A smutty month with good days up on high

It’s catching!  Sitting at the microscope one afternoon Janet appeared at the door and said “is this of interest”, holding a big, floppy melancholy thistle leaf, covered in parts by fungus spots.  Amazingly, I scraped a bit of the fungus off and within a few minutes was able to tell her that she had found a fungus with the amazing name of Puccinia cnici-oleracei.  Not content with that there next appeared a leaf from the garden berberis with a similar set of orange spots which turned out to be Puccinia graminis, a rust fungus more often found on cereal crops and with so few records from other species, the fungal department at Kew were happy to have the specimen for their collection.  As you will have gathered Puccinia rusts seem to be

Puccinia cnici-oleracei on melancholy thistle leaf

quite common and when you realise that there are about 250 species known in Britain, there are plenty more to find, one of which will feature a little later in this diary.  As with birds and plants this is the re-productive season for these amazing organisms each awaiting the annual appearance of their specific plant host before beginning their own re-productive cycle.  This is quite handy when trying to identify the particular fungus in that many identification guides list the host plant and the species of fungi you might find on them.  One major acquisition in this line has been ‘Microfungi on Land Plants by Ellis and Ellis’, and in the 860 pages there are a few thousand species listed, all linked to the plants they grow on.  No pictures, but a few line drawings and good descriptions but in a scientific language that takes a bit of getting used to.  Bird watching seems quite simple by comparison but even here you need a type of magnifying glass to carry out your hobby.

The major event of July was helping with local logistics for a visit organised by the locally BSBI Recorder for Moray, Ian Green, and the Wildflower Society.  Outings were planned for Loch an Eilein and Glen Feshie, and following a few phone calls the Conservation Manager for Glen Feshie Estate gave permission to take a limited number of cars into the glen, saving many miles of walking to and from the recording area.  Under a blazing sun and in temperatures in the high twenties, this proved to be most welcome.  The Saturday

Small argent and sable

afternoon to Loch an Eilein was a short outing around the loch, to introduce the Society members from the south of England to species common in the north but rare in the south, and to generally get to know one another.  Lesser twayblade, creeping lady’s tresses and water lobelia were all nice finds as a precursor to the full day out the following day in Glen Feshie.  The Sunday outing was aimed at recording as many plant species as possible combined with an official Site Condition Monitoring visit for a very rare fern, Oblong Woodsia (Woodsia ilvensis), the Feshie site being one of just a handful in Scotland.  After meeting up at Uath Lochans to decant into fewer cars, we made our way up the glen to just beyond the Lodge, and as we prepared for the walk ahead I noticed small, day-flying moths buzzing about the roadside verges, being

Wood vetch

identified later from photos as the small argent and sable.  A new site and quite a way from its nearest neighbour – a good start.  A visit to river gravels where the track ran close to the river produced the brilliantly named tea-leaved willow (Salix phylicifolia) plus a hybrid which was heavily debated and requiring a specimen to be sent of to the UK authority on willows.  Starry and yellow saxifrage were also found on the shingles.  Much further up the glen the group stared in disbelief at a huge patch of white flowers covering a boulder filled gully – wood vetch, a plant which is normally found in small quantities.  The vetch

Glen Feshie outing

indicated lime richness and a visit to the lower boulders found a few plants of limestone bedstraw (Galium sterneri), along with lesser twayblade and the first spikes of mountain sorrel (Oxyria digyna).  Oak and beech ferns were also found in their brilliant fresh, green colour.  The next mini-adventure was crossing the River Feshie before having lunch and for most, this involved removing boots and socks.  A quick check of the riverside rocks produced a single 5-spot ladybird (Coccinella quinquepunctata) but a search of the

Woodsia ilvensis

river gravels failed to find any of the Peltigera lichens often found in that habitat.  With lunch over it was time to head in the direction of the Woodsia site but on the way a search was made for an old record of twinflower in an area of oldish Scots pine.  The estate owners have been following the objective of trying to regenerate the woodlands naturally by deer control and as we walked we could see they were having great success with young birches and pines popping up everywhere.  This management though does mean that the woodland floor vegetation was a little longer than the norm and we had to search a little harder for the as yet, unopened flowers of twinflower, in amongst blaeberry and grasses.  Would the Oblong Woodsia be just as difficult to find?  There was a bit of debate about which scree to check, but eventually by using the “Goto” facility on my GPS we headed in the right direction.  To aid the Site Condition Monitoring, Ian had been given a series of photos of the Woodia fronds from past monitoring visits, and eventually the right rock was

Procumbent pearlwort posed a problem

found – yes, one small rock, around which the fern was growing.  Well done the person who first found the plant, not an easy job on a mobile scree slope.  Fronds counted, photos taken, it was time to head back down river towards the cars.  A pearlwort on an area of extensive river gravels (these alone would be worth a major survey) had everyone scratching their heads and eventually a sample was taken to send off to the UK expert.  The name that came back was, procumbent pearlwort (Sagina procumbens), a fairly common species but the one debated had rather unusual petals but not the right number of stamens.  Back at the place where the cars were parked there was just one last hurdle to complete – getting back across the river.  The

Contarinia loti gall on bird's-foot trefoil

bridge that used to be at this location was destroyed in a recent winter flood and the estate has decided not to replace it.  As folk removed boots and socks once again, a few of us wandered back and forth looking for anything unusual on the river gravels.  A tiny patch of purple saxifrage was the only record for the day of this plant, washed down from its normal rocky habitat and a patch of bird’s-foot trefoil was looking rather odd with bulbous growths instead of flowers, a plant gall which turned out to be Contarinia loti, complete with four larvae per gall when checked.  This was almost a new record for Scotland according to NBN, with just one record along the Caithness coast!  Goodness knows what else there is to find in this amazing glen.

Ian and the Wildflower team were heading up into Coire Garbhlach (a side glen to Glen Feshie) the next day, a visit I couldn’t make, to do some recording of montane flowers, but Ian kindly sent me a list of what they saw.  I have visited this glen on two previous occasions to look for one of our other rare ferns, mountain bladder-fern (Cystopteris montana), but without success.  This fern was originally found by one of the best

Anthracoidea paniceae smut fungus on Carex panicea

UK Ecologists Dr. Derek Ratcliffe, whose diligence produced many unusual records.  I watched the weather forecasts and once I saw a day where the sun would be tamed a little by cloud, I decided this would be the day I would once again try and get back to those impressive cliffs towards the top end of Coire Garbhlach.  With the car parked at Aclean the initial walk is on the level parallel to the River Feshie but as the cliffs at the t

Alpine cat's-tail - Phleum aplinum an alpine grass

op of the glen start to appear, then the climbing begins.  I decided to follow the Allt Garbhlach because of the variety of plants and other species that would grow there compared to the heathery hillsides either side.  The first find was one of the Anthracoidea smut fungi growing on carnation sedge (Carex panacea) and then, on the river gravel the lichen Peltigera leucophlebia.  Ian had left a query following his visit about the true identity of one of the alpine grasses, and, with a good reference as to its location, I managed to re-find it just beyond the top of a very impressive waterfall.  Again, this was a species which had probably been washed down from higher up and when I saw it I recognised it as alpine cat’s-tail (Phleum alpinum) from

Towering cliffs upper Coire Garbhlach

past forays onto the high tops.  With double spiky awns protruding from the flower head it is quite an easy grass to remember, but why just one plant on its own?  A little further on and the towering cliffs were coming into view, how good it was for the body to be behaving itself and to be visiting once again, the natural alpine “gardens” of our mountains.  On the way up the scree below the cliffs was a single clump of mountain male fern (Dryopteris oreades) and on the damper rocks starry saxifrage and moss campion (Silene acaulis).  I knew I was close to achieving a long-held ambition to see one of the UK’s rarest fern and after a bit of

Mountain bladder fern - Cystopteris montana at last!

scrambling around (sorry Janet!) I was within touching distance of the mountain bladder-fern.  It’s not easy taking photos in a windy gully whilst holding on with one hand and finding good footholds to stand upright,

but who cares, my mission had been achieved.  The worst bit about getting to these loft heights (well 800m) is that there is a great reluctance to go back down, so I found a comfy spot for a bit of lunch whilst checking what was on the rocks beside me.  I had seen wholly willow close to the fern, but by my lunch spot was another mountain one, whortled-leaf willow (Salix myrsinites) and on some leaves there were even plant

Puccinia septentrionalis on alpine meadow rue

galls belonging to Eupontania myrsiniticola a wee sawfly whose distribution is restricted to Scotland.  Just to my side I could see what looked like an orchid and sure enough there were several flowering spikes of frog orchid which I was quite surprised to see so high up.  Lunch lasted about five minutes as I was keen to see what else was on the rocky slopes and a familiar lichen found earlier in the day, P. leucophlebia, was found along with the wispy flower spikes of alpine meadow-rue (Thalictrum alpinum) but with some very strangely coloured stems and leaves – more Puccinia rust fungus, but on a mountain so could be a good

Moonwort

find.  Once home it was easily identified (by host and colours) as P. septentrionalis providing just the fifth dot for the NBN UK map.  All good things come to an end and by mid-afternoon I was on my way back down, but with the advantage of height, I was able to see a fairly distinct deer track, quite a way above the Allt Garbhlach, which looked like the right route to aim for.  Interestingly, Ian and the botanists must have done the same thing as quite a way down the track we both found the same patch of the fern moonwort (Botrychium lunaria) growing alongside a still flowering patch of mountain everlasting (Antennaria dioica)!  What a brilliant day.

Earlier in the year, a friend, Sandy, had asked if I would like to be part of an experiment he was considering involving the green shield-moss (Buxbaumia viridis).  The experiment would involve trying to collect spores from the mature moss capsules and, after mixing with water, try inoculating suitable logs with the spores to see if it was possible help the population by introducing spores to new sites.  Having seen so many capsules over the last few years I had been wondering how easily the moss can move around naturally, as capsules suddenly appear in areas (as far as seen by humans) well away from known sites.  To undertake the work it would be necessary to have logs or substrates with capsules outside designated conservation areas to save having the hassle of the red-tape hoops that would have to be jumped through, though a licence would be needed from SNH for the work to allow us to “interfere” with the mature capsules in, as yet, an undecided

Collecting green shield-moss spores

way of how to actually collect the spores.  The moss remains on Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 meaning that the moss is “protected from intentional picking, uprooting or destruction” so the work would need to be none-destructive, leaving the mature capsules in place before and after spore collection.  A couple of years ago I photographed spores being ejected from a capsule of the brown shield-moss and it was hoped that by using water, we might be able to “encourage” the capsules to eject spores, for us to collect, whilst leaving the plant in place.  So, midway through July I received a phone call to say a site had been chosen where there were plenty of this year’s mature capsules and that an evening meeting had been arranged to trial spore collecting techniques.  There would be four “enthusiasts” including SNH’s bryophytes, fungi and lichens expert, and the site was a community woodland near Beauly.  At the first log the debate

Green shield-moss spores in vial

started about how best to tempt spores to eject and whilst Dave was applying a second drop of water to one of the capsules via a pipette he noticed something discharge from the capsule.  He then did it again.  I produced some small vials from my rucksack which were smaller than those others had brought and by carefully holding the vial close to the spout of the capsule and touching the capsule with the pipette, bingo, a green splodge of spores was ejected into the vial.  This was repeated at several other capsules with varying degrees of success, but most capsules produced something and certainly enough to continue to the next step of the experiment.  Initially I tried to capture an ejection on camera but failed miserably, but then I remembered my wee camera also had video capability and so, by carefully setting the camera on its gorillapod and focusing continually on the spout of the capsule, an ejection was captured for the first time (as far as I know) on video.  See Link below.  I had just one log with capsules outside any reserve designated

Buxbaumia viridis (green shield-moss) spores

lands and a day later I visited it and, after a long wait to allow the very dry capsules to re-hydrate, spores were obtained ready for the next step.  My inoculation site comprised Norway spruce logs and root buttresses and over an hour the spores were introduced to the potential growing sites via a small pipette, carefully marking each location, along with a non-inoculated control site close by, with white cocktail sticks.  We all await with interest to see if anything starts to grow in late September.  In all the years of working with the green shield-moss I have never actually looked at any spores and, with a small amount of spore mass left I popped a bit under the microscope to see for the first time, what actually make the moss “tick”.

The pine martens have continued to entertain, though with few contacts at the time of writing.  Perhaps the most amazing encounter was on the 1^st July when we watched a single animal wander from the squirrel feeders, through the garden to feed on a couple of apples which we had put out for blackbirds by the decking in front of the French windows, which, thankfully, were open.  Janet shouted “it’s on the deck!” just

Pine marten on deck

at the time I had been trying to put a bit of food on a plate to throw out with the apples.  The camera had already been in operation and was lying on the table so very slowly I ventured to the French windows and placed the dish of food on the deck with the pine marten watching a short distance away to my right.  Blow me if it didn’t run away but came to see if there was anything of interest on the plate.  It didn’t try any of the food but did give me a chance to record our close encounter of the “marten” type.  Towards the end of the month Laura was over to visit Ruth, Lewis and the boys and had never seen our pine martens, so I was

Wow!

keeping a bit of an eye open for any activity.  Returning from putting something in the recycling bin in the outside shed I could hear a pine marten in the big pine behind the garage, so I quickly nipped in to tell Laura to grab her camera and follow me with mine, back outside.  We then realised that there wasn’t one, but two martens in the pine and it was probably the presence of Pipsy our cat that was keeping them there.  Eventually the cat returned to the house and the martens headed back towards the squirrel feeders, not two but three of them!  Daylight was fading but there was just about enough light to capture what had to be mum and two youngsters all fighting over who could have which feeder.  Perhaps we need three feeders!

Not content with ascending to 800 metres I was tempted to go looking for a few plants up at around the 1000 metre mark in Coire an t-Sneachea, one of the Northern Coires of Cairn Gorm.  A few chalet visitors have asked, in recent years, about some of the rarer plants that I had seen previously in this area, and after saying that they might be found in this general area, I thought it best to see if it was still possible to see them. 

Salix herbacea and Eupontania herbaceae gall

Alpine saxifrage and Highland saxifrage are two regularly asked for so, with these in mind out came the Leki poles and off we headed for the boulder-field below the crags.  Because of the number of climbers and walkers using this route the path several years ago was quite a mess, particularly in areas close to the wee burn, but, with path repairs that have been carried out in the last couple of decades there is a good path almost all the way to the famous boulder-field.  So, at a gentle plod, I made my way from the car park and up the hill, being passed a couple of times by rope bearing folk, pretty desperate to get to the cliffs to get climbing.  As height was gained, the vegetation became a little sparser and I could see patches of dwarf willow (Salix herbacea) in amongst the rocks by the path.  In need of a decent photo I stopped to seek out one of the better patches and again realised that some leaves were carrying plant galls.  Photos were taken

The Goat Track in Coire an t-Sneachea

along with a leaf specimen for checking once home.  I knew I had seen both saxifrages on either the base of the cliffs or on the damp rocks by the side of what is known as the Goat Track, a narrow track traversing the less steep sections of rock, eventually giving access to the plateau.  Along the damper sections at the base of the rock face the going was quite difficult due to steepness and rock fans from the gully’s above, and it was hard work getting close to what looked like the better bits of rock.  Starry saxifrage was everywhere and the showy white flowers of northern rock-cress.  A common sedge in these sorts of areas is stiff sedge (Carex bigelowii) and whilst trying to find sheathing sedge (Carex vaginata) I noticed that the fruits on some of the stiff sedges were covered in a smut fungus, black balls with a white outer skin.  Hmm, another interesting

Smut fungus (Anthracoidea bigelowii) on Carex bigelowii

find, and an unusual group of fungi that I had been keeping an eye open for with one of the species mentioned in last months diary.  A couple were collected for homework (identified later as Anthracoidea bigelowii).  A patch of globeflowers took me by surprise and though there is a record for the plant nearby, this site appears to be new.  I traversed across to the Goat Track and started to make my way up, keeping a careful eye on any damp rocks by the side of the track.  Somewhere along the upper section of this track, many years ago, I found the Highland saxifrage, but as I climbed higher there were quite a few “new” tracks leaving what I assumed was the old main track,

Students from Glenmore Lodge

and that I wasn’t at all sure where, exactly, the plant had been.  Despite quite a bit of wandering about I failed to find any flowers, perhaps I was a bit early.  I had seen the flower further round the Coire close to an obvious bright green flush on the hillside, so I slowly made my way there, checking all suitable sites as I wandered.  I stopped for a bite to eat and noticed more of the rust on alpine meadow-rue but also what looked like more spots of a rust on the leaves of a patch of starry saxifrage – more homework.  Another of those pesky Puccinia’s – P. saxifragae.  I was also becoming aware of voices nearby and eventually a

Puccinia saxifragae on starry saxifrage leaves

group of trainees from Glenmore Lodge and their leader popped up from below, said hello and made their way over towards the Goat Track!  Two adult snow bunting came close to me whilst having lunch, both collecting food to feed a family somewhere nearby.  Despite spending about an hour in the area of the green flush neither of the saxifrages was found, so time to make my way back down to the car having had another enjoyable day in amongst the alpine plants.

An evening cutting back rhododendron close to the one-flowered wintergreens near Grantown had a bonus.  Checking out a few of the wintergreens after the pleasures of rhodo bashing, a few leaves on a patch of blaeberry looked a bit odd so I took some back to check.  A bit more was found whilst visiting one of the

Exobasidium arescens on blaeberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) leaves 

twinflower sites to re-photo the rare Septoria fungus (see earlier diary) to see whether it was still identifiable so late into summer.  I made a stab at it being Exobasidium arescens, another leaf fungus, and after a request was made to send some to Kew for checking, confirmation came back that I was correct, a second site for Scotland and the fifth in the UK and the first record for 10 years.  Thanks rhodo, a perfect end to my evenings work.  I also visited a few of my favourite bogs to check sedges and small cranberry (Vaccinium microcarpum) patches for things growing on them.  Many of the cranberry sites had good crops of berries

The beautiful Small Cranberry flowers

which should keep the birds happy, and some patches were still heavy in flower – one of the most intriguing flowers you are likely to encounter whilst out botanising.  The visits were just about perfect for seeing lots of raft spiders (Dolomedes fimbriatus) with their nursery webs plus several spiders which look like raft spiders, but only about half of the size.  Possibly these are youngsters from last summer so one for the spider expert to check next time we meet.  A very late family of blackbirds arrived in the garden on 28^th and for the

Raft spider Dolomedes fimbriatus

first time we had adult yellowhammers with youngsters in the garden, an indication that they must have bred quite close by.  And finally, hasn’t it been hot?  Our weather station thermometer topped 30 degrees C for two days running, almost making it too hot for butterfly activity on the transects.  As the temperatures dropped towards the end of the month the first Scotch argus butterflies were encountered, it will be interesting to see if numbers reach the same dizzy heights as last year.  Watch this space.

Enjoy the read.

Stewart and Janet

Wildflower Society

http://www.thewildflowersociety.com/index.htm

Highland Biological Recording Group website

http://www.hbrg.org.uk/Latest.html

Dr. Derek Ratcliffe – outstanding ecologist and conservationist

http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-3429

The first filmed footage of the green shield-moss (Buxbaumia viridis) ejecting spores

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSUVkhCXA-Q&feature=youtu.be

Tick bites, an occupational hazard

Sundew plant with captured common blue damselfly - quite a meal

The brilliant Glen Feshie

Photos © Stewart Taylor

Harry arrives just ahead of record count

My brain isn’t very good with Latin, it’s embarrassing at the start of my talks to admit that I will struggle with scientific names of plants and animals covered during my presentation.  Thankfully, most have common names so it is quite handy to be able to add the scientific name somewhere in the Powerpoint slide.  But getting my tongue around leucophlebia (as in Peltigera) or Sphaerulina (as in S. leightonii) sends the brain into panic mode and some word, new to science, usually flows from my mouth.  A couple of months ago though Janet and I learnt a new bit of Latin – Placenta Previa, and though the words are relatively easy to pronounce, they had us very worried.  They relate to a development during pregnancy, and when daughter Ruth told us this had happened towards the end of her pregnancy, we knew that she was entering dangerous territory.  As the baby develops, the placenta provides blood and nutrients via the umbilical cord which is usually located near the top of the uterus.  In this case, the placenta is low down and blocking the birth route for the baby and any bleeding before the end of pregnancy could have quite serious implications for both 

baby and mother.  With less than a month to go Ruth was told she must give up her job and rest as much as possible, and, because when she was at home she was a long way away from Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, we all thought it safer that she spend her day-time hours with us in Nethybridge.  Because of this condition the baby has to be born by caesarean section and so the hospital set a date that we would all be aiming to reach without any mishaps.  Worryingly, we were also told that local doctors and ambulance crews had been alerted as to her condition.  So Lewis, Ruth’s partner would deliver Finlay and Archie to school and playgroup on his way to work and we would run Ruth over to Firwood before picking up the boys allowing Ruth as much rest as possible.  We even managed a bit of pond-dipping whilst Ruth relaxed (above).  And it worked: at 6.45am on 21 June we arrived at Ruth’s and after a group hug Lewis and Ruth headed off to Raigmore Hospital for an 8am appointment whilst I delivered the boys to school and playgroup. 

The long awaited phone call came at about 1pm to say that Finlay and Archie had a baby brother (Harry) who was doing well but Ruth had had a three hour operation following the c-section because of complications.  Only after the baby was delivered did the delivery team realise that Ruth actually had Placenta Accreta where most, if not all the placenta is embedded in the wall of the uterus – a life threatening 

condition due to massive blood loss immediately following the birth.  The atmosphere in the delivery room went from happy chatting to deadly serious as more doctors were rushed in to cover the emergency.  Three hours and four litres of transfused blood later and Ruth was moved to the high dependency ward where eventually she was able to see wee Harry. It was a further two days before brothers and grandparents were able to meet up with the new parents.  For the next few days the boys were at school and playgroup before they broke up for the summer holidays and a couple of days after that Ruth was allowed home from hospital to start what looked like a long recovery.

Driving back and forth to Insh I was noticed lots of flowering spikes of lesser butterfly orchids (LBO’s) making themselves obvious in the Flowerfield Meadow by the B970.  Just in passing there seemed to be many more than in previous years and a quick phone call to Andy the Cairngorms National Park’s Rare Plants Officer allowed a date to be set for their annual count.  Also, looking into the field from the fence by 

Lesser butterfly orchids

the road there seemed to be many more small white orchids, the spikes of which I would count once the LBO’s had been surveyed.  In between times I had been putting the finishing touches to a talk I was due to give in  Boat of Garten village hall and, after putting the boys to bed one night I thought it best to do a timed run of the talk so I knew everything would fit within the time allowed.  Try as I would I couldn’t get through it as the eye-lids kept closing after every five or so slides – I would just have to hope it would be alright on the (following) night.  The next day the orchid count started and with marker canes and tapes the walks back and forth across the field began.  By lunchtime the count was already higher than the previous best and with 

Small white orchids

a bit of a push at the end of the afternoon the whole site had almost been counted.  Andy would return the following day to check the areas just outwith the main count area and I would do the same to count the small whites.  The display this year was so stunning that folk in the know and passing visitors regularly stopped to look over the roadside fence.  A late afternoon visitor was Flowerfield neighbour, David Hayes (of Landmark fame), who, like myself and Andy kept stopping just to take in the amazing display and take yet another set of photographs.  David, like the field’s owners, has watched over the field during the last three decades and neither could remember anything quite like this years display. When asked about the small white orchids we were all in agreement that ten or fifteen years ago there were probably less than a dozen flower spike, this year I counted 1500!  At the end of the afternoon all the counts of the various LBO sections were totalled and came to an incredible 4345 flowers – no wonder folk were stopping to admire.  Amazing!  Over

Common twayblades

the next couple of days the two LBO fields in Tulloch were counted (25 flower spike in each) and I took neighbours Bill and Rita to see the Flowerfield display.  Laura also came over to visit Ruth and Lewis, Harry and the boys and late in the evening we nipped along to see the orchids which, amazingly, were perfectly back-lit by the setting sun.  On the way back to Firwood we also popped in to see how the common twayblades were faring at the Nethybridge gun club site so, if present, they could be marked to avoid trampling.  Once again there were just two young flower spikes developing and a wee cane with red and white tape was installed to try and protect.

As the orchid count finished I had an appointment to see my doctor and for the fourth time I was given a course of pills for the dreaded Lyme Disease.  A bite, high up on my right arm had started to develop the red ring and though not 100% certain that I was infected (blood test not conclusive after a couple of bouts) it

was thought best that I took the two pills a day for fourteen days.  Thankfully I don’t seem to suffer side effects from the pills, so I was happy to take them just in case.  Early on in the month I was quick enough with the camera to get a photo of synchronised feeding by two red squirrels at the box feeders, little did I know what would be next in the synchronised feeding line.  Regular visits from our pine marten continued into June and alarm calling from the garden birds early one morning alerted me to the possibility of a marten at the feeders and sure enough, as I peeked out from the bedroom window an adult and one youngster were each at a feeder.  Camera assembled, wellies on and a pyjama clad Taylor manoeuvred himself carefully into the trellis archway leading to the chalet and, despite lots of interaction between the two martens, both eventually returned to the feeders, allowing for a repeat of the squirrel photo taken a few days earlier.  I had the feeling that there might have been another young(?) pine marten nearby but best not to be greedy and I settled for photos of the two.

Two bird surveys were completed this month but with little luck with the weather.  The weather folk said the evening was to be dry, and for the most-part it was, but for the hour of the last woodcock count there was light rain.  Apart from trying to keep dry whilst looking upwards, the woodcocks still performed their roding flights, but with the cloud, darkness descended early and late evening bird song was almost none existent.  As I made my way back to the car, of course, the rain stopped.  Next day the data was forwarded to the BTO and the end of season report is now awaited.  The 9th June turned out to be a brilliantly sunny day but at 5am it was misty.  Would it be misty higher up where I was to do the Breeding Bird Survey, yes it was.

The usual birds were heard and being a mainly managed grouse moor, once the first 200m of woodland had been left behind, the main birds continued to be meadow pipits, a single red grouse and a distant golden plover.  The cloudberries though were in full flower and only found on the higher sections of the transect, but always worth stopping for a photo.  Blaeberry was also in full flower but the cool, misty conditions meant that there were few bees to record apart from a few hardy blaeberry bumblebees (Bombus monticola).  Later in the day, with the sun going full belt, it was hot enough to go in search of the tiny Osmia uncinata bee, though just one was seen.  Perhaps the most unusual record for June was 21 whooper swans flying over on the 8^th, quite a late record, the birds possibly having been held up with cool weather further south during May?  I also managed a short interview for the Out of Doors programme on Radio Scotland.  I had met Mark Stevens in May when he did a programme about the 10^th anniversary of the Cairngorms National Park, Tourist Board and Housing Authority (only joking but on second thoughts not really).  I managed one sentence on that programme after a half-hour interview and I suggested to the producer that

Sclerophora pallida pin-head lichen

Mark hadn’t really touched on the important “wee things” that make the Park internationally important, so this visit/interview was to try and rectify that – though we only had one hour!  I thought a visit to Tulloch would meet the brief and allow me to show him the two rare mosses, green and brown shield-moss growing close together but they didn’t make it and the programme clip featured a few of the rarer aspen lichens particularly the tiny Sclerophora pallida pin-head which initially he had great trouble seeing.  I think he failed to appreciate that what he saw in the short time he was out with me, would be quite difficult to replicate in such a small area and in such a short period of time elsewhere within the Park.  Slowly forward.

As we counted the Flowerfield orchids something unusual came into view.  The meadow is brilliant for many plants, not just the orchids and at this time of year (though now probably affected by the summer drought) blue scabious flowers and the “spiky” field gentian take over from the orchids.  As I was walking back and forth I noticed quite a lot of spikes of spring sedge (Carex caryophyllea), a plant that appeared in the last diary.  Nothing unusual in seeing the sedge but I then noticed several of them had large, black balls attached to the “flower” heads –

Anthracoidea caryophylleae and spring sedge

parasitic fungal smuts which I found out belonged to the order Ustilaginales.  These fungi develop as small, thick walled “balls” which typically grow over some of the seeds on the infected plant and on maturity develop into a black, smutty mass in amongst the other seeds on the flower head.  Once seen it’s amazing how many you find as you walk, and from one patch I collected several infected sedges for further investigation.  Once home some of the black, smutty mass was scraped from the seeds and the spores checked under the microscope; the Internet providing an initial name of Anthracoidea caryophylleae. 

Anthracoidea caryophylleae spores - thick walled in places

However, this is a complex group of fungi and the specimens will need to be forwarded to experts to confirm.  Worryingly, I knew that this intriguing group of possibly under-recorded fungi, was going to stick in my mind, and would be yet something else to keep an eye open for on my wanderings.  Help!  Finding odd fungi remained with me on another outing when I was visiting a small stream to wet a couple of lichens I had just collected for checking.  Brittle lichens travel better when wet.  As I dipped my cupped hand into the

Under-water fungus Pachyella badingtonii

water I noticed lots of small, round, brown blobs in the gravel at the bottom of the shallow stream.  Intrigued, I poked around the blobs and found they were attached or growing from a submerged piece of wood and looked to me like an under-water fungus.  So, into the tube with the lichens went a few of the fruiting bodies and after processing and sending the photos to expert Liz the name of Pachyella badingtonii emerged.  Thanks Liz.  And with two more unpronounceable words it’s time to end as we began.

Problems uploading but solved by using Google Chrome.

Enjoy the read.

Stewart and Janet

Out of Doors Radio Scotland

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074hjr

Highland Biological Recording Group website

http://www.hbrg.org.uk/Latest.html

BTO Woodcock Survey

http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/woodcock-survey

Ringed plover Loch Ericht

Cottonwool galls (Andricus quercusramuli) on Pityoulish oaks

Spot the black-headed gull

Photos © Stewart Taylor