Scottish Wildlife_Issue 111_Nov 2023

Number 111 | November 2023

BURNING ISSUE

Muirburn, climate and Scotland’s peatland

FEATURE: Reconnecting people and place in Cumbernauld

Welcome from the Chair

© Alice V Taylor

FIRST WORD

© Elaine Rainey

From Chair, Kenny Taylor

I

t’s a pleasure and a privilege to be writing these words as the Trust’s new Chair. I’ve a long association with the Scottish Wildlife Trust, including as a former manager for the Highlands and Islands and more recently as a Trustee and Vice-Chair of conservation.

So, I’ve got a bit of ‘previous’, including an awareness of the breadth of Trust activities, places and people.

The scale of what the Trust does is impressive, but the sheer number of possible tasks can also be daunting.

That’s why a clear focus on particular habitats and places, including our many reserves, can be a boon at both local and national levels, allowing us to take stock, plan action and monitor progress. There were many examples of this shared at the 59th AGM, held in Aberdeen during the autumn.

This was a successful hybrid event, allowing people who could travel to the Granite City the chance to meet in person and others to watch and ask questions online.

What impressed me most in the presentations made by outgoing Chair Linda Rosborough, by Chief Executive Jo Pike, by members from Northeast Scotland and others was the attention to detail and the celebration of recent successes. I’ll name just a few.

At the micro scale, there was the very first Scottish record of the deliciously named ‘sallow-shoot piercer moth’ at Cathkin Marsh Reserve (ID confirmed by northeast moth guru, Mark Young).

Mid-level: the launch of more snorkel trails, establishment of new Wildlife Watch clubs and work with Scottish Badgers to engage with young people, asylum seekers and those facing barriers to employment (see image above).

And macro: development of Riverwoods and practical work across

A group of refugees and asylum seekers take part in conservation activities at Falls of Clyde

Urban nature-based solutions will be a crucial part of helping Scottish wildlife to thrive. whole urban areas, notably in the Cumbernauld and Edinburgh Living Landscapes projects and through continuing progress in eradicating grey squirrels from Aberdeen.

Urban nature-based solutions, as presented by the Trust in the past year to a major national conference, will be a crucial part of helping Scottish wildlife to thrive. So although the Trust’s involvement in the Jupiter Urban Wildlife Centre in Grangemouth is winding down, our urban work elsewhere is likely to strengthen. This includes in Cumbernauld (see page 24).

Elsewhere in this issue, and continuing with big picture thinking, peatlands are prominent, not least

through their role in carbon storage and maintaining distinctive wildlife populations (see page 6), something that also applies to heathland, making the proposed Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill so important (see page 18).

I’ll sign off by conveying further thanks to Linda Rosborough for having been such an effective Chair of the Trust over the past six years.

Her attention to detail, good-humoured approach and ability to understand challenges and opportunities at both grassroots and national levels have been an asset. She’s set a standard that I’ll endeavour to maintain and build upon in years to come.

NOVEMBER 2023 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE 3

Contents

Inside this issue

WI NIGHN A TWOTWO T STAY F OR AT OF PI MORTON T M IL COUN TRY LY RESO SIDE RT SEE PAGE

06

18

37

06 LOWLAND RAISED BOGS e explore the wonders of an W increasingly rare lowland habitat.

08 NEWS

ews round-up from the Trust N and the world of conservation.

16 A HOT TOPIC

A closer look at the traditional practice of muirburn.

18 BURNING ISSUE

Rich Rowe examines proposals

to licence muirburn and what it might mean for Scotland’s peatland.

22 Q&A

ith Dr Emma Hinchliffe, Director of W the IUCN UK Peatland Programme.

24 PEOPLE AND PLACE

F elicity Martin reflects on a project that has reconnected residents with Cumbernauld’s green spaces.

28 F INAL PUSH

28

24

Emma Sheehy reveals how genetic testing could help eradicate grey squirrels from Aberdeen city centre.

35 THE BIG PICTURE

Frank Urban on his award-winning

picture of a cucumber green spider.

36 WATCH OUT FOR 38 VIEWPOINT

Things to enjoy in the coming months.

Wildlife photographer Brydon Thomason shares a very special encounter in Shetland.

A close up of sphagnum moss – the building block of peatland © Ben Porter Scottish Wildlife magazine is published by the Scottish Wildlife Trust. © Scottish Wildlife Trust. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the express permission of the publisher. All photography © Scottish Wildlife Trust unless otherwise stated. The Scottish Wildlife Trust accepts no liability for omissions or incorrect data in advertisements and letters. Views expressed in Scottish Wildlife are not necessarily those of the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

ISSN: 0143 1234.

Registered office: Harbourside House, 110 Commercial Street, Edinburgh EH6 6NF. Tel: 0131 312 7765. Fax: 0131 312 8705.

Email: enquiries@scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk. Website: scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust is a company limited by guarantee, registered in Scotland (no. SC040247). It is also a Scottish registered charity (no. SC005792).

Scottish Wildlife is published three times a year: March, July and November.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust is affiliated to The Wildlife Trusts, a UK-wide network of 46 Trusts with more than 2,000 wildlife reserves.

4 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE NOVEMBER 2023

Deadlines for news: 1 January, 1 May, 1 September. No unsolicited articles please.

Scottish Wildlife is free to members. Membership rates from 1 April (excluding discounts for paying by Direct Debit): Individual (concession) £40 (£18); Joint (concession) £47 (£24); Family £57; Watch £18; Life (joint) £900 (£1,300); World/Overseas £45.

Patron: The former Duke of Rothesay. Chair: Kenny Taylor.

Vice-Chairs: Tim Duffy, Ian Jardine, Bill Lambert.

Chief Executive: Jo Pike.

Managing Editor: Pete Haskell editor@scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk Contributing Editor: Rich Rowe.

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Spotlight: Round-leaved sundew

ROUND-LEAVED SUNDEW

© Vicky Nall

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT:

Drosera rotundifolia

Growing in and around sphagnum mosses in nutrient-poor peat bogs and other wet upland areas, the tiny roundleaved sundew has evolved a carnivorous way of life to supplement its diet.

The upper surface and edge of the plant’s rosette of leaves are covered in a pin cushion of hair-like tendrils, each tipped with sweet, sticky mucilage (or dew) that attract passing insects.

The sundew’s leaves move in response to touch or vibration. When an insect is detected, the tendrils curl inwards to trap the insect before the leaf wraps around the prey and digests it.

Species of sundew have long been used in folk medicines to treat colds, coughs, bronchitis, asthma and even as an aphrodisiac.

In Italy it is also used in a liqueur.

To survive the cold of winter, the plant drops its summer leaves and forms a dormant, protective hibernaculum – a bud of tightly curled leaves at ground level.

NOVEMBER 2023 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE 5

Spotlight: Lowland raised bogs

RISING ABOVE

ROUND-LEAVED SUNDEW

Once considered bleak, desolate and largely worthless, the true value of Scotland’s vast areas of peatland is now increasingly understood.

A carbon store that is the match of any other terrestrial habitat in the world, healthy peatland also plays an important role in flood regulation, water quality and as habitat for internationally important species of plants and animals.

Much of Scotland’s peatland consists of blanket bog. Found predominantly in northern and western areas, this type of peatland covers around 1.8 million hectares, or 23% of Scotland.

Less common are lowland raised bogs, a type of wetland fed by rainfall, snowmelt and mist. Such bogs began to form thousands of years ago in shallow, waterlogged depressions in which dense

SKYLARK

Vividly colourful, the round-leaved sundew’s leaves are lime green to begin with but often redden in the sun. The plant’s white or pink flowers appear in summertime, blooming at the top of long, hairless stalks that thrust up from the centre of its basal leaves.

Midway between the size of a sparrow and a starling, the skylark is a streaky brown bird with a white-sided tail and a small head crest, which can be raised when alarmed. It is renowned for its near vertical display flight, melodious song and, sadly, a dramatic decline in population.

COMMON LIZARD

EMPEROR MOTH

Our most widespread reptile, the common lizard is found in a variety of habitats, including moorland. Also known as the ‘viviparous lizard’, it is unusual among reptiles in that it incubates its eggs inside its body and gives birth to live young rather than laying eggs.

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The impressively large emperor moth – females have a wingspan of up to 10cm – feature distinctive eyespots on all four wings. The UK’s only member of the silk moth family, caterpillars feed on woody plants and overwinter as chrysalides by spinning a silk cocoon.

Spotlight: Lowland raised bogs

carpets of sphagnum mosses are gradually laid down as peat.

In what is an incredibly slow process – peat forms at just a millimetre per year – the bog rises above the surrounding land to form a characteristic dome. On some raised bogs, the peat can reach depths of 11m.

More than 90% of Scotland’s raised bogs have been lost in the last 200 years due to drainage for agriculture, afforestation and commercial peat extraction, while many of the remaining areas are damaged and in poor condition.

While not the most biodiverse habitats we have, many of the species that inhabit peatlands are true specialists, from acid tolerant plants to unique invertebrates. Here we take a look at a few of those species and where you might find them.

Here are five wonderful lowland bog reserves to visit over the coming months.

A DALMELLINGTON MOSS

SPHAGNUM MOSS

Found in acidic, waterlogged areas, sponge-like sphagnum mosses are a key building block of peatland. As the vegetation dies it only partly decomposes, over time being compressed into peat that locks in the vast amounts of carbon absorbed during the plant’s lifetime.

A raised bog on the floodplain of the River Doon in Ayrshire, Dalmellington Moss sees an expanse of heather hummocks and deergrass interspersed with waterlogged hollows full of sphagnum mosses.

Specialised plants such as bog rosemary and white beak-sedge thrive here in the acidic conditions.

B TAILEND MOSS

Found between Bathgate and Livingston, Tailend is a lowland raised bog that is home to damselfies, dragonflies and peatland plants, including cranberry, sundews and bog asphodel. Visitors can explore using a path that leads into the reserve and along its northern edge.

C LONGRIDGE MOSS

Situated close to Whitburn in West Lothian, Longridge Moss is well known for its wide range of wildlife as well as its specialised plant communities.

Look for snipe, curlew and skylark, plus brown hares in amongst the heather. It is also home to a small population of water voles.

D CARSEGOWAN MOSS

BOG SUN-JUMPER SPIDER

Found in only a few raised bog sites, including the Trust’s Carsegowan Moss reserve in Galloway, the tiny (just 3mm in length) bog sun-jumper spider is one of our rarest species of jumping spider. An ambush hunter, it can jump up to 50 times its own body length to catch prey.

One of the best examples of lowland raised bog in Galloway, Carsegowan Moss provides habitat for a wonderful variety of life. Cranberry and bog rosemary grow out of the sphagnum, while winter offers a chance to spot hen harriers, merlins and short-eared owls hunting across the bog.

E RED MOSS OF NETHERLEY

Located just north of Stonehaven, Red Moss of Netherley is one of the largest remaining raised bogs in Northeast Scotland, with a rich mosaic of open pools, marsh, fen and woodland. Heather dominates but there are also other characteristic bog plants, including sundews and bog asphodel.

NOVEMBER 2023 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE 7

Hare’s-tail cottongrass © Mark Hamblin/2020VISION, Round-leaved sundew © Guy Edwardes/2020VISION, Skylark © Vaughn Matthews, Sphagnum moss © Mark Hamblin/2020VISION, Common lizard © Danny Green/2020VISION, Emperor moth © Vaughn Matthews, Bog sun-jumper spider © Chris Cathrine/Caledonian Conservation

RESERVES

Scottish Wildlife Trust news

© Nicole Still

Latest news

News from the Trust, our projects and the wider world of conservation

KEEP UP TO DATE

All the latest Trust news is available on our website scottishwildlife trust.org.uk

Scotland’s red squirrels need you SAVING Scotland’s Red Squirrels (SSRS) is a long-running partnership project, led by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, that delivers the national strategy for red squirrel conservation to save one of Scotland’s most iconic native mammals.

We are in an exciting but pivotal point for red squirrel conservation.

Over the past year and a half, the project has made huge strides in protecting reds across the country with the help of our partners, landowners, communities and volunteers. This includes record low grey squirrel detections in Aberdeen and continued defence, and even some local recoveries, of core Highland and South Scotland red squirrel populations.

There is still more to do though to ensure continued delivery of these important efforts, and exciting work is on the horizon to strengthen our work in strategic areas, expand monitoring networks and employ novel methods such as genetic testing (see page 28) and detection dogs. Evidence shows our efforts are making a difference.

As we approach this critical phase of the project, we must not lose momentum in securing a brighter future for Scotland’s native red squirrels. If you are in a position to help support our efforts, please donate today. Every penny raised will go directly to this sector-leading To donate, project.

Nicole Still, Programme Manager, SSRS

visit scottish wildlifetrust.org. uk/reds

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Badgers face a variety of threats in the wild

THE Trust is working in partnership with the charity Scottish Badgers on an ambitious new citizen science project to determine the current status of the animals in Scotland.

Get Sett Scotland is a three-year project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, that aims to create a nation of badger champions by 2025.

The project centres around a re-run of the Scottish Badger Distribution Survey, which took place from 2006 to 2009, and will involve around 600 trained volunteers surveying 1,000 pre-selected 1km x 1km survey sites across Scotland.

Led by a Steering Group including experts from NatureScot and the James Hutton Institute, the project has a strong inclusion focus with a dedicated Inclusion Officer from the Trust working alongside the Scottish Badgers’ Programme Manager.

The project has already worked with refugees and asylum seekers at the Trust’s Falls of Clyde Wildlife Reserve & Visitor Centre in New Lanark; people with learning disabilities through the National

Autistic Society and ENABLE Scotland; and the LGBTQ+ community through the charity LGBT Health and Wellbeing.

To complement the national survey, the project also provides volunteering and skills development opportunities in the use of wildlife trail cameras, wildlife crime awareness, engaging with the planning system and more.

“Citizen science projects like Get Sett Scotland bring so many benefits to both nature and people,” commented Elaine Rainey, Programme Manager for Scottish Badgers. “Although badgers are a protected species they still face multiple threats, from persecution to illegal or unlicensed forestry and agricultural operations.

“Badgers are recovering from a very low baseline and we urgently need information on their current status in Scotland to inform future policies affecting the species.”

Badger sightings, sett records and road fatalities can be reported at scottishbadgers.org.uk

© Aileen Loudon

Focus on badgers

Scottish Wildlife Trust news

Diseased larch felling © Sandy Waddell An area of felled larch at the reserve

THE felling and removal of diseased larch infected with Ramorum disease on our Ayr Gorge Woodlands Wildlife Reserve in Ayrshire has been a complicated operation. As well as complying with a Statutory Plant Health Notice from Scottish Forestry to fell the diseased trees, the location and topography of the reserve was a challenge.

Instead of leaving trees to decay where they are felled – a practice known as felling to waste – which would have left the site in a terrible state, we worked with contractors to find a way of removing

the timber with minimal damage and at a reduced cost to the Trust.

Gill Smart, Reserves Manager, said: “From an ecological point of view, this is actually quite exciting.

Being a non-native plantation on an ancient woodland site, there has long been an aspiration to convert the larch blocks to native woodland.

“The long-term plan is to promote native woodland through rough natural regeneration and planting, with all the benefits that will bring to a variety of species.”

A NEW sustainable drainage pond system, funded by NatureScot’s Nature Restoration Fund, has been built at Balgavies Loch Wildlife Reserve near Forfar in Angus.

The development will help reduce the amount of silt entering the loch from the surrounding agricultural land during periods of heavy rainfall.

In addition, sections of the circular path around the loch that are prone to flooding and standing water have been raised, with some parts © Scottish Seabird Centre

Attendees at the conference in North Berwick

resurfaced and new edging installed. Such improvements mean that the route around the reserve will now be accessible to visitors throughout the year.

During winter, wildfowl such as goldeneye, teal and widgeon can be spotted on the loch along with red squirrels in the woodland. This year, the site’s breeding pair of ospreys raised three chicks.

Funding for the path improvements came from EB Scotland, Suez Communities Fund and Angus Local Group members.

© Rab Potter

Dealing with drainage

A section of the upgraded path

Celebrating #GenSea DURING National Marine Week, 22 July to 6 August, the Trust’s Living Seas team celebrated #GenSea by delivering a marine policy event for young people aged between 16 and 30 years old.

Partnering with the Marine Directorate of the Scottish Government, the Scottish Seabird Centre and Young Sea Changers Scotland, we supported 13 young people to help inform the development of Scotland’s new National Marine Plan.

Activities included a marine policy jargon-buster session, an explanation of what the new plan will achieve, plus a discussion about our Oceans of Value film to share key issues they believe Scotland’s seas face and their hopes for the future.

Attendees shared that a major barrier to getting involved in marine planning conversations was a perceived lack of knowledge, as well as not seeing other young people represented in such spaces.

NOVEMBER 2023 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE 9

Scottish Wildlife Trust news

© Steve Hardy

IN BRIEF Toasting conservation SYMINGTON Family Estates Graham’s Port marked its 200th year with a special collection of vintage and single harvest tawny ports that were auctioned at Christie’s in December 2022. The proceeds were divided between the Trust and a Portuguese welfare charity, and raised a fantastic £11,875 to help us protect Scotland’s wildlife.

Handa circular path THE final section of the stone-pitched path around the north coast of Handa Island Wildlife Reserve has now been completed (pictured). Path building on the island began a decade ago in an effort to manage visitor access, prevent erosion and avoid disturbance to breeding birds. © Rab Potter

On the menu Cumbernauld treble

Powering up THE Trust has partnered with SPL Powerlines, which carries out electrification work on Scotland’s railways, to help promote safety and sustainability within the company’s Scottish operations. For every ‘Note’ raised by the company’s staff in Scotland, funds will be donated to the Trust. The Note system serves as a vital channel for employees to report close calls, offer suggestions and share positive observations related to its various sites.

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clearly visible remains of a common lizard.

Steve spent April finding the pair’s new eyrie followed by weekly visits to the remote site to eventually view chicks and feeding behaviour.

Investing in nature © Mathew Hay

CUMBERNAULD’S Bloomin’ Wild has won three categories in the 2023 Beautiful Scotland Awards, run by Keep Scotland Beautiful. The team won the Silver Gilt Medal, Overall Best Small City category and SAMH Health and Wellbeing Award – a fitting end to the Cumbernauld Living Landscape’s latest funding phase. Read more on page 24.

RANGER Steve Hardy’s monitoring of the resident golden eagles breeding on the Trust’s Rahoy Hills reserve in Morvern led him to find this fascinating golden eagle pellet which contained the

A stretch of the River Almond

TWO significant environmental projects in Perthshire have received a significant financial boost, each securing more than £124k from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation as Riverwoods Investment Readiness Pioneers.

This Trust-led initiative aims to bridge the gap between the financial resource of corporate and private finance and the ability of community-led restoration

projects to draw on this resource for tackling the nature crisis.

The Almond Headwaters Project, located in the upper Tay catchment, will develop a landscape finance innovation hub. The aim is to introduce sustainable funding mechanisms that go beyond traditional grants, offering a fresh model for environmental finance.

Meanwhile, the River Ericht Catchment Restoration Initiative is focused on improving the ecological health and biodiversity of its region. The project seeks to create a replicable model for sustainable nature recovery, setting the stage for similar initiatives across the UK. The financial backing for these projects brings renewed optimism. It brings together collaboration, innovative finance and community engagement in progressing toward a healthier, more sustainable natural world.

Scottish Wildlife Trust news

Stepping back from Jupiter © Scottish Wildlife Trust The wildlife pond at Jupiter Urban Wildlife Centre

AFTER 30 years of running the Jupiter Urban Wildlife Centre, a site owned

by CalaChem in the heart of industrial Grangemouth, the Trust has taken the difficult decision to step back from managing the site. The facility has reached the point where significant investment would be needed to keep it open in its current form.

The four-hectare site has undergone a significant transformation under

the Trust’s management, changing from a derelict railway siding into a green oasis. What was once an abandoned area of sparse grassland, scrub and marshland is now home to a mosaic of habitats that support a wide variety of wildlife, from dragonflies and frogs to butterflies and bullfinches.

However, ageing infrastructure, including the temporary building that

houses the visitor facilities and education space, is nearing the end of its expected life and would require significant investment for the centre to remain safely open to the public.

“We are very proud of what has been achieved at Jupiter over the last three decades,” commented Jo Pike, the Trust’s Chief Executive. “Not only has the site been transformed for wildlife, but it has also provided thousands of people with opportunities to engage with and learn about nature.

However, as a charity with finite resources, we sometimes need to make difficult decisions about what to prioritise.

“After careful consideration over a period of more than a year, we have come to the conclusion that we could have greater impact by redeploying staff to our other nearby wildlife reserves and focusing on the new ways we are helping communities to engage with nature across Scotland.”

To establish whether there was interest in Jupiter becoming a community-run asset, the Trust ran a five-week long public consultation that closed at the end of October. Ideas shared during this consultation are now being reviewed. The reserve will remain open until 10 November, after which it will close to public access.

© Scottish Wildlife Trust

Taking action

Sand martin stats THE extension from 48 ‘rooms’ to 100 at the sand martin house at Gailes Marsh Wildlife Reserve resulted in 69 nesting chambers being used

during the 2023 breeding season.

In total, 626 eggs were laid, 519 chicks hatched and 472 chicks fledged.

“The parent birds were also monitored and we believe our return of adults year on year beats the national trend,” commented Gill Smart, Reserves Manager.

MORE than 20 people from the Dundee to Aberdeen region have applied to lead action for nature in their communities as part of the third cohort of the Nextdoor Nature Pioneers Programme.

Up to 12 participants will be selected to go through the series of online modules, in-person events and webinars between November and May. This follows previous cohorts working with community leaders in the Greater Glasgow and Forth catchment areas.

Funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Nextdoor Nature is designed to give participants the skills, knowledge and confidence to organise their communities to make local spaces better for both people and wildlife.

Participants on the course are also supported to run their own projects within their communities, with project staff on hand to help them with questions and challenges.

For more information, visit scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/ NextdoorNature NOVEMBER 2023 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE 11

Scottish Wildlife Trust news

Early in, early out © Scottish Wildlife Trust Feeding time at the nest

TRUST staff and Young Leaders recently visited ScotLink’s A Voice For Nature exhibition outside the Scottish Parliament to celebrate a decade of the Nature Champions initiative.

The exhibition highlighted how past and present MSPs have worked with local communities and conservation organisations through the ScotLink-led Nature Champions to be a voice for nature in the Scottish Parliament.

Between them they have raised awareness of a variety of species, from the tiny pond mud snail to the mighty blue whale.

As the Nature Champions host organisation for basking shark, beaver, flapper skate, fulmar, kelp forests, otter, red squirrel, riparian woodlands, sea trout and seagrass, the Trust works with a selection of cross party MSPs and environmental organisations to ensure Scotland’s most threatened species and habitats are represented in the Scottish Parliament.

Together with WWF, we are delighted to welcome David Torrance, MSP for Kirkcaldy, as the new Nature Champion for Scotland’s critically important seagrass meadows.

Seagrasses are flowering plants that live in shallow, sheltered areas along the coast. These sensitive plants have roots and leaves producing flowers, seeds and fruit and can store large amounts of carbon. They also form natural sea defences, trapping sediment and slowing down the formation of waves that cause coastal erosion.

Juvenile fish such as cod, plaice and pollock, along with sea horses and crabs, all prefer seagrass meadows compared to bare sand – so also making them fascinating places to snorkel.

Through the new South Fife Snorkel Trail, which is in part of David’s constituency, we’re encouraging snorkellers to report their seagrass sightings on the Seagrass Spotter App. Seagrasses provide a wide range of benefits

International interest in peatland © Scottish Wildlife Trust

The delegation learns more about the work undertaken at Bankhead Moss

Local help for pollinators AFTER taking over the management of their local roadside verge, Symington Community Council in South Ayrshire decided to become a pollinator-friendly village. Since April, they have signed up over 20 residents who have pledged to help their local pollinators.

Lynne Bates, Project Coordinator on the Trust’s Irvine to Girvan Nectar Network, has been supporting the group with volunteer training and resources so they can offer advice and practical support when visiting prospective gardens.

An excellent example of community-led conservation, Pollinator Friendly Symington will join five other projects due to be showcased on a new community focused website that the Trust is developing as part of the National Lottery-funded Nextdoor Nature project.

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© Project Seagrass

THIS year, we recorded the earliest arrival and departure of ospreys at our Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve near Dunkeld.

Female NC0 and male LM12 touched down exactly six hours apart on 17 March.

After successfully raising two chicks, the female was last sighted on 15 July. It is thought that fish may have been in shorter supply this year, and that the female began hunting for herself earlier than usual to build up her own strength for migration.

After a period of intense competition on the nest, the second chick – a male with ring code PF5 – is thought to have also dispersed and was last seen in the area on 28 July.

Male LM12 continued to bring sporadic fish deliveries to the nest until early August, which encouraged the remaining juvenile, female PF4, to practice her fishing skills before her departure on Monday 7 August.

Nature calls

STAFF from the Icelandic ministry, Scottish Government and NatureScot recently visited Bankhead Moss Wildlife Reserve in Fife to learn about the peatland restoration works undertaken by the Trust in 2022.

Bankhead Moss is an uncommon habitat in Fife due to rainfall being lower in the region compared to the west of Scotland, making it one of only two significantly sized bogs in East Fife.

Funding from NatureScot’s Peatland Action project enabled the Trust to hire

contractors to work on raising the water table at the site by blocking ditches, digging pools, creating peat bunds and reprofiling the surface of the peat bog.

The restoration work will continue through the autumn with help from local volunteers to translocate sphagnum mosses to the newly created pools.

There are already positive signs, as pools are holding water and cotton grass and mosses are populating the restoration site.

Wider news

IN SEPTEMBER, after a 100-year absence, Restoration Forth reintroduced native oysters to the Firth of Forth. These specimens were sourced from Little Loch Broom near Ullapool where they were treated to adhere to biosecurity protocols before being transported to their new home.

Restoration Forth aims to reintroduce 30,000 oysters to the Firth of Forth and create an oyster reef in the estuary, which in turn will provide habitat for other species such as fish, crabs and sponges.

Oysters disappeared from the area a century ago due to overfishing and industrial development.

© Maverick

Oysters return to the Firth of Forth Native oysters being returned to the Forth

By filtering water, oysters improve the clarity of seawater, which increases the amount of light that reaches the seabed, allowing plants such as seagrass to grow. This year, the project planted seagrass seeds in the Firth of Forth, with green shoots appearing and juvenile flatfish already using the plants as a nursery bed.

Into the wild

© University of Plymouth

Part of the new living seawall in Plymouth

A 12M-LONG section of specially designed concrete panels has been fixed to a seawall in Plymouth to create a home for limpets, barnacles, anemones, seaweeds, sponges and other native species.

Structures such as seawalls, pontoons and marinas are built for diverse purposes such as shoreline protection, recreational activities and energy generation, replacing natural habitats such as saltmarshes, mudflats and rocky shores and their associated marine life.

“We have been investigating how to enhance biodiversity on sea walls locally

© Elliot Smith

UK’s largest living seawall

THE Royal Zoological Society of Scotland-led Saving Wildcats partnership has released the first wildcats from a special conservation breeding for release programme into carefully selected sites across the Cairngorms Connect area – a sprawling landscape just across the River Spey from the Highland Wildlife Park where the cats were born and raised.

Part of a huge collective effort to restore the critically endangered population of Scottish wildcats in the Cairngorms National Park, it is the first-ever conservation translocation of the species in Britain.

To date, more than 20 Scottish wildcats have been released into the area, with plans for a total of 60 animals to be released over a three-year period.

All are fitted with GPS-radio collars that allow them to be closely monitored and tracked by an expert field team. The setting of more than 100 camera traps throughout the release site will also generate millions of images that together will help paint a picture of life in the wild.

for years,” commented Dr Louise Firth, Associate Professor of Marine Ecology at the University of Plymouth, which is leading the project. “These efforts have all been conducted at small, experimental scales but the living seawall in Plymouth is the first large, real-world-scale installation in Britain.”

Research in Sydney Harbour, Australia has shown that after two years, living seawalls already support at least 36% more species than plain, unmodified seawalls, with as many as 85 species of invertebrates, seaweeds and fish living and growing on the panels.

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Muirburn

A HOT TOPIC

A

dorning the label of one of Scotland’s best-selling whiskies, few could contest that the red grouse is a true icon of the Scottish uplands.

This plump and unassuming bird is one of the UK’s few endemic sub-species, living on blanket bogs and upland heath areas in Scotland, England and Wales.

However, it is also a bird that has been at the centre of controversy and contention for decades.

Grouse shooting is a major industry, providing around 2,500 full-time jobs and contributing approximately £23 million to the Scottish economy each year. But how and if upland habitats should be managed to encourage artificially higher numbers of red grouse is a subject that is hotly debated. Even the amount of land in Scotland that is managed for grouse is seemingly unclear, with estimates ranging from 7% of the country right up to 20%.

Whatever the true figure, it is an industry that has a significant impact on how large swathes of the Scottish landscape look and function. The package of measures used by grouse moor managers includes predator control using a variety of traps, parasite control using medicated grit, and the prescribed burning of heather and other moorland vegetation. Here, we take a closer look at the last of these, a practice known as muirburn.

Why do it?

There are three primary management reasons that muirburn is carried out: To provide habitat that can support

1 artificially high numbers of red grouse improve the grazing potential 2 Tofo the land for deer and livestock

Muirburn noun The intentional and controlled rotational burning of moorland vegetation (including heather, gorse and grassland).

To reduce the risk of wildfires

3 by removing fuel load

Peatland vegetation

Healthy peatlands feature a variety of vegetation types that can be damaged by muirburn, including: © Shutterstock

© Ben Porter

SPHAGNUM MOSSES

Sphagnum mosses form multi-coloured spongy carpets across blanket bogs. Able to hold many times their dry weight in moisture, these tiny plants are the main drivers of peat formation. Out of control muirburn can damage the sphagnum layer and cause peat bogs to dry out and degrade.

16 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE NOVEMBER 2023

COMMON JUNIPER Common juniper provides a food source and nesting habitat for birds and is also the food plant for the caterpillars of several species of juniper-specialist moth.

Juniper is in decline in Scotland due to overgrazing, population fragmentation, climate change and land management practices, including muirburn.

Muirburn

Wildfires By burning older, woodier vegetation, muirburn can help to reduce the intensity of wildfires.

However, a proportion of the wildfires that occur in the uplands are the direct result of out of control muirburn.

Birds In addition to red grouse, a number of other birds benefit from muirburn, such as golden plover and curlew. For some species though, such as hen harriers and short-eared owl, burning reduces the availability of suitable nesting sites.

Seasonality Some ground-nesting birds begin laying eggs before the end of the muirburn season, putting their nests at risk. As seasons shift due to climate change, birds are starting to lay eggs earlier, which will exacerbate this issue.

Erosion Muirburn can make areas more susceptible to erosion, meaning that peat and soil is washed into waterways during heavy rainfall, impacting the freshwater habitat.

Carbon The burning of blanket bog and wet heath can lead to the long-term loss of sphagnum mosses, degrading the peatland habitat and, in some cases, turning them from a carbon storer to a carbon emitter.

The Law The principal piece of legislation for muirburn is the Hill Farming Act 1946, with supplementary guidance provided by The Muirburn Code.

Burning is allowed to take place between 1 October – 15 April … but can be extended to 30 April with the landowner’s permission

Following muirburn, hillsides can resemble patchwork quilts of different colours and heights of vegetation depending on how recently they have been burned.

Trees and peatlands are often thought of as being mutually exclusive, but it is possible for the two to exist together. Bog woodland can establish in drier marginal zones, while fully waterlogged peat will resist colonisation by trees. Muirburn can prevent bog woodlands from establishing.

© Guy Edwardes/2020VISION

© Peter Cairns/2020VISION

SCOTS PINE BOG WOODLAND

CROSS-LEAVED HEATHER AND BOG ASPHODEL Cross-leaved heather is found in acidic bogs and wet moorland.

Heather is a key component of peatland ecosystems, providing nectar and pollen for bees and nesting habitat for birds. In healthy peatland, heathers grow alongside other species rather than in the artificial monocultures of managed uplands.

NOVEMBER 2023 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE 17

Muirburn

BURNING ISSUE

With Scotland’s globally important peatlands critical for supporting efforts to tackle the climate and nature emergencies, the practice of muirburn on heather moorland is now firmly in the spotlight, writes Rich Rowe

A

utumn is a fire-making time of year. There are garden bonfires, firework displays and, of course, the traditional burning of a ‘Guy’ to commemorate the foiling of a plot centuries ago. But it’s also the start of a time when smoke and flame can be seen on moorland in the Scottish hills as land managers carry out another tradition – the burning of vegetation, known as muirburn, to promote fresh growth for game birds and livestock.

Fire is one of the most ancient land management tools of all. Rotational burning of upland areas has long been carried out to improve grazing for sheep and deer – a practice that continues today – but it was not until the mid-19th Century that the use of muirburn as a habitat management tool was adopted for red grouse. It was a practice that quickly became widespread on grouse moors and shooting estates.

The aim is to manage heather, the bird’s primary food source, to ensure a mosaic of nutritious new growth while also maintaining older stands of longer heather to provide cover and nesting sites. It is a key means for grouse moor managers to encourage higher densities 18 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE NOVEMBER 2023

of red grouse, ensuring a surplus of birds available for shooting.

This kind of controlled burning also has other functions. In some cases, it helps prevent the build-up of ‘fuel load’ – dry, leggy heather that can be a considerable wildfire risk – while it can also create beneficial habitats for deer, mountain hares and other species.

Regardless of purpose, the result is a now familiar patchwork landscape of burned and regenerating heather on moorland across significant parts of the Scottish uplands – a landscape that many feel could offer so much more.

FIGHTING FIRES

With peatland restoration a key part of the Scottish Government’s goal of achieving a net-zero Scotland by 2045, the complex issue of muirburn is the subject of intense focus – and especially its impact on Scotland’s vast and precious areas of peatland.

Extending over more than a fifth of the country’s land surface, Scotland’s peatland is globally important both as a carbon store, locking in 1.7 billion tonnes of carbon, and as an internationally rare habitat type. However, the majority of

these peatlands are badly degraded as a result of historic and ongoing land management practices, including prescribed burning.

The impact of climate change is putting increasing stress on this crucial habitat, with a fear that, if exposed to the added burden of prescribed burning, already damaged areas of peatland are at greater risk of drying out and releasing huge stores of carbon.

For the Trust, peatland is a habitat that is about water, not fire. “We believe that muirburn on peatland is counterproductive to efforts to meet climate targets and reverse biodiversity loss,” comments Rebekah Strong, the Trust’s Nature Based Solutions Policy Advisor.

Healthy peatland produces its own virtuous circle: peat develops in wet conditions and in turn holds more water; this encourages more bog plants, which results in more peat being laid down and more carbon being stored. However, the exact opposite is true of degraded peat bogs, with the potential for them to emit more carbon than they store.

“When poorly managed or located, muirburn can damage the moistureretaining, peat-forming layers of

Muirburn

© Shutterstock

For the Trust, peatland is a habitat that is about water, not fire.

TIME FOR CHANGE

But significant change to how Scotland’s upland areas are managed is on its way. Developed in response to recommendations made by an independent review of grouse moor management – often referred to as the ‘Werritty Report’ – the Scottish Government recently consulted on a new Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill.

Currently at draft stage, this potentially landmark piece of legislation has two parts: one that addresses illegal targeting of birds of prey; and a second part that proposes making

it a requirement for anyone who wants to allow grouse shooting or carry out muirburn on their land to have a licence to do so.

“The Bill will strengthen legislation in a number of key areas to ensure that activities which take place on grouse moors and in our uplands

© Peter Cairns/2020VISION

sphagnum mosses, which then accelerates the drying out and degrading of the peat,” explains Rebekah.

Dry peat, of course, is also highly flammable and more likely to catch fire during out of control muirburn or natural wildfire.

Burned out: muirburn on heather moorland (main); the patchwork landscape left behind

NOVEMBER 2023 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE 19

Muirburn

are undertaken in a lawful and environmentally sustainable way,” notes Gillian Martin MSP, Minister for Energy and the Environment.

Additional regulation around muirburn is long overdue, points out Rebekah. “The legal basis for muirburn is actually a Hill Farming Act that dates back to 1946, although it has been significantly amended over the past 15 years,” she says.

Today, the main regulation is a stipulated ‘season’ for muirburn in Scotland that runs from 1 October to 15 April. This can be extended to 30 April at the discretion of the landowner while, in exceptional cases, NatureScot can grant a licence outside the standard season.

Such seasonal regulation exists primarily to prevent harm to the many species of moorland birds that nest in spring as well as reptiles emerging from hibernation. Muirburn is currently also subject to regulations that apply to specific sites, such as areas that are designated for their natural or cultural heritage.

But while updated, current legislation does not reflect areas of profound concern today, not least the impact of burning on the underlying soil, wider biodiversity impacts, water quality and climate targets.

VOLUNTARY CODE

For now, the legislative framework is supplemented by voluntary guidance in the form of a Muirburn Code that goes some way to addressing these concerns.

20 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE NOVEMBER 2023

mitigation, but on peatland there would have to be a very strong argument that there is no other option to prevent wildfire,” stresses Rebekah.

The Trust is also calling for a strong connection between a licence for grouse moor management and a licence to undertake muirburn. “If a muirburn licence is breached there should be meaningful consequences,” adds Rebekah.

GOLD STANDARD

© Luke Massey/2020VISION

Muirburn is used to create conditions that ensure a surplus of red grouse for shooting

The Trust is also calling for a strong connection between a licence for grouse moor management and a licence to undertake muirburn.

This guidance aims to ensure that when muirburn is carried out it is only done so in the ‘right place’ – avoiding burning on peatland or thin soils, close to waterbodies, woodland and steeply sloping ground – does not damage sensitive habitats and does not lead to wildfire.

“Muirburn is undertaken by a diverse range of people, from grouse moor managers to farmers and crofters,” explains Dee Ward, Chair of Scottish Land & Estates (SLE), which represents rural businesses throughout the country.

“On the whole, the practice is already undertaken in accordance with the Muirburn Code on grouse moors, and the muirburn operations tend to be very safe and of a high professional standard which is in part thanks to the resources available on larger estates.

“We know that some of the smaller muirburn operators do not have access to the same resources, and this poses a challenge,” he adds. “One of the most important things that needs to change in the context of muirburn is training.

We need to ensure all stakeholders are trained to the same standard before putting a flame to vegetation.”

But as well as training, the Trust feels that licencing is also a vital piece of the puzzle. Although the Muirburn Code advises against burning on peatland, there is currently no legal prohibition against doing so in Scotland unless an area is part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest. As a result, peatland vegetation is widely burnt each year.

“We understand there will be times when burning will be a necessary management practice for wildfire

The Trust’s stance on burning and peatland mirrors that of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) statement on the subject. Burning on peatland, it found, causes damage to key peatland species, overall peatland ecosystem health and the sustainability of peatland soils and “brings no benefits to peatland health or sustainability”.

In response to the IUCN’s findings, the Scottish Government’s Bill proposes to redefine the depth of ‘deep peat’ and ban burning on peat greater than 40cm in depth. “This is a step forward but we would like to see the peat depth limit reduced to 30cm which would cover all internationally important blanket bog habitats,” explains Rebekah.

The Trust is also keen to see the end of the muirburn season brought forward by a month to 15 March, so reducing potential overlap with the upland bird breeding season. It’s an overlap that for many species has already become apparent due to climate change as warmer spring temperatures see birds begin nesting activity earlier than usual.

However, proposals for tighter regulation and licensing of grouse moors have met strong opposition from industry interests. Citing a game and country sports sector that is worth more than £350m per year to the Scottish economy, and which supports around 11,000 full-time jobs, a group of more than 400 rural businesses recently submitted a letter urging the Scottish Government to amend what the signees consider punitive provisions within the draft Bill

Muirburn

© Shutterstock

Managed muirburn on heather moorland

For now, there is an unfortunate policy disconnect: on the one hand, it is investing £250m over ten years to restore degraded peatlands, while on the other it currently remains legal to burn on peatland and potentially accelerate the degradation of that habitat.

The ambition is to prevent burning on peatland except for very limited purposes, stresses Gillian Martin MSP. “This licensing will also afford an opportunity for data collection on where peat is being burned that will enable well-evidenced research on its impact,” she says.

And while the shooting industry, understandably, would like to see grouse moors continue to hold sway in the uplands, supporting jobs and communities in the process, the Trust sees an opportunity to steer a path towards what it argues is a more sustainable type of land management – one that uses existing skills as part of a transition to greener practices and jobs.

There is also an element of not seeing

this Bill in isolation but instead coupled with other new legislation being worked on such as the Agriculture Bill and Natural Environment Bill; taken together, they speak more widely about future land use strategy and targets around emissions and biodiversity, including incentives around peatland restoration. Given existing skills and expertise, grouse moors could be very much part of that new landscape.

What is clear is that change is coming and new traditions will need to be forged.

“We should not expect to continue with business as usual if we are to meet climate and biodiversity targets,” says Rebekah. “The Trust will continue to argue that the granting of a licence for muirburn should be given for stronger reasons than simply boosting the number of birds that can be shot by a small number of people for sport.”

Rich Rowe is contributing editor of Scottish Wildlife. © Shuterstock

that would make any licensing scheme “disproportionate and unworkable”.

For Dee Ward and SLE, the ambition is to see a Bill that can achieve its stated purpose of helping eliminate raptor persecution “whilst simultaneously allowing the majority who enjoy grouse shooting and do not break the law to continue to do so with adequate legal safeguards”.

“Again, with muirburn, our hope is for a workable licence that allows practitioners to show best practice, whilst continuing to deliver the benefits of fuel load reduction to prevent wildfires, and differing vegetation heights to help ground nesting birds and encourage diverse flora,” he notes.

The Trust is clear that the cost of such licences should be borne by businesses themselves rather than through any form of public subsidy. However, for SLE, it’s not so much the cost of potential licencing that irks – currently proposed at £100 for a grouse shoot licence and £250 for a muirburn licence – so much as the framework around it.

“These costs appear reasonable, although we have been clear that the licensing scheme for grouse shooting could be materially improved by operating a longer licence than just one year [as currently proposed],” explains Dee. “An annual licence is inconsistent with the type of investment and land management associated with grouse moors and would fail to provide businesses with certainty year-to-year.”

Golden plover is one species that benefits from regular muirburn

NEXT STEPS

To a large extent, the credibility of the Scottish Government’s efforts on emission reductions depends on what happens next with peatland.

NOVEMBER 2023 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE 21

Q&A

Dr Emma Hinchliffe & QA Director, IUCN UK Peatland Programme

© Emma Hinchliffe

To what extent are Scotland’s internationally important areas of peatland now recognised?

There is no doubt that Scotland is world leading when it comes to peatland restoration and conservation. The Flow Country’s recent assessment as a potential UNESCO World Heritage Site speaks volumes that we have some of the world’s most prestigious natural peatlands. But there is a long road ahead to repairing past damage and countering the threats from land use, such as forestry and windfarms. Both sectors have a crucial role to play in delivering our net zero ambitions and we must not compromise peatlands – our powerhouse natural carbon capture and storage systems – in delivering these multiple land use goals.

As the Scottish Government consults on a draft Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill, how might such legislation contribute to a healthier future for peatland?

We welcome the ambition to ban burning on peatlands. The science shows that muirburn is damaging.

And even if you don’t believe the science, the logical risk of striking a match in a landscape that we should be treasuring for its carbon storage, biodiversity, water and historic and cultural value makes no sense in the midst of a climate and nature emergency. Muirburn regulation is also important to protect the huge multi-million-pound government investment in the restoration of peatlands, including work undertaken on estates managed for grouse.

soils combined with assessment of habitat presence or habitat restoration potential, as well as hydrology, are all important considerations.

The depth of peat soils is often used to identify peatland habitat.

But is this enough?

Peat soil is carbon rich – the deeper the peat, the more carbon is locked away.

But peatlands (the whole ecosystem, including the soil) are much more than the carbon underfoot. Peatland systems are connected with the wider landscape and contain both shallow and deep areas of peat soil; both are associated with internationally important species and vegetation. Classification of a peatland based solely on an arbitrary soil depth is not adequate to risk assess and protect these habitats. Measurement of peat

How would you like to see grouse moor management evolve in years to come?

Grouse thrive on healthy peatlands.

Many grouse moor managers are supportive of the wider goals to restore and conserve peatland. The two ambitions do not have to be at odds with each other. The conflicting science – especially around carbon – has polarised the debate further. Setting carbon and any views on shooting aside, a restored peatland which is rich in sphagnum moss with young, heather stems layered through it and abundant invertebrates as food for grouse chicks

22 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE NOVEMBER 2023

is an ambition conservationists and moorland managers can aim for together.

What is it about this particular habitat that holds such interest for you?

Wetlands, including peatlands, are fascinating places. Their interconnection with the surrounding landscape and the dynamic nature of how water moves and shapes these habitats is captivating.

But for me it is the biodiversity that really holds my interest. From the sparkling golden plover to the jewel-like, microscopic desmid algae that drift about in bog pools almost totally unrecognised by even the most avid peatland enthusiasts. These habitats hold so much mystery and even after working in peatlands for almost 15 years, every day is a school day.

Social media link/Web link

NOVEMBER 2023 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE 23

Creating Natural Connections

© Jamie McDermaid

Local primary schoolchildren learning through play in the woods

People place and

Felicity Martin reflects on a hugely successful phase of the Cumbernauld Living Landscape that has built a lasting connection between the town’s residents and the natural environment 24 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE NOVEMBER 2023

Creating Natural Connections

But somewhere along the line that connection between built and natural heritage, and between people and the place they call home, lost its way.

It was exactly such challenges that Creating Natural Connections, a four-year project delivered under the umbrella of Cumbernauld Living Landscape, and which ended in June, was designed to address.

The project’s ambition was to restore the town’s green spaces and to build a community network that connects people to nature – something that it has achieved in ways that few thought possible, especially when interrupted by the pandemic. © Jamie McDermaid

A 16th Century dovecote in the Trust’s Cumbernauld Glen Wildlife Reserve

© Kate Fromings

C

umbernauld is not your average town. Built from the 1950s onwards as a means to offer Glasgow’s growing population a healthier life away from the city’s overcrowded streets, it was built on a series of hills, each divided by deep, wooded valleys.

But somewhere along the line that connection between built and natural heritage, and between people and the place they call home, lost its way.

Today, with a population of more than 50,000 and growing, Cumbernauld is larger than the cities of Perth and Stirling. And like in so many urban centres, that loss of connection with the natural environment and challenges around physical and mental health and wellbeing have been keenly felt in some communities.

Craigieburn Community Garden

It helps that the town is blessed with a variety, and quality, of green space that surprises many visitors. It says much that the Trust manages four wildlife reserves within Cumbernauld that, between them, contain habitats as precious as ancient oak woodland, meadows, lowland peat bog and heath.

Funded largely by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the project saw the Trust work with a wide range of willing partners – The Conservation Volunteers, North Lanarkshire Council, Sanctuary Scotland and the James Hutton Institute – on a host of connected activities.

“We started by gathering ideas about what the green spaces and local community needed and then developed these into a long list of projects,” explains Project Manager Tracy Lambert, who has lived in Cumbernauld since childhood. “We then asked the community to choose their priorities and they selected eight access and a dozen habitat works – all designed to benefit both people and wildlife.”

It’s an initiative that was sorely needed, believes Willie Homer, who chairs the Cumbernauld and Carbrain Community Hub as well as one of the town’s community councils. “Many locals believed the press when they said that Cumbernauld was a concrete jungle,” he says. “As they got older, they

became disconnected with the places where they grew up. The project has helped people rediscover the many green spaces we have and feel proud about looking after them.”

MULTIPLE STRANDS

One key focus was on improving specific habitats and people’s ability to experience and enjoy them. Here, the project team undertook a phenomenal range of work, from improving biodiversity in the town’s many areas of woodland to rewetting peat bogs, creating wildlife ponds and building nest platforms for birds of prey.

“We also planted more than 13,000 trees and 250m of hedgerow and upgraded several kilometres of paths around the town to help connect people and wildlife,” adds Tracy.

Improvements to the town’s environment are noticeable in many places, including at Carbrain Gully where the Trust’s Nature Ninjas team of volunteers have been hard at work.

Here, a path that leads from the town centre down to the train station has been transformed with areas of overgrown verge recut, built up with raised beds and planted with wildflower seeds to create a light-filled walkway that is alive with colour during spring and summer.

“It was an area that had become dark, unwelcoming and full of litter but it’s now a route that locals are very happy to use,” says Willie. “It also serves as an important wildlife corridor: we see hedgehogs and foxes making their way into urban areas, while house sparrow numbers have also recovered.”

Understanding that the town’s younger residents are vital to the future of these important habitats, the project also looked to connect young people with nature at every opportunity.

This involved working with more than 2,000 people, from early years to college, to help NOVEMBER 2023 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE 25

Creating Natural Connections

© L Healy

Our residents commented regularly that they enjoy having something to look forward to that is local, based outside and has such a relaxed environment.

Woodland spring clean, Seafar Wood Wildlife Reserve

26 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE NOVEMBER 2023

mental health has improved over the course of the project and I’ve found more confidence to attend events instead of making excuses not to go,” explains Kate. “Our residents commented regularly that they enjoy having something to look forward to that is local, based outside and has such a relaxed environment.”

GETTING INVOLVED

A final strand of the Creating Natural Connections project involved simply enabling local residents to get involved in volunteering on the ground, while also developing and training a network of people and organisations who could continue to bring positive change long into the future.

“It is often hard to keep communitydriven projects going and maintain momentum when volunteer fatigue sets in or key people move away,” explains Lisa Sneddon, who runs Village Veggies, a group that grows organic fruit and vegetables in the historic Langriggs part of the town.

“The people who had first planted our community orchard had gone and we didn’t know how to look after it. A project officer trained us to prune the trees and suggested underplanting with fruit and vegetables. Now we’ve © Jamie McDermaid

raise awareness of green spaces, build their confidence and develop life skills for future employment.

Project staff also plugged local communities into a series of fun, educational events, including at Craigieburn Community Garden. Kate Fromings, who founded the garden, has seen at first-hand how it has helped young people. “We had a citizen science session attended by a group of children,” she explains. “They helped each other find insects or plants, using the activity to help this particular group’s hyperactivity and interact constructively with each other.

“The children were all inquisitive and engaged, whereas in a classroom setting they are not always given the chance to find out information for themselves.”

This educational element tied in neatly with a further focus on health and wellbeing across all age groups.

A dedicated Green Health and Wellbeing Officer oversaw an activity project known as Wild Ways Well – a programme that demonstrated what most people already sense is true: that spending time outdoors in nature makes people feel better about themselves.

It is especially powerful for those people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health, enabling them to slow down, relax and enjoy the company of like-minded people in outside spaces that bring a sense of calm.

Willie is a support worker for someone with assisted living whom he helped to join some of the Wild Ways Well walks. “This participation has improved his overall health and he even just likes to sit in the woods while the group has a campfire and brews a kettle,” he notes.

Many others who have participated in project activities report feeling better for the contact with nature – and that includes project leaders. “My own

Orange tip butterfly, Palacerigg Country Park, Cumbernauld

turned it into a fruit forest and are confident about maintaining it.”

Elsewhere, at a wildflower meadow planted many years ago and which had become overrun by willowherb and nettles, the group was trained in scything so that the meadow could be properly maintained.

“Meadowsweet and wild carrot have since returned and we’ve now added some wildflower seeds,” says Lisa. “The project guided us to set up a seed collection system and we started sharing seeds between groups. It’s amazing how many environmental groups there are in Cumbernauld.”

It’s just one more example of how Creating Natural Connections has helped foster a growing community of people who care about and look after both their natural surroundings and each other – a spirit of connectivity that perhaps better mirrors what was intended when Cumbernauld was first built as a new town all those decades ago.

For more on the project and the wider Cumbernauld Living Landscape, visit cumbernauldlivinglandscape.org.uk Felicity Martin is a freelance outdoors writer based in Perthshire.

Celebrate 60 years of conservation with the Scottish Wildlife Trust by raising a glass to our founder, Sir Charles Connell

Connell’s

Wild Scotland Gin

To celebrate our 60th anniversary in 2024, we’ve teamed up with Selkirk Distillers who have crafted a premium gin infused with a unique blend of angelica and orris root. With every bottle sold, Selkirk Distillers will donate £7 to the Trust.

Join us in raising a glass to commemorate six decades of conservation work and help us protect Scotland’s wildlife for the future.

Order today at bit.ly/WildScotlandGin

Order

today!

NOVEMBER 2023 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE 27

Genetic testing

FINAL PUSH Emma Sheehy from Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels explains how a programme of genetic testing could help remove the last few grey squirrels from Aberdeen once and for all

28 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE NOVEMBER 2023

Genetic testing

T

he city of Aberdeen’s invasive grey squirrel population is considered an ‘island’ population as it is separated, both geographically and genetically, from the rest of Britain’s grey squirrels. Its origins date back to 1971 when a small number of animals were transported to a city zoo from the south of England. It is believed that they escaped on their first night, and soon became a fixture in the city’s parks and gardens.

In 2007, Aberdeen City Council began trapping greys in some of its parks and, two years later, joined the Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels (SSRS) partnership project, led by the Scottish Wildlife Trust. Initially, the project’s aim in the northeast was to reduce the range and numbers of grey squirrels, which had replaced reds throughout Aberdeen and as far as Banchory on the River Dee and Inverurie on the River Don. With the help of local landowners and householders, the SSRS Northeast Team began to systematically trap grey squirrels in Donside and Deeside, gradually moving into Aberdeen city itself. It became clear that not only was it possible to successfully trap greys in an urban environment, but also that reds were able to quickly recover their lost ground once grey squirrels were removed.

Fourteen years later, the SSRS Northeast Team has now trapped and humanely dispatched over 10,000 grey squirrels from Aberdeen city and Aberdeenshire. As a result, greys are now largely confined within the city limits and are thought to be very low in number.

Eradication of this remaining grey squirrel population has become a realistic, albeit ambitious, target.

However, for an eradication to succeed, target animals must be removed at a rate higher than the population’s ability to increase. This typically becomes hardest to achieve when the population reaches a very low density.

It is also important that the methods of detection and removal remain effective even with a low number of animals – many of which may be

resistant to trapping, our primary method of removal.

As the Northeast Team has progressed in recent years, so have our operations.

What began with two to three trappers has evolved into a team of six staff and more than 60 volunteer surveyors.

Between them, they check hundreds of squirrel feeders every fortnight for evidence of grey squirrels both in Aberdeen city and at the ‘frontier’ of the mainland population in the northeast of Angus. This is important to ensure that no grey squirrels can move into Aberdeen from the south.

The success of an eradication project is often strongly influenced by the target species’ reproductive and dispersal behaviour. We know from past studies that while female grey squirrel home ranges in Aberdeen city tend to be quite small, male home ranges are sometimes several kilometres in diameter. This means that we need to be everywhere at once – something that is achieved thanks to our huge volunteer network.

However, despite this spatial coverage, there remains the major challenge that an unknown number of individual greys will not enter traps. So-called ‘trap shy’ squirrels pose a significant risk to the success of the project.

In 2022, more than 7,000 feeder checks were carried out, and only 175 of those detected grey squirrels (compared to more than 3,000 red squirrel detections). However, of those 175 detections, the team have no way of knowing how many individual grey squirrels are represented. One squirrel could have visited multiple feeders over multiple sampling sessions or there could be multiple squirrels depositing hairs at just one feeder.

Without being able to identify individuals from hair samples, it is impossible to know how many grey squirrels remain. However, the hope is that this is all about to change as we embark on a partnership with the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s WildGenes lab at Edinburgh Zoo. WildGenes uses genetic data to inform conservation management initiatives

Eradication of this remaining grey squirrel population has become a realistic, albeit ambitious, target. around the world, from translocations and reintroductions to the fight against the illegal wildlife trade. In Scotland, it has provided genetic support for conservation management of species such as beaver, capercaillie and Scottish wildcat.

However, this collaboration marks the lab’s first eradication project. Using tissue samples from trapped squirrels and hair samples from detections at feeders, we will soon be able to genetically identify individual animals and test the efficacy of our methods by answering questions around how many individuals are being detected at feeders, but not in traps.

This kind of genetic information will be instrumental in helping us understand the spatial and behavioural ecology of the last remaining squirrels in Aberdeen and allow us to improve our detection and removal methods in a highly targeted way.

Thanks to our close partnership with Aberdeen City Council and support from so many residents who volunteer their time, their land or both, we are now very close to achieving the first grey squirrel eradication from mainland Britain – and possibly the first urban rodent eradication of its kind.

The genetic insights from our partnership with WildGenes will reveal where exactly we are in this process and what is needed next to ensure that we remove the last of Aberdeen’s grey squirrels, securing the future of red squirrels for years to come.

Dr Emma Sheehy is Eradication Scientific Lead, North East Scotland for Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels. scottishsquirrels.org.uk NOVEMBER 2023 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE 29

© Shutterstock

Grey area: genetic insight will be invaluable in guiding next steps for the removal of grey squirrels from Aberdeen

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A GREAT GREEN CHRISTMAS

Discover our range of sustainable gift ideas 2023 CHRISTMAS CARDS

CHRISTMAS eCARDS

Go paper-free this Christmas by sending a personalised eCard using Making a Difference Cards.

Choose from hundreds of designs, customise your own message and support the Trust with a donation from every card sent.

This year, our packs of eight Christmas cards feature a red squirrel, pine marten, kingfisher and fox.

Packs include two of each design with envelopes.

Message inside reads: "Season's greetings – Beannachdan na h-Aimsire."

From £3

Order online

£3.99

Order online or by post

L SPECIA S R OFFE

w cks of ne l Two pa ards for sc Christma .99 just £6 as card us Christm l Previo , just £2 per designs pack* eight-card

2024 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE CALENDAR

Our calendar for 2024 features stunning photographs of some of Scotland's most iconic wildlife.

From hedgehogs and badgers to blennies and adders, enjoy a different species each month. £9.99

Order online or by post

Order online at scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/gifts

NOVEMBER 2023 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE 31

Christmas

ADOPT AN ANIMAL

Our plastic-free animal adoptions make the perfect environmentally-friendly gift.

Each adoption pack includes: l A personalised adoption certificate l A beautiful wooden keyring l An exclusive papercraft model l An informative animal fact file l A fun-filled activity book l A handy bookmark l Two stunning postcards Choose to adopt an otter, red squirrel, beaver, puffin, seal or bumblebee and make a real difference to the future of Scotland's wildlife. £30

Order online

r top tips Find out ou ainable sust on having a nline at as Christm o . lifetrust.org scottishwild ristmas h -c uk/green

RAISE A TOAST

KEEP COSY... AND HELP THE TRUST Made from 100% organic cotton and printed using low-waste technology in the UK, our clothing range features exclusive designs and every purchase helps protect the wildlife you love.

To see the full range, visit scottishwildlifetrust.teemill.com

32 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE NOVEMBER 2023

To celebrate our 60th anniversary in 2024, we’ve teamed up with Selkirk Distillers to create this unique gin named after our founder, Sir Charles Connell. With every bottle of Connell’s Wild Scotland Gin sold, the Trust will receive a £7 donation to help us continue our work protecting Scotland’s wildlife. £38 per 70cl bottle Order at bit.ly/ WildScotlandGin

Image for illustrative purposes only and may not be an exact representation of the product.

Christmas

GIVE THE GIFT OF MEMBERSHIP

WAYS TO ORDER ONLINE

Treat a friend or family member to a Scottish Wildlife Trust membership this Christmas.

Your gift will give them the chance to experience and learn more about Scotland's incredible wildlife. At the same time, you'll be helping us look after our wildlife reserves, save native species from extinction, engage with community leaders and much more.

Visit scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/gifts

BY POST

Please complete the order form and post to: Christmas Orders, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Harbourside House, 110 Commercial St, Edinburgh, EH6 6NF

New members receive a subscription to Scottish Wildlife magazine, free entry to our visitor centres and a copy of our Exploring Reserves guide. Wildlife Watch members (for children 5 - 14 years) also receive our junior magazine four times a year.

Please note that collection of items cannot be made from this address.

Order by Sunday 10 December for delivery in time for Christmas**

From £18 per year for children, and £36 for adults.

Order online

CARDS AND CALENDAR

Quantity Total (£)

2023 Christmas cards

£3.99

Two packs of 2023 Christmas cards offer

£6.99

2024 Wildlife calendar

£9.99

Previous Christmas card designs*

£2.00

PAYMENT enclose a cheque or postal order made payable to n I“Scottish Wildlife Trust” Please debit my credit or debit card n (Amex not accepted)

Card number

*This offer is only available when purchasing another product and while stocks last.

Donation: In addition to my gifts, I would like to make a Christmas donation to the Scottish Wildlife Trust of:

nnnn nnnn nnnn nnnn Start date nn / nn Expiry date nn / nn Security code* nnn *3 digit number on back of card

Cardholder’s signature Cardholder’s name

Date

POSTAGE: £4.95 for all UK orders up to £40, FREE if over £40** TOTAL:

£ CONTACT PREFERENCES

MY DETAILS

Title

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Join in! Make sure that you always hear about our nature conservation work, events and how you can help support Scotland’s wildlife and special places. Opt-in to make sure you don’t miss out!

I am happy to be contacted by (please tick):

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GIFT AID Increase the value of your eligible donations by 25% at no extra cost to you.

n I would like the Scottish Wildlife Trust to Gift Aid my donations and subscriptions and any I make in the future

or have made in the past four years. I confirm that I am a UK taxpayer and understand that if I pay less Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax in the current tax year than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all of my donations, it is my responsibility to pay any difference.

Email

n YES n NO Phone n YES n NO DATA PROTECTION: We will use your data to process your order and/or donation, manage your membership or to claim Gift Aid (if appropriate). We will always handle your information in the strictest confidence, we will never sell your details to a third party nor will we share them with anyone other than those acting on our behalf. **DELIVERY INFORMATION: Orders must be received by Sunday 10 December 2023 for Christmas delivery in the UK. We cannot guarantee delivery before Christmas after this date. Postage costs £4.95 on all UK orders up to £40; FREE over £40; Europe £5.50; Rest of World £8. For large quantities, please email membership@scottishwildlifetrust. org.uk. Allow 10 days for delivery.

The big picture

© Frank Urban

THE BIG PICTURE Frank Urban

A RETIRED police officer from Cumbernauld, Frank Urban probably didn’t expect to capture an award-winning photograph while working in his garden, but that’s exactly what happened when he spotted a tiny spider on the handle of a garden tool one day.

“I am 63 and retired around five years ago,” explains Frank. “I happily fill my days with walking and photography and find that my local area, which includes the Campsie Fells and the Forth and Clyde canal, are ideal for both.”

Although he has taken pictures since a teenager – “I got my very first camera free for collecting sweet wrappers,” he says – it was never anything very serious.

That all changed when, in 2012, Frank used his phone camera to take pictures while visiting China as part of a trek to raise money for St Andrew’s Hospice in Airdrie.

“After that, I bought a new camera and started to look at my environment with real interest,” explains Frank.

“For this picture, I had been in the garden when I noticed what I knew from a previous sighting was a cucumber green spider. I thought I’d try to photograph it – not the easiest shot for my dodgy knees as I had to lie down on brick paving to get it.”

At first, when looking at the image, he didn’t really feel he had done it justice.

“But when I decided to enter the image in the Scottish Nature Photography Awards, I realised that by using a tighter crop and placing the spider in the corner, it really worked,” says Frank.

And the judges clearly agreed: the image secured top spot in the Wildlife Portrait category and won Frank the title of 2022 Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year.

The image is currently on display at Logan Botanic Garden, near Stranraer, together with other shortlisted images.

“It’s all a bit surreal!” he says.

Camera: Sony A6600; Lens: 18-135mm; Shutter speed: 1/400; Aperture: f/8; ISO: 3200.

NOVEMBER 2023 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE 35

Watch out for

Watch out for...

Some things to enjoy over the coming months Television

Book

© BBC Studios

Belonging – Natural histories of place, identity and home Amanda Thomson Published by Canongate ISBN 9781838854744 Paperback £10.99

Planet Earth III BBC One, from Sunday 22 October 2023 SIR David Attenborough will present the third instalment of the BBC’s landmark natural history programme Planet Earth, with the first of eight, hour-long episodes airing on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from October.

“Planet Earth wouldn’t be Planet Earth without David, so I’m delighted he is presenting the third series,” commented Mike Gunton, the programme’s Executive Producer. “As ever, he has brought his huge enthusiasm and wisdom, has been encouraging about our new perspective and has, I know, really enjoyed seeing the extraordinary new wonders brought to the screen.”

The series begins with the 97-year-old presenter following in the footsteps 36 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE NOVEMBER 2023

of one of his personal heroes.

“The opening of the series with David was filmed in the beautiful British countryside in exactly the location where Charles Darwin used to walk whilst thinking over his Earthshaking ideas about evolution,” added Gunton.

“It seemed the perfect place for David to introduce Planet Earth III and remind us of both the wonders and the fragility of our planet.”

Planet Earth III was first commissioned in 2019 but filming was delayed by the pandemic. One of the BBC’s most popular natural history franchises, previous instalments have won numerous awards, including Baftas and Royal Television Society awards.

AMANDA Thomson’s elegantly written book explores the power of place and how it shapes family, identity, language and our relationship with nature and each other.

In her prologue, Thomson introduces the standing dead trees found in the Scots pinewoods around her home in the Cairngorms and how, over time, the branches fracture, shear and fall to the forest floor. Such trees, and the branches that fall from them, are known as ‘snags’ and, although dead, are incredibly important in the way they sustain other life – insects, birds, plants, fungi and lichens.

She writes: “I love the idea that the dead can sustain the living, and it has become an important touchstone for me.” It’s a theme that resonates throughout, from descriptions of standing stones to the remains of Clearance villages and evidence of more recent histories, such as former railway lines now used as paths.

A visual artist and lecturer at the Glasgow School of Art as well as a writer, Thomson’s artwork and photography feature throughout the book, adding visual weight to the intricate exploration of words within.

Book

Black Ops & Beaver Bombing – Adventures with Britain’s Wild Mammals Fiona Mathews and Tim Kendall Published by Oneworld Publications ISBN 9780861545568 Hardback £17.99 JOIN Fiona Mathews and Tim Kendall on a very different kind of safari that offers both a celebration of Britain’s rich cast of mammals and a call to arms to keep it that way.

A husband and wife team – she a professor of environmental biology and author of the UK Government’s official census of British mammals, he a creative writer and professor of English literature – the pair marry tall tales and dreadful puns with meticulous research.

But given how a quarter of British mammals are threatened by extinction, this is not just a light-hearted canter around the countryside. The authors are never shy to explore the complexities of life on the ground for many of our most precious mammal species.

Watch out for

Podcast

Wild for Scotland wildforscotland.com IN this weekly storytelling podcast, award-winning travel blogger Kathi Kamleitner takes listeners on a journey around the country exploring Scotland’s natural wonders.

Very much for Scotland-lovers from around the world – Kathi herself is Austrian but has lived in Scotland for the past decade – the podcast is designed to help listeners connect with the country in different ways, enjoy a bit of escapism and ideally plan their own trip.

Featuring a range of prominent Scottish authors, ecologists, activists, artists, tourism professionals and more, the podcast episodes are arranged in seasons themed around Scottish islands, road trips and people – exploring everything from learning Gaelic in the outdoors to experiencing puffins on the Isle of Lunga and delving into the life of a mountain guide.

Launched in September, season five explores all things water, from life in the shallow bays of the west coast to the dark pools found across Scotland’s vast areas of blanket bog. Look out for the Trust’s own Living Seas team who feature in one of the episodes!

Competition

Win a two-night stay for two SURROUNDED by green fields in the charming hamlet of Kingsbarns, near St Andrews in Fife, Morton of Pitmilly Countryside Resort is a perfect base for exploring nature.

We are offering one reader the chance to win a two-night, self-catering stay for two people.

The award-winning, five-star resort is on a working farm and boasts charming original courtyard cottages and boutique properties with sea views.

The paths and trails are perfect for spotting local wildlife, including partridge, ducks, herons, badgers, brown hares and deer, while the woodland areas have an abundance of flora and fauna to enjoy.

On-site, there is an indoor tennis court and indoor swimming pool.

Morton of Pitmilly is also dogfriendly and has its own dog run for your four-legged friends.

For more information, visit pitmilly.co.uk

COMPETITION

To enter, simply tell us: Where in Fife is Morton of Pitmilly Countryside Resort found?

Send your entries to Scottish Wildlife Trust Competition, c/o Connect Publications, Studio 2001, Mile End, Seedhill Road, Paisley PA1 1JS. Closing date is 31 January 2024.

Please include your answer, name, address, email address and telephone number.

Prize offered is a two-night stay for two people. Prize must be taken within six months of notification of win.

Prize must be taken on midweek dates, no weekends and bank holiday dates and certain blackout dates are excluded. Bookings are subject to availability and there is no cash alternative. Entry data will be used by Connect Publications solely for managing this contest.

NOVEMBER 2023 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE 37

Viewpoint

Viewpoint Shetland naturalist, photographer, author and tour operator Brydon Thomason shares a magical moment with otters – an animal that always brings him a particular joy © Brydon Thomason/Shetland Nature

38 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE NOVEMBER 2023

Autumn can be a particularly active time for otters on Shetland

Immersing myself in their lives always seems to filter out any pressures that may have burdened my mind. ©Sophie Whitehead

WE should all have something in our lives that helps us unravel our thoughts.

For some, it may be a creative process, a form of exercise, a musical instrument or simply a physical place to visit that brings a sense of happiness and perhaps even exhilaration.

Music aside, I am fortunate to find all of this and more in nature. But there is one creature that sparks something in me like no other: the otter. Immersing myself in their lives always seems to filter out any pressures that may have burdened my mind.

Whether monitoring the animals for an ecological survey, facilitating a first encounter while leading a tour, guiding a camera operator filming for a natural history documentary or simply enjoying an encounter with my family, when I am together with otters it feels as if a curtain closes around us, with the animals taking centre stage.

My love of the draatsi (as they are known in local dialect) was magnified during childhood due to the absence of any similarly sized mammal predator, such as badgers or foxes that are found on mainland Britain. The way in which they straddle two worlds, land and sea, only made them all the more captivating – a feeling that remains today more than 40 years on.

And autumn is a particularly special time for studying otters here on Shetland as it is now that cubs born during mid to late summer – a later timing than is usual for the species elsewhere – begin to emerge and explore their surroundings.

This week, against a backdrop of autumn bird migration, I was leading an otter photography assignment with a returnee client, with our main focus being a stretch of coastline where I have been studying three families.

With an onshore wind – essential when working with such a shy, scentsensitive animal – we were able to enjoy encounters with all three families: one mother with a single cub of four months old, another with a single cub of six months, and the other with a pair of adorable three-month-old cubs.

Viewing the mothers’ remarkable parenting instincts and the playful antics of the cubs themselves was

Brydon Thomason

a truly emotive experience both through binoculars and also, in this instance, through the lens of the client photographer.

It may sound a little strange as a nature photographer but when leading these assignments, I leave my own

camera behind as my focus needs to be on my client and, even more so, the otters to ensure that we are working as responsibly as possible.

There are often special moments I help facilitate that result in images I have imagined capturing myself, but there is no sense of missing out.

Spending so much of my life with otters in this way, I understood long ago how lucky I am that, even when at work, my mind can be so free.

Brydon Thomason’s new book, Wild Shetland – Through the Seasons, is out in November, published by The Shetland Times.

For more, visit shetlandnature.net

NOVEMBER 2023 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE 39

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NOVEMBER 2023 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE 40