Saturday 1 May 2010

Invergarry

The native pinewood at Invergarry is part of the larger Glengarry Forest and has been officially designated for protection and restoration. During my recent stay in the village, I enjoyed a short, late-afternoon walk which followed the riverside path through pleasant mixed woodland.

The River Garry, unseen to the right through the trees, is your constant companion when walking this woodland path

The walk begins at the Ciste dubh car park, situated on a narrow shelf of land just above the River Garry at a spot where it tumbles through a gorge en route to its meeting with nearby Loch Oich.


There was little bird life to be seen and I satisfied myself with looking for lichens on the path-side rocks and fallen trees. They included this tiny Cladonia floerkeana, 10-20mm tall ...

... this Cup Lichen (Cladonia chlorophaea)

... and this coral-like Sphaerophorus globosus

I also found this faded Turkey Tail fungus (Trametes versicolor) ...

Finally, I thought these lingering autumn-coloured beech leaves (Fagus sylvatica) deserved a mention ...


I await a new fifth edition of Lichens: An Illustrated Guide to the British and Irish Species by Frank Dobson. In the meantime I used Roger Phillips' Grasses, Ferns, Mosses and Lichens of Great Britain and Ireland for my lichen identifications. If any reader wishes to make a correction, please do so.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amazing, these scenes have to be seen to be believed Emma. Good macro shots. That Panasonic Lumix is performing very well.

Emma Anderson said...

Thanks, Roy. I must say that if I never had another camera than my wonderful little Lumix FZ28, I wouldn't be disappointed. Almost all of the pictures on my blog since mid-July last year have been taken with it. It and its extra lens and my few bits and pieces (a PL-Circ filter, spare battery, a notebook etc) go in one small bag - altogether it only weighs 3lbs. I suppose I would like lots of fancy lenses for my Nikon but I can't be bothered with all the lens changing and the weight these days.

kirstallcreatures said...

Again, what a lovely landscape Emma. I enjoyed the close ups of the lichens, the detail is wonderful, and I really can't resist the draw of a reluctant beech leaf, Linda

holdingmoments said...

Emma, these are superb shots from your visit. I love that scene of the tumbling river; just beautiful.

Emma Anderson said...

Many thanks to Linda and Keith.