These blogs feature my writing and photographs from my experiences out in the Caledonian Forest and other natural ecosystems. Please subscribe to receive automatic notifications when new blog posts are added.
Alan’s blog
Alan’s blog
Misty autumn day in Strathfarrar
Updated on 14 January 2014 with video footage at the end of the blog.
On a Sunday in mid-October, after a beautiful, still and misty morning at Loch Achilty, I drove to Glen Strathfarrar, where I was hoping to catch the autumn colours of the trees in their prime. Strathfarrar contains one of the best remnants of the original Caledonian Forest, with a large expanse of native pinewood, which rivals that of the much better known Glen Affric. It is therefore something of a hidden secret in the Highlands, and it is at its best in autumn, when the leaves on the broadleaved trees change colour before being shed. [Read more…] about Misty autumn day in Strathfarrar
Tranquil autumn morning at Loch Achilty
Every year in October, I set aside two weekends to go out camping in the Caledonian Forest, to make the most of the opportunities to photograph the autumn colours of the trees. It’s my favourite time of year to be in the forest, especially as there are often wind-still mornings with mist or fog, which provide a wonderful atmospheric ambience to the landscapes. [Read more…] about Tranquil autumn morning at Loch Achilty
Return to the Wonder Tree
At the beginning of September, I posted a blog about the ‘Wonder tree’ – a rowan tree (Sorbus aucuparia) on Dundreggan that I’d visited with some aphid surveyors in July, and which was supporting a whole host of invertebrate life. About 10 days later I spent a week at Dundreggan, when I was co-focalising a special ‘Up Close to Nature’ volunteer Conservation Week, so I took the opportunity during the day off in the programme to re-visit the tree, to see if the aphids were still there, and what else might be on the tree.
Portrait of a micro-moth
In the summer of 2012, my colleague Steve Morris, our Operations Manager at Dundreggan, discovered some previously unknown large bushes of dwarf birch (Betula nana) in the large exclosure of new native woodland established by the previous owner of the estate in 2002. The fence for that area includes some ground reaching up to about 450 metres in elevation, and there must have been some dwarf birch plants already there, which began to grow once they were protected from overgrazing by red deer (Cervus elaphus).
When I was out looking at those dwarf birch plants myself in July, I spotted a small caterpillar inside a partial silk wrapping around some of the leaves, and took a couple of photographs of it, thinking it would be easy to get the species identified. [Read more…] about Portrait of a micro-moth
A day at Dog Falls
At the end of June I went up to Glen Affric for the day, intending to visit Glac Daraich, the site of the third fenced exclosure in the glen that we funded in partnership with Forestry Commission Scotland, back in 1993. However, it was one of those days when I decided to stop for a quick look at the forest near Dog Falls on the way into the glen, and I ended up spending the whole day there never making it to my destination … [Read more…] about A day at Dog Falls
The wonder tree
In late July, we had two specialists, Bob Dransfield and Bob Brightwell, come to Dundreggan for a week to do a follow-up survey for aphids to that which Ed Baker had done there in 2012. As usual when we have biodiversity surveyors at Dundreggan, I spent a couple of days there with them, and in this case that turned out to be the first and last days that the Bobs, as they call themselves, were there. In comparison to the phenomenal abundance of aphids we experienced in 2012, there have been comparatively few apparent this year, but the Bobs did find a number of species that hadn’t been recorded last year, particularly on herbaceous plants. [Read more…] about The wonder tree
Summer solstice at Dundreggan
On Saturday 22nd June, the day after the summer solstice, I went out to Dundreggan, to celebrate the longest day of the year with a day’s photography in the forest there. At mid-summer we get about 20 hours of daylight in the north of Scotland, and it never gets fully dark. Even at midnight and 1 am, there’s always some light over the horizon in the north of the sky. I wasn’t planning to stay out that late though, but I was looking forward to enjoying the lush growth and abundant life of the season, as we officially moved from spring into summer. [Read more…] about Summer solstice at Dundreggan
A bluebell day in Glen Cannich
In early June I headed out to Glen Cannich for the day, to visit the large aspen stand I found there last year, and which I’ve blogged about before. I’d been there in May with my colleague Mick to survey the aspens and had noticed there were a lot of bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) showing their buds, so I’d estimated this would be about the right time to catch them at the peak of their flowering. [Read more…] about A bluebell day in Glen Cannich
Beside the River Farrar
In early April I made my first visit of the year to Glen Strathfarrar, one of my favourite native pinewood areas, and a glen which rivals Affric for its wildness and beauty. The road into the glen has a gate across it, which is closed to the public in the winter, only opening again at the beginning of April, so this was my first day out in the glen since last October, when I’d spent a day there photographing aspen trees (Populus tremula) at the peak of their autumn colours. [Read more…] about Beside the River Farrar
Willow cuttings expedition to West Affric
On 30th April I went out with my colleagues Jill Hodge and Abbey Goff to West Affric, to collect cuttings of tea-leaved willow (Salix phylicifolia) for propagation in our tree nursery at Dundreggan. This would be the first such collection of this species from the area for us, and we’d been trying to find a mutually convenient date for several weeks, before finally settling on this one. Jill and Abbey live near Tomich and in Cannich respectively, so we arranged to meet at Dog Falls and go together westwards from there in one vehicle. [Read more…] about Willow cuttings expedition to West Affric