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.
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
