sign in sign up
<<
Home , Benderloch, Cairngorms, Conservation in Scotland, Easdale, Eileach an Naoimh, Flow Country

www.snh.gov.uk Scottish Natural Heritage Spring / Summer 2016 Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba Earrach/Samhradh 2016 The Nature of Nàdar na h-Alba

Contents Features

10 Norwegian wood South-west Norway’s woodland regeneration

4 10 16 Celebrating Hugh Miller A geology trip with a difference

24 Tagged Sharks basking in Scottish waters

16 28 28 How can we help nature cope with climate change? Helping nature to adapt

32 Scotland’s outdoors Our natural health service 44 55 Regulars 40 2020 vision Scotland's – 2 Where we are a route map to 2020 SNH contact details 60 44 Stoats in 3 Welcome Small predator, big cause for concern 4 Wild calendar What to see this spring and 55 Do not disturb summer The issue of wildlife disturbance

20 News 58 Counting mountain hares The hare necessities 34 Scotland’s Great Trails The West Way 60 Drawing inspiration Dramatic landscapes and the 48 Area news island way of life Reports from around the country

56 Dualchas coitcheann /Common heritage Linking language and environment

64 Keep in touch

Scotland’s nature blog Our Scotland’s nature blog covers a wide range of subjects, and recent posts have featured ’s water voles, climate change, Brandt’s bat and capercaillie counting. Follow the blog using the link near the foot of the homepage on our website. www.snh.gov.uk 1 Credits Where we are… Area offices Welcome Welcome to the Spring/Summer edition of The Nature of Scotland. After one of You can contact SNH by & Outer the wettest winters on record it’s a pleasure to move into spring and summer, and letter, telephone or email. 32 Francis Street, in this issue of our magazine we give you some ideas on how to get the most from The Nature of Scotland Eileen Stuart The magazine of Scottish Natural Heritage The following details , Head of Policy & Advice our natural heritage. Issue Number 23 — Spring / Summer 2016 should enable you to find HS1 2ND your nearest main office, Tel. 01851 705 258 Scottish Natural Heritage On a personal note I’m delighted to see some of my favourites appear in this Published twice per year but bear in mind that we edition. I always feel a particular thrill when I stumble upon the dappled shade of © SNH 2016 also have a number of Argyll & aspen trees in woodland and there is nothing like the sheer delight of spotting ISSN 1350 309X offices smaller than those Cameron House, listed. Albany Street, an Artic tern hovering over the in search of a small sandeel. When I think Editor: Jim Jeffrey Oban PA34 4AE about these two species it occurs to me that I am attracted to them by their rich Tel. 01738 458528 A full list of our offices Tel. 0300 244 9360 appears on the SNH sound; the aspens trembling leaves – described aptly as ‘old wives tongue’ and Cover photo: Frogs website: www.snh.gov.uk Forth the harsh ‘kee-errr’ of the Artic tern. I hope when you next get out there in our Photographer: Lorne Gill/SNH Silvan House, Corporate 3rd Floor East, beautiful Scottish countryside you will find time to stop, listen and let the natural Inside cover photographer: Lorne Gill/SNH 231 Corstorphine Road, noises stir your imagination. headquarters Edinburgh EH12 7AT Welcome page photographer: Lorne Gill Tel. 0131 316 2600 Comparing and contrasting our natural heritage is the theme in a guest article Great Glen House, Photography – all images by Lorne Gill/SNH other than Niall Benvie/ Leachkin Road, kindly provided by Duncan Halley of the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research. imagesfromtheedge p6; David Whitaker p6 image 1 in strip, p9 image 3 in Forth IV3 8NW Duncan recently spoke to colleagues in the Edinburgh office we share with strip; p51 centre; Danny Green/2020 VISION p6 image 2 in strip, p38; Mark House, Tel. 01463 725 000 Hamblin p6 image 3 in strip, p20 right; Ted Benton p6 image 4 in strip; Chris Castle Business Park, Scotland, and his talk about woodland regeneration was Email: [email protected] Gomersall/2020VISION p7; Graham Saunders/SNH p9 image 1 in strip, FK9 4TZ extremely popular and relevant to our work in Scotland. Laurie Campbell/SNH p9 image 4 in strip, page 26 and p27 (both upper Tel. 01786 450 362 images); Adam Burton/Alamy Stock Photo p10; Blickwinkel/Alamy Stock Other offices We also include an article from the Institute and The Game & Photo p12; 914Collection/Alamy Stock Photo p13; Vario images GmbH and Wildlife Conservation Trust which takes a look at our critical work to trial methods Co.KG/Alamy Stock Photo p14, Markus Varesuvo/Nature Picture Library Battleby, Redgorton, & North Highland p15; Elizabeth Pickett p17; Dr Kevin R. Butt p20 left; Richard Shucksmith/ Perth PH1 3EW The Links, of estimating mountain hare numbers to better inform wildlife management. SNH p23; Alex Mustard/2020VISION p24, p26 main image; Becky Duncan/ Tel. 01738 444 177 Golspie Business Park, After 22 issues of our magazine we have replaced our National Nature SNH p32, p42; Laurie Campbell p39 top; Cathy Mayne/SNH p39 bottom; Golspie, Andy Rouse/2020VISION p34; Mark Hamblin/2020VISION p46 bottom; Silvan House, KW10 6UB Reserve regular feature with what we trust will be a popular new series on Colin Preston/Nature Picture Library p47 right; Sue White, 3rd Floor East, Tel. 01408 634 063 Scotland’s Great Trails – and first up is an article on the . Amenity Trust p48 left; Angus Laing p49 left; Kevin McCulloch p49 centre; 231 Corstorphine Road, David Genney p50 left; p52 left; Julie Young p50 centre; Linda Ferguson, p51 Edinburgh EH12 7AT Climate change is one of the most urgent problems of our time and in an left; Adam Murphy p51 right; Clare Brown p52 centre; Peter Sandground/ Northern Isles Tel. 0131 316 2600 inspiring article by Anna Brand we look at how conservation managers are SNH p52 right; Craig Nisbet p53 left; Peter Cairns/2020 VISION p53 centre, & North Highland John Black, Ecologist, Beith Defence Munitions p54 left; Peter Kelly p54 Ground Floor, helping nature by following climate change adaptation principles. We also take centre; Caspian House, Stewart Building, Mariner Court, Alexandra Wharf, a look at Scotland’s Biodiversity through ‘the lens’ of our Route Map to 2020, an Illustrations on pages 16 to 19 courtesy of Elizabeth Pickett (this article first Clydebank Business Park, , initiative where the focus is very much on collaborative working. appeared in Heritage magazine), and illustrations on pages 60 to 63 Clydebank G81 2NR Shetland ZE1 0LL courtesy of Liz Myhill Tel. 0141 951 4488 Tel. 01595 693 345 Add to the mix articles on Orkney stoats, basking sharks, a voyage celebrating the role of geologist Hugh Miller and I’m confident that no matter what your taste To share your views about The Nature of Scotland or suggest articles for South Highland you will find something in our magazine to interest you. future issues please contact the editor: Fodderty Way, I hope you enjoy reading the articles in this issue of The Nature of Scotland SNH Magazine Dingwall Business Park, Battleby, Redgorton, Perth PH1 3EW Dingwall IV15 9XB and that some of them inspire you to get out and enjoy our fabulous natural Email: [email protected] Tel. 01349 865 333 environment. The views expressed in this magazine do not South Highland necessarily reflect those of SNH. Torlundy, Fort William PH33 6SW Printed by: J Thomson Colour Printers, Glasgow Tel. 01397 704 716 JTCP15.5k0416 Southern Scotland Greystone Park, When you’ve finished with this magazine, please recycle it. Pass it to another 55/57 Moffat Road, reader or dispose of it at your local waste-collection point. Dumfries DG1 1NP Tel. 0300 067 3200

Strathclyde & Ayrshire Caspian House, Mariner Court, Clydebank Business Park, Clydebank G81 2NR Tel. 0141 951 4488

Tayside & Grampian Battleby, Redgorton, Perth PH1 3EW Tel. 01738 444 177

Tayside & Grampian Inverdee House, Baxter Street, Torry, AB11 9QA Tel. 01224 266 500

2 The Nature of Scotland Kenny Taylor gives some seasonal tips for Wild calendar savouring Scottish wildlife and landscapes Listen as the first blackbird sings, full-fluted from a rooftop. When will the new leaves of birch and sycamore, beech or hazel unfurl enough to catch the wind? Will oak break leaf before ash this year and bluebells blossom before the first osprey eggs are laid? Spring is a great time to notice change and renewal, not only through cuckoo calls, but more in many small shifts revealing the freshness of life; bringing surprises each day, for many weeks to come.

Tree of many tongues Sleepers awaken Fowl play?

When it comes to brilliance of leaf They might be dusty. They could When is a goose not a goose? When colours, autumn rightly steals the have ragged wings, frayed from close it’s a barnacle? That brace of questions broadleaved tree show. But there’s one encounters with predatory birds. They might seem downright odd nowadays. native tree whose splendour in spring is may seem drowsy at first, fluttering But in the Middle Ages, arguing the a match for its autumnal glory: aspen. briefly before resting in patches of case for a bird being both shellfish and Often late to break into leaf, aspen sunlight. Yet they are heralds of the fowl could make a difference to your makes up for this tardiness in sheer changed seasons – true harbingers of diet. boldness of colour. See a splash of spring. Confused? No wonder. The key buttercup yellow, vibrant as poster Most of the small tortoiseshell to the conundrum comes through the paint, among darker tones of pines or butterflies that are active in summer Roman Catholic Church’s requirement the green froth of birch on a hillside, and autumn die before winter bites. for its members to avoid eating meat and you’re likely to be ogling aspen. But some hibernate, taking shelter on Fridays. This is still given special Known in the past as ‘old wives’ in rock crevices, tree holes, garden emphasis during Lent – the six weeks in tongue’ because of the way its leaves sheds or even in cool, shaded corners late winter and early spring leading up tremble in the faintest breath of breeze, within houses. Come March and April, to Easter Sunday. aspen is now scarce across much of these sleepers awaken, trying to regain In the past, carnivorous flouting of Scotland. That’s because it’s the food access to the outdoors. such church law could be a matter for tree of choice for many leaf-and-twig- As soon as it gains its freedom, stern reprimand and penalties. That’s munching grazing animals, explaining a male small tortoiseshell will try to why some people argued that barnacle why it can be restricted to steep burn establish and defend a territory where geese and goose barnacles – the latter gorges in some areas. he can woo and mate with females. In a marine crustacean whose shell looks Big steps are now being taken by turn, females with fertilised eggs go to quite similar to a tiny goose head – bodies such as Trees for Life and within lay batches of eggs on freshly sprouted were different stages in the life cycle of the National Park to grow nettles – the favourite food for their the same creature. So eating a barnacle thousands of young aspens in tree caterpillars. goose wasn’t really meat eating at all…. nurseries. These saplings are beginning Numbers of this attractive butterfly Such a cunning ruse was prohibited to form a new wave of aspen growth in have slumped drastically in recent by a papal ruling 800 years ago. In Scotland, adding their distinctive colour decades. This gives all the more reason the here and now, you can still enjoy and movement to native woods from to encourage unkempt patches of barnacle geese in a different way as spring to autumn. nettles in gardens and allotments to flocks, untroubled by monks taking Click this: http://treesforlife.org. give a boost to these delicate symbols potshots, head north from Scottish uk/forest/species-profiles/aspen/ of spring. wintering grounds in spring. Click this: http://butterfly- Click this: http://planetearth.nerc.

Spring conservation.org/679-754/small- ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=319 tortoiseshell.html

4 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 5 Questing for the vole Summer

It could be the commonest mammal in Voles can tunnel below snow, snug Britain, with a population estimated at from chill weather above and with an 75 million. But you’re more likely to see under-snow supply of grass stems. So

Spring signs of where it’s been rather than to when thaw comes, the once-hidden observe the animal itself. network may be revealed. Look for long, Spring is a good time for some field narrow depressions in hill turf, with tell- vole sleuthing, especially in hill areas vole scatterings of nibbled grass. which have had recent snow melt. Field By now, field voles will be taking voles live in many different places, from their chances in the spring air, trying low ground to high, the common feature to avoid the gaze of predators, such being a good supply of grass. These as foxes and kestrels, as they squeak little creatures (which measure around to communicate with each other. Many 15cm, on average, from twitching nose of the calls they make are ‘ultrasonic’ and whiskers to the tip of the short tail) – too high-pitched for human hearing. eat little else. Elusive, that’s the name of the vole. Click this: www.wildaboutgardens. org.uk/wildlife/mammals/vole.aspx

On moor and hill, meadow pipits display, while on leaves beyond number in glens below, caterpillars stretch to measure the span of unfolding summer. Unseen, drifts of plankton trail basking sharks and gleaming fish shoals in their wake. Garden broods are noisy now, as parent birds ply them with meaty beakloads. There’s energy in the life that’s all around, but also time, if you make it, to relax and soak it in, feeling the colours, scents and sounds of the season.

Some other things to look for in spring: Lions of the

Skylarks ascending; adders out of hibernation; brown hares boxing and chasing; first bees Orca! Visit the coasts of the Hebrides or Northern Isles in The very small west coast group stays here year-round, but on early flowers. summer, and that word is one of the most exciting a wildlife is more often seen in late summer and early autumn. These enthusiast could hear. Also known as ‘killer whales’, orcas orcas target marine mammals, including minke whales and are perhaps the most expert top marine predators. Groups, porpoises. They numbered a mere nine animals, until last known as ‘pods’, can work together in the water in ways winter. Then one of them, known as ‘Lulu’ to researchers, reminiscent of how a pride of lions hunts on land. Woe washed up dead on . betide the seals, other whales or fish shoals that become the Whale watchers will now be anxiously waiting to see how focus of a coordinated orca attack. Britain’s only resident orca community will fare this summer Scottish waters have two quite distinct types of orcas. and beyond. Those in the Northern Isles and east coast are migratory. Click this: www.wild-scotland.org.uk/species/69/ They come from Iceland, especially between May and July, to killer-whale-orca-/ hunt harbour seal pups and shoals of herring and mackerel. 6 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 7 Summer

Solar-powered Reach the higher Bud wiser seabird ground Some gardeners call it the ‘butterfly bush’. See a buddleia (or buddleja) in With its blood-red bill, harsh, high- Buckets and spades, cones and ice full summer bloom and you may also be pitched calls and translucent wings cream, beaches and waves splashing: lucky enough to see several butterflies that catch the light as beautifully as certain summer pairings seem timeless. drinking deep from its nectar flow. It’s stained glass panels when seen against Except when the beach is a raised one, a boon to many butterfly species, often the sun, the tern is a feisty and in which case time will have separated including red admiral, painted lady, distinctive part of Scotland’s seabird tide from old shore by a long way. peacock and small tortoiseshell. populations. It’s commonest in the You can see raised beaches along The commonest variety now Western Isles and Northern Isles, many stretches of Scottish coast, often growing in gardens (Buddleja davidii) although numbers have plummeted over by noticing where a line of low cliffs is was brought to Britain from China in the last 30 years. set inland from the current shoreline by the 1890s. It’s quick to colonise loose An Arctic tern looks rather delicate many tens or even hundreds of metres. stones and gravel, such as in old walls in flight. So its two major world records In other places, fairly straight lines of (where it also gets a boost from lime- are all the more surprising. Its annual ground rise not far from the sea, often in rich mortar) and along railway tracks. migrations – from northern breeding terraces at different heights. The south So you can often see it in and around grounds to wintering areas in the shore of the Cromarty Firth (towards Scottish railway stations, such as at Southern , then back again its namesake village), southern Arran, Perth. But its invasive tendencies mean in spring – are now reckoned to be the west coast of Jura and the coast that it may need to be kept in , the longest seasonal movement of of Ayrshire are among the many good including to help other butterfly-friendly any animal. Some cover more than areas to look for raised beaches. plant species. Some other things to look for in summer: 80,000km each year – enough to go Raised beach origins go back The rather odd-looking name derives around the world twice at the equator. to the last Ice Age. As ice melted, from an English vicar and botanist, the Rockpools to explore; damselflies over ponds; broods of moorhens on canals and lochs; Linked to that, its flights to follow the land rose, relieved of a massive Reverend Adam Buddle. He was an summer in the south during our tonnage of downward pressure. At expert on mosses who died in 1715, yellow flag iris in full flower. northern winter mean that it sees the same time, sea levels swelled from decades before the first buddleias were more daylight than any other creature. meltwater, forming temporary coastlines brought to Britain. The great Swedish Impressive for a bird that weighs-in at for different sea levels at different botanist, Carl Linnaeus, immortalised a mere 100 grams or so. And a further times. As the land rose further, these his predecessor’s botanical expertise by reason to work on preserving the stocks coastlines became inland features, now naming this group of nectar-rich plants of small fish that it needs to thrive here high and dry – and far from their salty in his honour, even though the Rev. during its summer visits. beginnings. Buddle had never seen one. Click this: www.pnas.org/ Click this: www.snh.org.uk/ Click this: www.bbc.co.uk/news/ content/107/5/2078.short publications/on-line/geology/skye/ magazine-28196221 beaches.asp 8 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 9 1 1

Duncan Halley works for the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research. Norwegian wood Here he looks at south-west Norway and its woodland regeneration, drawing comparisons with Highland Scotland. 10 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 11 2 2 Reversing deforestation Reduced grazing pressure

By the 19th century, both south-west Norway and the What caused this? Much research has been done, and Highlands had been strongly deforested for a long time. the answer is clear: reductions in grazing pressure and As in the Highlands, was the main fuel in south-west associated land-use practices such as muirburn. There were Norway, and drystane dykes were built for miles across the two main waves of reduction in the intensity of grazing on treeless glens and hillsides. Wood for fuel and fencing was the land. The first was from the 1860s to 1914, due to mass unavailable locally, and too expensive to import. Photographs voluntary emigration to the United States; the second was from the late 19th and early 20th centuries look strikingly like from the 1950s on as ways of making a living other than hill many parts of the Highlands. farming became widely available, and were considered more But since then the landscape histories of the two attractive. areas have diverged radically. In the Highlands, apart from Much of this regeneration has happened on peat soils, commercial forests which started to be established after often wet and deep, which formed during the period of the First World War, no significant expansion of woodland deforestation; trees will regenerate strongly (and start to occurred in the 20th century, and in general the state of form a new, non-peat, soil layer) so long as the peat is not remaining semi-natural woodlands continued to decline. permanently waterlogged. Birch in particular likes wet peat, In south-west Norway, new woodlands began naturally and is often the pioneer species. Even on blanket bogs, regenerating from the 1860s on. In recent decades, the trees are usual on any slightly raised or slightly drier patch. landscape has changed from one which, within living Most of this woodland is open in character. Indeed many memory, was mainly unwooded, to one in which most of the plants in Scotland often thought to be species, land below the treeline is wooded once again. such as heather and bearberry, merely tolerate open ground This process is continuing at a very rapid rate. In in Scotland. They are present in south-west Norway’s Rogaland, in the far south-west, the most deforested woods as they are really plants of the understorey of open province of all, woodland cover is predicted to increase from woodland. Sheep and cows are still grazed, at moderate 24%, as it was in 2007, to 52% over the next few decades, densities; roe and red deer, black and willow (local form of with most of the remaining area being either arable farmland the red) grouse and blue hares are widely hunted. It is, and Apart from fjords, one of the few things most people in or high mountains above the natural tree line. In the as always has been, a landscape used by people. Nowadays, a whole, at present 2.6% of the land area is changing from wood has completely replaced peat as fuel (wood is around Scotland know about the landscape of Norway is that it’s well open ground to woodland every five years. one-third more efficient as a heat source than the same wooded and always has been. weight of peat).

But this is one of those cases where the reality is Climatic similarities 3 a little different. 100 years ago “it was commonly believed that our (Norwegian) forests would soon We need to look at what has happened in south-west no longer exist, and initiatives were implemented Norway in particular – Norway is a large place, the size of Britain and Ireland, and parts of it are colder and/or drier to counteract the deforestation”, according to than the Highlands. But south-west Norway is at the same Statistics Norway, an introduction to forestry latitudes as the of Scotland to Shetland. Like statistics. the Highlands, its climate is dominated by the Gulf Stream and weather systems from the south-west. This produces Since that time, the forest resource of Norway has more than very similar rainfall, wind, and temperature patterns. The tripled by most forms of measurement. From 2004 to 2014 geology and landforms are also very like the Highlands. alone the total area of forest increased by 18%. Deciduous You can investigate the climate of south-west Norway for and mixed woodland, mainly (but not only) birch, rowan, yourself in very great detail at www.senorge.no (and of the aspen, juniper, pine, and bird cherry, has more than doubled Highlands at www.metoffice.gov.uk/). in volume in the last 20 years alone – all of it through natural People arrived in south-west Norway at about the same regeneration and all of it ‘for free’. time as in the Highlands, at the end of the last Ice Age; they In a time when the and many introduced agriculture and domestic animals, and started communities, landowners and conservation groups wish using metal tools at about the same time. In the very similar to expand Scotland’s woodlands to benefit forestry, nature climate and landforms, the effects were also very similar: restoration, carbon sequestration, soil conservation, flood deforestation was mostly complete in coastal areas by the prevention, stabilising slopes against landslips, and public Bronze Age, and continued inland for many centuries. enjoyment, it’s worth taking a look at how this happened. Particularly so in a place which is so similar to the Highlands of Scotland in its geology, landforms, and climate.

12 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 13 1 4 5 Hjelldalen in western Norway. The climate is similar to the west Highlands: mild, oceanic and very wet (over 3m of precipitation each year on average). 2 Kirkehavn on Hidra island in south-west Norway in winter. Hidra is on exactly the same latitude as Stornoway and temperatures are similar to Lewis throughout the year, but it is both wetter and windier than the west coast of Lewis. It was completely deforested from the Bronze Age to the early 20th century. 3 Valle in Setesdal, south-west Norway. The climate and geology locally is similar to the Cairngorms. Today, much of the floor of the glen and all of the sides, except on the blankest cliff faces, are wooded. 4 The Sound of Hidra and Hidra island, south- west Norway, in Return of the bluethroat? autumn. Storm force winds are annual; west Norway it is common and not declining. Redwings hurricane force winds This landscape contains a diverse wildlife – red and roe onshore have been deer, capercaillie, , woodpeckers of several breed regularly in Scotland in small numbers, and fieldfares recorded twice in the species, and pine martens to name but a few. It is the sporadically. Both could be expected to increase. last 10 years. Plants tasty to sheep and deer, like the attractive Alpine 5 primary habitat of golden eagles in Norway. Some species The beautiful red that are lost to Scotland might be expected to recolonise if blue sow-thistle, are extremely rare in Scotland; the thistle spotted bluethroat. hill woodland re-established. Amongst them could be the is confined to only four rock ledges safe from browsing. bluethroat, a spectacularly beautiful bird with an equally In south-west Norway it is abundant on damp patches in impressive song. woodlands of this kind, so long as the browsing pressure is The bluethroat is abundant in birch and willow habitats not too high. high on the mountain. Trees at that altitude can only grow The experience of south-west Norway clearly shows that in bushy form, usually mixed in patches with heather and woodland could regenerate very widely in the Highlands grass. This is a habitat all but extinct in Scotland – a few – the climate and landforms are very similar, as has been tiny patches on cliffs free from deer and sheep browsing are the history of the landscape until very recently. Planting, all that remain. Bluethroats are the characteristic birds of to provide a local seed source, would probably accelerate the habitat, and migrate through Scotland each spring, so the process greatly; in Norway regeneration seems to have should colonise fairly soon when enough suitable habitat is started slowly and then accelerated, probably for this reason. available. South-west Norway is no longer expensive to visit; Other likely colonists would be Lapland buntings, the recent decline in oil prices has led to a considerable common in the hill woodland/alpine zone fringe; bramblings, increase in the value of the pound against the krone. Rental which are abundant in high-level birch, and overwinter in cabins are inexpensive and there is a comprehensive Scotland; and the mealy redpoll, a small nomadic finch of network of hiking . Why not go and see for yourself? high-level birch and willow. could be expected to readapt to this habitat, its natural home in most of the Further reading world. The is endangered in Scotland, where its core habitat – high-level deciduous woodland mosaics www.nina.no/english/News/News-article/ArticleId/3941 with open patches and rocks – is unavailable. In south-

14 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 15 1

Celebrating Hugh Miller

Elizabeth Pickett is a geologist and illustrator. Here she reflects on a geological trip with a difference – by boat around the Argyll islands.

In summer 2015 a group of Our voyage was named ‘Testimony of 20 June 21 June 22 June geologists, artists, ecologists, the Rocks’, in honour of Hugh Miller’s Magmatic Mull Rocks of Dalriada Metalimestone and music musicians and storytellers, aged final book. Miller was fascinated by the natural world, writing, “Nature is a We meet Leader and our fellow Islands slide past as we head south On the west coast of Shuna we look 18 to 70-plus, embarked on a vast tablet, inscribed with signs, each voyagers at the North Pier in Oban. Our into the Sound of . The sea is at geological maps spread out on the voyage of geological discovery of which has its own significance and first destination, where we anchor for silk-smooth and we glimpse porpoises. shingle. Shuna stands out with its around the Argyll islands on becomes poetry in the mind when the night, is Loch Spelve, held in the At Kinuachdrachd Pier on Jura we learn stripe of bright blue. This is the Degnish read”. He also wrote of his great Leader, a Brixham sailing curve of the ring-intrusions of Mull’s more about Dalradian rocks and the Limestone and we examine a nearby interest in the close association of trawler. Our journey followed ancient volcano, and with the Great geological events they record. Originally outcrop. Intriguing textures provide human history with geological science. on from one in which Leader Glen Fault passing deep below. sediments and lavas in long-vanished clues to its origins in a warm shallow So, with these themes and Miller’s The dark igneous rocks that mass seas, they were later metamorphosed sea and later alteration to become the and her crew recreated part inquiring spirit in mind, we set out to above us and disappear into cloud during Caledonian mountain-building cleaved metalimestone, or marble, we of Hugh Miller’s 1844 cruise explore the beautiful Argyll islands and are transformed into arcs of pink, red to become slate, quartzite, marble and see today. of the Betsey around the Inner their interwoven stories of geology, and green on the beautiful geological schist. Orchids thrive in this lime-rich spot. landscape, natural history and people. Hebrides. An important part of map of Mull. We discuss charts and To the sound of a cuckoo we explore Islanders used the limestone too – the voyage was a visit to Luing to forecasts with our skipper Lara, and out a shoreline of Jura slate. The coast is there’s a ruined limekiln nearby. Walking celebrate the launch of the new of this emerges a more detailed plan bright with the pinks of thrift, ragged across the island we peer through Atlantic Islands Centre. for our voyage. We are to head south robin and foxgloves, and the yellow rhododendrons at the crumbling from Mull, bound for islands of far older of bird’s-foot trefoil and tormentil. The concrete castle of Shuna House, and quartzite and slate. These metamorphic geological map of Jura is mainly yellow admire swirling patterns in sea-worn rocks are part of the ‘Dalradian’, a group too – representing a great thickness of Craignish Phyllite. In evening sunlight of rocks 750 to 550 million years old Jura quartzite. in Arduaine there’s singing and guitar and named after the ancient Scots music on deck. kingdom of Dalriada.

16 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 17 6

23 June 24 June 25 June 26 June More information Through the Corryvreckan Rock of the saints Slate island songs Journey’s end The 2014 voyage was run by the Royal We take a window of opportunity and The thin rugged spine of the Luing welcomes us for the final part We head back to Oban past the dark Scottish Geographical Society, the motor through the Gulf of Corryvreckan is our much-anticipated of our voyage. We walk round Cuan cliffs of and Easdale, veiled in Friends of Hugh Miller and the Scottish towards and Oronsay. The destination today. We arrive at Point, past red cattle and over drifts rain and mist. Islands merge into a Geodiversity Forum. See: https:// sea is calm but seething patches of Eileach an Naoimh and step ashore of grey slate. It has a rippled sheen watercolour of slate, sea and sky. Back cruiseofthebetsey.wordpress.com water hint at the whirlpool that churns by a sea-washed outcrop of Port and is flecked with gold pyrite cubes. on the North Pier we say our goodbyes. and a film by Fergus Cruickshank at when the tide rips through. On either Askaig Tillite. We learn of the ancient To our left, rear cliffs of Easdale Slate, We have heaved ropes, looked at rocks, https://vimeo.com/129989765 side are vivid green hillsides of layered glaciation, around 650 million years sculpted by past quarrying. We are sung songs, shared stories, written, See also Earth Heritage 43: www. rocks. The Paps of Jura, blue-purple ago, that formed this famous rock, and faced by a great wall of rock, a dyke, sketched and much more – in short, we earthheritage.org.uk/ehpdf/eh43F. and sun-tinged, rise to the south. contemplate ‘Snowball Earth’. which chops through the slate and had an inspiring week. We have read pdf Landing on Oronsay we head These small islands seem remote heads out into the green sea like a dark some of the signs inscribed on Hugh The 2015 voyage was run by the inland from a white beach to explore now, but were once an important path. Miller’s vast tablet of nature, and on this Scottish Geodiversity Forum, the Isle of the ruins of the 14th-century priory. centre of early Christianity. St In the evening we join a ceilidh journey these certainly became ‘poetry Luing Community Trust and the Friends Corncrakes rasp and medieval priors founded a monastery here in AD 542 in the new Atlantic Islands Centre, in the mind’ for all of us. of Hugh Miller. Young Earth scientists stare out from carved grave-slabs. We and St reputedly visited the which celebrates the natural and But this isn’t the end of the project. Dyfan Roberts, Andrew Law and Jack find one of the Mesolithic shell middens islands. We explore the monastery cultural heritage of the Argyll islands. Future initiatives are being discussed. Gillespie were sponsored by Glasgow for which Oronsay is famous. Packed ruins, the grave of Eithne (St Columba’s Our leaders, Joyce Gilbert and Simon Watch this space! and Edinburgh geological Societies. limpet shells tell of people’s lives 6,000 mother), and two amazing beehive Cuthbert, speak about the voyage See Emma MacLachlan’s film: https:// years ago, as close in time to the end cells. A stump of lichen-crusted rock is and we enjoy songs, poems, music vimeo.com/132918394, Hugh’s News of the last glaciation as to today. The known as ‘Columba’s pulpit’. A spring and stories from islanders and Leader 26 in: www.thefriendsofhughmiller. turquoise waters tempt some of us in near our landing place is still called the crew. It is a special end to a memorable org.uk and www.atlanticislandscentre. for a breathtaking swim! Holy Stream. journey. com 18 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 19

Worm whopper NEWS

Worms don’t often make the news, so we were interested to see that a study by researchers from the University of Central Lancashire is giving earthworms a little limelight. Earthworms found on Rum National Nature Reserve have been weighing on average three times heavier than their mainland counterparts and the Rum worms can grow to almost 40cm in NEWS length. The study suggests that Rum’s excellent conditions could mean that worms here live for up to 10 years. That’s five times longer than the mainland average. Kevin Butt, professor at the conservation gathers pace University of Central Lancashire, who led the study, said: “I first noticed the More than 300 trail cameras went live by the end of January large worm burrows in 2005, so I had 2016 as part of Scottish Wildcat Action’s first winter survey. my suspicions that there may be some This is the biggest-ever wildcat survey in Scotland, and the pretty big worms in the area. We went images have been coming in thick and fast thanks to the back out to investigate, and finding extraordinary efforts of staff and volunteers, as well as the worms of this size was very exciting, generous funding from Heritage Lottery Fund. especially when the Natural History Results are still to be collated, but these images will give Museum team confirmed that they had extensive intelligence on wild-living cat populations for the no specimens like this.” first time. It will then help us plan Scottish Wildcat Action’s www.glasgownaturalhistory.org. conservation efforts to protect the wildcat from further uk/gn26_2/earthworms_butt.pdf decline. The Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate and Release (TNVR) training is now also under way, with staff being trained to humanely cage-trap feral cats and those with minimal wildcat characteristics known as ‘obvious hybrids’. These The ‘Jewel of the Forth’, the hidden gem that is the Isle of May National Nature Reserve, has opened for hybrids have mixed domestic cat and wildcat ancestry due another season. With its towering west cliffs and an island history dating back before Christianity, this to interbreeding, a major threat to the wildcat as a distinct wildlife sanctuary is well worth a visit. species. Large numbers of seabirds return to the island to nest from early April, and they are quickly followed TNVR will be carried out across six wildcat priority areas by human admirers as visitors travel from far and wide to board boats from either North Berwick or of Strathpeffer, Strathbogie, Strathavon, , Northern Anstruther to visit the magical isle. Strathspey, and the Angus Glens in order to reduce The island is little more than one mile long by half-a-mile wide, but it is crammed full of wildlife. interbreeding and the spread of disease. From April to July the island is an attack on the senses as the hustling bustling seabird city supports Meanwhile, the conservation breeding for release over 100,000 seabirds, making it an experience you will never forget. If this is not impressive enough, programme, led by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, then the fact that no fewer than 46,200 pairs of puffins nest there, making it the largest puffin colony is also gathering pace. Large private enclosures were built at on the east coast of the UK, may just grab your attention. the Highland Wildlife Park and are ready to receive breeding However, if it is peace and tranquility that you are looking for, then a visit during August and pairs. September should be high on your agenda. The main that dominates the island’s skyline It is hoped that some of the existing captive cats at the was constructed 200 years ago by the famous Stevenson family. As part of the birthday celebrations, park and other zoos may be paired with wild-caught Scottish the lighthouse will be accessible every weekend and daily from 1 August – 2 October. So why not visit wildcats. Offspring will eventually form a founder population to enjoy the views from above? to release back into the wild. If you are still in doubt, then let the critics be your judge: the island has scooped several awards These are not the only kittens we’ll be keeping an eye on. in recent months, including one for its newly-constructed visitor centre, complete with nesting Arctic Project partners, Forestry Commission Scotland, have also terns on the roof. been building artificial den sites in the Angus Glens in the You have to see it to believe it, so visit the Isle of May NNR, the ‘Jewel of the Forth’. hope of attracting pregnant females. This research will help Isle of May blog: https://isleofmaynnr.wordpress.com identify wildcat preferences for den sites. Find out more at www.scottishwildcataction.org

20 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 21 NEWS St Kilda cave dives

A World Heritage Site, St Kilda lies 41 miles west of in the Outer Hebrides and is the most remote part of the . The archipelago’s last 36 human residents were evacuated to the mainland in 1930. However, the islands remain hugely important for their wildlife: they host huge seabird populations, including the world’s second-largest colony of North Atlantic gannets. The waters around St Kilda are designated a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) for their reefs and sea caves, which attract a wealth of spectacular sea life. Lisa Kamphausen, from our marine team, has recently taken part in a survey to study the sea caves of St Kilda and . “It’s an experience you are unlikely to forget,” noted Lisa, “but hard work in

NEWS difficult conditions. “Between laying a survey line and measuring, defining natural zones, taking video and photographs, recording the details of animals which live inside the caves, and collecting specimens for the Natural History Museum, we had quite a few jobs to do between us. But we could only stay as long as our scuba tanks would give us air, our dry suits would keep us warm, our torches had batteries, and as long as the wind blew from the right direction to avoid the worst of the swell.” In a mad flurry of dawn to dusk activity and against all odds, the team conducting this Site Condition Monitoring survey of the St Kilda SAC was able to survey five sea caves on St Kilda and three on North Rona. We’ve uploaded hundreds of photos from past marine surveys to our Flickr page for you to browse and share – please credit Scottish Natural Heritage if you share the photos with others. You can view the images of our St Kilda cave dives on our Flickr account at www.flickr.com/ photos/snh-iyb2010/albums/72157658628218282

Citizen science

January is long past – lots of people will have given up on well-intentioned New Year’s resolutions. Gym memberships might be gathering dust. Wildlife recording, however, is an alternative that will give you exercise, be fun and help others. There’s still a lot we have to learn about Scotland’s wildlife and you don’t need to trek up mountains and through bogs to help – you can play your part by getting involved in citizen science. Wildlife recording is one of the fastest-growing family hobbies and you can start in your own garden or local greenspace. Last year 43,000 Scots contributed over 630,000 records to the Big Garden Birdwatch – the biggest wildlife survey in the world. With wildlife recording centres across Scotland, it’s easy to submit records. Apps and cameras on mobile phones are a great help with identification. Many of the local record centres, local biodiversity partnerships and Countryside Ranger Services run fun days to help people improve their identification skills. All types of citizen science gather valuable information so that better decisions can be made on things that affect all our lives in all sorts of ways. For a fun and healthy outdoor activity for all the family – that you can do anywhere and at minimal cost – there’s nothing to beat it. Find out more about citizen science in Scotland at http://www.environment.scotland.gov.uk/ get-involved/

22 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 23 1

Within a few weeks of the first satellite tags being attached, thousands of visitors to the SNH website were following the sharks as their movements were displayed online in close-to-real- time.

Twenty sharks were tagged in 2012, in a ‘hotspot’ for these gentle giants around the islands of and Tiree off Scotland’s west coast. Each summer large numbers of basking sharks are seen here, cruising around feeding at the surface, making it an exciting place for wildlife watchers. While sharks are seen in many places around Scotland, displays of social and courtship behaviour, like breaching and following each other nose-to-tail, have only been observed in these areas, suggesting that they are important for key stages in the life cycle of the sharks. It’s thought that, as well as coming to feed on the area’s rich plankton soup, the sharks might also come to find a mate. Learning some of the secrets of the world’s second-largest fish caught the public imagination, and the tracking website received 42,000 hits in the first three weeks. Dr Suzanne Henderson from SNH, who is managing the satellite tagging project, said: “It was fascinating to see where the sharks were going in those first weeks, and that most stayed around the . One shark made its way to Jura and another two headed west beyond the Outer Hebrides, but all three returned to the waters where they were tagged. It was also great to learn Sharks basking in Scottish waters that the public shared our enthusiasm and curiosity about these majestic A pioneering three-year project to learn some of the secrets of Scotland’s animals.” Over the next two summers 41 more basking sharks by using satellite tag technology has shown an area off the sharks were tagged in the project, a west coast to be very important for these giant fish, as Dominic Shann reveals. partnership between SNH and the University of Exeter, and the first known to track the near real-time movements of basking sharks. 24 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 25 1 2 43 The basking shark is the world's second- largest fish. 2 A retrieved tag can contain a mine of information. 3 The tags are attached to the shark at the base of the dorsal fin. 4 Basking sharks can live up to 50 years.

“We were particularly intrigued to the length of a double-decker bus see where the sharks went during the (11 metres) and their huge bodies 4 winter”, said Suzanne. “From autumn are nourished2 entirely by plankton. In onwards the tagged sharks dispersed an hour, a feeding shark can filter 1.5 widely, leaving the shallow coastal million litres of water through its gills, waters for deep sea. Some went south extracting these tiny crustaceans. as far as the Iberian Peninsula and The sharks can survive as long as North , some headed west of 50 years but being slow-moving, slow Ireland and others remained relatively to mature and long-lived, they are very close to Scotland throughout the vulnerable to human activities. For winter. generations they were hunted widely “One of the highlights of the project around Scotland for the high oil content for me was seeing the first of the of their large livers, but basking sharks tagged sharks making its way back have been a protected species here towards the Sea of the Hebrides, and since 1998. then to Coll and Tiree where it was The tags were attached to sharks at tagged the previous year. It was really the base of the dorsal fin with a titanium exciting to learn that the same individual metal dart, using an extendable darting basking sharks return in consecutive pole. Some tags provided information years to use Scottish waters. It’s on the shark’s position each time it something we thought happened neared the surface, allowing it to be but we now have the first proof that tracked online. Other tags collected this occurs. It really does emphasise data on depth, temperature and light that the Sea of the Hebrides is highly levels over several months before important for this migrating species.” detaching from the shark. These tags Protecting highly mobile species, then float to the surface and transmit such as sharks and whales, is difficult gathered information to satellites due to the large areas they cover. passing overhead. However, if they are So identifying and managing areas physically retrieved much more data where the animals gather to feed, or can be collected. for important life-cycle events, such as Suzanne said: “We are extremely courtship, can play an important role in grateful to the public whose remarkable their conservation. beachcombing abilities saw more As part of the Scottish Marine than a third of the tags returned to Protected Areas Programme, SNH us. But there are still tags out there has recommended that an area of the to be found, with secrets yet to be Sea of the Hebrides from Skye to Mull discovered, and there’s a £100 reward be designated to protect the basking for each one handed back to us. So sharks, and also minke whales. Scottish when you’re out walking on the west Ministers are currently considering the coast, keep an eye open and you could proposal. help us to learn even more about these Basking sharks can grow to about truly wonderful fish.”

26 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 27 1 Climate change is one of the most urgent problems of our time. At every How can we help nature level, from local communities to national governments, we are trying to cope with climate change? limit emissions and halt warming. But now more than ever, we are realising that some effects of climate change will be inevitable, as Anna Brand explains.

We’ve all noticed warmer temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, unusual seasons, and changes in nature. To deal with these effects, not only do we need to adapt, but we also need to help nature do the same.

To help Scotland’s nature become more resilient, and adjust to the new threats and challenges that climate change may bring, we and all of our partners in conservation are working to make big changes. For example, we’re reducing other pressures on nature and wildlife, improving the way habitat is managed, and adapting land and conservation management as the climate changes and we learn more. These principles are guiding work across Scotland’s nature reserves. Our National Nature Reserves (NNRs) and other protected sites have great stories to tell about how nature can adapt to climate change, which we have captured in eight case studies. From restoring blanket bog in and Sutherland to enhancing the habitat for natterjack toads at Caerlaverock, to reversing water pollution at , the case studies show off the many tools that we have to help nature thrive. A healthy environment can also help people cope with climate change. When peatlands are healthy, they form new peat thereby storing carbon, which helps us limit climate change. Many other benefits come from peatlands: clean water, lower flood risks, and a home for unique wildlife. The floods in December and January sparked discussions on natural flood management (NFM) and how working with nature can help us deal with the extreme weather that’s likely to increase with climate change. NFM includes ways of managing the landscape so that water seeps into the ground and flows more slowly downstream to prevent or ease flooding. This includes restoring and floodplains, allowing rivers to meander through the countryside, and planting trees: all things that also have benefits for nature. Adaptation work on our NNRs shows that helping nature become more resilient often helps us adapt too. And there are many ways we can help. Here are a few snapshots of how conservation managers have helped nature adapt by following our climate change adaptation principles. 28 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 29 2 Making better habitats for natterjack toads 3

Rare natterjack toads thrive in coastal saltmarsh habitats. Coastal marsh is under pressure from coastal developments, and toad numbers are dwindling as a result. Climate change may bring even more threats, causing sea-level rise, coastal erosion and more salt-water inundation. Work has been underway to help the natterjack toad adapt at Caerlaverock NNR on the Solway Firth. Shallow pools have been created on farmland farther inland, in areas that will not be affected by sea-level rise and other human coastal pressures such as habitat fragmentation. The natterjacks can venture here to breed. Cattle-grazing has been introduced after the toad breeding period to keep the vegetation short, which also helps the toads. Maintaining the pools is hard work, but we’re aiming for a diverse and connected habitat that will help the toads survive.

Helping threatened montane willows spread 4

Montane willow scrub is an important part of the Scottish uplands. But climate change and other pressures like grazing have shrunk the area where mountain scrub is found. Now montane willows survive only in small, remote areas, where there is snow cover for much of the year. The populations are fragmented, meaning that it is harder than ever for them to survive and reproduce. To help them become more resilient, we ensure that they have the best possible chance of increasing their numbers. At and NNRs, fenced areas provide refuge from sheep and deer grazing for rare upland plants. Volunteers have planted willow seedlings in these exclosures to boost the number of plants and help them survive and thrive, even in the face of climate change.

A new home for lichens on 1 Flooding near Coupar Angus. Climate change shrinks the space that some wildlife can 2 Restoring Protecting Scotland’s pinewoods from disease thrive in, and causes lots of changes in their environment. Protecting Scotland's ancient pinewoods This is particularly true for mountain species. One type of could become more Blawhorn Moss is a raised bog in West . The bog A warmer climate may mean that Scotland is more vulnerable lichen is trying out its new home on Creag Meagaidh NNR. challenging. was drained in the past by a system of ditches to make to new pests and diseases. For instance, Dothistroma These lichens have been planted under various conditions 3 the land more suitable for farming, and the bog has also needle blight in pine forests is thought to be increasing Natterjack toads on the reserve to test their ability to survive in these new benefit from short suffered fire damage. Sphagnum mosses and other bog because of climate change. If Dothistroma becomes so locations were they to lose habitat due to climate change. vegetation. vegetation have been lost to grasses and shrubs as a result. widespread that trees die faster than they can regenerate, The research team aims to find out which conditions are 4 As summers become warmer with climate change, fires may Scotland’s ancient pinewoods may be under threat. Lichen translocation best for the lichens to survive in by ‘translocating’ them from on Creag Meagaidh. also become more common on the drier vegetation, causing Being aware of the changes that are likely to occur their usual home in the high Cairngorms. ‘Translocation’ is more drying and damage. This in turn affects the bog’s ability allows us to plan better for the future. No single solution will the process of physically moving species to new areas in to store carbon, adding further to climate change. be suitable across all of Scotland, and the long time-scales which the climate and habitat may be suitable. This is no Since the 1980s, land managers at Blawhorn Moss have involved in managing woodlands for climate change means simple process; there are many considerations when moving worked on blocking the drainage ditches. Today, most of the planning for future scenarios. Given the uncertainties, we species and researchers followed the Scottish Code for ditches are filled with water. There is new sphagnum growth, may need to use many tactics across Scotland to provide Conservation Translocations. which is an encouraging sign that the bog is recovering and resilience to the possible risks. A combination of actions, that peat is starting to form, contributing to carbon storage. based on the needs and risks of different forests, should Read more about the case studies and other examples at Successful restoration is good news for the bog, and good offer some insurance against losing Caledonian pinewoods bit.ly/1EcBsEF news for us, as it helps to mitigate climate change. entirely.

30 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 31 Scotland’s outdoors – Our natural health service

There’s well-established To promote the concept of ‘Our Natural me and not being able to fulfil it. pebbles in my pockets. I pause to take I remember those weeks that I have said. We need the natural world, we are Health Service’, we are working with Although I am meant to be talking the occasional photo with my phone spent in hospitals, with the stale air bound to it. evidence linking the a wide range of partners from the of health, I am no paragon of fitness: I of the cockle shells in the sand or the and the oh-so-clean surfaces and the Some of us, however, have little environment and environment and health sectors to am on the verge of diabetes, I drink too ripples left by the tide on the beach. telly and that wish to be outside, that access to it, and have lost the joy demonstrate the health benefits from much, and I sweat and pant when I walk It may be that the medication that craving to feel grass under my feet, to we can feel when we spot a squirrel health. Both nature physical activity outdoors and regular up the slightest hill. I am made to take keeps me alive. be able to walk without fear of having run up a tree; it would be good to and greenspace have contact with nature. But for me projects like the one we But sometimes it is the walk along my way barred; it is the absence of help reintroduce us to that joy and Graham Morgan works with HUG have taken part in with the Scottish the beach, the amble beside a river, these things that can weigh heavily on the possibility that we can walk away been shown to have (Action for Mental Health) and is one of Waterways Trust make the world of the seat in the dusty heather or at the me. our worries, that the wind can also positive impacts on a number of people who gladly confirms difference. mouth of the harbour, where the green It is for this reason that the project be a potent medication, its own tiny the personal benefits of his experience There is something so wonderful of the sea mixes with the brown peat of we have been involved in with the antidepressant, its own blood-pressure physical health and of our natural health service. He delivers that happens when I take my occasional the river, that makes all the difference. Scottish Waterways Trust is dear to my pill and muscle-toner. mental wellbeing. For a powerful first-hand account of the walks along the beach. I can be filled It gives that sense of freedom, of heart. Those weekly walks in the woods benefits of developing a natural health with a roar of thoughts and worries wellbeing, that urge to swing my arms or along the canal, with flapjacks and –– Watch Graham speaking about example, 9 in 10 people service. that snatch away my peace, and make or to do some awkward hop of a dance. tea at the end, make such a difference our natural health service at www. who visit the outdoors sleep a hasty task rather than the bliss I love these things. I love to walk to people cooped up in hospital, or youtube.com/watch?v=dw_ I know how the natural world acted it can be; and then I can be walking down the forest track with my partner’s wondering how to make a day pass QYMULFpo report improvements in as my own health service. I have away, listening to the oystercatchers children and collect brambles, I love to more quickly now that they are in the –– HUG is a community of people from their mental and physical a diagnosis of schizophrenia and and gulls, watching the crows hop at wake in the morning and listen to the community and the days are bare with across the Highlands who come am detained under a compulsory the water’s edge, gazing at the red crows in the trees across the road. boredom. together to speak out about mental health and/or an increase community treatment order. I know what ships in the firth and the clouds that I It is a strange thing that I can give I am talking about something you health issues and to challenge in their energy levels. it is like to be confined to a ward with never tire of looking at. I will hear the the message that the seasons, the all know – you have all walked a street, stigma and discrimination. You only a square courtyard to give some sea and smell the salt air and, as I walk, sound of birdsong, the air on our faces, felt rain on your face, listened to the can visit HUG's facebook page sense of freedom with its chill air, away the anxieties that we all have become rain filming our hands or the wheat birds at dawn, felt the wind in your hair, at https://www.facebook.com/ from the gaze of the nurses assigned smoother and softer; as my body warms looking like an ocean in the wind can the sun on your cheeks, you know it HUGActionforMentalHealth/ to escort me to make sure I come to no up with motion I find that there is a make a difference to our health. Surely already. Even when life is dark indeed harm. I know the yearning to walk away smile on my face, my cheeks feel vibrant what needs said is that their absence looking out the window to see what from the demands of those that care for in the cold air, my fingers feel old makes for a sad and dreary world. the weather is like says all that needs 32 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 33 1

The West Highland Way

Brand Identity Resources

Mention a long-distance path nowadays and you are likely to hear it described as both a multi-day challenge and something that you can enjoy in bite-sized chunks. Yet perhaps the West Highland Way, of all Scotland's Great Trails, is the one that cries out to be completed end-to-end.

34 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 35 2 3

The West Highland Way was At 96 miles long the West Highland Balmaha, others can’t resist tackling our first designated long- Way is one of our longest trails. It takes . The vast openness of distance path, our first official the walker and some intrepid cyclists follows soon afterwards marked route, and is as iconic to through superb Scottish scenery and before you are drawn into the majestic Glencoe, which resonates with a sense Scotland as the Pennine Way is offers challenges and opportunities in equal measure. It is fair to say it is a of history. to England. Opened in 1980, it journey of incredible variety. Moving into the Highlands is truly drew together a mix of old drove The trail starts in the centre of spectacular, and the route carefully roads, abandoned railway lines, Milngavie but very quickly you will move keeps you away from roads as much as and former military roads. It had from urban into rural areas through possible. huge appeal as it ran from the parks and lowlands. The going is pretty Around 50,000 people travel all of easy between Milngavie and Drymen – the Way and over 105,000 tackle part edge of our most populous city easing people into the route. of the Way each year. That’s hardly – Glasgow – to the foot of our The eastern edge of is surprising given the easy access and highest mountain – the mighty an early thrill, as is the first sight of the splendid route, even around such Ben Nevis. Highland Boundary Fault and the ever- rugged scenery as Glencoe. Mention popular Conic Hill, whilst a glimpse of elements like the Devil’s Staircase and 1 2 3 the Arrochar Alps from can Glen Nevis and it is easy to understand The view from the There is plenty of Loch Lomond’s take the breath away. Some visitors the enduring popularity the West Devil's Staircase over scope for interesting beautiful islands. to Buachaille Etive short walks on the weave in time to visit the National Highland Way enjoys. Mòr. West Highland Way. Nature Reserve at Inchcailloch from 36 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 37 4 5 Further Information 3

Scotland’s Great Trails … These are nationally promoted trails for people-powered journeys. Each is distinctively waymarked, largely off-road and has a range of visitor services. At least 25 miles in length, they are suitable for multi-day outings as well as day trips. Collectively the 27 different routes provide over 1,700 miles of well-managed paths from the Borders to the Highlands, offering great opportunities to explore the best of Scotland’s nature and landscapes and to experience our amazing history and culture. The West Highland Way, which often provides a spectacular backdrop for a range of charity events, is managed by the West Highland Way Management Group, which is a partnership 6 between East Dunbartonshire, Stirling, Argyll & Bute, and Highland Councils along with the Loch Lomond & The National Park. You can find out more at www.west-highland-way.co.uk/ home.asp

Passing through

The West Highland Way runs through or is adjacent to some of our most significant protected areas. The list includes Loch Lomond & The 4 Trossachs National Park, Loch Lomond National Scenic Area, Ben Nevis & National Scenic Area, The Great Trossachs Forest National Nature Reserve, Rannoch Moor Special Area of Conservation to name but a few … and not to Getting up close through the haunts of more elusive that are a constant ‘companion’ on mention more than ten Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Not only does the Way offer a chance and secretive animals, including pine the Way. Silver birch, the much-loved marten, and otter. rowan and the majestic Scots pine will to enjoy great outdoor exercise, it allows you get closer to Scotland’s At any time of year the West vie for your attention alongside juniper, wildlife and landscapes. Given that it Highland Way is a draw for those who alder and elder. Inevitably the different The devil’s in the detail passes through a range of habitats, like to see birds. Buzzard and kestrel seasons, habitats and heights of the including woodland, moor, loch shore, are common sights, as are many trail at various points will dictate what The Devil’s Staircase near Glencoe takes the and mountain, the route offers up all members of the crow family including you can expect to see – but bluebell, West Highland Way towards Kinlochleven. It isn’t sorts of sights, sounds and smells. jay and jackdaw. The woodlands are primrose, wild garlic, gorse, heather the only devil reference in Scotland’s landscape – a haven for all sorts of finches, tits and marsh marigold add a splash of the Devil’s Elbow marked a tricky section of road There is also a social aspect 4 to doing this long distance route, and songbirds, whereas the moorland background colour. Chance encounters on the old Blairgowrie to road, and the sections give a chance to catch a Maybe we use phrases such as with deer are possible Devil’s Beeftub near Moffat is the name given to a particularly over the summer months. on several parts of the Many people completing the entire glimpse of curlew and lapwing, and a ‘awe-inspiring’ too readily, but the West West Highland Way. prominent hollow. trail mention ‘bumping’ into the same range of other waders in spring and Highland Way merits superlatives. The 5 summer. range of scenery, habitats and wildlife Keeping your eyes people on different days, swapping peeled for golden stories and sharing camaraderie along make this a stand-out long-distance eagles just might be trail. And, as the marketing gurus would rewarded with views the way. Plenty of plants like this. say, ‘50,000 people can’t be wrong’! Animals that you could encounter 6 include both roe and red deer, mountain If birds and mammals require Many walkers include an outing up Ben Nevis hare, red squirrel and fox. Although not occasional stealth to see, the same as part of their as easy to see, the walk also passes can’t be said for the trees and plants experience. 38 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 39 2020 vision

‘Biodiversity’ is one of those words that is becoming more and more common nowadays – but what does it mean? At its simplest, it means a variety of plants and animals. An unhealthy habitat could be one dominated by a non-native plant that is crowding out most other plants, for example, whereas a healthy habitat will have a mix of plants and animals. A healthy biodiversity is key for Scotland’s nature.

That’s why one of our biggest projects is Scotland’s Biodiversity – a Route Map to 2020, which was launched last June by the Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, Dr Aileen McLeod. Back in 2013, we published the 2020 Challenge for Scotland’s Biodiversity, partly in response to 20 new international targets set at a Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in Japan. That document laid out the major steps we need to take to improve the state of nature in Scotland to meet our new international targets, halt the loss of biodiversity and restore the essential services that a healthy environment provides. Our awareness of the importance, value and fragility of nature is growing year on year. Through an impressive body of evidence, we’re building up a clearer picture of what we need to do to care for and restore biodiversity. This work is complex and challenging. The route map is not a catalogue of every activity that is under way or planned. It’s more fundamental than that, as it sets out six ‘Big Steps for Nature’ and a number of priority projects. It focusses on collaborative work with the Scottish Government and a wide range of partners.

Six Big Steps for Nature 1. Ecosystem restoration 2. Investment in natural capital 3. Quality greenspace for health and educational benefits 4. Conserving wildlife in Scotland 5. Sustainable management of land and freshwater 6. Sustainable management of marine and coastal ecosystems. 40 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 41 This range of work would be virtually impossible without a partnership and collaborative approach and we aim to build on this cooperation as we develop the route map. Many landscape-scale projects, which involve communities, land managers and other partners, are already working to improve biodiversity and to deliver socio- economic benefits. Projects stretch from – in the far north, through the Inner Forth and the Central Scotland Green Network (CSGN) to the and South Ayrshire Biosphere. The Coigach – Assynt Living Landscape is a partnership that is delivering a huge ecosystem restoration project with an aspirational 50-year plan to bring woodland connectivity, species-rich flora and fauna, and economic growth back to the Scottish uplands. The CSGN is developing a similarly ambitious vision in urban Scotland, aiming to change the face of Central Scotland by restoring and transforming the landscape from Ayrshire and Inverclyde through to and the . Among the key ambitions for this project are creating a habitat and wildlife corridor across the CSGN area, while making sure that every settlement in Central Scotland has green space within easy reach. The Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere is a place where cooperation and collaboration are bringing huge ecosystem benefits. Home to 95,000 people, the Biosphere has three main goals: –– Conservation: promoting the preservation of wildlife, habitats and landscape –– Learning: supporting a better understanding of nature and global issues Improving Scotland’s natural assets Between the 1950s and 1990s there was a decline in –– Development: fostering a sustainable economy and Scotland’s natural capital, with the greatest rate of decline society Many of our habitats and wildlife are acknowledged to be in the 1960s and 1970s. Since 1990 there has been a There are also plenty of research projects, many involving internationally important. Scotland’s peatlands, mountain slight recovery, with freshwater, woodland, coast and urban hundreds of volunteers. The 2020 project provides a wealth “Improving the quality of life landscapes, coastal cliffs and seas, machair and a diversity greenspace showing the greatest improvement. Moorland, of data on almost every part of Scotland, with basking for more people, while better of woodland ecosystems are all exceptional by European grassland and cropland haven’t fared so well, mainly due to sharks, seabird colonies, birds of prey, amphibians and standards. changes in forestry and farming practices. reptiles, rare plants and fungi; indeed hundreds of species protecting our fragile and finite These support a fantastic range of species, as well as The benefits we derive from nature are difficult to put all figuring prominently in reports. being important for public health and wellbeing. Forests, an exact price on. What we do know is that without these And, of course, all of this work provides places and natural capital, is the defining meadows, rivers, saltmarshes and bogs in healthy condition benefits we would be facing significant problems. opportunities for more people to experience, enjoy and learn challenge of our time.” provide clean water, food, fuel, storm protection, minerals We have analysed the reasons for the decline of natural about biodiversity. and flood control. capital in Scotland, and looked at the actions taken to In 2014, over 5 million people visited the two Scottish Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations Getting out and about in nature is healthy for both our improve biodiversity since 2010. With this information, national parks, and more than 12,000 young people were minds and bodies, gives our children a fun, healthy way to we are now targeting the species in greatest need of involved in practical biodiversity conservation in Scotland learn, and helps bring people together. We need to protect conservation, helping farmers improve the environment and through the John Muir Award. The RSPB has 1,700 active and enhance nature to secure these benefits now and into biodiversity, combating climate change, improving land use volunteers helping to look after nature on their reserves and the future. and soil biodiversity, and managing river basins. it provides outdoor learning opportunities for 9,000 school children each year. These statistics reflect only a small part So how are we doing in terms of protecting Working in partnership of the much wider effort by a range of organisations across Scotland’s beautiful nature? Scotland. There’s so much wonderful work going on throughout The route map will maintain and build on the momentum of all this important work. If you want to help protect One way to measure how we’re faring is natural capital. Scotland, by so many people and organisations, to Scotland's nature find out how at Natural capital is a way to value nature in monetary terms. safeguard the future of our wildlife. This includes work by www.biodiversityscotland.gov.uk This means defining the value of nature to our economy by Scotland’s national parks, public agencies, local biodiversity estimating the costs of the natural services it provides, such action partnerships, local authorities, businesses, land as filtering water, pollinating crops, and preventing floods. managers, and many others. 42 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 43 1

Stoats were first seen in Orkney in 2010 and this small, feisty predator has since spread across the isles, becoming a major cause of concern for Orkney’s native wildlife. Although stoats are commonly found on the Scottish mainland, they are an unwelcome invader to the Stoats in Orkney isles.

The stoat population is now well established across mainland Orkney and the connecting islands of Burray and . Their presence threatens the status of some of the isles’ best loved native species, including the endemic , and therefore the endangered hen harrier and short-eared owl which rely on voles as prey. Stoats also pose a threat to the many other species of ground-nesting birds in Orkney.

A serious threat

This is bad news for Orkney’s wildlife, and the tourism industry that relies upon it. Stoats are accomplished and versatile hunters, and in the absence of their usual predators, such as fox and badger, and with plentiful prey, the stoats’ presence continues at the cost of the island’s fragile biodiversity. It is currently unknown how stoats first arrived in Orkney. It is possible that they were unintentionally transported as ‘stowaways’ in supplies of hay or straw, or perhaps deliberately as a method of controlling rabbits. In the first few months after the presence of stoats in Orkney was confirmed, an initial trapping effort got under way with their removal at its heart. This included setting traps and translocating captured individuals back to mainland Scotland for rehabilitation and release, with the help of the Scottish SPCA. This was, for a variety of reasons, unsuccessful, and the stoat population has continued to grow. 44 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 45 2 4

Mainland Orkney

Burray

South Ronaldsay

Tackling the problem

We commissioned a report in 2014, last few remaining animals using similar contact [email protected] or call our carried out by mammal ecology experts techniques to those required in Orkney. office on 01856 886163. from the University of Aberdeen, into Eradication projects such as this More information and updates on the impact that stoats could have on are complex in scale and cost, and take the Orkney stoats project can be found 3 Orkney's wildlife. time to develop. on our website: http://snh.gov.uk/ This report, 'Stoat (Mustela ermine) In the meantime, before a land-and-sea/managing-wildlife/ on the Orkney Islands – assessing full eradication project can be orkney-stoats/ the risks to native species', concludes implemented, we have begun recruiting that it is highly likely that this invasion volunteer stoat trappers across Orkney, of stoats will profoundly change the providing them with traps and training ecology of Orkney and its value for in their use. Volunteers are gaining birds of prey and the protected areas valuable skills in trapping techniques, of Eurpoean importance (Special which will be of great use should we be Protection Areas) that have been successful in a bid for a full eradication established for these species. project. They are also collecting useful The report recommends that a full- data which can be used to analyse scale eradication project is the best the different trapping methods being option to safeguard Orkney's wildlife. deployed. There has been a great local In view of these findings we aim to response, with plenty of volunteers, develop a full-scale eradication project, lending their time and energy to the together with other interested parties, cause. to safeguard Orkney's wildlife. This Since the first recorded stoat 1 will prevent the stoat population from sighting in 2010 we have been keeping The stoat threatens spreading to other parts of the island a database of every stoat reported to some of Orkney’s archipelago. us, and its location. This has provided native species. 2 We will draw on the experience of valuable insight into the population Orkney’s stoats make the Hebridean Mink Project which is spread and distribution across Orkney good use of local linear features such as walls in its final stages of the eradication of and where the stoat ‘hotspots’ are. and fences. another non-native species. Through Using this information we hope to 3 trapping, the population of American concentrate trapping in areas where the Hen harriers rely heavily on the Orkney mink has been dramatically reduced stoats are seen most regularly. vole. within the Outer Hebrides, and this If you have spotted a stoat in Orkney 4 project is now attempting to remove the we would like to hear about it – please Orkney vole.

46 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 47 SNH Area News SNH Area News Northern Isles and North Highland Forth Correspondents: Sue White, Ian Mitchell, Christine Skene Correspondents: Sarah Eaton, Kevin McCulloch, Neville Makan

Out of Africa Arts bring new audiences Caught on camera Sponge surprise Valuable volunteers Nature-based solutions

Everyone in Shetland is used to seeing The of Caithness and ‘Sealcam’ and ‘Undersea Cam’ are two One of the many upsides to carrying An Invasive Non-Native Species project A member of our Forth area team peat; around half of Shetland is covered Sutherland is the largest expanse of great wildlife viewing ideas pioneered out survey work is occasionally coming at Loch Lomond NNR has had fantastic attended the EU conference on in it and it does tend to get taken for blanket bog in . Underneath the by the Community Ranger on the island across something new, strange or results thanks to a hard-working and Nature-Based Solutions to Climate granted. But, the peat on Shetland took living surface of The Flows lies around of Sanday in Orkney. entirely unexpected. dedicated volunteer workforce. Change in Germany last November. thousands of years to build up to an 400 million tonnes of carbon. That's The Sanday Ranger, part-funded by Whilst checking the health of the A huge amount of time and effort The conference was attended by 230 average depth of about 3 metres. more than twice the amount found in all SNH, set up ‘Sealcam’ in 2012 to help native plants in Loch Mahaick, a Site of went into the project, and its success delegates from 25 different countries It’s also an extremely valuable of Britain’s forests combined. people view the fascinating spectacle Special Scientific Interest near Doune, was completely reliant on volunteers. across Europe and farther afield. resource because, on healthy bogs, The vast open landscapes, ever- of grey seal pupping. The camera Stephen Longster came across a The continuation of the project wouldn't We presented a local Forth project sphagnum moss absorbs carbon changing weather, and plants and overlooks two small pupping beaches, freshwater sponge, a little-known and be possible without the hard work and at the conference, the Carse of Stirling; dioxide from the air and the carbon is animals that depend on the bogs have where, in October and November, unusual animal. dedication of each and every person an ecosystem demonstration project, eventually locked up in the peat, helping been an inspiration for many artists it records the birth of pups, fighting Stephen said, “Peering beneath the involved. as well as bringing back to SNH some to combat climate change. over the years. There are numerous males, amorous encounters or just loch surface I found what I can only The volunteers contributed a total key messages on what is happening in If peatlands are damaged and examples of writers, sculptors, and seals lazing in the winter sun. Sealcam describe as furry-looking coral, growing of 70 days’ work, with the following Europe to tackle climate change. the water table drops, they no longer musicians who have celebrated the captured some of the first live footage a metre below the surface. I’d never results: The many fascinating presentations absorb carbon dioxide. This greenhouse area in art. seen of grey seals mating. seen anything remotely like it before, –– Few-flowered leek –13,000 and stimulating discussions made it gas is then released back into the Now through the £10.5 million In 2015 SNH helped fund another so I picked off a small branch, brought removed and 262,000 burned clear that nature can help us tackle atmosphere. Shetland Amenity Trust Heritage Lottery funded ‘Flows to webcam ‘Undersea Cam’. Or it could it back to the office and emailed some –– American skunk cabbage –168 climate change in many cost-effective are therefore pioneering methods of the Future Project’, The Peatlands be called ‘lobster cam’, in recognition photos around to see if anyone knew mature plants, and 354 young ones, and efficient ways, and in doing so we creating dams in order to hold more Partnership will commission a number of its most photogenic neighbour! This what it was.” controlled can help nature too! water in the peat bogs. of artists to come to The Flow Country camera, due to come online again in Karen Evans, a researcher at –– Giant hogweed – 255 plants Did you know that trees can reduce One unusual method of protecting and create a body of work celebrating April, provides an insight into Sanday’s Liverpool University, later confirmed spaded urban temperature by up to three the bogs is by using sisal tubing. this outstanding and unique area. amazing underwater world, letting it as a freshwater sponge, Spongilla –– Japanese knotweed – 67 plants degrees? Peatlands, for example, can This can be filled with loose peat and Some of the materials created will then people see creatures like butterfish, lacustris. sprayed not only lock up carbon dioxide from the placed in gullies and ditches to block form the core of an exhibition which long-spined sea scorpions and various Stephen continued, “As far as –– Himalayan balsam – 40,000 plants atmosphere but can help to ‘slow the them. Sisal is a very sustainable fibre will travel around the UK in 2018 and types of crab. I know there are only three other pulled and 5,000 brush-cut flow’ of flood waters downstream. 2 crop grown in East Africa and it is 2019. This summer, a third camera will be records for Spongilla lacustris in –– Bamboo – a 478m area slashed Making nature-based solutions to traditionally used for making ship’s By linking the creative arts to the set up, focused on cliff-nesting fulmars, Scotland – one near Forfar and two in –– Flowering rush –56 plants climate change happen requires new ropes. Because sisal has a low carbon science of The Flow Country and its and will hopefully feature their fluffy grey – so this is a controlled ways of joined-up working. We also footprint and is biodegradable, it is a important role in protecting us against chicks. first for Stirlingshire. It is quite exciting –– Rhododendron – four patches need to learn more about how nature much more environmentally-friendly climate change, we hope to attract new Live action from the cameras is to stumble across this strange and treated. works across landscapes to provide solution than using plastic-based audiences who might not initially be streamed to the web, with a live link to wonderful animal living quietly in a Work continued in March 2016, these solutions. products for this purpose. interested in blanket bogs. For more the Sanday Heritage Centre as well. Stirlingshire loch.” the twelfth year of the project. If you There are many challenges ahead, information about this project visit Visit the Sanday Ranger website www. Stephen is keen to hear of any other would like to volunteer contact kevin. but there are many good reasons to try www.theflowcountry.org.uk sandayranger.org to find out more. records for freshwater sponges. Please [email protected] or alan. and tackle them. email him with details at stephen. [email protected] [email protected]

48 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 49 SNH Area News SNH Area News Argyll and Outer Hebrides Southern Scotland Correspondent: Flora Donald, Ross Lilley, Stan Phillips Correspondents: Linda Ferguson, Karen Rentoul, Adam Murphy

Petalwort discovery ACT Now Celtic rainforest Golden time Golden eagle project Caerlaverock changes

A globally rare liverwort, petalwort Our Argyll staff joined Argyll and the It’s not often that mosses, liverworts is feeling golden Soon, there may be more golden Winter saw a few changes at (Petalophyllum ralfsii), was discovered Isles Coast and Countryside Trust and lichens get discussed in the this year. The National Nature Reserve eagles soaring throughout the south Caerlaverock NNR with the welcome this winter on island in North (www.act-now.org.uk) partners to . But that’s exactly in the Galloway Hills earned the of Scotland, due to an ambitious addition of our new Reserve Officer, Uist – only its second known site in launch ACT Argyll Ltd, a new social what happened in January, when Gold Award from the Green Tourism project, which arose from a study of Adam Murphy, the improvement of 260 Scotland. enterprise owned by the charity. Michael Russell MSP brought a debate Business Scheme, recognising energy- the area. The report found that up to metres of boardwalk and the relocation Mention machair and you’re probably ACT Argyll Ltd aims to build on the ‘Celtic rainforest’ to Holyrood. saving practices at the reserve. These 14 to 16 pairs of golden eagles could of a bird hide to offer the best views over picturing the stunning wildflower teams across Argyll to undertake The debate celebrated and include using ground-source heat be supported in the region; currently, the merse (saltmarsh). This all happened spectacle that bursts into life during environmental improvement works. encouraged the protection of the pumps and solar power, as well as a there are only 2 to 5 pairs breeding or whilst conditions were unrelentingly wet the summer. Yet this special habitat has Already two teams have been Celtic rainforests, which host some of number of smaller changes like motion- attempting to breed in south Scotland. with constant rainfall and dramatically much more to offer if you’re willing to established in Oban and Helensburgh the richest moss, liverwort and lichen sensor lighting in the visitor centre. As The project aims to increase the high tides. get up close and personal with the turf! and each team has an experienced communities in the world, including at part of SNH’s environmental policy, the number of golden eagles that the This was not the time to stay inside The moist, calcareous soil supports chargehand and three trainees. Typical , mid-Argyll, which received a local team also try to make sure that Southern uplands supports; which and keep dry as winter is the busiest fascinating coastal bryophytes, as jobs include improving amenity spaces, special mention. the products and services we purchase includes the possibility of adding to season for birds, offering the best Nick Hodgetts found out when we path maintenance and construction, It was part of Plantlife Scotland’s to run the Reserve meet the highest the existing population. Currently, opportunity to see the thousands of commissioned him to scour the Uist small tree work and control of invasive ‘Secrets of the Celtic Rainforest’ environmental criteria. the project is looking to find funding wintering wildfowl including pintail, machair in search of petalwort. plants. campaign. Proceedings were kicked The nature reserve sits at the and identify locations for the birds to pink footed geese and about 40,000 This small liverwort, often likened to Trainees are offered a 12-month off by Mr Russell, Plantlife’s Species heart of the Galloway and Southern nest, taking into account the scientific, barnacle geese. Gale-force winds and a miniature lettuce, grows in seasonally contract and are given opportunities Champion for one of the largest lichens, Ayrshire Biosphere, a new UNESCO community and social benefits. storms swelled the already big tides that flooded dune slacks with short-cropped to develop their skills and experience the tree lungwort, an indicator of designation to promote the culture of A project team has been set up flood onto the merse, bringing the birds vegetation maintained by sheep and through on-the-job mentoring and ancient woodland. living and working in a way that benefits with a project manager, Cat Barlow, closer to viewers as they waited for the rabbit grazing. Occasional burying training. In addition to SNH’s funding, Politicians highlighted the special people and nature in a sustainable and a board with representatives from tide to fall. With sometimes over 5,000 under windblown sand reduces the company has had support from nature of the habitat and emphasised economy. Buccleuch Estate, Scottish Land & oystercatcher and redshank announcing competition from other species. Forestry Commission Scotland, the need for good management, While Cairnsmore of Fleet NNR Estates, FCS, RSPB and SNH. The their presence as people arrived in First discovered in Scotland at Council, the Scottish including invasive rhododendron control celebrates its golden victory, it is also team hope to secure funding this year the main car park there was plenty of Achnahaird in in the Government’s People and Communities and addressing habitat fragmentation. an excellent destination for visitors to so that a programme could be started spectacle for visitors at Caerlaverock. 1970s, this remains its most northerly Fund, Skills Development Scotland and Aileen McLeod, Minister for create their own ‘golden moments’. in 2017. The project has had very It’s not all about large numbers location, as petalwort primarily occurs Dunbritton and West Highland Housing Environment, Climate Change and Visitors can enjoy walks in the rugged positive discussions with local groups though. A male hen harrier and four around the Mediterranean coast. Associations, on whose properties Land Reform, concluded the debate by landscape, spot red deer, wild goats or and organisations over the proposal, little egrets ghosting about the merse Habitat loss there threatens the the teams have been carrying out saying “The Celtic rainforests are truly peregrines, or find five unique, hidden and will continue these discussions, were the stars of the show. The egrets, species’ survival and increases the environmental improvement works. special places that deserve special sculptures, each with a special link to while it is identifying areas and land traditionally from the Mediterranean, conservation importance of colonies in For further details please contact care, conservation and management.” the Reserve. management measures which could looked especially exotic and out of place; the UK. ACT Argyll Skills and Contracts You can find out more on Plantlife’s benefit the eagles. maybe next time they will bring some Management carried out by crofters Manager Douglas Grierson on SNH-supported ‘Secrets of the Celtic sunshine with them. on Baleshare is clearly benefitting 01546 602755. Rainforest’ project at www.plantlife. this rare species and safeguarding its org.uk survival on the Atlantic fringe.

50 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 51 SNH Area News SNH Area News South Highland Tayside and Grampian Correspondents:Mike Ingram, Dave Genney, Tamara Lawton, Liz McLachan Correspondents: Craig Nisbet, John Burrow, Ewen Cameron

Norwegian speckle belly Beside the seaside Golden eagle conservation Shoals in schools Early ospreys Just champion

A new lichen for Rum was recently An innovative and collaborative 3-year An innovative project looking at Three lucky school classes near Loch March 18 was a red-letter day at Congratulations to ’s discovered – Pseudocyphellaria project to celebrate seashores in the improving golden eagle conservation Leven currently have their very own Loch of the Lowes. The female osprey Councillors who have joined forces with norvegica or the Norwegian speckle Highlands has exceeded expectations. across a regional population is being shoals of baby brown trout, preparing (tagged as LF15) was back at the the NE Local Biodiversity Partnership belly, to use the quirky common name! The Highland Seashore Project undertaken by windfarm developers in for life in the burns that run into the secluded Perthshire loch late on the and come up with an innovative It’s a nationally scarce species. launched in 2013, and has doubled its the Monadhliath. National Nature Reserve. Friday afternoon. Remarkably this was approach to help the Council deliver its Finding the Norwegian speckle belly original targets, reaching over 5,000 SSE Renewables, who are Our annual Trout in the Classroom 13 days earlier than in 2015. Biodiversity Duty. is always exciting because it usually people. It was funded by the Highland developing Dunmaglass windfarm, project starts in February as part of the This was interesting, not just for the A first for any Local Authority in means you’re in a special place. We Council, Heritage Lottery Fund, Crown have drawn up a Regional Eagle long-running ‘Growing up with Loch early arrival date but as the female had Scotland, several Councillors have know for example that a whole range Estate, Marine Stewardship Fund, and Conservation Management Plan Leven’ initiative. Retired Fisheries turned up before the male. However, signed up to be Biodiversity Champion of globally restricted bryophytes and Scottish Natural Heritage. (RECMP). This includes the provision Manager, Willie Wilson, and Craig the male duly appeared one week later for a species or habitat as the first step lichens thrive in our magnificent Celtic Events were held across the of money for management assistance Nisbet the Reserve Officer, introduce in another Friday arrival. in a longer term process. Wild cat, rainforests. It is very sensitive to air Highlands from Poolewe to Plockton and community awareness-raising to Primary 4 and 5 students to the The Lowes ospreys aren’t alone in pine marten, red squirrel, pollinating pollution, one reason why it thrives and Arisaig to Achiltibuie with seashore enhance the conservation of breeding fascinating and complex lives of trout Perthshire. They were followed rapidly insects, ponds, and Invasive Non-Native in the pure air of western Scotland. field-trips, workshops, roadshows and golden eagles. The golden eagle and the other animals that share their by several sightings of ospreys around Species (all of which are important Indeed the British Lichen Society festivals to enthuse new audiences population in this and the surrounding watery environment. Willie’s lifetime the confluence of the Rivers Isla and to the economy and quality of life of consider it to be a key indicator that and develop survey skills. People got area is currently smaller than experience of a world-famous fishery Tay near Meikleour. everyone in Aberdeenshire) now have woodland has been continually present up close and personal with a range of predicted as a result of, amongst other and his great enthusiasm are key to the Loch of the Lowes is the site of their own Champions. at a site for a very long time. wildlife including molluscs, worms and factors, overgrazing by red deer and project’s success. the ever popular Scottish Wildlife Champions will help dispel some However the Norwegian speckle shore crabs! persecution. In line with Scotland’s Curriculum Trust visitor centre and has long been of the myths that surround species belly will also colonise more recent The project will continue through the The main aim of this RECMP is to for Excellence, the project is a associated with ospreys. Open from like pine marten and wild cat, help woodland where conditions are optimal work of local community groups, the review the current status of the golden tremendous opportunity to engage early April to late August the breeding alert people to the risks and costs and there is a good source of new surveyor network and further training eagle population, provide context to the young people and connect them with ospreys nest just 150 metres from well- associated with invasive non- material, this is likely the case on Rum. workshops. constraints operating in this area and, their environment. appointed observation hides. native species like giant hogweed It has to fight hard to survive. Rangers and where possible, undertake practical In their classrooms, pupils watch The site has also gained a and help secure crop productivity Threats include being shaded out by participating local groups have also conservation management actions to as eggs hatch, monitor the water reputation as a good place to get in Aberdeenshire’s farming and invasive rhododendron, and loss of inherited the project’s publications, improve the golden eagle population by temperature and maintain a clean close to red squirrels and a range of horticulture which is entirely dependent habitat, particularly in areas where many resources and equipment. They will increasing its size and productivity. and suitable artificial environment for woodland birds including woodpeckers, on wild bees and other insects. years of high grazing pressure has encourage people to continue to work A full-time project officer has been a month before releasing them back jays and a range of finches and tits. Champions will also encourage and prevented woodland regeneration. together and share knowledge on how appointed, and, in the first year, surveys into the wild. The electro-fishing with With interactive displays and the persuade the Council and council tax The granular areas on its surface rich diversity can be preserved for to determine where the birds are and Dr David Summers in June is always capacity to accommodate education payers to do all they reasonably can to (called ‘soralia’ by lichenologists) are future generations. what they are doing were undertaken eagerly anticipated, when the pupils get activities and school visits the reserve is support the Council’s legal biodiversity tiny bundles of the lichen’s fungus and For more information and to watch and satellite-tagging of young birds to return to see trout at various stages a real Perthshire gem. duty and make their own personal algal partner. They are blown away the ‘Highland’s Hidden Homes’ short started. The project will run for the of development. The ospreys it would seem agree. contribution to Aberdeenshire’s together, or transported by animals, film, visit www.highlandbiodiversity. lifetime of the windfarm and will inform biodiversity – which we all depend on. where some will grow into new lichen com/seashore.asp future conservation work for this iconic colonies. Highland species.

52 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 53 SNH Area News Do not disturb Strathclyde and Ayrshire Correspondents: Fiona Fisher, Peter Kelly and Martin Twiss

Bankhead Moss defenders Young upstarts It’s plain to sea!

We recently teamed up with the Beith The Cadzow oaks which grow Scotland’s landscapes are renowned Ministry of Defence (MOD) team and at Hamilton High Parks, next to for their dramatic beauty. But as we If only avoiding disturbing wildlife were as easy as looking out for a sign saying the RSPB to carry out conservation Chatelherault Country Park, are splashed through one of the wettest ‘Do not disturb’. Wildlife disturbance is a serious issue at any time of year, and work on Bankhead Moss, an active estimated to be between 400 and winters on record, it was a good time to lowland raised bog that sits within 1,000 years old and are a prominent recognise the wider benefits provided as we head through spring we can all do our bit to minimise the risk. MOD land in . To keep local landscape and cultural feature. by our landscapes, in particular, the habitat in a favourable condition, About 15 years ago, a planting the role of our floodplains and the trees and scrub needed to be removed. scheme was put in place using saplings significant benefits that these bring to One of the main issues to be aware of is damage to any wild bird’s nest and eggs, or sheep worrying The MOD granted special from the site’s ancient trees to provide communities downstream. disturbance of ground-nesting birds. Disturbance by dogs, could lead to criminal prosecution – so it is well permission for some Garnock Valley the next generation of oaks to support Since November, the Clyde Valley, is rarely intentional, but in spring many of our worth being careful. Futurescapes conservation volunteers the site’s nationally important beetle between Thankerton and Carstairs, has Outside spring there are still things that it is good to be birds are vulnerable as they sit on eggs or rear sensitive to, such as birds over-wintering and roosting. Many to access the site. They worked hard on population which relies on deadwood often been a vast loch, many kilometres young at their nests. When you are out enjoying a wet November day to cut down the habitats. long and hundreds of metres wide – a birds migrate to our shores from the , and when trees by hand and carry them over the A roughly 90% mortality rate was classic floodplain with a flat valley floor, the countryside keep an eye out for birds around they touchdown after an epic migration they are exhausted. boggy ground to be stored as habitat expected for the saplings but this complex meanders and relict oxbow you. Importantly, if you have a dog with you please It’s with this in mind that we urge you to avoid disturbing piles in a nearby woodland. ended up as closer to 90% success. lakes. ensure it is under close control in sensitive areas, flocks of birds on our shores. By all means enjoy the The task was led by MOD Ecologist It recently became apparent that the The floodplain has been behaving as a scampering dog can cause huge distress. spectacle, but keep a reasonable distance. John Black. John said, “Enthusiastic vigorous growth of the abundant naturally. When the Clyde ‘overtops’, All in all, a little seasonal knowledge and being in tune with your surroundings is the first step in avoiding disturbing volunteers from the local area and our saplings had ironically begun to the valley stores huge quantities of The onus is on us all to take care. Some birds, such as snipe wildlife at sensitive times, or worrying livestock. When you Beith MOD staff braved the weather to threaten their ancient ancestors through water, slowing its release and alleviating and woodcock, blend into their surrounding, as they have are out and about enjoying our fabulous natural heritage, help manage Bankhead Moss, which encroachment and competition. So it downstream impacts. cryptic markings and can be very hard to spot, so tread think about your surroundings and whether or not a less has benefited from the protection of was decided that a significant amount Floodwaters are rich in suspended carefully. The issue of well-camouflaged birds might seem sensitive site might on occasion be more appropriate. MOD ownership. The team successfully of thinning of the young upstarts was nutrients, and as the waters recede, like less of a problem at a beach, but nevertheless there are A mental ‘Do not disturb’ sign won’t go amiss. Further cleared a large area of invasive birch to urgently required. these can be deposited on the fields, things to be aware of here. Be sensitive to agitated birds information at www.jessthedog.org.uk help conserve the bog. Thanks go to Over the last few months, we improving soil. This inundated valley – such as terns and plovers – their noisy reaction to your SNH for their support, the local RSPB have worked with the landowner, was an impressive sight throughout the presence is often a tell-tale sign that you are encroaching volunteers for their hard work, and to The Conservation Volunteers, and a winter and a seasonal reserve upon their nesting space. And whilst the adults might be Drones and disturbance the MOD staff on site who helped make contractor to remove several hundred for whooper swans and geese. highly visible, their eggs and young are so well camouflaged The world of technology is ever-changing and one recent it happen”. oak saplings. Progress was initially It is critical that we recognise the that walking in an area where they nest could easily result in development could have implications for wildlife disturbance. Further information on lowland quite slow as we were restricted to role that floodplains play in managing inadvertently treading on their young and eggs. A growing number of drones are being flown and these offer raised bogs can be found at: www.snh. using bow saws – a surprisingly difficult flood risk, that we protect them, and It isn’t only birds that we need to give some space to opportunities to capture new and exciting images. But, as gov.uk/docs/A1509883.pdf. job! Thankfully, the contractor soon that we allow them to function as in spring. Sheep disturbance around lambing time can be with anything, this technology comes with a responsibility to Information on Garnock Valley arrived with chainsaws and a chipper, they should. They make an essential avoided by keeping your distance. Don’t take your dog into use it sympathetically and considerately. The use of drones Futurescapes is available at: http:// making short work of the remainder and contribution to protecting us from a a field where there are lambs, or indeed any young animals. is covered by Civil Aviation Authority regulations. ow.ly/XYNLH restoring the site to its former woodland wetter climate. In open country keep your dog on a short lead if there are pasture glory. lambs around, and keep your distance from them. Reckless

54 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 55 Dualchas coitcheann 3 Ruairidh MacIlleathain explores how people of different parts Common heritage of the Gàidhealtachd were given animal nicknames

Slòigh mar ‘Ainmhidhean’ Animal nicknames

Tha rann traidiseanta à Latharna ann an Earra-Ghàidheal a’ There is a traditional Gaelic saying from the district of Lorne toirt cunntas dhuinn air na frith-ainmean a bhathar a’ cur air in Argyll that alludes to the nicknames traditionally applied to na daoine ann an diofar sgìrean: people of different localities: –– Fithich dhubha Chreiginis –– Black ravens from Craignish –– Coilich Chill Mhàrtainn –– Cocks from Kilmartin –– Liath-chearcan taobh Loch Obha –– Greyhens from Loch Awe-side –– ’S Coin-odhar an Àtha. –– Otters from Ford.

Chan eilear cinnteach a bheil buntanas aig an t-siostam Whether or not animal appellations are a relic of an ainmeachaidh ri modhan àrsaidh Ceilteach, ach tha e ancient totemic practice is not clear, although the notion inntinneach gur e ‘eich’ a chante ri muinntir Chinn-Tìre – an is supported by the fact that the natives of – the dearbh sgìre anns an robh na h-Epidii (‘sluagh nan each’) a’ ancient home of the Epidii or horse-tribe – were called eich fuireach o shean. Bha na frith-ainmean rin lorg fad is farsaing ‘horses’ in Gaelic. The system was certainly widespread, and agus tha cuid air an aithneachadh fhathast. Uaireannan, tha a few nicknames are still recognized among the Gaels today. an t-ainm a’ togail ceangal ri ainmhidh a tha cumanta anns In some instances, they appear to link the local population an sgìre no a nochdas ann an ainm-àite. Agus bhiodh e ag to an animal that is common in the area or which occurs obair aig còrr is aon ìre; ged a bha ainmean ionadail ann an in a local place-name. And the system could operate at Latharna, bhathar cuideachd ag èigheachd ‘losgannan’ air na more than one level; while the people of Lorne had various Latharnaich air fad. names according to locality, they were collectively labelled Bha ainmean eun cumanta. ’S e ‘fithich dhubha’ a chante losgannan ‘frogs’. ri muinntir Maol nam Fitheach air an Àird, siar air Inbhir Nis, Bird names were common. Fithich dhubha ‘black agus ri muinntir Loch Carrann ann an Ros an Iar. Bhathar ravens’ was applied to the people of Milifiach in the Aird, a’ gabhail ‘faoileagan’ air na daoine à Port nan Long ann west of Inverness, and to the inhabitants of Lochcarron in an Uibhist a Tuath agus Abhairnis ann an Loch Aillse, agus Wester Ross. Faoileagan ‘seagulls’ referred to the folk of ‘coilich-dhubha’ air na daoine às an Dubh Ghearraidh ann Newtonferry on and Avernish in , while an Eilean Arainn. ’S e ‘cearcan-tomain’ a bh’ air muinntir na the inhabitants of Dougarie in Arran were coilich-dhubha h-Apann agus bhite ag èigheachd ‘eireagan’ air daoine às ‘blackcocks’. The folk of in Argyll were known as grunn àiteachan, leithid Cearara, Eilean Iarmain san Eilean cearcan-tomain ‘partridges’ and the people of several places Sgitheanach – agus ‘na h-eireagan dathte’ à Meudarloch. boasted the title eireagan ‘pullets’ – for example on , ’S e ‘sùlairean’ a chante ri daoine anns an Rubha (Leòdhas) Isleornsay on Skye and the eireagan dathte ‘coloured pullets’ agus ‘cuthagan’ ri feadhainn anns an Obha (Ìle). of . Sùlairean ‘gannets’ was applied to folk in Bha ainmean ainmhidheach eile ann cuideachd. ’S e Point, Lewis, whereas the inhabitants of on ‘coinean mòr’ a bh’ air neach à Colbhasa, ‘gamhainn’ a were cuthagan ‘cuckoos’. bh’ air Gioghach agus ’s e ‘crodh maol’ a chanadh daoine Non-avian names were also common. A native of ri muinntir Chnapadail. Ann am Muile, bhathar a’ gabhail Colonsay was a coinean mòr ‘big rabbit’, a fellow Gael from ‘othaisgean’ air luchd-còmhnaidh Bhun Easain agus ‘eich’ air was a gamhainn ‘stirk’, while inhabitants of Knapdale muinntir Ghrìobainn; bha ‘eich’ air muinntir Dhiùra mar ainm were called crodh maol ‘hornless cattle’. On Mull, residents cuideachd. Ge-tà, ’s dòcha gur e an sluagh a bu mhiosa of Bunessan were othaisgean ‘sheep’, while the people of dheth – an fheadhainn ann an Acha Rà ann an Arainn oir Gribun were eich ‘horses’, as were the inhabitants of Jura. ’s e am frith-ainm mì-fhortanach a bh’ orrasan ‘na meanbh- Perhaps the most unfortunate people, however, were the chuileagan’! inhabitants of Achara on Arran whose unlucky nickname was na meanbh-chuileagan ‘the midges’!

56 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 57 1 1 The mountain hare is a species of conservation concern. The hare necessities

The bare necessities of informed wildlife management are that we can assess how populations respond to environmental change and management. To support the sustainable management of Scottish mountain hares, Scottish Natural Heritage is working with scientists from the James Hutton Institute and the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust to trial methods of estimating mountain hare numbers.

Understanding how the species for other animals, notably of the UK mountain hare population. distribution and abundance of golden eagles. In addition, the mountain Critically, knowledge of the actual animals change from place to hare has been a traditional game abundance or density of mountain species for hundreds of years, and may hares, as opposed to indices of place and over time is a central also be culled to protect woodlands, population size and population change, aim of ecology and necessary forestry and crops. In some cases can be used to inform detailed local to inform wildlife management. large numbers may be culled as part of management of mountain hares. For Yet it remains one of the most attempts to control ticks and tick-borne example, estimates of hare density challenging areas of wildlife diseases that can affect red grouse could be used to assess the potential ecology. Survey methods (see link at end of article). grazing impacts of hares on woodland, set cull levels, or to inform sustainable must be tailored to the survey Understanding more harvest plans. In short, developing a objectives, habitat, and species. set of reliable methods for estimating In many cases indices, or proxies, The impact of sport shooting or culling mountain hare numbers, that could of animal abundance or density on hare populations is, however, poorly be used by non-specialists, and can lines, counting the hares seen give an estimate of the ‘standing coming winter. The data from this (e.g. hunting statistics, transect understood. We do, however, know, be applied in all areas with a range and measuring their distance from crop’ of faecal pellets, and then project will then be combined with from long-term hunting records and the of hare densities, in different habitats counts), are sufficient to monitor the transect line to obtain density revisiting and clearing the plots existing data from other projects to few intensive studies that have been and at different spatial scales, is changes in population size and estimates. again at a later date to give an assess how well the different methods carried out, that numbers can fluctuate a high priority for a wide range of inform management actions or –– Live trapping (capture-recapture): estimate of dung accumulation. compare. It is hoped that the final widely (up to ten-fold over the course of stakeholders. However, no simple and involving live-trapping, marking, Distance sampling, and capture- output will be tools to enable a better assess population responses a decade). We also know that mountain widely applicable method has yet been release and recapture of mountain recapture methods especially, are understanding of mountain hare to management. In some cases hares have limited dispersal – leverets developed and validated. hares which, combined with time-consuming and complicated numbers. estimates of absolute abundance in particular tend not to move far from information on trap and (re-)capture ways to estimate population density, http://snh.presscentre.com/ where they were born. The likelihood Various methods or density are required to locations, can be used to obtain an but generally give good population News-Releases/SNH-GWCT-SL- of local extinction increases when support detailed management of estimate of density. estimates. We use these methods E-position-on-large-scale-culls-of- populations are isolated due to habitat Our team is trialling different survey local populations. –– Night-time counts: transect counts as our baseline to obtain rigorous mountain-hares-to-reduce-louping- fragmentation because it is difficult for methods side-by-side to assess how using powerful spotlights and density estimates against which we can ill-15f.aspx hares to recolonise from elsewhere. they compare when they are applied The mountain hare is the UK’s only thermal imaging equipment to compare and calibrate other methods. Why should we quantify mountain in exactly the same area, vegetation native lagomorph (rabbits and brown detect active hares to obtain a We are now coming to the end of Article courtesy of Scott Newey and hare population size? This is essential type, and time of year. Methods under hares are introduced species); it is a simple count of hares seen. the second year of the project. During Glenn Iason, James Hutton Institute to meeting our obligations under EU investigation include: species of conservation concern, is –– Dung counts: survey methods this time, we have applied all of the together with Kathy Fletcher and conservation legislation whereby the listed under UK and EU conservation involving clearing and counting survey methods to six study sites and Adam Smith, the Game & Wildlife UK has a duty to report on the status –– Distance sampling: walking transect legislation, and is an important prey faecal pellets from circular plots to aim to survey four more areas this Conservation Trust 58 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 59 Drawing inspiration

Liz Myhill is an artist at home in the Scottish landscape. She finds that her inspiration lies in the natural world: wildlife, dramatic landscapes and the island way of life feature heavily in her distinctive art.

“Cool, damp morning, drizzle drifting steadily in from the sea. Walk across the hill to the ruins, past a few sheep, down to the burn where a single slab of forms a bridge and cobwebs glisten with beads of water. A fox streaks across the glen making 2 for cover”. Just one of many notes and observations jotted among the drawings in my sketchbook. A fleeting glimpse of wildlife in its natural habitat and the solitary magnificence of being the only human visitor to some remote or seldom frequented spot is, I find, perhaps the most inspiring and fulfilling part of the creative process. All of my work is informed by the act of drawing and sketching as a means to explore, discover and understand the world around me. There is a certain urgency to capture the particular atmosphere of a place when a rain shower looms on the horizon. Or the frustrations of a perpetually moving subject, as I found while drawing the gannet colony at NNR in Shetland in 2015. Unlike a photograph, which I believe perfectly captures a moment, drawing is the distillation of many moments into a single image. 60 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 61 A sense of place

The act of being still in a place for an Several test prints often have to be extended period of observation also made with reworking at each stage until leads to unexpected encounters, such I'm happy, but they don't go to waste as a mole pushing up its hill between and are reused as collage to build up my feet one day, or several minutes of texture and colour in the initial stages of mutual contemplation with a short-eared a painting. owl across a clump of heather on Skye. I aim to portray some sense of those National Nature Reserves on brief moments within my work and, in a sense, tell a story so that it becomes the horizon not just a depiction of place, object or animal, but a mood and suggestion of Although I have been fortunate to have what may have just occurred or is about spent time working abroad, there is a to take place. magnetic pull in the beauty of Scotland. I work in a variety of media including My childhood home in the Hebrides printmaking and mixed media painting. in particular never ceases to be a Linocut printing is a graphic style source of inspiration, fascination and which takes the image back to its tranquillity. Despite the often feverish most vital components, and a limited nature of sketching outdoors, it is colour palette has to be given careful coupled with a stillness and meditative consideration. I often use this technique quality of being totally absorbed in the when working from little more than moment. a very rapid sketch combined with This year I look forward to an memory. The process of simplification exciting new challenge as I take up and stylisation allows for inventiveness a residency with artist Lara Scouller and play rather than becoming too at Lighthouse in concerned by detail. Shetland with visits to Noss and Intaglio printing and painting go Hermaness NNRs to draw the very much together. I construct printing wonderful landscape and bird colonies plates on board, often using natural there. materials gathered on location. The The residency will take place over various fibres are dried then bonded six weeks in 2016 and 2017 and onto the board before being inked and following its conclusion some of the printed on an etching press. It’s a very works created during the project will be tactile and unpredictable way of working exhibited at Scottish Natural Heritage’s that often throws up ‘happy accidents’. Battleby centre. The moment of pulling back the paper Find out more about Liz’s work and and blankets from the first print is inspiration at www.lizmyhill.co.uk and always one of holding the breath! www.lizmyhill.blogspot.com 62 The Nature of Scotland www.snh.gov.uk 63 Keep in touch

We hope you enjoyed this issue of our FREE magazine. We are moving to ways of letting you keep in touch with our work that are kinder to our environment, and with this in mind our subscription list is now closed. There are a variety of ways to receive news and information from Scottish Natural Heritage:

–– Our magazine is available on our website both as a pdf and an audio version at www.snh.gov.uk

–– Join the conversation about our natural heritage on Facebook www.facebook.com/ScottishNaturalHeritage

–– Keep up with our news on Twitter @SNH_Tweets

–– Enjoy our videos on YouTube www.youtube.com/user/ ScotNaturalHeritage1

–– Follow our Scotland’s Nature blog at https:// scotlandsnature.wordpress.com/

–– Subscribe to our monthly enewsletter at www.snh.gov. uk/contact-us/online-enquiries-service/

NEWS / FIOS JANUARY 2015

Follow Scottish Natural Heritage on social media using these links

Enjoy the best of Scotland’s Natural Larder in Year of Food and Drink 2015 The Scottish Government’s tasty theme for 2015 is food and drink. The year is an opportunity to celebrate and promote the best of Scotland’s quality produce to our visitors from around the world.

It’s also a good time to remind ourselves of the excellent local food and drink that we have available to us here in Scotland and we’ll be supporting the year through our Scotland’s Natural Larder work. Scotland’s Natural Larder aims to reconnect people with local and natural produce, and the seasonal use of our natural foods. Throughout the year we will continue to raise awareness of what is available locally and seasonally, helping others to make the best of this resource.

read more >>>

Your walking experiences wanted

Family strollers, -baggers, dog walkers and hardy hikers – if you’ve got something to say about walking, Ramblers Scotland want to hear it.

Complete their online survey by 31 January and you could win some walking prizes!

read more >>>

Snap an urban deer and win a prize!

Have you seen a deer visiting your garden recently? Perhaps you see them occasionally from an office window or while out for a stroll in your local park.

The next time you spot a deer in an urban setting, whip out your phone (or even a camera if you’ve got one to hand) and you could win a great prize, such as a day’s photography tuition or a day counting deer from a helicopter!

read more >>>

Greenspace makers rewarded

Quality accessible greenspaces on our doorstep are vital for our physical and mental well-being, and are great places for learning and local biodiversity. So we were delighted to see Portlethen Moss Conservation Group recognised at the recent Nature of Scotland Awards for its design and creation of a community native woodland in partnership with Aberdeenshire Council.

read more >>>

64 The Nature of Scotland

Scotland’s outdoor leisure habits revealed

If you’ve ever wondered where people in Scotland go for outdoor recreation and what they do when they get there, you’re in luck! A report published in December shows that 82% of us have used the natural environment for leisure in the past 12 months – up from 79% the previous year and the highest annual figure since 2006.

Health, exercise and walking the dog are the main reasons given for spending time outside. A quarter of outdoors visits were taken to relax and unwind or to enjoy fresh air and good weather. Walking is still the most popular activity, followed by family outings. Among other findings, the report shows that 94% of us believe that Scotland’s wild land areas should be protected.

read more >>>

Call for restraint on hare culls

We’ve teamed up with Scottish Land & Estates and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust to call for voluntary restraint on large-scale culls of mountain hares. Along with other measures, it’s hoped the move will help ensure that future management of mountain hares is sustainable.

Scotland has millions of rabbits and two species of hare, but only the mountain hare is native. It’s thought rabbits were introduced to Scotland by the Normans, while the brown hare was first brought to our shores by the Romans.

read more >>>

Scotland’s Nature blog

Our Scotland’s Nature blog looks at work to promote and protect our natural heritage. Recent highlights for you to enjoy include:

A look at the redwing: brush up on your Scots and discover the ‘windthrush’.

Trees for Life: charity’s founder reviews first 25 years’ achievements.

Nature’s soothing way: a look at how we can all benefit from urban greenspaces.

read more >>>

Nothing dirty about healthy soils

Healthy soils are as important for sustaining life as the air we breathe and the water we drink. Without them we would starve, but they also play a number of other crucial roles, such as helping to tackle climate change.

International Year of Soils 2015 aims to make us all aware of the profound importance of soils and what we need to do to maintain them.

read more >>>

‘Gèadh’ an Uisge

Tha co-dhiù ochd ainmean Gàidhlig air an Learga Dheirg agus ’s dòcha gur e am fear as inntinniche ‘bior-ghèadh’. Tha bior na sheann fhacal airson uisge agus ’s e as coireach ris an ainm gum biodh daoine a’ creidsinn gum b’ urrainn an aimsir ro-innse le bhith a’ coimhead air fèin-ghiùlain an eòin seo. Nuair a bhios e a’ seinn, thathar ag ràdh gu bheil e ‘ag èigheachd air an uisge’ agus nach fhada gum bi droch shìde ann. Chruinnich Alasdair MacIlleMhìcheil rannan anns na h-Eileanan A-muigh anns am bi an learga dhearg ag èigheachd ‘Bior, bior, bior!’ Agus ann an Sealtainn, far am bithear a’ gabhail ‘rain goose’ air, bhiodh na h-iasgairean a’ dèanamh dheth gun tigeadh fìor dhroch shìde nam falbhadh an learga dhearg gu muir.

One of the many Gaelic names for the red-throated diver is ‘bior-ghèadh’, or ‘rain goose’, employing bior, an archaic word for water; it is also known as a ‘rain goose’ dialectally in Scots. When the bird sings, it is said to be ‘calling in the rain’ and that bad weather is on the way. Alexander Carmichael (of Carmina Gadelica fame) is among those who collected folklore about this species. In Shetland, the fishermen would say that the red-throated diver’s departure from its freshwater home to the sea would be a warning not to set sail for a day’s fishing.

NEWS IN BRIEF

– SEABIRD CITY FILM: Stephen Parker’s excellent short film tells the story of seabirds that return each year to breed on Noss NNR in Shetland.

read more >>>

– ANCIENT MARINE SPECIES DISCOVERED: A species of marine reptile that lived 170 million years ago has been identified from fossils found on Skye.

read more >>>

– WARM WEATHER RECORD: The has revealed that 2014 was Scotland’s warmest year since records began. This example of climate change could affect several species, such as the Arctic charr, which may be lost from some locations.

read more >>>

– PROTECTED AREAS CONFERENCE: Edinburgh hosts an international conference on Protected Areas in February. Themes at the one-day event will include management of protected areas, planning for the future and an independent review of protected areas in Scotland.

read more >>>

Follow Scottish Natural Heritage on social media using the links above

Scottish Natural Heritage is the government’s adviser on all aspects of nature and landscape across Scotland. Our role is to help everyone understand, value and enjoy Scotland’s nature now and in the future. For more information, visit our website at www.snh.gov.uk. SNH media is also now on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SNH_Tweets

Contact us by email at [email protected]

Communications Unit Scottish Natural Heritage Battleby Perth PH1 3EW Scotland

Published: January 2015

Image Credits All images copyright Lorne Gill/SNH except; urban deer, Keiran Dodds; planting trees, Portlethen Moss Conservation Group; red-throated diver, Bob Furness/SNH; redwing, David Whitaker.

Unsubscribe from this newsletter www.snh.gov.uk Scottish Natural Heritage Spring / Summer 2016 Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba Earrach/Samhradh 2016 The Nature of Scotland Nàdar na h-Alba