Conservation Matters

“The narrative that pervades the consultation document and associated conversations applies a technical discourse that is specialised, selective and marginalising.

“Loaded with policy speak and legal jargon, it poses considerable challenges to the layperson.”

Innovative new technologies are being trialled that could help revolutionise the way deer numbers are tracked across Scotland.

NatureScot is working with Glasgow-based tech company EOLAS Insight to test the use of satellites, aerial imagery and artificial intelligence (AI) to accurately count deer.

Knowing how many deer use an area is important to determine how to manage populations for conservation or sporting purposes. With many deer counts currently carried out manually by helicopter, new technologies offer an alternative solution that could provide swift and accurate data across large areas while helping to reduce the associated carbon footprint and cost.

The first phase of the project, supported through the Scottish Government’s CivTech programme, used satellite imagery combined with newly developed AI image recognition software to identify deer in images.

The approach was so successful that the same technology is now being used by EOLAS Insight to help conservationists count African elephants from space.

NatureScot is again partnering with the company to launch a second phase of work, which will further explore the use of aerial imagery.

New green tech could transform deer count GWCT’s Scottish Demonstration Farm at Auchnerran has a good year despite weather and Covid challenges

The Game & Wildlife Scottish Demonstration Farm (GWSDF) at Auchnerran has published its annual report for year to 31 December 2021.

The report highlights the farming and research activities at the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust’s farm and publication of its financial report. Among the enterprise’s objectives are demonstrating to practitioners, policy makers and others how a wild mixed shoot and productive farming can contribute to a net gain in natural capital in a marginal hill edge setting, as well as maintaining a profitable farming enterprise.

Even with the challenges of weather and Covid-19 significant steps forward were made in terms of the farm; wildlife and the environment; science and research; and the farm shoot: • The sheep flock has stabilised at just over 1400 ewes. • Proportion of lambs weaned was 126%. • 600 bales of silage made (20 bales/ha average). • Successful shooting season given limited number of days, with total bag including 65 pheasant, 9 woodcock, 3 brown hares and 27 rabbits. • Completion of the new visitor/education centre and staff office although visitor and educational days reduced significantly by Covid-19. • Exceptional weather – a cold spring and blizzards in May. • Lapwing hatching success on the farm has been impacted significantly by predation, notably by badgers. • Ongoing monitoring of badger and pine marten activity with camera traps. • Completion of the farm’s natural capital assessment, and ongoing carbon audit. • The business remained in profit, though reduced on last year due to fluctuations in subsidy payments. GWCT’s Dr Dave Parish says: “It was indeed a challenging year at the farm. Significant snowfall in May and a dry spring and summer that followed posed problems for both the farm with early lamb losses higher than normal, and perhaps some of our resident wildlife with wader numbers down slightly. There was also an unexpected jump in the rate of badger predation on our breeding waders which contributed to a poor year for chick production. However, farm output overall was maintained at a good level with a high lambing rate and the team has been as busy as ever.

“Auchnerran is coming out of the Covid-19 crisis stronger than ever, with significant changes underway through 2022. We have a new management structure and a larger team including new staff, and some exciting new projects.”

This involves images from a lightweight manned aircraft, with a high resolution camera system, being run through the EOLAS Insight AI recognition software to automatically count deer numbers.

It is hoped this approach could overcome some of the challenges of satellite use in Scotland, including weather and cloud cover. While satellites can provide broad overall numbers, a higher camera resolution could allow deer to be classified as stags, hinds, calves and could also be more useful for looking at habitat type and condition.

Rural estates have been praised for their vital contribution towards restoring a thriving golden eagle population in the south of Scotland.

In total, 20 eagle chicks have been translocated for the project since 2018 – with 18 of those coming from estates owned privately.

Pitmain & Glenbanchor Estate near Kingussie and Rottal Estate near Kirriemuir are among the private estates who have this year worked with the award-winning South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project to translocate eagle chicks from their land to help establish a thriving eagle population in the south.

Other estates to have participated in the project since 2018 include Glenmazeran Estate in Inverness-shire, Jahama Highland Estates near Fort William and Dalnacardoch Estate near Pitlochry.

The estates have diverse interests including management for farming, grouse shooting and country sports, forestry and energy but all of them undertake vital conservation work which has played a huge role in golden eagles and a host of other species choosing to nest on their land.

A number of these estates are also either Wildlife Estates Scotland accredited or currently going through accreditation process. Wildlife Estates is a European wide initiative to promote the best habitat and wildlife management practices.

Sarah-Jane Laing, chief executive of Scottish Land & Estates, said: “Scotland’s rural estates have been pivotal in supporting the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project from inception through to the release of birds, with 90% of the chicks translocated originating from estates managed privately. As demonstrated by these latest translocations from Rottal and Pitmain & Glenbanchor, estates are both practically and financially helping Scotland’s nature and we

Pioneering Golden Eagle project backed by chick donations from Scotland’s rural estates

hope even more estates will get involved in the project in future.”

Dr Cat Barlow, Project Manager for South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project, said: “In just a few short years, thanks to the vital support we have received from estates across