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| Foxglove Gully - pastel sketch on paper |
I love guddling around in steep, mountain gullies where ancient rock meets eroding water and scrambling adventure meets danger. Gullies are not safe and the constant threat from a crashing rock or sliding wet scree keeps one on the alert. Plants seem to love gullies too, for these rocky ravines harbour shelter from the fierce Cairngorm winds yet provide many essential nutrients for life in extreme conditions.
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| Sketching today |
Mixed in with the jumble of frost cleaved rocks at the foot of our gully of ascent lies the remains of one goose, probably a Pink-foot, and I strongly suspect that it has been caught and brought down from a skein of migrating geese by a Golden Eagle. I have now found the carcasses of three geese on the mountains of Scotland that were more than likely killed and eaten by eagles.
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| Red Grouse family |
As we climb the gully, boots squish moss against rock, and then rock against eroded gravel until crystal clear, gushing water laps at laces to remind us of its never ending work to provide the water of life to all flora and fauna. This gully also gives shelter to a roosting Golden Eagle, as well as a home to the tiny Wren that fuzzes and fizzes from the shadowy roots of the gully trees.
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| Mike with his Golden Eagle feather, young eagle tail probably |
The lemon yellow florets of Marsh Hawk's-beard clings to the gully walls, and Heath Speedwell clusters a bouquet of pale lilac-blue which delicately contrasts with the sky reaching Foxglove stalks that litter spent flower trumpets on the gully bed where the stream catches them to send them into a watery foxtrot; around and around, spinning like tiny magenta boats caught in a whirlpool. Alpine Lady's-mantle decks the walls with soft, fingered green that is tickled by the beautiful whip ends of Viviparous Fescue grass overhanging the gully stream.
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| Wren |
Gullies narrow the landscape field of vision down until the sky forms a bright band above that glares against the dark, gully walls and the cathedral vaulting effect of passing clouds overhead can be dizzying, and grave like. Exiting the gully top onto the rounded hill plateau and back into landscape depth of vision and light can have an uplifting effect on the mind. That emergence is watched by a Red Grouse family skulking in the heath between hummocks of peat, they freeze still to stare, then blast a covey flight skywards to escape.
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| Young Curlew, note the short bill |
There was no escape for the two occupants of an RAF aircraft that crashed nearby in 1950 on Cairn Trench in Glen Clova. The Airspeed Oxford PH311 came to earth on a flight from Turnhouse to Dyce aerodromes while cruising in cloud on 24th August. Flt. Lt. L. J. Waugh pilot and Squadron Leader A. L. Carrie passenger were killed. The radial engines can be found buried in the peat and a few other small pieces remain.
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| Golden Eagle feathers |
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| Goose remains |
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| Goose remains |
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| Heath Speedwell |
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| Red Deer stags |
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| Kestrel dog-fight |
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| Bog Asphodel |
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| Marsh Hawk's-beard |
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| Viviparous Fescue |
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| Airspeed Oxford |
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| Radial engine from the Airspeed Oxford PH311 crash in 1950 |
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| Red Deer herd with hundreds of antler heads |
Notes;........article in progress............
All text, photographs and sketches done on the 19 July 2019 and subject to copyright - no reproduction.
Income from book sales will form a donation to CABS (Committee Against Bird Slaughter)
If you are inspired to go out into the hills and glens of Scotland please leave it as you find it, respect the environment, do not litter or discard so called 'biodegradable' fruit and especially if you are a dog walker keep your beast on a lead and do not bag up its waste then chuck it by the wayside. I recently came across one black poo bag neatly hung on a tree branch for someone else to take home and also a bright blue one thrown in the moorland verge....why?
Moorland birds like Golden Plover, Dunlin, Dotterel, Ptarmigan and many raptors nest on the ground, it is advisable to keep dogs at heel or preferably on leads when walking on the high plateaux of the Cairngorms during summer months.
Please be aware that it is illegal to disturb nesting eagles or other raptors and you may do so inadvertently in your journeys into the highlands. Observe protected species at a respectful distance usually from about 1000 metres and for short periods of time only.
No wildlife was unduly or knowingly disturbed by my presence or for the purposes of this web page other than what would be expected on a normal hill walk. Many geographic names and location recognizable photos have been omitted to prevent persecution or ringing-monitoring disturbance to named species.
Canon camera 200D with optical zoom lens EFS 55-250mm used; please note that the zoom range distance if given is calculated by OS map from subject location to camera
