Update: Plants & Insects (obviously)

Hello, no one in particular.

I haven't written in a while, but I thought I should just to keep the record straight.

Last month me and my brother took a long awaited trip the Highlands. The video says it all (2 parts due to an video error).

I'm continuing to develop a fascination for insects (I may have a dissertation idea related to entomology/decomposition), but I've also really become interested in anatomy as reflected by the many drawings I've done and a recent sculpture I just completed. On the study front, I recently finished the books Why People Need Plants & The Wisdom of Trees and have bought a little insect guide for future reference. So it's all going good there. Just waiting for year 2 of the BSc to come around. And big news, just this minute found out about a website called In Defense of Plants, a website/blog run by a PhD student in ecology. He also happens to run a 100+ episode podcast with eminent ecologists and others in related fields. And there is an episode on Middle Earth flora. I couldn't be happier. Not sure how I didn't know about this...

Cheers.

T.

Ps. Sometimes I forget I've had this blog since 2013. Shocking.

Dartmoor Trip & Other Things

Hello. Haven't posted in a while as I've been busy with the course and various hobbies.


Went to Dartmoor as part of the degree. I'll put some photos up later, but for now I'll just summarise what I saw


Wistmans Wood - Finally went to Wistman's Wood. Always wanted to go. It's my sort of place. Lots of Sessile Oaks. Very Fangorn-esque. Learnt a lot and speculated about the ecology of the forest. Took some nice photos of the epiphytic ferns and lichens.


Haytor - Did a Phase 1 Habitat Survey exercise here. Learnt about the landscape/land-use and investigated the various species, features and habitats in the area.


Torquay - Did an inform walked plant ID test & some rock pooling


Bellever Tor - Did an NVC exercise here.

Aside from that, not much else. Did an assignment based on this trip and revised some more. Three exams next week, nearly all in a row.


When I've had time I've been drawing some plants and varied plant related fantasy things (mostly ents/onodrim). Just nothing better than botany in terms of aesthetics, ecology and cultural significance. Still thinking of various botanical projects, but haven't landed on one yet.


T.

Blog Redesign

Gather roond the birkin tree...

I've had the idea of creating a new blog (probably on a more modern platform like Wordpress) for a while now, something to do with botany in particular. But I decided I couldn't leave this one behind as it's been going for quite a few years now. As you can see (my one or two readers) I've decided to spruce up the design a little. It feels a lot more... botanical. The blog has a new URL and title too: The Birkin Tree. Named after the Scots word for birch and a song from the Old Blind Dogs, a Scottish folk band.  It's not big news, but I feel like I need to nail my colours to the mast in my fascination with botany. What I mean to say is, I've slowly come to the realisation that plants are indeed my favourite thing. I mean they are aesthetically pleasing, they have endlessly fascinating evolutionary adaptations, they are culturally important and we depend on them entirely for our very survival in oxygen, food, clothing and more. I just decided to reflect that a bit more with this new design and blog title.

I'm currently writing a report on floral heterostyly in Primula vulgaris and enjoying the challenge with some of the most obscure botanical/genetic terms. I've also been thinking of doing something for this blog, something botanical. I quite like the idea of cataloging all the plants I've seen and just generally taking more photos and notes on them. We shall see.

T. 

BSc Year 1 Progress

Hello. Haven't posted  in a while.

Degree's going well, but (as expected) the workload is increasing swiftly. I've done an evolutionary essay and hedgerow survey report as my formative work, and an essay on boreal forest organisations remits, and a substantial academic portfolio so far for my summative. We've had a few proper lab sessions doing chromatography, pigment/water spectrophotometry and soil analysis. Soon I'll be on a work placement at Lindsay Carrington Ecological Services which is great since I've gotten pretty tired of making fences and doing odd jobs under a ranger. I'll be there for about 4 weeks so it's quite a big undertaking. Apparently I'll be helping with some phase 1 and bat reports. As part of the 'Academic Skills' unit, I've to work on an independent project, which I've chosen to do on wood ants and the vital habitat requirements to sustain their populations in the Caledonian Pinewood ecosystem. It's only secondary research, but I like the fact that I'm allowed to choose my own topic. I'm also becoming increasingly interested in entomology. I did a journal club presentation about late and early Quercus robur phenoforms and the use of late leaf flushing as defence against the winter month Operophtera brumata. So, yes, when I (hopefully) get to year 3, my dissertation will most likely be on  a plant-insect relationship.

Taylor.

Started BSc at Sparsholt

Hello again.

So, another three years at Sparsholt. I'll have done half a decade's worth of study in ecology and countryside management by the time I (hopefully) graduate. And I'll be 26-27. It's going well so far, although it's only been two weeks. Having done 2 years ecology prior to the course it's a little basic, but I fully expect it to get more challenging. I've finished the first draft of a formative induction hedge survey report and have just started the second formative assessment, an essay on Darwin's finches.

We'll see how it goes...

T.

Reading & Insects

Hello, all. I'm on my break before the degree starts in September (hopefully - still waiting for student loan to be processed). I've started a new wave of reading. I recently finished Unweaving the Rainbow by Prof. Dawkins, then Letters to a Young Scientist by Prof. Wilson. Yesterday I picked up The Social Conquest of Earth by Wilson having enjoyed the latter book and his writing style. All within the space of about two weeks.

Another recent development is I've been thinking about focusing in on another biological/ecological domain, that of the insects. In terms of animals for me it was always the characteristic megafauna, mammals such as Siberian tigers and Eurasian wolves, but as I've studied ecology over the past 2 years (and for the many years on my own before starting college) I've gradually become a more and more fascinated in the little guys, the ones that do all the work. I'm the sort of person that likes to focus on a particular thing. Botany was, and still is, that thing. Although, of course, I find all of biological diversity intrinsically interesting (who wouldn't?). I find that I just gravitate towards certain things.

I was never really intensely interested in insects, although I appreciated their role in ecology. In these last few days, probably after I read E O Wilson and caught his infectious enthusiasm for ants, something just clicked in my mind that I really should spend time understanding insect ecology, their life histories and evolutionary chronologies. I just like the idea of gravitating to one or two things and focusing on them (as well as absorbing other information) so that I can understand them in more detail as opposed to just broad swathes all the time. It's like nailing one's colours to the mast, I suppose. It makes sense, the flowering plants co-evolved with insects about 65 million years ago during the late Cretaceous. Plants and insects literally go together. I could extend this to all terrestrial arthropods, but I'm not so keen on arachnids for some reason, although that doesn't mean they aren't equally as interesting. Myriapods are interesting though.

I feel like insects are a new and exciting realm for me. I know what they do in terms of broad ecological processes and principles, but I've never really sat down and said, "right, I'm going to focus on the insecta and just learn more about them for curiosity's sake", that sort of thing. We'll see how it goes.

Taylor.

Scotland College Study Trip

Back hame once more, again in June, but for only 1 week instead of 3. Here's a summary. Apologies in advance for no animal photos as most of the sightings were glimpses and I have a phone camera.

Sunday we went to the Highland Wildlife Park and had a guided tour around the place and discussed the arguments for and against species reintroductions into Scotland. This was good as I'd been to the park before, but felt more informed going away. Unfortunately I "lost" my phone, so I didn't take any photos but I loved watching the Amur Tigers, as always, and of course the wolves although there was only wolf wandering its enclosure this time. It was just good to go round with college mates and go back to familiar places. Then we went to the lovely Loch Insh where we sat and watched Ospreys flying overhead for a good hour or so, as well as walking around the loch to find many orchids and other wonderful plants (a highlight for me). Then we went on a late afternoon stroll up Craigellachie behind the hostel at which we were staying. That was probably the fullest day of the lot as the weather started turning...

Loch Insh 

Early Purple Orchid at Loch Insh

Heath Spotted Orchid at Loch Insh

On the way up the Craigellachie trail 

Cairn on Craigellachie

Lochan next to the cairn

Lecturer looking at montane flora

Monday we went up to Cairngorm and had a talk from one of the rangers at the base about the geology and conditions on the mountain, as well as the recreations side of things. I think the first time I went to Cairngorm I'd seen it in passing but I enjoyed walking through the montane garden they have with notes on the ecology of mountain and moorland plants. I'd never walked around Cairngrom so luckily we went on a walk up one of the paths and got a good ways up before having to come down (due to mixed fitness levels and low visibility). Amazingly the small group who decided to carry on up higher, myself included, glimpsed a ptarmigan. Others had seen red grouse during the course of the hike, but I never did manage to spot one. The hike took the energy out of a lot of people, so that was the end of Monday.

Interp 1

Interp 2

Catching sight of a Ptarmigan at the end of the Cairngorm hike

Think I enjoyed Tuesday the most as it was my beloeved Abernethy and their was a talk by Ian Perks, head warden, a nice guy and very knowledgeable. Had a lovely long walk through the old woods and saw none other than a capercaille in flight! So in regards to birds I've seen Dotterel on Creag Meagaidh, Osprey at Loch Insh (and a few other places), Ptarmigan on Cairngorm and Capercaille at Abernethy.

Walking with lecturers and Ian Perk, Warden for Abernethy

Lovely woods as always

Discussing management of the woods and surrounding landscape

Loch Garten. Need I say more?

Wednesday was a bit of a shame as it poured it down and we had to carry out a contingency plan. The day was mostly about  interpretation so we went to Glenmore Forest Park and saw some of the signage there, most of which I'd already seen. Then we did a lovely walk in the pouring rain with almost no visibility from Allt Mor, I believe, all the way up to Cairngorm again. Then we dried off, took the funicular up to the Cairngorm Plateau and had a look at the excellent interpretation there too.

Glenmore interp

Powerful overflowing river on the trail makes for an interesting contrast to lazy chalk streams of England

Nice bit of interp at Cairngorm Plateau base

Thursday we saw dolphins. Lots of them. It was planned for Wesdnesday but the weather was too bad. We were glad we changed the date as it worked out well. Went out with Ecoventure in RIBs on the Moray Firth and saw tons of dolphins. Unfortunaley I missed the seabird colonies due to raging sea sickness, but that cleared quickly. Thankfully the dolphin spotting was good enough to make me forget about it.

 Spot where we first watched some dolphins breach the waters and also some sea birds before going on the boats. 

Going out on to the Moray Firth in a RIB

Thanks for reading.