Big Garden Bird Watch

The RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch is an important snapshot of how garden birds are doing. We always take part, though the remote and wild nature of our garden means there is less distinction between it and the surrounding woods and fields than with town gardens. Today it was cold with a strong NW wind and flurries of snow mixed with bursts of sunshine. The mix of birds - great tit, blue tit, coal tit, chaffinch, blackbird, robin, dunnock, great spotted woodpecker, pheasant - was typical for the time of year. Some birds that are regulars at other times of the year - greenfinch, siskin - are rare in January while some - long-tailed tits, goldfinches, crested tits - we only see occasionally.

Blue tits and coal tits in a burst of sunshine

This year there was just me doing the counting and it proved difficult, especially with the coal tits and blue tits, which flew in and out constantly, and six feeders plus the ground and bushes to watch. I'm sure my counts of six coal tits and eight blue tits at any one time are probably too low.

Coal tit

When the bird numbers calmed down I took photographs through the window - handheld with a 55-210 zoom lens, the bright snow meaning I could use fast shutter speeds.

Great spotted woodpecker & great tit

Blue tit

Snowshoes on Geal-charn Mor

View across Strathspey to the Cairngorms

Geal-charn Mor, the big white hill, has been living up to its name in recent days, but then, so have all the other hills in the Highlands as there is snow from the glens to the summits and temperatures have stayed below freezing.  This is a good hill for a half-day trip if, as I was, you’re in Aviemore with an afternoon free. Not setting off until two hours before sunset I knew I’d be descending in the dark but with a good track to follow this would be easy.

Near the top of the woods.

 

Geal-charn Mor lies at the south-eastern end of the Monadh Liath in the region known as the Kinveachy Forest. At 824 metres high it’s a Corbett – a Scottish hill between 762 and 914.4 metres (the unusual range stemming from the old measurements when the list was compiled – hills between 2,500 and 3,000 feet). It’s not a very distinctive hill itself but the views across Strathspey to the Cairngorms and west over the Monadh Liath are superb. I think it’s at its best under snow when it has an arctic tundra-like feel.

 

Light & Shade

An off-road vehicle track known as the Burma Road cuts across the eastern shoulder of the hill and this was my route for the day. It was completely snow-covered but a tracked vehicle had been along it, leaving packed ruts that made walking fairly easy. The woods were silent and dark but above the sky was blue and as they thinned out the views opened up with the Cairngorms shining in the cold sunlight. 

I was carrying snowshoes but didn’t initially put them on. A couple coming down told me the snow was deep in places and they didn’t think they’d have got far without the vehicle tracks. For me those tracks were actually making the ascent more difficult, as I discovered when I eventually stopped and put my snowshoes on and found that even in the ruts they made progress much easier. I kept them on for the rest of the ascent and all the way back to the car.

 

The Monadh Liath are mostly gentle, rounded hills without the mountainous terrain of the Cairngorms. Even so care is needed when they are snow-covered. Across the Allt Dubh glen I could see a cornice along the steep north face of shadowed Creag Ghleannain with many little snow slides below it. A ski track cut right across the slope.

Creag Ghleannain

 

Higher up the snow was wind-blown, filling hollows and creating deep drifts. At the high point of the track I left it for the slopes leading to the summit. Here the wind had scoured the snow, leaving the crest of the broad ridge almost snow-free and with many stones and grasses visible. I kept to the south side, where the snow had drifted, but still had to cross many bare areas. The snowshoes had an advantage here as I didn’t need to remove them. I’d have been carrying skis.

Hints of Colour

I’d hoped for a colourful sunset and there were hints of one long before I reached the summit cairn. However there was thick cloud in the west that I couldn’t see and the sun soon vanished into this. I reached the top with a stark cold colourless landscape stretching out all around and a chill wind sweeping over it. I didn’t linger and was soon following my tracks back to the Burma Road and the shelter of the woods.

  

The summit of Geal-charn Mor

Cold & Snow: A Stark January Landscape

Storm after storm after storm. Snow then thaw then snow then thaw. Unsettled, unpredictable, raw, cold and biting – savage weather to introduce the new year. Calm periods have been rare but one came two afternoons ago as the wind dropped, sparks of sunshine filtered through the trees and the snow lay flat, the whirling clouds of spindrift stilled.

The new snow was cold and powdery and deep. Skis slid through it easily, creating a smooth track that would make for a fast return. For wildlife it was difficult though and there were few tracks. Rabbits had ventured short distances from their burrows to nibble frozen grass on little ridges where the snow was thin. Mostly the snow was untouched though, covering the land with silence and smoothness. A buzzard wheeled high overhead, mewing softly, then sailed down into the trees. Otherwise nature was silent.

Out in the fields a wind swept the snow, gentle compared with recent days but still piercingly cold. The sky was streaked with thin clouds, subtle shades of blue. A weak sun cast a pale glow. Trees were stark silhouettes against the whiteness. Denser woods were black and white, half-plastered with snow.

Returning home I felt the wind strengthening. Snow flurries came from a sky darkening with thicker clouds and the coming of night. Sometime in the darkness the air warmed and the snow began to thaw. By dawn much had gone and sleet and rain dampened the land. Then it froze again and more snow fell. And so the cycle continues.

Today! 9pm. BBC 4. Terry Abraham's Life of a Mountain: Scafell Pike

Tonight the BBC is showing an abridged version of Terry Abraham's wonderful film about Scafell Pike (I admit to a slight bias - I'm in it, though only a short bit). TV reviewers who've seen it in advance have been raving over it, with praise from The Guardian, The Observer, The Times, The Radio Times, The Daily Telegraph and more. Here's a couple of sample quotes:

"With its sweeping cinematography and sonorous score, there's a touch of the art-house Koyaanisqatsi about this enchanting documentary"

Pick Of The Day  The Guardian

"A moving, poetic film ... a vivid portrait ..... gorgeous photography ... a celebration which exudes gladness"

Picks of the Day: Choice The Observer

The BBC are only showing half the film though. To see it in its full glory you need the DVD. And don't forget Terry's other films - Backpacking In The Lake District and The Cairngorms In Winter, both with me, and Helvellyn, with Mark Richards - which are all available from Striding Edge.

Pacific Crest Trail talk, Eden Court, Inverness, January 29th.

Mount Adams in Southern Washington, August 31st, 1982

On January 29th I'm giving an illustrated talk at Eden Court in Inverness on the Pacific Crest Trail and my book Rattlesnakes and Bald Eagles. The talk starts at 7pm. There'll be time for a Q&A afterwards. Further details from Eden Court here.
 

The Great Outdoors Latest Issue: Ski touring, winter camping in the Cairngorms, insulated vests and more

Ski tourers on the Moine Mhor in the Cairngorms

The February issue of The Great Outdoors is in the shops now. I have a feature on ski touring, appropriately as I went on my first short tour of the season yesterday (see last post), plus a backpacking column piece on a winter camp in the Cairngorms, a review of ten insulated gilets/vests and a review of Jim Crumley's excellent book The Eagle's Way. The winter camp also produced two photos in the magazine - the frontispiece and a double-page spread taken at night at Loch Etchachan.

This issue also features two other spectacular double-page winter photographs - one from David Lintern of the Sneck in the Cairngorms and one from Stewart Smith of Grisedale Tarn in the Lake District. More great pictures appear in Colin Henderson's photo essay on hillwalking and scrambling in the Scottish winter hills. The first image of a hillwalker climbing Mayar in the Cairngorms in clouds of snow and spindrift really captures the Scottish winter experience. Perhaps the most atmospheric picture though is Terry Abraham's sunset one of a winter camp on Bowfell that opens a feature on Lakeland in winter. Carey Davies is also in the winter Lake District, writing about a playful day on Crinkle Crags with ice axes for his Mountain Magic column.

Far away from snow and winter Tony Howard visits the Manas National Park on the India-Bhutan border. This follows my ski touring feature and I found it quite startling to turn the page from my snowy pictures to see elephants and a langur. Elsewhere Jim Perrin explores the hills of Shropshire and, in his Hillwalkers' Library, recommends Neil Gunn's Highland River. In his Environment column Roger Smith warns how a recent new planning policy could have a negative effect on the countryside in England and calls on outdoor lovers to ask questions of candidates for the general election. In the Hill Skills section Mark Chadwick of Glenmore Lodge gives advice on avalanches and there are also tips on ice axe self-arrest, understanding snow and mountain weather, and a recap on compass use.

As well as my gilets test the gear section has a review of eighteen base layers and the Sherpa Nangpala Primaloft Down Blend jacket, both by Daniel Neilson.

Down vest in use at a chilly camp in the San Francisco Mountains on the Arizona Trail

First Tracks: A Stormy Ski Tour From Home

 

Slowly the snow has built up over the last few days as storms sweep the Highlands. The hills are hidden in racing clouds. Blizzards sweep the fields and woods. This is not the time for the mountains. But it has been the time for skiing from the front door, for the first time in nearly two years as last winter there was never enough snow.

Gliding through the fields on my skis I looked out on a grey world with even the dark green of the pines and spruic subdued and dulled by the snow-filled air. Squalls blasted in on sudden bursts of strong wind – sometimes snow, sometimes sleet, always wet, soaking into my clothes. The snow underfoot was wet and heavy too, compressing quickly under my skis to a slick track that made for fast travel. Under trees the snow was thin and sketchy and I quickly learned to stay out in the open, forsaking shelter for easy skiing and less risk of scraping my skis on stones. 

The fields were full of animal and bird tracks. Fox, squirrel, pheasant, rabbit, lots of rabbit. In places the snow has been scraped off low rises in the rough pasture so the rabbits could feed. They were the only wildlife I saw too, scurrying through the snow. Nothing else moved.

Under the snow the ground is soft and wet. Bare patches under the trees glistened with water and ruts and hollows were grey-brown with half-frozen mush. A slight rise in temperature, as is forecast tonight, and the snow will quickly vanish, especially as rain is also predicted. But then more snow is forecast for tomorrow and the day after with the big storms continuing all week. A ski tour in the mountains will have to wait for calmer weather but it has been good to ski at all and maybe I will be able to do so again soon.