of Scotland, the sweat was rolling very freely, and, with shirt sleeves rolled down and shirt collar up to keep the bulk of the sun off, I plodded steadily up hill. The first hour saw the views getting better and the hill getting steeper, and another half hour and I reached one of the lower hilltop summits. In the not too far distance I could see the top of the mountain I was heading for and away to my right was the massive lump of Ben Nevis (left). So far so good with just the odd meadow pipit for company overhead and the early signs of the insectivorous butterwort in the damper bits of ground underfoot.

Two hours after setting off the summit at about 2500’ was reached and it was time to find a bit of shade and have a quick bite to eat. With camera weight preferable to bottle of water weight, I had been taking on water from the wee burns on the way up, wetting my hat to keep my head cool. Peeping out from the rocks all around where the white flowers of Diapensia, the timing of the visit looked to be just about right, despite the hot weather of the last ten days. I just couldn’t sit still, so I took this self portrait with the wonderful mountain scenery in the background. In the distance to my west was the Sgurr of Eigg (left), the island now owned by the community and next to our old home of Rum. With the heat is was quite hazy but the views were stunning all the same. My marvellous watch told me that the temperature even on the summit, was 24 degrees C, phew! Screaming overhead went a group of swifts followed by a few swallows, there was obviously plenty of insect life on the wing even this high up. And then, after a gap of 30 years, it was time to say hello properly to the cushions of Diapensia, so landscape lens was swapped for macro lens, and it was down to work, taking great care not to damage any of the plants on this rocky summit.

I will leave the photos to speak for themselves, with thanks to the plant for putting on such a brilliant display.

Close by there were a few tussocks of trailing azalea, a bonny plant and reasonably common on many of our higher hills.

An hour later and it was time for the hardest part of the day – the descent! I must be getting old, it took almost as long to get down the mountain as it did to get up. My estimate of where the track at the bottom of the mountain was worked out well and with the woodland below starting to get ever closer I came back into butterfly country with green-veined white and small heath being the first contacts. A stop by the bigger burn to take on a decent amount of water, and it was on down the track. And there it was again, a chequered skipper flitting about by the track. This time the camera was out in a flash, and making the most of these modern digital cameras, a trial shot was taken to get exposure right, and then, in an effort not to disturb the butterfly which had settled again on bog myrtle, the camera was held out at arms length, and the auto-focus was left to do the rest. I just didn’t have the energy for a long pursuit and trying to get the ultimate photo, but the end product I think worked very well and the butterfly is very recognisable. This photo is dedicated to Nigel, Rachel and the boys who did a trip to Loch Arkaig from the Firwood chalet the week before to see this very special butterfly. Down through the woodland and a green hairstreak butterfly was nice to see before reaching the road with a short walk back to the car. Soggy clothing was exchanged for clean tee-shirt, shorts and sandals and it was off via Spean Bridge and Loch Laggan-side getting back to Firwood in time to pick Janet up from school.
A brilliant day, thank you Laura for being part of both trips, perhaps I should do something similar when Ruth hits the 30-mark!

And that football match some thirty years ago, England 3 Scotland 1 at Wembley.

We hope you enjoyed this wee trip down memory lane.

Best wishes

Stewart & Janet

Oak fern

All photos © Stewart Taylor

When not to have great views of a golden eagle!

It has been a busy few weeks as the breeding season gets into full swing and a few of the ‘winter’ specialities stayed around just into May. The highlight for many locally have been the late staying waxwings with a gang of up to 20 feeding in juniper bushes and in Tulloch on flowers of Norway maple. I have managed to bump into groups of these birds in various areas of the forest from right out on the moorland edge in April through to the last ones popping up by Firwood on 1st May as if waving goodbye for another season. The hope of hearing a bird singing locally hasn’t materialised – we will just have to wait for another season to see if a pair of these remarkable birds stay on to breed.

The 1st April saw the start of the second breeding season for the BTO Atlas and, following an appeal from Hugh, the local Atlas organiser for help in ensuring the minimum level of survey in 10 kilometre square NJ01, I offered to take on 5 standard recording “tetrads” (2x2 km squares on the OS maps as detailed below.) locally. The difficulty in this part of the world with atlas surveying is timing the first of the two required visits late enough in the first April-May recording period, to ensure that most of the summer migrants have arrived, and allowing a bit of time before the second round of visits start in June. Late into the first week of May I decided to go for it, but failed to find any spotted flycatchers, and with chilly nights even swallows and house martins were low in numbers. I will just have to hope these are all picked up in adequate numbers on the second visit in a couple of weeks time. There is nothing better than visiting places you rarely go to, testing yourself out in trying to record all the birds that you know should be there. So far, nothing too unusual has turned up, but following the heavy snow and low temperatures of February, many of the regular residents seem to be in much lower numbers, with wrens becoming a rarity in some areas. It’s difficult to concentrate though when views like this pop up in one of your tetrads.

Tetrads are 2km × 2km squares and labelled A to Z within each 10-km square. Recording visits do not aim to produce a complete species list for the tetrad, but a sample of what one can find during a pair of visits in winter and/or summer. We aim to cumulatively cover at least 8 tetrads in every 10-km square in Britain and Ireland during winter and summer. You can take on one or as many tetrads as you wish. This is a great opportunity to visit those hidden corners of the landscape and find new birds. (From BTO Atlas website http://www.bto.org/birdatlas/index.htm ).

The first visit of another survey was also completed with my visit to the Breeding Bird Square north of Grantown on Spey. It was misty as I left the house at 5.30am but knowing part of my site is a hill rising to nearly 500 metres I didn’t think there would be a problem. Wrong! Thankfully, a lot of the survey is done on bird sounds as well as sightings, so all worked out okay, and just after the sheep was surprised and photographed, a light breeze got up and the mist started to lift. Using my GPS gadget ensured I stayed on roughly the right line.

I was also involved in something new but a little frightening – taking wedding photographs! The photographer booked to take the pictures at Ruth’s sister in law’s wedding gave back word at short notice, and I was asked if I could help. Batteries charged, lenses cleaned, practice with the highly technical flash unit, and I was off to Inverness – arriving fully two hours before the event! Being early though did allow time for thinking out photo locations (left) and opportunities, which saved panicking later in the day. My Dad took lots of wedding photos and many a night I would go to bed in a room with a strange glow and to the tap, tap of the plastic tongs pushing the photo paper round in the tray of developer liquid. From camera lens, to roll of film, to roll of film being developed in little round tank and the film image then being transferred to paper under the glow of the orange light, the resultant photo then being hung up to drip dry. What a brave man, no second chance, and no instant image on the back of the camera to check that everything looks just about right. I’ll tell you about the set of cow’s horns appearing out of the brides head in some future diary, and how my dad managed to “manipulate” them away.

Our local volunteer who has walked the Loch Garten butterfly transect for the last few years warned me that he would not be able to carry on with the survey due to pressure of other work. With no obvious replacement from within the reserve team I was drafted back to continue a project I started up way back in the late 1970s, collecting annual butterfly abundance information, for ITE (as it was) at Monks Wood. The Loch Garten transect comprises a mix of farmland, roadside verge and moorland, and takes about an hour to walk. It’s a fair old commitment (hence the lack of takers!) in that the transect has to be walked weekly, from the first week of April through to the last week of September! And only when the sun shines! Normally I would paste a web link here for you but the http://www.ukbms.org/sites website is down currently, but do try it later and you can see the results from Loch Garten and all the other sites over the years. So far, small tortoiseshell, green-veined white, orange tip and green hairstreak (right) have been recorded, it will be interesting to see if dingy skipper can be re-located after an absence of many years. Watch this space.

My brother John made a flying visit (2 nights and 1 full day) but during his short stay he managed to leave what could be quite an impressive mark. John is famous in the family for finding things in/on mole hills! His best find to date has been a Queen Anne sixpence from 1790. So, on his one day outing he did an Abernethy round trip, visiting one or two old croft sites en route. Having lunch at one site (right) he was tempted to check out the local mole hills and found, what appears to be, a piece of flint (left), along with a bit of clay pipe and several bits of pottery. It just happens that I have been working on the archaeology of the Abernethy reserve and the words “flint find” had stuck in my head, so I checked these out. Close to John’s find were the Clachaig flint find and close to Forest Lodge, the Lynmagilbert flint find (http://her.highland.gov.uk/ ENTER site and type MHG4611 in Record ID you can view the Clachaig record and MNG4619 the Lynmagilber record). Both of these records date from 1868. Last week I tried my luck and visited the Lynmagilbert site, found a few molehills and, entering my destructive mode, kicked them over. A bit of blue pottery, and nothing else. Much of this area is alluvial, sandy, river deposit, and the area I visited didn’t look like it would be producing anything too interesting. I will be visiting the Highland Archaeologist next week, and John’s find will be going with me, so I will need to report back via the next diary.

From what you have read so far everything would appear to be fine with the old hip – well, more or less. A big test would be the second round of black grouse lek counts on 8 May, an early morning half hour hike to my lek counting spot. These co-ordinated counts of all the reserve leks are undertaken twice each spring (mid-April and early May) to give a reasonable picture of what is happening to the black grouse population on the reserve. As count day approached we looked like we were short of counters so Michael our chalet guest was roped in to assist. A quick outing the night before showed him where he was going and where to look and at 4am the next morning we left Firwood firstly to drop Michael off where he was due to count and than for me to drive on to where I could walk to my counting location. I got there, the hip was fine but there seemed to be a major problem – no black grouse! Overnight there had been a fall of snow (right) and I did wonder whether the birds had spotted me against the pale background as I made my way in to the counting spot. Half an hour later and still no birds, so not a problem linked to me, and I began to wonder if someone was camping or photographing the site but hidden in the junipers. A heavy snow shower passed through the site and at 6.15am I found out why there were no birds on the lek site. As I scanned the site looking for signs of any birds in the bushes or heather, a large brown bird homed in to view, sporting large white flashes on wings and tail. Sea eagle? No, just an immature golden eagle which had been perched up near by and the obvious reason why the birds had stayed well away from the lek. Momentarily it perched in one of the trees close to the lek and then floated lazily off over the forest. Briefly a single male black grouse ventured on to the lekking arena but wasn’t happy and soon disappeared. At 7am it was time for me to disappear, bacon butties beckoned as the count figures were compiled back at Forest Lodge at 7.30, and for the first time in 20 years of counting I had drawn a complete blank. The lek was re-visited the next day and, without the presence of Aquila chrysaetos, a full compliment of birds were present. A morning to remember, and the hip survived.

Despite the snow and a few showers of rain, we are lacking real rain and the forest is very dry. Along the forest tracks yours truly has been in action trying to save frog spawn and tadpoles as the pools started to dry up. In many cases I was just too late but in others hopefully a few were saved. It has been dry but quite cold with night time temperatures regularly below freezing, -3 degrees C being one of the recent lows. On one chilly Sunday Laura was over visiting and we made our way to Jack Drakes nursery to see the plants as well as purchasing a few large slices of cake to take home for lunch. In between the showers the sun came out and it was quite warm, so much so that an occaisional butterfly appeared and there were lots of wee flies and a few bees round mountain willow catkins (Salix lapponica hybrid). I just happened to have a tube in my pocket and collected one of the small bees for Murdo to identify. At the same time a large, bee-like insect appeared (above left) on the scene, a robber fly was my first instinct, but the fly looked just a little smaller. There were two of them and mating took place. The action of the fly was to “attack” the other small bees and hoverflies on the willow. A second tube appeared, and the fly was sent to Murdo. The small bee was nothing unusual Andrena haemorrhoa, but the “robber” fly turned out to be a hoverfly and initially caused a bit of excitement because it might be Criorhina rannunculi, a fly that is very rare this far north (right). A couple of days later and the fly was confirmed as Criohina, and, because there are so few current records for this area, the specimen was sent to the National Museums of Scotland for their collection! So I now have a beetle in the British Museum and a fly in the Scottish!

That’s it for another diary, enjoy the read.

Best wishes
Stewart & Janet

Sunset and lone pines Abernethy Forest


All photos © Stewart Taylor

A month with two purple patches

The outstanding issue at the time of the last diary was the scarlet elf cap fungus and which of the two species of Sarcoscypha it would turn out to be. In early March a return visit to Reelig Glen was eventually sorted and the slightly hairy trip along the side of the steep-sided Moniack Burn was made. This amazing glen and its magnificent mix of old conifer and broadleaved trees really is worth a visit. The current woodland, now owned by the Forestry Commission, was established in the mid-1800s under the ownership of the Fraser family – in particular James Baillie Fraser who was responsible for the planting of the policy woodlands which now form the ancient stand of mixed woodland found on site today. A car park, signposted from the A862 Inverness to Beauly road, gives access, and a well made up path takes you along one bank of the burn to an old stone bridge and grotto allowing you to cross the burn and return along the other side. The walk takes you through a group of Douglas Firs which are amongst the tallest trees in Britain. A sign at the base of one introduces you to Dougall Mor, which, until February 2009, WAS the tallest tree in Britain at 204'. However, another Douglas fir near Dunans Castle in Argyll was climbed and measured at 209' – taking the title. Having climbed a few Douglas firs in Morayshire at over 100' to ring osprey chicks the 200' versions must be real Jack and the beanstalk climbs! See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7911032.stm

The scary bit of the Moniack Burn starts up-stream of the bridge and grotto and despite having a GPS reference for the fungus it took quite a bit of re-finding. Eventually there it was, glowing bits of red still peeking out from the vegetation (right). A photo was taken and a single sample for Liz to check. On one outcrop of rock on the way back to the path a few clumps of harts tongue fern were found, another addition for the site. The tube and fungus were packed off first class to Liz and a day later the news came back that the version of scarlet elf cap fungus was Sarcoscypha austriaca, a fungus with few records this far north in Britain, making the return trip well worthwhile. The map from the NBN (National Biodiversity Network) website gives an idea of the importance of this find. The fungus was found close to the Inverness/Beauly Firth area on the NBN map. Amazing.

Working through the many lists of species in the files at Abernethy over the last twelve months shows the reserve is home to just over 4000 species of plants and animals. This has attracted the attention of a few journalists particularly when we mention the water beetle Agabus wasastjernae found in 1993, alive, when its previous finds had been as fossils from peat samples from two sites in England. The dates of the fossil deposits showed that the beetle was present in Britain before the last Ice Age (one was ca. 15,000 years before present and the other 40,000 years). The fossils were actually skeletal remains (wing cases, heads etc) preserved in the peat, with several beetle parts found at each site. “Do you have a photograph of the beetle?” was a regularly asked question to which we had to answer no. A mounted specimen but not a photo, so the next task was to try and find one to photograph. John, our visiting beetle expert, originally found several beetles at one of the bogs in the forest and I had personally found another site on Abernethy and a single site on a neighbouring estate – still the only location known outside Abernethy. So, armed with pond-dipping net, polythene sheet for sorting net contents and a camera, I made my way up into the forest to see if the beetle could be re-found. The beetle is found in pools of water underneath moss- covered Scots pine stumps (as photo left), actually in amongst the roots. It is a case of checking each root hole by inserting the net, wiggling it around, hoping to have a water beetle in amongst the peaty debris. The beetle remains rare in Britain because the habitat it requires is rare, a tree dying naturally on a mire, the slight movement of water possibly being responsible for the pool under the root. To most folk the pool under the root is completely invisible, and it is only by parting the mossy covering and feeling if there is water can the sites be found. There are lots of moss covered mound on these sites without a drop of “hidden” water. Over a period of an hour several pools had been found but no beetles emerged from the peaty debris. The beetle is about half of the size, but the same shape as those tasty sunflower seeds that you put out for the birds, so looking for something black in amongst wet peaty debris isn’t easy, the knack being to wait for some movement as the beetle tries to hide. A move to a part of the mire where the beetle hadn’t been found previously did the trick and there was a beetle of the right size and shape which would have to be transported home to be checked under the microscope. A commoner close relative is also found in these watery holes and it is only by checking the patterning on the beetles wing cases (elytra) that you know you have the right species. The site was GPS-ed and photographed and on returning home the beetle turned out to be Agabus wasastjernae, all that was needed now was a photograph – something easier said than done with something that is constantly trying to hide! A photo of a kind was obtained and the beetle was returned to its watery home, none the worse for its wee adventure. An earlier beetle (in 1994) made a trip via the mail to Epsom to be confirmed by John before being posted back and released a couple of days later unharmed. The lengths we go to……. The beetle might just star in an article in this weeks Sunday Telegraph (3 May) but with 4000 other species to compete with, perhaps it won’t.

Around the place the early spring flowers started to appear with the Good Friday grass (Luzula campestris) once again leading the way. Wandering the higher slopes of the Cairngorms last autumn looking for the arctic stagshorn clubmoss, I started to think about some of the early spring mountain flowers, some of which I haven’t seen for many years. In particular I had fond memories of the early splash of colour on some of the slightly lime rich rocks when the purple saxifrage puts in an appearance usually during March and April and made a note that should the opportunity arise, it was something to try and see. The opportunity came via a work colleague who had been out for a weekend moss and lichen recording and reported seeing the leafy runners, lots of buds and a few open flowers on one of the rock faces they had visited close to Loch Ness. A note was made of location and a couple of weeks allowed to pass for more flowers to develop and on the next day off I headed west. A very steep climb up a heathery hillside lead to a sheer rock face and after a bit of searching the first patch of flowering brilliance was found. An amazing splash of colour to say that we were only in the third week of March, making the hike up the hill well worthwhile. On the way back I popped in to the RSPB reserve at Loch Ruthven (no grebes) and then over the Farr Road to the River Findhorn (Eagle Ally) where heather burning on the grouse moors was progressing apace. The smoke always makes the fires look much worse than they are though with the dry spring weather this year in the Highlands quite a few fires have got away from the beaters and the fire brigade has been kept busy.

The first warm days of April brought out the first bumblebees of the year and in the garden the first bee looks like it was Bombus hortorum – the garden bumblebee. This particular bee was caught out with the weather, easy to fly when the sun was out but very difficult to take off when the sun disappeared and the temperature dropped to about five degrees centigrade. However, taking refuge on the open crocus flowers it was at least able to have a wee feed whilst waiting for the sun to return. A week or two later a few other bees were visiting the newly-opened flowers, particularly the big trumpets of daffodils. Not all bees though go in through the front of the flower to pollen or nectar, some will just push their long tongues through the base. This bee was caught in the act as it visited several daffodils and pierced the base of the flowers in all cases. Some bees have very long tongues, just watch them next time they visit flowers in your garden. Length of tongue is sometimes a help when trying to identify a particular bumblebee. Finlay, our grandson, has also developed a fascination with ‘bumbey-bees’ and will often grab our hands to go looking for them around the garden.

A return visit was made to one of the Beauly woods to collect a bit more information on two of the lichens found there on an earlier visit. With help from lichen expert Sheila Street we now know that what I thought was Lobaria virens is actually that species (right), so a new 10km square record for the lichen atlas. A second Lobaria photographed in the same wood turned out to be Lobaria scrobiculata, something new for the wood in which it was found. No, I am not about to start identifying lichens but checking out the odd one will be the order of the day, and hopefully I can add a little information regarding their distribution. This visit though, was not without a cost. The twinge in the hip that developed as I walked into the wood, that should have been rested to give it chance to recover, is still sore seven weeks on. Recovery is well enough advanced to be back on my bike to work and hopefully the daily ice pack will be discarded in a few more days, but the overall effect has meant less visits with cameras here, there and everywhere. I hope enough photos though will allow a reasonable diary in May but with little bending, walking etc the camera hasn’t been to the fore. The photo left shows why the problem might have developed!

That’s all for now, enjoy the read.

Best wishes
Stewart & Janet

Apple moss complete with 'apples'

All photos © Stewart Taylor

Nature's snow legacy

Many apologies for the delay in getting this edition of the diary (typed in early March!) on to the website – a Google Account change caused a few problems - which we are thankful to Douglas for sorting.

It has happened again! A week’s holiday planned (early March) and it has started to snow. If you are thinking of planning a skiing holiday, just give me a call! However, I don’t think we are heading for the same amounts as early February.

February’s snow proved to be quite a major event. The depth of snow meant that just getting around was very difficult for several days and the heavy first fall (Firwood bird table right), then heavy frost followed by a slight thaw, more frost and a few more inches of snow had many young trees around the place bent double. Juniper bushes were laid low but in most cases the springiness of the limbs allowed the bushes to pop back up once the thaw arrived. Abernethy is famous for its open grown “Granny” pines and branches on many of these trees, despite having seen many decades and in some cases, centuries of snow, were snapped off. Quite frightening when you are walking through the forest and, with the crack of a rifle shot, another big branch gives way and it comes tumbling down. In several parts of the forest whole trees have been brought down by snow, and these along with bigger branches created several thousand tonnes of fresh deadwood around the reserve. The cones attached to some of the fallen branches are being collected by local contractors to add to those collected from the lower branches to be bagged up and sent off to the Forestry Commission seed bank at Alice Holt. Once there the cones will be dried so that the seeds may be extracted, then stored until a tree nursery is looking to grow native Scots pine trees of Abernethy stock in order to meet the requirements of the Forestry Commission's grant scheme. The same crop of cones is currently feeding the local crossbills and red squirrels and come April these same cones will start to crack open on warm days, naturally releasing the seeds and via a very small percentage, the next generation of Scots pine trees.

A couple of the snow damaged trees are worth further mention. The first is or was, probably the biggest and oldest willow in Abernethy. This leviathan must be a couple of centuries old and amazingly had its photo taken standing right by me (left) on 21 January, just before the snow arrived. This photo was taken for the diary just so I could show you its knobbly beauty and massive size. Just after the photo was taken I turned to look at one of the knobbles and there staring back at me were 6 green shield-moss capsules. How had I missed them in the past? I re-visited the tree on 16 February just as the thaw was starting, to be greeted by a scene of devastation: the tree was on its side toppled by the great weight of snow (right). I knew that the moss was telling me that the tree was dying but I hadn’t fully appreciated just how dead it was and how little hold the roots had within the ground. I have no doubt that some parts of the tree will carry on growing but even when it is fully dead it will probably take another century or two before the decaying tree finally turns to humus and disappears into the ground.

The second tree didn’t managed to have its photo taken with me before the snow but it certainly has had many taken afterwards. This granny pine was growing on the south side of the Dell track between Nethybridge and the Forest Lodge access track in a slightly elevated position. It was probably as old as the willow if not a bit older with many big spreading branches and a big rounded crown before it came crashing down right across the track. There is a possibility that both trees were already established in Abernethy at the time of the Battle of Culloden. If only they could tell you their secrets. Again, old age, internal decay and the sheer weight of snow brought about its demise but there will be many happy beetles when they find the tree later in the year. Unlike the willow, this tree will not sprout new growth but is now more famous in death than ever it was when it was alive. The reason for this is that RSPB were in the process of consulting with local folk, SNH and Cairngorm Park staff about its long term future – should it stay as it fell, straddling the Dell track or should it go? A few branches were removed to allow safe, pedestrian passage under the fallen tree but before the consultation process had even begun, someone or persons unknown removed more branches to allow vehicles to pass under the tree. Those consulted are happy for the tree to stay and, provided ongoing safety checks continue to show the tree is safe, it will remain as it fell and hopefully will become a feature for those folk using the Dell track, similar to the existing Weeping Pine and the Fairy Tree. Deadwood is a vital component of a healthy ecosystem. The deadwood component of Abernethy is currently about a third of that which is found in semi-nature forests elsewhere in Europe. Wherever possible trees, branches etc will be left where they fall throughout the forest to increase the deadwood component to benefit those species dependant on it. The fallen Granny pine goes a little way to meeting that objective.

The thaw when it arrived was quite amazing, first real drips on 15 February and within three days it was possible to cycle most of the way to work. The rivers rose alarmingly but the River Spey managed to stay within its banks and with the reduction in snow depth it was possible to remove the many branches from county roads and internal forest tracks. As the temperature soared to eleven degrees Centigrade the first song thrush appeared, mistle thrushes started singing along with most of the residents within the forest. Lapwings, oystercatchers and curlews appeared in numbers in fields along the Spey and a couple of male capercaillie were found one morning close to one of the known lek sites. Perhaps spring has sprung? The mild weather brought with it lots of cloud so the potential for looking for Comet Lulin was very limited. One evening though did start off quite clear and I walked up the road to a clearing in the forest close to the Speyside Way. On the way I first encountered a toad crossing the road and then several newts, all heading to a nearby pool; the first of the year. Venus was easy to find shining brightly in the south-western sky (it’s on one of its close visits to earth apparently) but when I couldn’t find the Plough I knew that cloud was building and within half an hour all things celestial had disappeared. On the way home I came across my first frog of the year so a disappointment on the comet front but a great night for all things amphibian. On 2 March I found my first frog spawn on the same day that I didn’t need my bike lights either going to or cycling back from work. Great!

At the end of February I received some amazing news linking back to the tooth fungi survey way back in the autumn of 2007. From earlier diaries you might remember that in the last two years of survey work I have mentioned a mystery Hydnellum (right) found near Loch Mallachie. A first stab at identification by a local mycological expert produced the name Hydnellum gracilipes, which, if correct, would have been new to Britain. However, there are real problems in getting some of the “difficult” tooth fungi identified and a specimen from this site had been sent to a team of people at Cardiff University who are working on the DNA of the species at the centre of the problem. To highlight the depth of this problem one of the species regularly encountered on the surveys – Hydnellum scrobiculatum (photographed and similarly named in Philip’s excellent guide) probably doesn’t exist in Britain! The biggest stumbling block in getting to the bottom of the identification problem is MONEY, the team at Cardiff seem to be working on a shoestring budget and without some funding during 2008, little progress would be made with the material from Loch Mallachie. A few phone calls and emails early in 2008 managed to get a promise of some funding from RSPB, but appeals to SNH and the Cairngorm Park folk failed to raise a penny, despite the fact that the Cairngorms National Park area holds some of the most important populations of this rare group of fungi in the UK. And then Martyn’s email arrived, the fungus from Loch Mallachie was Hydnellum cumulatum, a species new to Britain – well done Taylor. However, a fungus found in 2001 and checked by Gordon Dickson (one of our Orton team members) was also this species, and had tentatively been named as such by Gordon. So I didn’t quite manage a first but there is a chance that I would have been with Gordon and I may have even collected the fungus at the time, but we are both struggling to remember exactly where it was found! Currently there are two sites for H. cumulatum at Loch Mallachie and another small group was found at Forest Lodge, within a kilometre of the original 2001 find. Another fungus collected also in 2001 by the Orton team and sent by Gordon to Martyn, turned out to be Hynellum gracilipes another new species for Britain! This one however, hasn’t been re-found. Let’s see what the 2009 season brings. These finds really do put Abernethy Forest at the top of the tooth fungi league with 14 of the current UK total of 19 extant species recorded within the reserve.

Some amazing news on the green shield-moss survey shortly but, on 1 March I actually returned to doing a bit of roving BTO Atlas work. Hugh, who co-ordinates the Atlas in Highland Region emailed to say that despite the fact that our local Ordnance Survey 10km NJ01 had had the required number of ‘timed’ visits (half by yours truly) the total number of species recorded, based on previous Atlas’s and information from BTO Birdtrack, was at just 70% and would it be possible to do some casual recording in the under-recorded tetrads (2x2 kilometre squares) so that the completed Atlas gave a true refection of what should be recorded from NJ01. So, binoculars round the neck I headed out to Loch a’ Chnuic and Carn a’ Loinne. On 1 March in this part of Abernethy you are not going to see too many birds and the three hour wander produced 12 species. There was also a secondary motive for heading for this area. As part of the reserves long-term forestry plan as required by the Forestry Commission for grant applications, a list of known archaeological sites has to be provided, and this is something that I have been working on at work. Within the woodland on Carn a’ Loinne a “walled enclosure” (above right) is listed and this was something I had seen in the past. What was lacking though was a reasonably accurate grid reference and the secondary objective therefore was to try and re-find the site and establish one. On the way a large cushion of Sphagnum quinquetarium in one of the wetter bits of the wood was covered in amazingly shaped capsules and right next to the walled enclosure the familiar sight of a lightning strike tree (left) came in to view. This probably dated back to the amazing storm we had in June 2007 that caused so much damage and brings to three the number of trees now found that were hit by lightning. On the way back to the track a large patch of mire had to be crossed and I came across the straggly runners of small cranberry (Vaccinium microcarpum) covering a cotton grass tussock but was amazed to see the runners still supported berries, though somewhat soft, from summer 2008. The cotton grass was also starting to grow and the new flowering heads were popping up everywhere. Fresh food for capers and black grouse.

In late February I was invited to visit a small community managed woodland close to the Moniack Winery place near Beauly by Sandy and Claire to help with a search for green shield-moss sites. The day was successful and 12 sites were found, six of which had been found previously. The real highlight of the day though was the hairy decent down into the gorge of the Moniack Burn. Steep and wet under foot, trees had to be aimed for on the way down the slope to stop you taking off and ending up somewhere down near the river. On one slope of wellie removing soft ground, Claire asked if I knew what the impressively red cup fungus were that we were seeing all around us. They did look familiar but I couldn’t produce a name so I decided to take a photograph for checking later. We carried on checking logs for green shield-moss capsules and soon ran out of any sign of the fungus. When I got home I downloaded the photographs from the day and when the fungus appeared on the screen I got the Philip’s field guide out and found that we had been looking at, was probably Sarcoscypha coccinea, the scarlet elf cap – what a brilliant name. With any find that I am not familiar with I usually check the distribution map on the National Biodiversity Network Gateway website (http://data.nbn.org.uk/gridMap/gridMap.jsp?allDs=1&srchSpKey=NHMSYS0001497077) and when I did I was amazed to find that of the two species known (Sarcoscypha coccinea & austriaca) there were very few records this far north in the UK! I emailed the photo to Liz, a mycological expert in the hope that she could name what had been found, “did you take a specimen?” came the reply, and of course I hadn’t despite Claire suggesting that we should. Another trip would have to be made to solve the mystery particularly with something that needed to be checked under a microscope and when the location could be quite important regarding the fungus’s UK distribution. Something for the next diary particularly that a re-visit would involve a 90 mile round trip and “the specimen” would then need to be sent to Liz for correct identification.

The most amazing discovery though has again involved the green shield-moss. In mid-February I had a visit from Eric from Deeside who was keen to see the moss so that he could keep an eye open for it when carrying out other surveys in his own area. The day went well and Eric did well by finding his very own site whilst at Abernethy. After Eric had left and I made my way back down the Forest Lodge track, I noticed a wood ant nest set back from the track in a damp piece of woodland, I couldn’t find any moss capsules so I wandered casually towards an area of Scots pines that had died naturally many years ago. Again nothing was found. In the distance I noticed an area of felled Norway spruces (left), seventy year old trees that had been felled about 10 years ago, and left where they had been felled as part of the exotic conifer removal programme but also left as deadwood habitat. Hmm, exotics, not likely to be very productive, I was thinking but the first tree, a big tree at that, looked like it held potential, the appearance of the bark on the tree started to look quite interesting, similar to bark with capsules I had seen on other tree species. Bingo, a group of about a dozen capsules came into view and the count started. 20, 30, 50, 60, 62 capsules were found, all on the bark of the felled tree. The buttress roots of the stump of one of the other felled trees produced capsules, then another tree, another stump……… At the end of a couple of days of searching the small area of felled spruces 285 capsules had been found on 29 trees or stumps. Amazing! Is this the epicentre of the moss in Europe? And it got better. The following day I checked out one of the known wood ant nest sites where capsules had been found during last season and there, growing next to three green shield-moss capsules was a single capsule of its close relative, the brown shield-moss (right), probably the first time that the two species have been found growing together in the UK. Currently, the latter species is the rarer or the two in the UK but unlike its relative, it isn’t a protected species and doesn’t have a Biodiversity Action Plan (http://www.ukbap.org.uk/) aimed at ensuring its future wellbeing.

That’s it, hopefully the next diary will follow very shortly.

Best wishes

Stewart & Janet

rabbit tracks in the snow with Cairngoms backdrop



All photos © Stewart Taylor