The Thaw Continues
16th February 2019
Little change in the snowpack from yesterday as it continues to thaw at all levels. It is becoming very patchy generally with very little snow below 650m. Highlight today was seeing a flock of Whooper Swans on Loch Droma. They appear every winter and stick around for a while. I also heard the first Golden Plover on the summit of Beinn Liath Bheag, (Fannaich) which is kind of early for them. No doubt they will head down when the winter returns.
Looking into the main Fannaichs this morning.
And roughly from the same place yesterday morning.
The Eastery aspects of Beinn Liath Mhor Fannaich.
Looking across to the Southerly aspects of the Beinn Dearg mountains.
Argo tracks at 650m across the summit of Beinn Liath Bheag. Necessary and responsible land management? Hmm. Exposed summit areas in the North West highlands are very sensitive to disturbance in this arctic alpine habitat.
On closer inspection, the reason why the tracks are so obvious is that the Reindeer moss (lichen) has ‘disappeared’ under the track line. Has pressure from the vehicle’s weight killed the lichen?
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