A wander in the Culag Woods
We’ve been there many times before but the Culag Woods never fail to delight with the wildlife wonders they hold.
All of these photos were taken between the Woodside carpark and the Curling Pond on 29 July 2024. When there is some sunshine and mid-summer trees in full leaf magical things seem to happen.
Backlit oak leaves revealed their intricate network of veins. These are used to transport the nutrients the leaves produce by photosynthesis.
As you wander slowly along small things have a chance to catch your attention. A flash of gold on the far side of a Sitka Spruce was very small. The tree was oozing resin which, again thanks to the warm sunshine, was flowing imperceptibly and forming ‘tear drops’. It was one of these drops catching the sun that had caught my attention.
Curling Pond
The Curling Pond was the location of choice for two pairs of Large Red Damselflies that were busy egg depositing. The male holds on to the female while she uses her sharp, curved and scythe-like ovipositor to pierce the stems of the vegetation and then lay her eggs in them. While this was happening, a Common Frog plopped in from the undergrowth. It too seemed content to sit there half submerged watching the damselflies.
A final short side step from the main path and we stumbled upon two clumps of recently emerged dog vomit slime mould. These are fascinating organisms that were once regarded as fungi but are now recognised as a completely different kingdom of single-celled organisms, called protists. That’s all we’re saying about them but they are well worth reading about with loads of articles, photos etc. on the internet. That is a link to a Wikipedia article.
Last photo was one of the huge number of Selfheal plants that seem to be having a very productive year throughout Assynt.
Another short but enjoyable wander in the Culag Woods.
David Haines