Ray Collier Highland Country Diary- Douglas Firs

Douglas Firs - 28th May 2007

Some of the tallest trees in Britain are in Reelig Glen that is associated with the Moniack Gorge. The trees flank the Moniack Burn that flows into the Beauly Firth and the woodland is renowned for its plant life. The area is reached by the unclassified road off the A832 seven miles west of Inverness. Reelig Glen is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation and is also a Nature Conservation Review site of national importance. The woodland is one of the best examples of a semi-natural wooded gorge which makes it one of the most outstanding areas of the Highlands and beyond. The Forest Enterprise car park is on the banks of the Moniack Burn and there is a well maintained way marked forest walk that runs along parts of the burn under some of the taller trees. This is why it is known as the Tall Trees Walk.
One of the main attractions is the very tall Douglas firs and it is a tree brought to Britain by the Scots botanist David Douglas in the 1820s. It is one of the easiest trees to recognise as the cones that litter the ground have three pronged projections from beneath the scales. The soft foliage smells like oranges when crushed and in older trees orange shows in cracks of the trunk. One writer describes these trees as "awesome" and they simply are. Over the years several people have claimed that one of the Douglas firs is one of the tallest trees in Britain. It has even been given its own name of Dughall Mor which is Gaelic for "big dark stranger" . The tree had competition from a Douglas fir in Wales but last year more accurate measurements were taken of both trees and the Reelig specimen was found to be a metre higher at just over a staggering 64 metres. There was even the suggestion that it might even be the tallest tree in Europe. Because of this new found fame the Douglas fir makes visitors tend to forget that there is another very special tree in Reelig Glen. This is the tallest Norway spruce in Britain measured at 52 metres in 1986.
Whilst intriguing, these non native trees are not the reason there are so many accolades bestowed on the area although they are worth going to see in their own right. The area is outstanding for its flowering plants, lichens, mosses and liverworts with a number of nationally important species. Of the orchids, creeping ladies tresses is unusual in that it is almost exclusive to Scotland and is mainly restricted to the remnants of Old Caledonian pine forest. It is also the only Scottish orchid that has evergreen leaves and a creeping habit. Fungi are also important and at this time of the year they seem to be everywhere. Of the mammals red squirrel and badger are noteworthy. The presence of badgers is not surprising as the areas east, south and west of Inverness has some of the highest densities of these secretive animals in Scotland. One mammal that has the potential to cause problems are goats that were introduced to the upper part of the glen. Unlike many of the tribes of goats in the Highlands that may be centuries old the one at Moniack is a comparatively recent introduction originally for sport. When goats in any number venture into the more sensitive areas of woodland they have to be culled to reduce their numbers and impact. Reelig Glen is worth visiting at any time of the year.

Ray Collier Highland Country Diary- Mussels

Mussels - 21st May 2007
Mussels are one of the commonest of the double hinged shells to be found around the coast of the Highlands and the fish within their pointed deep blue purple shells have been eaten by man since very early times. They are very variable in size, overall shape, colour and the degree of ribbing depending on local conditions where they are found. The outside of the shell is normally blue but can be brownish whilst the inside is pearly with a conspicuously darker rim. The hinge that joins the two shells is fibrous and known by the unusual name of "byssus" and there is some uncertainty as to the origin of this name. They grow in inter-tidal areas so they can flourish not only in vast beds on the shore line but also on structures such as piers, bridges and other structures. There is the suggestion that where they grow in large numbers they can protect the foreshore from moving with strong tides. They also have the reputation of protecting old piers and bridges from the full force of waves and when hundred of thousands of mussels are involved it is easy to see why.
Man has always exploited mussels, along with other shell fish such as cockles, winkles and whelks. Midden heaps of shells are often found where the abundance of shells indicate how important the food was to early colonisers. Nowadays they are regarded as a sort of delicacy as far as mussels are concerned and because of their popularity in France they are often on Scottish menus as "moules" or " moule mariniere". In recent years whilst large numbers of mussels are still dredged from the wild the amount of farmed mussels have increased. This is not a new approach as the first of such farming goes back to the 13th century in France. These days in Scotland the mussels are grown on ropes hanging either attached to an overhead line or down from a raft. The UK production figures for 1998 was no less than 11.000 tonnes! The advantage of such farmed mussels is that they are better quality than wild ones. They are thinner shelled and have a higher fish yield because being continually under water they have continuous feeding.
Such farming has cause problems as although some natural predators cannot reach the mussels, such as starfish and crabs, eiders ducks have been such a problem that in some years licences are issued to disturb or even shoot the birds. Oystercatchers have their own way of dealing with them as if they catch the shell open they bite the muscle through and if closed they just peck their way through the shell. Carrion and Hooded crows have also mastered them as they fly up in the air and drop the shells onto rock below and sample the remains as the shell splits on impact. The photograph was taken of mussels on sand near Inverness and shows how in wild ones they have tiny barnacles attached to them.
As with other shellfish some people are allergic to mussels and this is not helped by the fact that they take in toxins so if there is any pollution about they should not be collected. There is also the old adage that they should not be eaten when there is an "r" in the month and there is reason to avoid this as whilst they may not be harmful at such times they may be less favourable and they may be breeding. The future of the vast colonies of mussels is assured providing that we do not over exploit them and the success of the mussel farming may be the key to this.

Ray Collier Highland Country Diary- Rhododendrons

Rhododendrons
14th May 2007

Rhododendron is one of the most dramatic shrubs in the Highlands as it can grow to 20 ft. high. The purple flowers are 2 ins. across and grow in clusters of 10 - 15 and when they cover the shrub later IN the year they are very impressive. Whilst the shrub itself is robust the flowers are more delicate and need to warm up slowly which is why, if it is a cold morning and the sun comes out early, the beautiful flowers are damaged. The leaves are alternate, unlobed and untoothed with tapered bases and short, pointed tips. They are dark on the top and paler below, often dusted with red, giving the impression of leathery, dark green, glossy foliage that is evergreen. Later in the year the long seed pods contain many small, flattened seeds.
There is some doubt about the original distribution of rhododendrons as the native shrubs in Spain and Portugal are relicts of plant life that used to cover Europe, including Britain, before the ice age. The source of the present day shrubs is more down to earth and practical as they were introduced to gardens in 1763. Their source is still a slight mystery as originally it was claimed they came from Asia Minor but more recent studies indicate a close connection with the native Spanish rhododendron. Whatever the source it was not only planted for decoration but as ideal cover, either on its own or in woods, for game such as pheasants. In the Highlands its is widespread although absent from large parts of Sutherland and Caithness and whilst it occurs in the Western Isles there are, apparently, no records for the Northern Isles. The first "wild" records came in around 1894 but its very invasory nature means it now grows in a wide variety of types of countryside. These include heathy and rocky hillsides, rocky stream banks and ravines, and as an understory in woodlands on acid soils. It regenerates from seed freely and can form very dense thickets from sea level to 1800 feet.
Many a view in the Highlands is enhanced by this attractive shrub and it is often included in paintings and photographs and many people now just accept it as part of the landscape. It does provide excellent cover for pheasants and protection from the elements although getting the birds to move from the dense cover USING dogs can be difficult. The evergreen nature of the shrub means it is good for roosting small birds and good nest sites for early nests of song thrush and blackbird. To counterbalance this in many areas the shrub has been out of control for many years and has been a major problems for landowners and conservationists. Once stabilised it dominates the ground to the exclusion of all other plants and it looks as if the soil underneath is sterile. The problem lies in the huge numbers of tiny seeds that are produced and these are effectively wind dispersed. The only aspect that seems to restricts it success in spreading is that it will not grow on alkaline soils. Over the last two decades there have been major projects in parts of the Highlands to control the shrub. These have involved clearing and use of chemicals and these have only been partly successful. The basic problem is that it sprouts vigorously from cut shoots and even small pieces of root left in the ground. These rapidly layer themselves into an almost impenetrable tangle. It looks though this alien yet attractive shrub is here to stay.

Ray Collier Highland Country Diary- Emblems

Emblems
8th May 2007

There seem to be wildlife emblems everywhere these days utilising birds and plants. The Scottish Ornithologists Club for example uses the crested tit as their emblem which is not surprising as this small yet appealing bird is more or less confined to Inverness, Moray and East Ross. The emblem of the Scottish Wildlife Trust used to be the Scots primrose which is a rare endemic plant of the north coast and Orkney but it was changed to the golden eagle. Spare a thought for a bird club in England who for many years had the ruddy duck as their emblem but was forced to change because these birds are being killed to stop them flying to Spain and hybridising with the white headed duck. There is only one bird emblem for Great Britain which by popular vote many years ago was the robin but at least the four countries have their own plant emblem being thistle, daffodil, shamrock and rose for Scotland, Wales, Ireland and England.
This is all very well until you ask which thistle as there are six different types found in Scotland ranging from the commonest and most abundant spear thistle to the carline thistle that is very rare in the Highlands. The thistle seems to have been borrowed by the Royal Stewarts from their French allies where the Order of the Thistle was founded in 1370. Its first appearance was on a silver groat of James III and by the sixteenth century had become the national emblem. Coins often depicted a thistle and Mary Queen of Scots put it on the Great Seal of Scotland and it is now used by the Lyon College of Arms, National Trust for Scotland , Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scottish Sports Council. As to which thistle is the national emblem it has long been open to debate and several articles have been written about the mystery. There has even been an illustrated booklet on the subject ‘The Thistle of Scotland ‘ published by Glasgow Museum and Art gallery in 1963. One clue is to be found in older botanical books when the cotton thistle was referred to as the Scottish or Scotch thistle. It was this plant that was planted each year in the gardens of Holyroodhouse before the Queen’s visit. For many then this is ‘the’ Scottish thistle despite the fact that it is very rare indeed in Scotland and where it does grow it is introduced or escaped from gardens rather than being native. It is also like the thistles depicted on some coins and in heraldry as it has a fairly compact head despite its height that can reach 8ft. The shape made it far more easily depicted in the small spaces on some coins and in heraldry. This was simply down to artistic licence and it seems far more likely that the plant originally chosen by the Stewarts was the one they saw every day all over the country, the spear thistle. This one really evokes the prickly aggressiveness that the thistle is supposed to represent. Then what about the marsh thistle that often has white flowers rather than purple. There are other contenders such as the melancholy thistle but it has few prickles. Another is the dwarf thistle because the legend of the invading Viking who trod on a thistle and called out with pain thus alerting the Scots implies a very small plant but this type is not found north of Yorkshire. Perhaps we shall never know the real answer but it could well be as one botanist put it ‘ The kings of Scotland chose a thistle, not a particular thistle….They were not botanists.’