Corglass - 26th June to 3rd July
I don't seem to have taken any pictures of our cottage at Corglass. This is located near Ballindalloch, on Speyside, just north of the the Cairngorm NP.
27th June and 1st July: Anagach Woods, Grantown-on-Spey
27th June and 1st July: Anagach Woods, Grantown-on-Spey
28th June: Morrone, Braemar
Our main purpose here was to find and conduct a short survey of Scotch Burnet (Zygaena exulans). In Britain, this moth is restricted to high altitudes in the east Cairngorms on hills around Braemar. It is also known as Mountain Burnet. Although its distribution is limited it can be abundant where found. Morrone, which rises above Braemar has the most accessible population. Prior to our visit, the population on Morrone had been estimated as 100-200 adults. I had been in contact with Butterfly Conservation and was armed with a map of the location of the core population. We followed the main path and encountered our first Scotch Burnets at NO141900 577m; outside the core zone and at lower altitude. From near here we went off piste returning to the track at 700m altitude. In this transect we encountered 161 Scotch Burnets. As expected (since female Zygaenidae are more sedentary than male), the vast majority of those we saw were male. We found 6 mating pairs and probably another 4 or 5 females. Since we hardly entered the core area I strongly suspect the population estimate of 100-200 adults for Morrone is a considerable under-estimate.
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There are 7 Zygaena species in Britain, differing in the arrangement of the red spots. In Scotch Burnet spot 1 (on the leading edge at the base of the forewing) is elongate and spot 6 is absent. Female Scotch Burnet have yellowish-white "shoulders" (patagia).
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29th June: Braeriach (Munro) (see Next)
30th June: Burghead and Findhorn
At Burghead we had a walk along the beach as far as Millie Bothy and then back through the Roseisle Forest. We then moved on to Findhorn for refreshments.
1st July: Ballindalloch Castle
For Alison's birthday we visited the nearby Ballindalloch Castle. Only the gardens and tea-room were open. These were pleasant enough. We had a wander along the banks of the Spey and stayed for lunch. Click on an image below to enlarge and scroll through.
2nd July: Abernethy Forest
Having failed to see many of the Scottish bird specialities on this trip we spent several hours in the Abernethy Forest, where we found a single Scottish Crossbill. We also saw and heard Tree Pipit and Osprey - but we failed to find any Crested Tits or Capercaillie.