After spending the winter in the Community Garden, our Capercaillie sculpture was placed in the centre of Deshar Wood after the woodland had had its second thinning.

It was made in local wood, notably the tail constructed in Rowan and put together by sculpturer Kevin Blackwell and the children of Deshar Primary School.

He greets visitors, locals and dog walkers at the center crossroads to their surprise, helping to increase awareness of the Capercaillie that inhabit these woods.

The sculpture is of a male Capercaillie with its fanned tail and its head raised in a slightly aggressive pose, which is the way they behave during ”Lekking”. During April and May these birds have been “Leing” in the Boat Woodlands and therefore it is very important to adhere to the seasonal signage within the sensitive areas. If you see the sculpture on your walk this means that you are in the centre of the sensitive area- please keep your dogs under close control or preferably on a short lead.

The Boat Community Company were hosts to a group of Norweigen National Park board members. They met local members and saw all the efforts the community have put into improving the village and their relationships with the CNPA.

After a great lunch I gave them a guided walk through the Deshar Woodlands in great weather. We exchanged ideas and experiences, and discussed management issues in woodland. Excluding this Norweigen group I have had 23 people on scheduled guided walks in April.

Over 4000 tonnes of timber were extracted out of  Deshar Woodlands over the winter months. After some disruption and a dry winter, the tracks have been reinstated and are in good condition, but not everywhere. Repairs will continue after the Capercaillie breeding period.

Juniper and Holly have been stratigically planted at the side of footpaths in order to provide natural screening in areas where it is too open. As well as being native, seedlings they will provide good cover from the paths for the Capercaillie. Over 1500 saplings have been planted by Seafield Estate.

   I eventually found this Opal Olympia 1950′s ? after two seasons looking. Very well hidden in a hollow with Scots Pine seedlings taking root on the bonnet. Research has not uncovered the truth of this left hand drive vehicle and when,how and who bogged it down so long ago, quite possibly before the forest was planted,1964.

This is the second bag of rubbish that I retrieved from the Deshar Woodlands this month, but this was after 6 months leave, so not so bad. Dog Poo signs have recently been posted as there were comments on the number of “doggy bags” left in the woodland. An improvement has been noted by locals.

  On the 20th April our new playground was opened at the community hall. There were many activities for the children – one of which was  a Den building session which I ran with the help of Bodger the Badger and Cyril the Squirrel!

Walks will recommence on Thursday 30th May at 11:00, then every Monday/Thursday thereafter at 10:30am/11:00am respectively.

You do not need to go far from the village or, in fact, off the path network to see wildlife.If you keep your eyes open and stay alert reward can be sweet. These Roe buck and doe were only 20 m from the village hall – notice how they stand still and observe before making a decision to scarper. Roe can be perfectly still and watching you without you being aware.

Probably about 80% of the photographs I’ve taken have all been done from the paths or just at the sides. One of the best tracks to observe and listen to wildlife is the main NW forest ride track running from the centre of the Deshar woods. I’ve been observing many small birds such as Crossbills, Firecrests and Crested Tits, but the current stars are the Dragonflies especially with the sunnier weather. The most frequently observed Dragonfly is the Common Hawker.

Male Common Hawker

The Hawker Dragonflies can be 65-80mm long, but the much smaller Damselflies like the Common Blue are about 30-35mm long. Apart from size,the Damselfly keeps its wings closed when landed whilst the Dragonflies keep them open. These fiery predators rely on bogs and lochans to support their life cycle,of which there are a few dotted around the Boat woodlands.

Round-leaved Sundew

Some insect eating plants called Round-leaved Sundew grow amongst the Spagnum mosses. The Sundews have special leaves which are sticky and trap the small insects like the one in this photo. Over some time the insect is absorbed into the plant, which boosts the Sundew’s protein levels as these bogs are very acidic and nutrient poor.  There are 300 species of Spagnum which come in some amazing colours. They provide a very important habitat for insects and invertabrates such as the Hawker which will lay eggs on these spagnum blankets.

Scotch Argus on a Spear Thistle at Loch Vaa

A locally common butterfly, Scotch Argus butterfly, can be seen in the Highlands living from about 400m up to our mountain summits. A brown butterfly with orange spots on its upper wings, it can often be mistaken for the Ringlet butterfly.

Scotch Argus Butterfly

The woodland walks have been going well with a group of 10 last Thursday enjoying the summer warmth that has eventually arrived – long may it last. Guided Walks are every Monday and Thursday, meeting at 10am at the ‘Hub’.

One of the Wintergreen family have been in flower in the Deshar and Milton woods as well as Creeping Lady’s-tresses, an orchid of the pine woodlands and the Common Cow-wheat.

Common Wintergreen

Slender St John’s Wort

The Butterflies have been out in force this week,this fritillary was seen just along from the yard on Bell Heather at the side of the track. Marsh Violet ,which is the caterpillars foodplant is abundant nearby. Others seen were the Ringlet which is fairly common,the Small Heath which was too quick for me and the Meadow Brown which I saw at Milton. Moths like the pineapple smelling Gold Swifts were looking for mates amongst the heather so to was the Light Emerald which blends in with its Cowberry surrounding,but not as good as the Riband Wave Moth who used the Lichen.

Small Pearl-Bordered Fritillary Butterfly

Ringlets on Milk Thistle

Riband Wave Moth

The film this week is of a piece of Scots Pine bark stuck spinning on a spiders gossamer thread highlighted in the sun,I thought it looked like another butterfly or moth.

When I explored the giant granny Pine which is lying down near the Kinchurdy track I found quite a few invertebrites which rely on the deadwood for their livelyhood.The Ichneumon Wasps lay eggs with their long pointy thing(ovipositor)into the larva of certain moths who look for the rotting wood to lay in.The longhorn Beetles take about 2 years before they pupate from the deadwood.which is vital for healthy woodlands.

Female Ichneumon Wasp

Two-banded Longhorn Beetle

The Roe deer are in their best colours at the moment as you can see from this Doe and Fawn taken at Loch Milton. Roe will bark to warn others of danger,this often gets mistaken for dogs! The lovely purple blue Vipers Bugloss is a coastal plant that prefers sandy ground. Its poisinous to animals and has a nasty spikey stem.

Roe Doe and Fawn at Milton Loch

Foxglove

One of our largest wild flowers which you can see now is the Foxglove which is predominately purple but white also as in the photo. Their name comes from the folklore that bad fairies gave the flowers to foxes to put on their feet to soften their tread, must work as I don’t see a lot of foxes!   The latin for the flower is Digitalis Purpurea. Digitabulum means thimble in latin and the medicine digitalis comes from the plant as well, but beware the plant is poisonous, the juice is known as Dead Man’s Fingers.

Barred Red Moth whose caterpillars feed on Scots Pine

I found this moth settled on some cowberry leaves just at the back of Fairy Hill. It was hard to identify as this particular moth has various variations in colour. Its called a Barred Red or Hylaea Fasciaria and its caterpillars feed on Scots Pine trees.

If you are hearing what sounds like Herons calling in the woods at the back of the Community Hall it may not be what you’re thinking. I have more and more been observing four Jays,with difficulty I might add as these birds are very shy but vocal, watch for the flash of blue and white as they pass at speed.

Another moth hard to identify but I think its a Silver Ground Carpet Moth or Xanthorhoe Montana in latin.

Silver Ground Carpet Moth whose larva feed on Bedstraw

When out walking ,look for the flash of red in the Blaeberry/Cowberry forest floor, you might find this fungi which is parasitic to the Cowberry.

Exobasidium vaccinii fungus that parisites on Cowberry

Cuckoo Spit

Every year people ask me who’s been spitting on the heathers? Well its not us but a wee bug called a Philaenus Spumarius !!! or Froghopper which is easier. Its also known as Spittle Bugs as they produce a foamy substance for the nymph to hide in protected as its very bitter to the birds.

Common Spotted Orchid

There are a few different Orchids out at the moment, one of the more common being this Spotted Orchid found in a group of three others in the woods at the back of the Hall. It is a species of marsh orchid and hybridises freely with the Heath Spotted/Early Marsh and Northern Marsh Orchids. So identification can be hard sometimes,notice the spots on the leaves and how pale this one is.

The film this week is of a young Long Tailed Tit preening himself. There were seven of them and activity was rapid to say the least,therefore I was lucky just to get this with my wee digi. It was filmed just off one of the tracks leading out of Loch Vaa.

long tailed tit

Loch Roid looking north towards Deshar School

Daytime flying moths have been seen in abundance especially along the forest rides. The bordered white moth is also known as the Pine Looper of which the larvae can cause damage to the Pines. They also are a tasty snack for some species of birds such as the flycatcher.

Pine Looper Moth

These moths keep their wings closed when landed so itsdifficult to see the black and white on the upper wing sides.

One of the 3 common native heather species have begun flowering recently. The crossed leaf heather is one that grows in wet areas and can be easily mistaken for bell heather which likes dry ground. The common Ling heather usually flowers around the first two weeks of August.

Cross Leaved Heather

Another brief sighting of a Capercaillie Hen with 2 chicks this week gives me hope that we have another brood or my first brood has lost 2 chicks,either way its good to know that these special creatures are benefitting with the great habitat and food(pine looper caterpillars).

If disturbed the Capercaillie Hen will try and lure you away from the chicks by zig zagging and spreading her wings to imitate covering her chicks and I think to make herself look bigger.

Meanwhile the chick will often fly(if they can)to a high point for saftey.

You can see from the video and the photo how well camouflaged these birds are.

Capercaillie Chick safe up a Scots Pine Tree