Wanderings of a Naturalist 



sun broke through the clouds shortly after ten o'clock, and 

 the remainder of the day was beautifully clear and sunny. 

 Though mist had hidden the hills during the fortnight since 

 my previous visit to the high tops, the air had been mild, and 

 there had been no frost. 



From the great plateau stretching from Ben MacDhui to 

 Cairngorm the snowy covering by now had disappeared, 

 with the exception of a few large snowfields in sheltered 

 hollows. The Feith Bhuidhe burn was now snow-free almost 

 throughout its course, and Lochan Buidhe was unfrozen 

 except for a little ice and snow at its western end. All the 

 burns of the high plateau had shrunk remarkably in size. 

 For example, the March burn, where it passes on its way 

 down the hill face of Ben MacDhui within a hundred yards 

 of Lochan Buidhe, was on May 25 a big rush of water. By 

 June 5 it had dwindled to a mere trickle. This had resulted 

 mainly through the melting of the snows, but partly from the 

 considerable drop in temperature during the first days of 

 June, when the melting of the remaining snowfields was 

 considerably slowed down. 



Although the high ground was now comparatively snow 

 free, there was as yet no growth amongst the upland vegeta- 

 tion. The previous year, in early June, even the highest 

 grounds were green, and Silene acaulis and Azalea procum- 

 hens were in flower. I should say that in the season of which 

 I write — 1920 — ^the plants of the high hills were almost three 

 weeks later than in previous years. 



Most of the ptarmigan had now commenced to sit. One 

 nest I saw from which, judging by the feathers lying around, 

 the sitting bird had been captured by a fox; the eggs lay in 

 the nest, but all had been sucked. 



Cairn Toul, a fortnight earlier, had been almost entirely 

 snowclad, as seen from Ben MacDhui. Now, however, much 

 of the snow had gone from it, and from Lochan Uaine the 

 ice had melted, with the exception of a few half-submerged 

 icebergs. The Garbh Choire was still almost filled with 



56 



