Alan Watson Featherstone

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

Search Results for: fungi

More slime moulds & colourful lichens

Glen Strathfarrar: Leave a Comment

Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris) growing on top of a cliff in Glen Strathfarrar. They were able to grow there because of the site's relative inaccessibility to deer, which otherwise eat all the young tree seedlings.

On Saturday I made another trip to Glen Strathfarrar, hoping to catch the last of the autumn colours at their best, as the birches had hardly started turning, during my previous visit, three weeks ago. Instead of going up the road in the main part of the glen as I usually do, I decided on impulse to go up a Hydro track on the north side instead. I had only been up in that part once, about 10 years ago, and had always wanted to return, so this seemed like a good time to do so. [Read more…] about More slime moulds & colourful lichens

A tale of two burns, part 2

Glenmoriston: Leave a Comment

Bracken beside cascades on the Allt Phocaichan burn as it tumbles through an area of native pinewood at Inverwick.

On Sunday, the day after I’d been up the Allt a Choire Bhuidhe burn on Dundreggan, I went across to the other (south) side of Glen Moriston, where the Allt Phocaichan burn flows down through a native pinewood remnant on Forestry Commission Scotland’s Inverwick site. I don’t know that area as well as Dundreggan, and there’s much of the length of the Allt Phocaichan that I haven’t explored yet, so this was a good chance to see it in its autumn finery. [Read more…] about A tale of two burns, part 2

A windy day at Dundreggan

Dundreggan: 6 Comments

Backlit birch trees on the lower slopes of Binnilidh Bheag on Dundreggan.

It was another Sunday to head out into the forest, and like last week, I was seeking some good displays of autumn colours – this time I was going back to Dundreggan. However, as it turned out, like the previous Sunday, it was very windy, which I was slightly dismayed about, not only because of the difficulties it poses for photography, but also because it meant that the leaves would be blown off the trees more quickly than they otherwise would. [Read more…] about A windy day at Dundreggan