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Alan Watson Featherstone

ECOLOGIST, NATURE PHOTOGRAPHER AND INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKER
FOUNDER OF THE AWARD-WINNING CHARITY TREES FOR LIFE

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Inverfarigaig

Hair ice and frosted lichens

Inverfarigaig: 22 January 2016 7 Comments

Lobes and apothecia of a dog lichen (Peltigera sp.) and moss covered in frost, in the gorge at Inverfarigaig.
Lobes and apothecia of a dog lichen (Peltigera sp.) and slender mouse-tail moss (Isothecium myosuroides) covered in frost, in the gorge at Inverfarigaig.

In the middle of December, on a cold and frosty morning, I decided to make a return visit to Inverfarigaig, to explore more of the temperate rainforest in the gorge there. I’d spent a very satisfying day at the site in early November, which featured in a recent blog I wrote, and my appetite had been whetted then to discover more of this special area, on the southeast side of Loch Ness. On that day I’d spent almost all my time in a very small section of the gorge, and I suspected that there would be a lot more of interest, if I looked at other parts of the area. [Read more…] about Hair ice and frosted lichens

Autumn in the Inverfarigaig rainforest

Inverfarigaig: 8 December 2015 16 Comments

Bracket fungus (Inonotus radiatus) growing out of the broken trunk of an alder tree (Alnus glutinosa) beside a small burn at Inverfarigaig.
Alder bracket fungi (Mensularia radiata) growing out of the moss-covered broken trunk of an alder tree (Alnus glutinosa) beside a small burn at Inverfarigaig.

Inverfarigaig is a small village on the southeast side of Loch Ness, about halfway down the loch’s 23 mile length, which takes its name from the River Farigaig that discharges into the loch there. ‘Inver’ is derived from the Gaelic word ‘inhbir’,  meaning ‘the mouth of a river’ and the Farigaig flows from the Monadhliath Mountains, which lie between Loch Ness and the Strathspey valley to the east. Near its confluence with the loch, the river flows through a narrow gorge which provides both an important habitat and some degree of protection for a special area of woodland. [Read more…] about Autumn in the Inverfarigaig rainforest

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My TEDx talk – Restoring the ancient Caledonian Forest.

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Recent posts

  • The abundant life of dead wood, part 3
  • The abundant life of dead wood, part 2
  • The abundant life of dead wood, part 1
  • Gannets galore, part 2
  • Gannets galore, part 1

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    Ecologist, nature photographer and inspirational speaker. Founder of the award-winning charity Trees for Life that is restoring the Caledonian Forest.

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    alanwatsonfeat1 Alan Watson Featherstone @alanwatsonfeat1 ·
    24h

    Sometimes I receive wonderful gifts in Nature & this was one last week. I was photographing aphids on autumn hawkbit & had put my jacket on the ground next to me. A few moments later I saw this common lizard (Zootoca vivipara) on it, 3 feet from me: it stayed there for 6 minutes!

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    thegreenparty The Green Party @thegreenparty ·
    19 Aug

    A liveable future means no new oil and gas.

    Andy Burnham must say no to Rosebank and Jackdaw.

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    fairieteeth ☆ @fairieteeth ·
    20 Aug

    Borneo is home to over 6,000 endemic plants, 44 endemic mammals, 37 endemic birds, 100 endemic amphibians, and 19 endemic fish. this does not even take into account the amount of humans that are suffering. this is an international tragedy and no one is talking about it

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