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| Regeneration of native Pinewood in Abernethy Forest |
The last excursion of the holiday was to an area of Abernethy forest that I had reconnoitred earlier in the week, the attraction was the area of old growth native pine woodland. I would have liked rain and no wind, instead it was bright, dry, overcast and breezy, oh and midges were conspicuous.
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| Lichens |
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| Field layer ~ Blaeberry, Cranberry, Juniper and Ling |
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| Bracken in the field layer |
An unusual Elfin Saddle mushroom was also chanced upon.
The highlight of the day was finally catching sight of a Golden Eagle gliding above Abernethy forest on the walk back to the car.
It had been an interesting holiday, instead of cetaceans, puffins and other marine life, Nic saw an impressive selection of the World's rare and endangered terrestrial mammals at the Highland Wildlife Park and from the talks learnt more about the conservation issues. Pine martens and Badgers were viewed at dusk from a hide. An Osprey over Loch Insh and a Golden Eagle on the last day were memorable too and I enjoyed seeing Ptarmigan and Mountain Hares, in close proximity on the Cairngorms. It was also good to revisit the Black Wood of Rannoch. The excursions identified some promising locations for a future autumn visit and an extended wild camping trip maybe in late summer. A good trip all things considered.
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