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
Spring in Strathfarrar, part 1
During the first half of May I made a couple of trips out to Glen Strathfarrar, which contains one of my favourite remnants of the original Caledonian Forest. There’s extensive areas of old Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris) that are relatively little-visited by people, and the glen also contains a good number of aspen trees (Populus tremula), as well as some less common species such as oak (Quercus petraea) and juniper (Juniperus communis). The glen has a locked gate across the road into it, and only 25 cars are allowed in at any one time, so it’s always a quiet place to go and spend a day in the forest. [Read more…] about Spring in Strathfarrar, part 1
Seeds of a Good Anthropocene
In early June I was invited to participate in a special three day workshop that was held on an island in the Stockholm archipelago in Sweden, with the rather unusual title of ‘Seeds of a Good Anthropocene’. This was a collaborative project organised by faculty members from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, the Stockholm Resilience Centre in Sweden and the Centre for Complex Systems in Transition at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, and was designed to develop scenarios for positive futures for humanity as we move forward in what is now being termed the Anthropocene epoch. [Read more…] about Seeds of a Good Anthropocene
A night with the ‘wolves’
During the last week of April I spent a couple of days at Dundreggan, so that I could go out overnight with the volunteers who are taking part in our Project Wolf there. That’s the name for an experimental project we’re carrying out to see if we can replicate the natural disturbance effect of Scotland’s missing predators, such as the wolf (Canis lupus). By having volunteers walk through the edge of the native woodland on the estate at irregular and varied times during the night we hope to keep red deer (Cervus elaphus) from browsing on naturally-regenerating birch seedlings (Betula pendula and Betula pubescens), just as they come into leaf and are at their most vulnerable. [Read more…] about A night with the ‘wolves’
Signs of spring unfolding
After a relatively mild and mostly snow-less winter, spring is well underway in the Highlands at this time. Leaves are reappearing on the trees, birdsong is abundant and the days are lengthening considerably now that we’re past the vernal equinox and are into the half of the year with more light than darkness. At the beginning of April I spent a Sunday out in Glen Affric and much of my time then was spent documenting some of the signs of spring.
A magical snowy day in Glen Affric
As I write this we’ve just passed the equinox, and spring is well under way in the Highlands, with clear sunny days, lots of bird songs and the first flowers already in blossom. In some ways it almost seems like we didn’t have a winter this year, as the weather was generally relatively mild and the cold snowy days often associated with the season have been conspicuous mostly by their absence. There were occasional falls of snow, but usually the temperature warmed up again quite quickly, so the white covering on the ground and the trees never lasted for more than a day or two. [Read more…] about A magical snowy day in Glen Affric
Misty day in Glen Cannich, part 2
In early January I spent a day out in Glen Cannich, and during the morning my attention was focused on the wonderful atmospheric conditions created by the mist drifting along the hillsides and over the old Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris) there. I also photographed some red deer (Cervus elaphus). By lunch time however, the mist was gone and the deer had moved away so in the afternoon I began exploring the rocky knolls in the area below the Mullardoch dam. There are no trees there at all, so I don’t usually spend any time in that spot, because it’s rather bleak and desolate. [Read more…] about Misty day in Glen Cannich, part 2
A red squirrel translocation day
On the 9th of February I spent a very interesting day with one of my colleagues, Becky Priestley, as she carried out the next phase of our newest project for the restoration of the Caledonian Forest. Becky is our Wildlife Officer and she’s working on a three year project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), the People’s Trust for Endangered Species and an appeal to our supporters, for the translocation of red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) to suitable native forests in the northwest Highlands that are currently missing these arboreal, bushy-tailed mammals. [Read more…] about A red squirrel translocation day
Misty day in Glen Cannich, part 1
For my first trip out to the Caledonian Forest in 2017 I decided to visit Glen Cannich as it had been some time since I was last there. It was another mild day in this unseasonably warm winter when I went out in early January, and I was hoping to be able to photograph some red deer (Cervus elaphus) while I was there. One of the estates in the glen feeds deer near the road in the winter, so it’s often possible to see the animals at close proximity. [Read more…] about Misty day in Glen Cannich, part 1
Fantastic fungi
Autumn is my favourite season of the year in the Caledonian Forest, and although I spend a lot of time appreciating and photographing the bright colours of the leaves on the deciduous trees, fungi run them a close second in terms of garnering my interest. This is the time when the majority of fungi produce their fruiting bodies and I’ve long been intrigued and fascinated by the diversity and beauty of the various forms they take. [Read more…] about Fantastic fungi
Damp winter days in Glen Affric
For a casual visitor, it may often appear like there’s not much to see in the Caledonian Forest in winter. By then, all the leaves have fallen from the deciduous trees, many birds have migrated south for the winter and insects have gone into pupal stasis, out of sight. My experience, however, is that there is in fact still plenty of interest in the forest, if I shift my focus to some of the permanent, year-round life forms, and take time to look closely for them. [Read more…] about Damp winter days in Glen Affric