The leaves on the birch tree outside the window are rapidly turning yellow and falling from the trees, and a little after 6pm, it is getting quite dark - autumn is upon us, and I just about managed the bike ride to work and back this week without lights. The male black grouse have started their autumn leks and a single male caper was also seen lekking, an odd occurrence at this time of year. Overhead we are starting to see a few more redwings but only a handful of fieldfares. Unusually, there are quite a few song thrushes in the forest still, no doubt finishing off the last of the blaeberries, cowberries and crowberries in amongst the heather on the forest floor. Song thrushes don't spend the winter with us unlike the mistle thrushes, a few of which do brave out the winter months. Also overhead we have seen lots of pink-footed geese, no doubt heading for the Vane Farm reserve or the carrot fields of Lancashire. Greylag geese are also now starting to appear, though only a few are to be found roosting on Loch Garten where we also have about 30 roosting goosander. Water rails were heard squealing at Loch Mallachie on Tuesday and a walk round the Mondhuie woods located thirty-five species of birds. A group of about 50 greenfinches feeding on juniper berries along the Speyside Way was unusual. Both male and female capercaillie have been seen 'gritting' along tracks in the forest this week, October being a good month to see capers on track and road verges.
This is also the time of year for the red deer rut, as we have seen in graphic detail on our TV screen over the last couple o
f years. Autumn-watch with Bill Oddie and team showed excellent footage of fighting and roaring stags live from the Isle of Rum last year, and whilst we can't quite match that in our local forests, roaring stags have been heard from the house over the last few days and a single stag with his harem of six hinds was seen from the bike as I pedalled in to work last Thursday. He didn't quite stand watching me for long enough to take a photo but he was every bit as 'good looking' as the one in the 
picture. Calves conceived during the rut will be born during May next year.
f years. Autumn-watch with Bill Oddie and team showed excellent footage of fighting and roaring stags live from the Isle of Rum last year, and whilst we can't quite match that in our local forests, roaring stags have been heard from the house over the last few days and a single stag with his harem of six hinds was seen from the bike as I pedalled in to work last Thursday. He didn't quite stand watching me for long enough to take a photo but he was every bit as 'good looking' as the one in the 
picture. Calves conceived during the rut will be born during May next year. I has not been a good month for buzzards. I picked one up from the garage in Aviemore which had been hit by a car whilst feeding on a roadside rabbit kill. It died during the same night from its injuries. However, it was carrying a BTO leg ring so I forwarded the number to the British Trust for Ornithology who will eventually get back to me to let me know who ringed the bird along with the location where ringing took place. It is from the ringing programme that we learn so much about how long birds live, how far they travel etc, that the effort to visit nest to ring young birds before they fledge or to catch migrating birds in mist nets is well worthwhile. See http://www.bto.org/ringing/ringinfo/index.htm for more information on bird ringing, and whom to contact if you find a ringed bird. The second buzzard to be handed to me was much more worrying as it had been shot - illegally. The estate where the bird was found has been brought 
to my attention three times this year so far; a suspicious bait laid to try and poison unsuspecting birds of prey, pole traps on a grouse moor and obvious efforts to get rid of raptors by shooting. Can you believe that this is 2007 and not 1907?. In the fifty year period to 1907 many of our once common birds of prey were made extinct or brought close to extinction by human persecution during the advent of the "sporting estate" and all because the birds the raptors caught to live on were the same that estate owners wanted to shoot for sport. So what's changed! This is the second shot buzzard that I have had to deal with this year. All birds of prey that could have died unnaturally, are sent to the National Veterinary Laboratories to have their cause of death determined. An x-ray shows instantly if a bird has been shot. Quite worryingly, illegal persecution whether by shooting or poisoning, seem to be on the increase. Reported cases are probably just the tip of a very large iceberg. If you ever do find a dead bird of prey do treat it with caution because if the bird has been poisoned, the poison used to kill the bird can, quite often, do the same to humans.
to my attention three times this year so far; a suspicious bait laid to try and poison unsuspecting birds of prey, pole traps on a grouse moor and obvious efforts to get rid of raptors by shooting. Can you believe that this is 2007 and not 1907?. In the fifty year period to 1907 many of our once common birds of prey were made extinct or brought close to extinction by human persecution during the advent of the "sporting estate" and all because the birds the raptors caught to live on were the same that estate owners wanted to shoot for sport. So what's changed! This is the second shot buzzard that I have had to deal with this year. All birds of prey that could have died unnaturally, are sent to the National Veterinary Laboratories to have their cause of death determined. An x-ray shows instantly if a bird has been shot. Quite worryingly, illegal persecution whether by shooting or poisoning, seem to be on the increase. Reported cases are probably just the tip of a very large iceberg. If you ever do find a dead bird of prey do treat it with caution because if the bird has been poisoned, the poison used to kill the bird can, quite often, do the same to humans.
Readers of this diary will probably be glad to see this picture. It's a tooth fungi which is coming to the end of its 2007 life, and, so as not to be wasted, is being consumed by another fungus, in this case - mould! So no more tooth fungi for this year! Maps have been produced showing the distribution of all that was found and who knows, a report might follow and be published.
Late summer is also the best time to go out identifying ferns. But th
ey are all the same I hear you cry! Well yes some are quite similar, that is until you turn the whole frond over, when all will be revealed and help comes to hand with identifying which species you have. On the underside of the leaves of most ferns you will see the plants reproductive mechanism - the sori or capsules enclosing the spores that will drift off in the wind and land somewhere close by so the spore can germinate and start the process all 
over again. Big, bold ferns like Male Ferns (right) are good to check out, the underside of their leaves covered with rows and rows of sori. Compare them with the leaf-shape and sori distribution of the Common Polypody (left). With time the sori darken and the spores are released, quite an amazing process. The sori usually develop in parallel rows with each growing above a leaf vein from where it gets its nourishment. Each sori is a bit like a small umbrella, a cover, on a stalk, protecting the spores until they are ripe. As each sori ages and dries the spore receptacle called the annulus, shrinks 
and bends over. Tension is created during the drying process when a wee gas bubble develops helping to jerk the annulus back up, slinging the spores into the air. Fascinating! In the picture right, you can see the sori on the edge of the leaves of Lemon-scented Fern (Oreopteris limbosperma).
ey are all the same I hear you cry! Well yes some are quite similar, that is until you turn the whole frond over, when all will be revealed and help comes to hand with identifying which species you have. On the underside of the leaves of most ferns you will see the plants reproductive mechanism - the sori or capsules enclosing the spores that will drift off in the wind and land somewhere close by so the spore can germinate and start the process all 
over again. Big, bold ferns like Male Ferns (right) are good to check out, the underside of their leaves covered with rows and rows of sori. Compare them with the leaf-shape and sori distribution of the Common Polypody (left). With time the sori darken and the spores are released, quite an amazing process. The sori usually develop in parallel rows with each growing above a leaf vein from where it gets its nourishment. Each sori is a bit like a small umbrella, a cover, on a stalk, protecting the spores until they are ripe. As each sori ages and dries the spore receptacle called the annulus, shrinks 
and bends over. Tension is created during the drying process when a wee gas bubble develops helping to jerk the annulus back up, slinging the spores into the air. Fascinating! In the picture right, you can see the sori on the edge of the leaves of Lemon-scented Fern (Oreopteris limbosperma). For most of the ferns shown, the shape of the fern and distribution of the sori are all you need to identify the fern. However, locally, a more unusual fern has been found in a few locations. In the past it was thought to only occur in sea caves on the Aberdeenshire coast but a few years ago a local botanist found it growing in a river gorge inland, and more recently it was found growing on an ancient bridge crossing the River Avon.
Dickie's Bladder-fern left (Cystopteris dickieana), probably grows on the bridge because of the ancient mortar used to hold the bridge together. A couple of weeks ago Andy, a work colleague, found his second 'bridge' site but this time on the River Findhorn. Unlike the ferns mentioned earlier, this one can only be positively identified by using a microscope to check the shape of the spores, this is because the fern to all intents and purposes, looks just like the common Brittle Bladder-fern (Cystopteris fragilis) which I have seen in quite a few places when looking for other ferns. However, I thought Dickie was worth a visit and went armed with c
amera to see it for myself. The fern was there but looking a little the worse for wear being so late in the season, the leaf and sori though were still worth photographing (right). On the way home I drove past another old bridge - so decided to check it out - you know what's coming, there was the fern, though this had to be confirmed by Andy and his microscope. The 'Highland Naturalist' does it again! This fern is rare enough to be protected by law, ie it's illegal to pick, dig up or damage, however, to check the plants identity a small piece can be removed, and this is what I did. Another bridge checked yesterday and another small pice of fern awaits Andy's help! 
The slightly frosty nights of late have given us warm 
sunny days but cool, misty mornings and a visit to Loch Mallachie, just as the mist was lifting revealed a wonderland of spiders webs, big ones, small ones, tent shaped ones and ones with no shape or logic at all. The web in the tree left, caught my eye standing alone by the shore. Within half an hour the webs had almost disappeared as the dew evaporated. It is only under these conditions that you see just how many spiders there are, one of the most numerous animals in many habitats. How surreal is the one on the right! No Photoshop trickery, that's just how it was. Laura Taylor from the Cairngorm National Park is overseeing a water vole project where breeding evidence is looked for but also evidence of its main predator, the American mink. We know that within Abernethy Forest, the water voles main refuge is very high up in the hills in the very young streams that flow down towards the River Nethy, the Faesheallach and the Crom Allt. High up in the watershed the mink only has a limited impact on the vole in that 
mink visits are probably quite infrequent and when they do visit the limited food supply means they don't stay around for too long. However, in the time they are there the mink can cause a severe reduction in the water vole population of one head water before heading off down stream. It is unlikely that they will visit more than one head water before departing, leaving the other populations unscathed. To try and find out how big the mink population is, a series of 'footprint traps' (left) have been installed in many of the water bodies within the Park. To date, only one of the Abernethy 'traps' has recorded mink presence so hopefully, the population is fairly small.
mink visits are probably quite infrequent and when they do visit the limited food supply means they don't stay around for too long. However, in the time they are there the mink can cause a severe reduction in the water vole population of one head water before heading off down stream. It is unlikely that they will visit more than one head water before departing, leaving the other populations unscathed. To try and find out how big the mink population is, a series of 'footprint traps' (left) have been installed in many of the water bodies within the Park. To date, only one of the Abernethy 'traps' has recorded mink presence so hopefully, the population is fairly small.Just look at this lot! The veg patch is only small, but it does provide a fair am
ount of produce. 
The best of the leeks looks like it could win prizes and the carrots have never been so big. The broad beans didn't seem to like the cold but the rest of the veg has benefited from the summer rain.
ount of produce. 
The best of the leeks looks like it could win prizes and the carrots have never been so big. The broad beans didn't seem to like the cold but the rest of the veg has benefited from the summer rain.Yummie - again!
That's it - enjoy the read
Stewart & Janet
A shadow of my former self!
All photos © Stewart Taylor
