Scottish National Heritage - The Nature of Scotland AutumnWinter2013Issue - 18

Scottish Natural Heritage
Autumn / Winter 2013
The Nature of Scotland
Creag Meagaidh
Revival Reserve
Bumblebees
Challenging times
Ocean odyssey
Atlantic salmon research
Contents
Features
10 Year of Natural Scotland

Highlights from a busy year
12 The John Muir Way

Marking John Muirs legacy
30
15 Choosing our tree

Scotland prepares to select a

national tree
10
50
16 Climate change

How we can help nature adapt
18 Adder Man

Norman Morrisons amazing career
18
54
Regulars
2

26
Where we are
SNH contact details
3 Welcome
4

Wild calendar
Where to go and what to see
this autumn and winter
26 Wild Scotland

The Royal Zoological Society of
Scotland links with SNH

28 Tackling wildlife crime

The role of the Wildlife Crime
Education Officer

30 The art of the matter

Derek Robertson, artist in
residence at Tentsmuir NNR

20 Dualchas coitcheann

/Common heritage

Linking language and environment
49 Scottish ospreys in Spain

Lending a hand with a Spanish
reintroduction
22 News
50 History and nature in harmony

Plants and animals on Historic
Scotland sites

36 Reserve focus

Discover Creag Meagaidh NNR
42 Area news

Reports from around the country
54 Lost at Sea ?

Understanding the Atlantic
salmons ocean odyssey

64 Mailing list

Change your details or subscribe

to our e-newsletter
60 Bumblebees in the balance

Working to reverse bumblebee
decline
Scotlands nature blog

We have a variety of blogs for you to follow. Our Scotlands nature blog
covers a wide range of subjects, and recent posts have featured the flora of
the Cairngorms National Park, the role of commercial dog walkers, nature
photography and the last great auks. You can find a link to this blog at the foot of
the homepage of our website.
www.snh.gov.uk
Credits
The Magazine of Scottish Natural Heritage
Issue Number 18 Autumn / Winter 2013
Published twice per year
SNH 2013
ISSN 1350 309X
Where we are
Area offices
You can contact SNH by

letter, telephone or email.
The following details
should enable you to find
your nearest main office,
but bear in mind that we
also have a number of
offices smaller than those
listed.
Argyll & Outer Hebrides

32 Francis Street,
Stornoway,
Isle of Lewis HS1 2ND
Tel. 01851 705 258
Editor: Jim Jeffrey

Tel. 01738 458528
A full list of our offices

appears on the SNH
website: www.snh.gov.uk
Cover photo: Tree sparrow

Photographer: Lorne Gill/SNH
Corporate
headquarters
Inside cover photo: Winter trees

Inside cover photographer: Lorne Gill/SNH
Welcome page photographer: Lorne Gill/SNH
Photography all images by Lorne Gill/SNH other than Fergus
Gill/2020Vision p6 top; Terry Whittaker/2020Vision 6 image 1 in strip, 7
image 2 in strip; Lorne Gill/2020Vision 6 image 2 in strip; Laurie Campbell
6 image 3 in strip, 7 images 3 and 4 in strip, 28, 53, 54, 58; Mark
Hamblin/2020Vision 8, 36, 40; Becky Duncan/SNH 12 and 13, 23 left;
Ingo Arndt/naturep1.com 17; FLPA/Alamy 24 left; Paul Naylor 24 right;
Peter Cairns 26; David Whitaker 38 left, 60, 62; Mark H amblin 39; RSPB
Scotland 42r: Celine Marchbank 43l; Guy Harewood/Stirling Council 43c;
Doug Bartholomew 44l; Steven Duffield 44r; Dave Genney 44c; Peadar
OConnell 45c; National Museum of Scotland/Michael Coates 45r; Laurie
Campbell 46l; Anne Elliot 46c; Vicky Stonebridge 46r; Claire Glaister 47l;
Donald Fraser 47c; June Topping 48l; John Macpherson 48c; Graeme
Walker 48r; David Tipling 49; Richard Shucksmith 50; Chris
Gomersall/2020Vision 52; Rob Jordan/2020Vision 56; Deirdre Brennan,
Castletown Productions 57; Cath Milne 59; Dave Goulson 63.
Illustrations on page 30 to 35 courtesy of Derek Robertson.
To share your views about The Nature of Scotland or suggest articles for
future issues please contact the editor:
SNH Magazine
Battleby, Redgorton,
Perth PH1 3EW
Email: editor@snh.gov.uk
The views expressed in this magazine do not
necessarily reflect those of SNH.
Printed by: J Thomson Colour Printers, Glasgow

JTCP32k1013
When youve finished with this magazine, please recycle it. Pass it to
another reader or dispose of it at your local waste-collection point.
Great Glen House,

Leachkin Road,
Inverness IV3 8NW
Tel. 01463 725 000
Email: enquiries@snh.gov.uk
Other offices
Perth PH1 3EW
Tel. 01738 444 177
Silvan House,
3rd Floor East,
231 Corstorphine Road,
Edinburgh EH12 7AT
Tel. 0131 316 2600
Caspian House,
Mariner Court,
Clydebank Business Park,
Clydebank G81 2NR
Tel. 0141 951 4488
Forth
Silvan House,
3rd Floor East,
231 Corstorphine Road,
Edinburgh EH12 7AT
Tel. 0131 316 2600
Forth
The Beta Centre,
Innovation Park,
University of Stirling,
Stirling FK9 4NF
Tel. 01786 450 362
Northern Isles
& North Highland
The Links,
Golspie Business Park,
Golspie,
Sutherland KW10 6UB
Tel. 01408 634 063
Northern Isles
& North Highland
Ground Floor,
Stewart Building,
Alexandra Wharf,
Lerwick,
Shetland ZE1 0LL
Tel. 01595 693 345
South Highland
Fodderty Way,
Dingwall Business Park,
Dingwall IV15 9XB
Tel. 01349 865 333
South Highland
The Governors House,
The Parade, Fort William,
Inverness-shire PH33 6BA
Tel. 01397 704 716
Southern Scotland
Greystone Park,
55/57 Moffat Road,
Dumfries DG1 1NP
Tel. 01387 272 440
Strathclyde & Ayrshire
Caspian House,
Mariner Court,
Clydebank Business Park,
Clydebank G81 2NR
Tel. 0141 951 4488
Tayside & Grampian
Perth PH1 3EW
Tel. 01738 444 177
Tayside & Grampian
Inverdee House,
Baxter Street,
Torry,
Aberdeen AB11 9QA
Tel. 01224 266 500
Welcome
Susan Davies
Director of Policy & Advice
Weve passed the mid point of 2013 Year of Natural Scotland. Celebrations, and
opportunities to get involved, have been taking place across the country. We give
a round-up of some of these events in this magazine. The debate on what you
think your wildlife Big 5 should be also continues. Top of my list would be the
magnificent gannet Morus bassanas which can be seen flying almost anywhere
around our coasts, and especially when they migrate south between August and
October. Scotland holds internationally important numbers of breeding seabirds
but many are in decline. This is particularly so for those feeding mostly on small
shoaling fish such as sandeels. These fish are susceptible to the warming of the
sea as a result of climate change.
Professor Dave Goulson, in his article, tells us about a group of insects
that are also affected by climate change. Bumblebees have some interesting
physiological features that give them an in-built resilience to the extreme weather
patterns occurring more frequently now as a result of climate change. They are
a vital component of our natural word essential for pollination yet a range of
pressures are affecting them. Dave gives us some advice on what to plant to
attract bumblebees to our gardens. So, if you have a few minutes to spare why
not get involved and do your bit to give our bumblebees a helping hand.
Getting involved is just what Andy Turner is doing in his role as a Special
Constable for Wildlife Crime in Grampian. Sadly wildlife crime still occurs
throughout Scotland but through education and action awareness is being raised
and those who commit these crimes will be brought to justice. Andy tells us
about his role in combatting wildlife crime.
There are a number of other ways in which you can get involved with nature in
the Year of Natural Scotland, from naming our national tree to giving your views
on how Scotlands seas should be managed in the future. You can also comment
on proposals for a suite of Marine Protected Areas in the seas around Scotland.
Details of these and other opportunities are set out in the pages that follow. We
hope you will give us your views about what matters to you and be inspired to get
out and enjoy the nature on your doorstep over the coming months.
Wild calendar
Autumn
Kenny Taylor gives some

seasonal tips for savouring
Scottish wildlife and landscapes
The sun is low in the sky now. All the better to backlight
the changing tones of foliage and cast long shadows over
browning grasses. This is the time to notice natural shifts,
when each day can be different in sights, sounds and
scents. Crunch a windfall apple as you walk; listen to the
swish of leaves; breathe the mists of morning and evening
to savour the earthy bite and brevity of it all.
www.snh.gov.uk
Sublime falls
Hurrah for hips
Places which are beautiful throughout

the year can become even more
impressive as autumn tints rise to full
flood. Waterfalls in woodlands do this
to perfection, cascading ribbons of
white under flame-tones of foliage to
plummet in dark plunge pools below.
The Birks of Aberfeldy, named for
the nearby Perthshire village, blends
woodland, gorge and falls. You can
hike a circular walk of about 4km here
to view colours and ogle the Falls of
Moness from a bridge above the chasm
in the flank of the hill.
Some 18th century visitors wellversed in the philosophy of art would
have thought this prospect sublime,
combining natural grandeur with a
shiver of fear. Robert Burns came here
then, and wrote a poem praising the
braes that ascend like lofty was where
the foaming stream deep-roaring fas.
There werent many birches (birks)
here in Burns day, but he used the
tune of The Birks o Abergeldie (in
Aberdeenshire) as inspiration, migrating
the birches concept to suit. Both crafty
and artful, was Rabbie.
Web tip www.perthshire.co.uk/
index.asp?pg=327
Theres something beautiful about the

way colours in nature grow stronger
for a while as hours of daylight shorten.
They blaze, blaze against the fading of
the light.
Autumns many tints include those
of vibrant-coloured rose fruits, both in
garden varieties and on wild dog roses
along hedges. Not only do rose hips
look good, they are also great food for
birds such as greenfinches, which are
expert at splitting them to reach the
many seeds within. For people, these
seeds have little value, although some
children may still know how they make a
very good itching agent when dry.
The seed-free pulp of rose hips
is still used by some folk as a potent
natural source of vitamin C. During
World War Two, the British Government
considered this to be such a useful
substitute for citrus fruit (then in
short supply) that it organised mass
harvesting of hips. In places, organised
collection continued for many years
after the conflict, including by Scottish
schoolchildren who earned a small
fee for every paper bag of rose hips
delivered to school.
Web tip http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Rose_hip
Autumn
Winter
Tinderhoof
Botanists know it as Fomes
fomentarius. Others may call it horses
hoof fungus or tinder fungus. What
name people gave it more than 5,000
years ago is forever lost.
Whats certain is that this
distinctively shaped fungus has been
useful to survival-savvy travellers for at
least that many millennia. Thats when
tzi The Iceman was alive. His
mummified body was found in melting
alpine ice in 1991.
tzi wore a pouch filled with a dark
mass of the fungus, within which were
traces of iron pyrite. The Iceman could
have set the fungal material aglow
by striking sparks into it when he hit
As the cuckoo is to spring, the whooper can be to autumn.
pyrite nodules against flint. Its a neat,
The names of both birds carry echoes of their calls, one
compact fire-lighting kit.
raising thoughts of lengthening days, the other a pale
Then, as now, preparing the inner
outrider of approaching dark.
material of the fungus to make dry
Unlike the cuckoo, the whooper swan is a very rare
tinder would be a slow process. This
breeder in Scotland, with barely a handful nesting in
inner layer is known to anglers as
most years. So nigh-on every whooper that flocks here in
amadou. Some still find it useful for
autumn and winter is a migrant, from the Icelandic breeding
drying artificial flies used as lures.
population.
These fungal hooves grow all
First arrivals in mid-September tend to be failed breeders
year from some birch trunks. But
and non-breeders. Then come the families, where whitetheir shapes and patterns can seem
plumaged parents travel with up to six dappled brown-andparticularly obvious in autumn and
white cygnets.
winter.
Counts of cygnets can give a measure of how good the
Web tip www.dailykos.com/
breeding season has been in Iceland. Thats a useful statistic
story/2013/01/16/1178895/-Thefor international conservation workers. But aside from the
Horse-s-Hoof-Fungus-a-fungus-withscience, its the sights and sounds of these beautiful birds
a-secret-inside#
that inspire.
When a group of wild swans flies near, pale wings
beating slow, their calls rising in wild whoops to the stormy
sky, you can sense the very essence of natural change.
Web tip www.wwt.org.uk and enter whooper swan in
search box.
Dark until mid-morning, dark by

mid-afternoon: now its natural
to snuggle and watch the world
through fogged windows. But
cosiness inside can be all
the better after a trip out to
experience some winter wilds.
The salt tang of surf along a
North Sea shore; the sounds of
grey geese going to roost; the
tingle of snow on skin; the flicker
of aurora in a northern sky the
stuff of fireside tales for seasons
yet to come.
Song swans
Six sides and no

limits
Snow. Some loathe it, mores the pity,
seeing snow only in terms of nuisance.
Blocked roads, delayed trains, slushy
pavements so plough it, sweep it,
push it away.
Others love it, knowing it can be the
stuff of waking dreams. Fresh powder
on a bluebird day on a Scottish ski
slope; conifers made magical with
whitening; scope for sculpting and
sliding.
And snowflakes. Every snowfall
has countless millions of them, yet few
of us take time to focus on their finer,
astonishing details. So heres a tip: if
youre in the snow-loving part of the
population, go outside with a pocket
magnifier in the next snowfall and stick
your arm out for a few seconds.
If you can see some flakes, youre
in luck. Next step is to try to look at
individual flakes through the magnifier.
Prepare to be amazed. Youll see a
six-sided structure, whose finest details
may never have been observed in quite
that combination. Linkage of water
molecules is behind the symmetry.
Complexity of freezing clouds boosts
the variations. Natural art is the
outcome.
Web tip www2.warwick.ac.uk/
knowledge/science/snowflake/
Some other things to look for in autumn:

Red deer stags roaring; salmon leaping at waterfalls; starling roost gatherings; colours of
bramble leaves.
www.snh.gov.uk
Winter
Hang out with
the buntings
Peak experiences
possible
The pleasures
of plumbing
The snow bunting is the hardiest

perching bird in the northern world, able
to live and breed closer to the pole than
any other. Around the arctic and a little
way to the south, it can be a familiar
sight around settlements. Cock birds,
striking in black-and-white plumage,
like to sing from rooftops as more
camouflaged hens search for seeds
and insects nearby.
A few snow buntings breed in
Scotlands high mountains. But the
best time to see these tough and bonny
little birds is winter, when flocks from
far to the north (mainly Iceland) make
landfall.
They have a particular liking for soft,
sandy shores fringed with tall grasses
along parts of the eastern seaboard. So
places such as Culbin Sands and the
Loch Fleet and Tentsmuir NNRs can be
worth a close look.
Another excellent location for
spotting snow buntings in winter is the
main car park on Cairngorm Mountain
(where some birds may be locals).
And if youre blessed with seasonal
good luck here, you might even see
some with a few reindeer grazing in the
background.
Web tip www.caithness.org/
caithnessfieldclub/bulletins/1992/
wintering_snow_buntings.htm
Sometimes wider than the whole

sky viewed from any point on Earth.
Shimmering, strange, unpredictable.
Merry Dancers. Aurora borealis.
Northern Lights. Often imagined, much
less often seen.
Auroras result from the push and
pull of both sun-generated and Earthproduced particles and forces. The sun
emits sub-atomic protons and electrons
that ride a solar wind of magnetic
field lines and can meet Earths own
magnetic force field.
Drawn in over polar regions, solar
particles collide with terrestrial gases.
Release of energy from these collisions,
often as green or red light, is what
powers and colours auroras.
Theyre visible every day from space.
But seeing a good aurora from ground
level in the northern world usually
requires a big explosion from a sunspot
region facing Earth during autumn and
winter. Sunspot numbers peak and
trough roughly every eleven years, and
the good news is that were now at a
peak.
So keep venturing out on clear
nights over the next few months and
you may have the best chance for the
next decade of ogling those Merry
Dancers.
Web tip www.spaceweather.com
Old leaves in winter woodland can

reveal beautiful patterns. Beyond the
fading of tones after autumn, decay can
generate natural art.
Once the cells across most of a leaf
have rotted away, what remains for a
while can be the internal plumbing: the
veins that carried water to and from
those cells when alive. The network of
veins, some thick, some fine as filigree,
can look amazing.
Finding leaf skeletons in the wild
can be tricky. To speed the process
(including to provide material for an art
project, perhaps), you could try several
methods. Holly and aspen can both be
good sources of potential skeletons.
Simplest is to let some leaves sit
in water for weeks. You can also try
boiling leaves in weak solutions of
washing soda or household bleach.
Then take the leaves from the brew and
try to tweak out remaining cells with a
paintbrush. All of these methods are
smelly and the last two are best done
with protective gloves.
Compare different websites and
experiment with leaf types, timings and
quantities to fine-tune. Then add glue
and imagination, to preserve according
to taste.
Web tip Use Make leaf skeleton as
a search term, and compare sites.
Some other things to look for in winter:
The waning moon in the night sky; purple sandpipers on rocky shores; squirrel dreys high in
bare branches; robins singing winter songs.
www.snh.gov.uk
1
Game fairs and events
across Scotland were
well attended in a
glorious summer.
2
Our Scotlands Big 5
voting game proved
popular with all ages.
3
The Minister for
Environment and
Climate Change, Paul
Wheelhouse, was on
hand at several events
to lend his support to
Year of Natural
Scotland.
The popular Scotlands Big 5 campaign

caught your imagination, raising lots
of discussion about what is important
about our natural environment.
The campaign, led by SNH and
VisitScotland, celebrated our countrys
iconic species whilst encouraging
local Scots and visitors to find out
more about our stunning wildlife and
landscapes. Many organisations
developed their own top five species,
including Edinburgh Zoo, Highland
Wildlife Park, the Scottish Sea Bird
Centre and the Royal Botanic Gardens
to name but a few.
At the end of the day, although
each poll has its own winner, the real
benefit has been the fun and exciting
way that people have joined the
debate about what is important for our
countrys natural heritage, Visit www.
visitscotland.com/snh to check on the
outcome of the Scotlands Big 5 vote.
Creativity and nature
Year of Natural Scotland saw a wide
variety of projects exploring and
celebrating the long standing links
between nature and the arts. From
living sculptures in forests, performance
picnics and scavenger hunts, to sound
maps, songs and theatre inspired by
the natural world, a range of creative
activity has been funded by Creative
Scotland and SNH. This has resulted
in a blossoming of new partnerships
Looking back
Year of Natural Scotland set out to encourage everyone to enjoy
and admire Scotlands stunning landscapes and magnificent
wildlife. As the year draws to a close we reflect on a busy time.
10
How did you celebrate the Year

of Natural Scotland? We know
that, in the early part of the year
at least, there were more people
visiting the outdoors during this
special year. Many of you were
rising to the challenge of doing
something new or different to
get involved with our natural
environment. Together with
partners across the public and
private sector, SNH offered
a wide range of activities and
events to tempt you out and
about and these appear to have
been well received.
www.snh.gov.uk
between a range of organisations from

the creative and environment sectors
and encouraged people from across
Scotland to experience and enjoy our
nature and landscapes in new ways.
Going mobile
Taking advantage of new digital
technology, SNH produced three free
apps to help you enjoy and explore
our country during the Year of Natural
Scotland and beyond. The View from
the Train app features the sounds and
sights of the wildlife and landscapes,
combined with history and cultural
information, along our most popular
train routes. The Scotlands Big 5 app
and Scotlands Nature apps both offer
more information about our wildlife
and landscapes to help you explore
Scotland.
John Muir
When John Muir made his mark the
digital age was but a dream. But today
his legacy spans the generations, and
2013 marked the 175th anniversary
of the birth of a Scotsman known
as the Father of the National Parks
movement. As part of the Big April
Adventure, many of you attended
events celebrating John Muir and his
work, held on National Nature Reserves
across Scotland. Next year, the Year of
Homecoming Scotland 2014, will see
the launch of the John Muir Way during

a ten day festival in April.
Young People
Through a partnership with Young Scot,
young people throughout Scotland got
on board with Year of Natural Scotland
by sharing their experiences of our
wonderful natural resources on social
media.
The year isnt over yet, but as we
move towards 2014 its clear that
Scotland took celebrating wildlife,
biodiversity, people and a sense of
place to a new level in 2013.
11
route suitable for bikes, push-chairs

or the fleet of foot! However, the high
point of the route is the Stoneymollan
road from Balloch to Helensburgh,
which offers superb views over Loch
Lomond and the distant mountains.
Whatever the weather dishes up for
you, its an exhilarating experience to
walk over this final section, an ancient
coffin road to Helensburghs fine town,
scenic pier and sumptuous diversity of
refreshments.
Clear route marking
The route is being designed to take
in the best views, remote areas, and
cultural, historical and natural heritage
sites. We will of course try to ensure
that anyone using the route wont get
lost! New way-marking, printed maps
and a mobile website should provide
assistance to most people, so you
wont need advanced navigational skills
to complete this cross-country route.
The route is truly intended for
everyone. You dont need any special
kit unless youre planning to do it end
to end. Take it in five-mile stretches or
from village to town, just do it your way!
Marking John Muirs legacy
John Muir Festival
Ashleigh Tooth unveils plans for Scotland to permanently recognise the contribution
of one of the world's greatest conservationists with a new long-distance path.
It is a surprisingly little-known fact that

John Muir was a Scot and that it was
in Scotland he first fell in love with
nature. The father of the National Park
movement is revered in many nations
and now Scotland is set to recognise
his amazing achievements by opening
the spectacular coast-to-coast John
Muir Way in 2014. This latest great trail
will be a significant route, stretching
across Scotlands heartland for almost
134 miles (215 km).
Running between John Muirs
birthplace of Dunbar on the east coast,
and Helensburgh on the west, near
the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs
National Park, it will offer the traveller
Roman garrisons, castles and palaces
12
as it rolls through woodlands, meadows

and over gentle hills.
And, of course, the calm waters of
two famous canals will never be too
far away. The canals in question are
the Union and Forth/Clyde, the latter
as Scotlands first canal having been
extremely important for our fishing trade
and opened in 1790.
What are the best bits?
This will be a natural question from
long-distance trail enthusiasts and daytrippers alike, and its easy to answer!
From Dunbar, the route will in the main
follow the current John Muir Way to the
outskirts of Edinburgh and then zig-zag
through the leafiest and most scenic

suburbs of the city.
Walking west, historical highlights
will surely include the much under-rated
Blackness Castle on the Firth of Forth;
the seaport which in medieval times
served the royal burgh of Linlithgow.
The castle was built in the 15th century
by one of Scotlands most powerful
families, the Crichtons, but in 1453 it
became a royal castle and its enduring
roles were those of garrison fortress
and state prison!
It makes good sense that the new
trail intends to use the Strathkelvin
Railway Path near Strathblane. Here the
route can follow last centurys trading
tracks and will be a speedy bit of the
Muirs writings
became a personal
guide into nature
for countless
individuals.
1
The route is designed
to take in some of the
best views around
Loch Lomond.
2
Off road cyclists will
find several parts of
the route to their liking.
www.snh.gov.uk
major opportunity to recognise his

contributions to conservation globally.
And what a contribution he made
across a range of subjects. He was
noted for being an ecological thinker
whose writings became a personal
guide into nature for countless
individuals. He was also a mountaineer,
a geologist, a naturalist, an explorer, an
inventor, a glaciologist and, of course, a
conservationist.
Muirs environmental activism
helped save the Yosemite Valley,
the area now known as the Sequoia
National Park and other wilderness
areas in the USA, earning him the
title of father of the national parks
movement. In 1892 he founded
the Sierra Club and became its first
president, a position he held until his
death in 1914. The club now enjoys
a membership of well over 750,000
across many states in the USA and has
helped inspire similar bodies such as
Friends of the Earth.
If the John Muir Way in
Scotland can come to symbolise his
achievements and inspire the next
generation of outdoor enthusiasts then
the great man himself would surely be
very proud indeed. Heres to a legacy
that should finally show that Scotland
celebrates John Muir in some style.
From 17 April through to 26 April there

will be a 10 day John Muir Festival. This
Festival will be one of the major events
in Homecoming Scotland 2014, and
will provide numerous opportunities
for people of all ages to celebrate
and explore the life and legacy of
John Muir. Look out for details of the
Festival programme being developed by
partners including SNH, EventScotland,
Creative Scotland and East Lothian
Council. Building on the Festival,
SNH will be supporting a number of
events and activities to encourage more
people to get out and enjoy the John
Muir Way which will officially open on
21 April.
Whats in a name ?
Given that Muir was born in Dunbar,
its ironic that to date Scotland hasnt
really celebrated his achievements
and philosophy. But this is a
13
Choosing a national
tree for Scotland
Ask anyone what makes the landscapes
of Scotland so stunning and trees are
likely to be part of the answer.
Homecoming 2014:
a natural opportunity
In 2014 Scotland welcomes
the world to join in an exciting
Year of Homecoming. This will
be an opportunity to reinforce
Scotlands position on the
international stage as a beautiful,
dynamic and creative nation
whilst building on the benefits
of hosting the Commonwealth
Games and Ryder Cup.
A year-long programme of inspirational
events and festivals are planned for
2014 and will fall broadly into five
themes:
Creative,
Active,
Natural,
Ancestral, and
Food and drink.
One natural highlight will be the
John Muir Festival which will run
between 17 and 26 April. During that
festival the new John Muir Way will
open on 21 April and this extended
14
route will be a fitting celebration of his

remarkable legacy.
Homecoming is a celebration of
Scotland both for those who call it
home and for those with links to, or an
interest in Scotland. The wild, rugged
natural landscapes will be a huge draw,
as will the fabulous wildlife that the
nation boasts. Stunning scenery and
iconic species will give the perfect
backdrop to a year-long welcome to the
world.
The Commonwealth Games come
to Glasgow in 2014 and, whilst the
focus will be on our elite athletes, the
intention is that the atmosphere and
experience will encourage others to
participate by boat, bike and foot in the
aftermath. The Glasgow Games will
be the 20th in one of the worlds most
enjoyable multi-sports events.
The golfing highlight of the year will
undoubtedly be the world class Ryder
Cup at Gleneagles. Golf is a hugely
popular pastime in Scotland and the
splendid scenery and wildlife around
our golf courses will be in the spotlight
Our forests and woodlands are

the envy of many countries and
they have helped shape what
Scotland is today. Our trees are
great. They provide thousands
of jobs through timber, support
tourism, boost healthy lifestyles
and are natures own carbon
sink. Forests and woodlands are
also home to some of the most
amazing animals, birds, insects,
and lichens.
nations trees and woodlands highly

and are concerned at the number of
tree diseases hitting our woodlands
just think of the widespread media
attention that ash dieback caused.
On a more positive note, however,
one member of the public took a
different approach to celebrating
our trees. Last year, Alex Hamilton
campaigned for the naming of a
National Tree of Scotland. Through a
petition to the Scottish Parliament, Mr
Hamilton garnered cross-party support
for a national tree and the Scottish
Government responded quickly. A
The oldest living thing in Europe is the
three-month consultation is underway
Fortingall Yew said to be anywhere
to find out if the public in Scotland
between 3,000 to 5,000 years old so would like a national tree and, if so,
it is no wonder that trees are embedded which species.
in our rich culture and heritage.
The designation of a national
The letters of the Gaelic alphabet
tree would be symbolic in nature,
each take their names from trees native highlighting the great importance of
to Scotland, and the graves of ancient
trees, woods and forests to Scotlands
Scottish warriors and clan chiefs were
communities, wildlife, culture and
said to be marked with a Scots pine
economy.
tree. On the grimmer side, trees were
When better to do this than during
regularly used as gallows.
Year of Natural Scotland, the most
Trees are also fundamental to our
appropriate occasion to raise the
myths and legends. For example, the
profile of some of our much loved tree
rowan, particularly on the west coast
species. Whether you are a fan of the
of Scotland, is said to have powers to
rowan, Scots pine, hazel, yew, or have
ward off witches and evil spirits. So, it is a particular affection for the aspen..
fair to say we have a great affection for everyone has a chance to join in and
our trees in Scotland.
make their views known.
Forestry Commission Scotlands
The consultation closes on 3
own surveys suggest that around three December 2013 with a decision being
quarters of us have visited woodlands
made sometime early in 2014.
recently and about the same amount
To get involved log on to www.
would really like to get out into a
forestry.gov.uk/scotlandsnationaltree.
woodland at least once a month. Most
would like to see more trees planted
too. The people of Scotland value the
Loch Shiel typifies the

spectacular Highland
scenery.
during and after this internationally

famous competition.
Other events with a natural focus
will include the Orkney Nature Festival.
Now well established, this features a
week-long feast of activities and events
celebrating the nature of Orkney.
Amongst the highlights are boat trips
to uninhabited islands, cruises to
spectacular and noisy seabird colonies,
and bird watching across a range of
islands.
Scotlands first ever Year of
Homecoming took place in 2009 and
was a great success. 95,000 visitors
were introduced to all that Scotland
has to offer and an additional 53m
was generated in tourism revenue.
There is every reason to expect a similar
success in 2014.
www.snh.gov.uk
15
How can we help nature

adapt to climate change?
Christina Bell leads much of our work on tackling climate change. Here she describes
how a new approach on our National Nature Reserves is leading the way.
Climate change poses one of the
biggest threats to Scotlands nature
and landscapes. Of course, there will
be some winners, but some wildlife
we hold dear will suffer. Whilst our
climate has changed over thousands of
years, the rate and scale of change now
appears to be far greater than recorded
previously with the underlying
cause being the growing emissions
of greenhouse gases associated with
human activity.
SNH is playing a key role in
responding to climate change, both to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions (what
we call mitigation) and to prepare for
the new conditions climate change will
bring (adaptation to change).
Nature helps us cope with climate
change in many ways, not least through:
Storing carbon, and so reducing the
effects of carbon dioxide emissions;
and
Sustaining ecosystems, which if kept
healthy, will provide food and water,
and help control flooding, disease
and pest outbreaks, and pollutants.
16
And of course, healthy ecosystems

work in our favour, so we want to do
what we can to achieve good health.
Working across our National Nature
Reserves (NNRs) we are endeavouring
to lead on new ways of managing these
areas to cope with a changing climate.
Let us look at two aspects.
Reducing other pressures
Climate change is not the only threat to
our natural systems; many face other
pressures. Loch Leven NNR, midway between Edinburgh and Perth, is
surrounded by towns, villages, arable
farming and industry, and has long
battled with water pollution. Its nutrientrich waters support abundant food
sources, which make it attractive to a
wealth of birds.
Run-off from farms and discharge
from domestic and industrial sources
led to a build-up of nutrients in the
Loch, particularly phosphorus. This
caused algal blooms which reduced the
clarity of the water, so that plants could
only grow in shallow water. This in turn

reduced the diversity and abundance of
plants and invertebrates in the Loch.
Research here has shown that
climate change can make problems
with poor water quality even worse.
During warm, dry and calm weather,
algal blooms can occur naturally,
but are made worse by too many
nutrients. So, if we can reduce the
nutrients entering Loch Leven we can
help future-proof the site against the
warmer, drier summers of the future.
SNH and partners are working
on a catchment management plan
which is already leading to significant
improvements in the quality of the water
discharged into the Loch. We are doing
this through:
Improving farming practices to
reduce soil and fertiliser run-off; and
Upgrading and regulating waste
water management in the catchment.
And the great news is that aquatic
plants have already responded,
growing once more in deeper water
and returning to some of the shores
where they had all but disappeared.

The ecosystem now stands a better
chance of adapting to climate change.
loss. Shallow freshwater pools at the

edge of the saltmarsh, or merse, as its
known locally, provide ideal habitat for
breeding natterjacks. In the longer term
Planning for change
if sea levels rise as a result of climate
change it is possible that the freshwater
We cant save everything; as the
marsh will revert to merse or even
climate changes there will be winners
mudflats. In this event we will need to
and losers among our species. The
look at how to facilitate the creation
coast is ever changing but rising sea
of freshwater and brackish coastal
levels increase the likelihood of flooding. habitats to maintain this important
Caerlaverock NNR on the Solway Firth habitat and the species that depend
is a coastline dominated by saltmarsh
on it.
and vulnerable to coastal squeeze.
There is only limited space to move
inland by a natural process of retreat,
so the Caerlaverock NNR team have
been working with others since 2002
to help the natterjacks adapt. Shallow
pools have been excavated on farmland
inland of the reserve to give the isolated
populations of this species a chance
Swathes of saltmarsh and other coastal to boost breeding success despite the
habitats are trapped between the rising rising sea. A small amount of salt water
inundation helps to kill off predators
sea on one side and sea walls and
such as fish and larger aquatic
various uses of the land on the other.
invertebrates which would otherwise
So, here we want to try and free up
eat the toads eggs and tadpoles. So,
some space for nature, but how?
we need to strike just the right balance!
Caerlaverock is home to the most
For further examples of how we are
northerly population of natterjack toads
helping nature adapt see: www.snh.
(Epidalea calamita) in Britain, and this
gov.uk/climatechange
is particularly vulnerable to habitat
Climate changes see

winners and losers
among our species.
www.snh.gov.uk
1
Loch Leven National
Nature Reserve is
benefiting from
projects to improve
water quality.
2
At Caerlaverock steps
are being taken to
improve the habitat for
natterjack toads.
17
Ask any Scottish police officer about Norman Morrison

and theyll tell you he was the co-founder of the Scottish
Police Federation but its unlikely theyll know he was also
a pioneer in the study of Scotlands reptiles. Along the way,
he published collections of Hebridean folklore and was
one of the first photographers to portray the people of the
Western Isles. David O'Brien tells us more.
Although the crofters son from Lewis
had only two years of schooling, he
became recognised as the foremost
authority on adders in Great Britain.
His observations were published in the
scientific journal Nature, he attained a
doctorate from a French institute, was
elected a Fellow of the Royal Zoological
Society of Scotland and he spoke
before scientific gatherings in London,
Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Morrison turned his enquiring mind
to many aspects of nature, from the
eel to the humble rat, but he always
returned to his fascination with reptiles
and in particular the adder.
There had been others before
him who had studied Scotlands
reptiles, but Morrison was the first to
apply a modern scientific approach.
He had a meticulous eye for detail
and was not afraid to contradict the
recognised experts of his day when his
observations did not square with theirs.
Morrisons interest in nature began
when he was a boy growing up in
the small village of Shawbost on the
west coast of Lewis in the 1870s
and 1880s. In his autobiography he
described his observations of slowworms in the nearby moors, as well
as a wide variety of other animals.
He enjoyed the little time he had at
school but the Education Act took
time to take effect in his community
and much of his childhood was spent
helping his parents or searching for
wildlife amongst the spectacular Lewis
countryside. He left school at twelve
and after a short and unsuccessful
stint as a fisherman, which earned him
his by-name of Tormodan T-Seladair
(Norman the sailor), he travelled south
to Glasgow and embarked on a career
as a policeman.
Adder man
18
www.snh.gov.uk
A self-taught enthusiast
During his time in the police force he
was a champion of the fledgling union
movement and wrote extensively. He
still found time, however, to devote to
his studies of the natural world. Before
the advent of terms like citizen science
and in an era when most naturalists
were gentlemen of means, Morrison
taught himself through books, debate
and diligent examination of nature.
He was respected by scientists from
Britain and the Empire, as well as
Europe and America. His careful study
of the adder in particular was only
equalled in the 1970s some fifty years
after the publication of his book The
life-story of the adder.
At a time when most people,
including many scientists, felt that
the only good snake was a dead
snake, Morrison called for adders to
be recognised for their important role
in maintaining the balance of nature
by eating rodents, and warned of
their decline. His writings advocated
the protection of these timid snakes
rather than their persecution. He also
proposed that snake venom could have
an important role in the fight against
cancer, an area of research which has
recently yielded interesting results.
It is difficult to single out one piece
of work from his scientific career, his
literary output or his campaigning for
a fairer society. Perhaps his greatest
legacy is that he showed that a selftaught enthusiast could reach the top of
his chosen field.
If you would like to find out more
about Norman Morrisons life and work,
including online versions of his books,
visit www.tormod.co.uk.
1
Norman Morrison had
a life-long interest in
adders.
2
The adder is the only
snake you are likely to
see in Scotland.
3
Despite leaving school
when only 12, Norman
co-founded the
Scottish Police
Federation.
19
Ruairidh MacIlleathain guides us through the fascinating Inches

the Gaelic-named islands of Loch Lomond.
Dualchas coitcheann
Common heritage
20
Loch nan Innsean
Loch of the Inches
Tha am facal innis a nochdadh ann an grunn riochdan ann an ainmean-tre na

h-Alba mar eilean, dail an cois abhainn no cluain a th air a cuairteachadh le
coille, am measg eile. Tha e gu math cumanta air feadh Alba, mar as trice le
dreach mar inch no insh air ann am Beurla (me Inchinnan, Inchmarnoch, Inshes,
Loch Insh).
Tha beachd-smuain de eilean ite air a chuairteachadh le rainn de shersa
eile co-cheangailte ri gach ciall dheth. Ach, an-diugh, s e eilean talmhaidh ann
an uisge an aon chiall nach eil be anns a chnan, agus am facal eilean fhin,
a thathar an dil a thinig on t-Seann Lochlannais, air a ghabhail thairis. Mar sin,
fhuair eilean air a bheil innis ainm o chionn fhada.
S e an t-ite as fherr far am faicear innis a riochdachadh eilean an-diugh
ceann a deas Loch Laomainn, far a bheil dusan dhiubh ann an crileagan, agus
iad uile bragha, eachdraidheil is luachmhor a thaobh ndar. S dcha gur e an
t-eilean as aithnichte dhiubh don mhr-shluagh Innis Cailleach (Inchcailloch), far
an do chuir a Bhan-naomh Caintigern (chaochail 734 AC) taigh chailleachandubha air chois. S i a tha ainmichte ann am Bealach Mo Cha (Balmaha) faisg air
limh; s e Mo Cha frith-ainm a bh air an naomh.
Tha d eilean eile aig a bheil ceangal do phearsaichean eaglais Innis Mearain
(Inchmurrin), ainmichte airson Naomh Mearain, a tha co-cheangailte gu lidir ri
Pislig, agus Innis Taigh a Mhanaich (Inchtavannach), far an robh manachainn
uaireigin, agus aig a bheil ceangal eachdraidheil do Naomh Ceasag (a th air a
chuimhneachadh an d chuid anns an sgre sin agus ann an Inbhir Nis).
Tha ceithir eileanan a faighinn an ainmean bhon cumaidhean an Innis
Chruinn (Inchcruin) bho rubha cruinn air an taobh an ear dheth, a Chlr-Innis
(Clairinch) eilean cmhnard, Trr-Innis (Torrinch) eilean le creag rd, agus
an Innis Fhada (Inchfad), a tha gu dearbh fada an coimeas ri a leud. Agus tha
ndar co-cheangailte ri ainmean tr eileanan Innis Lnaig (Inchlonaig) eilean na
boglaich bhig, far an deach craobhan-iubhair a chur le Rgh Raibeart Brus, a rir
beul-aithris, Boc-Innis (Bucinch) eilean nam boc goibhre agus a Chraobh Innis
(Creinch), a thathar an dil a bha craobhach nuair a bha na h-eileanan eile lom.
Tha Innis Mna (Inchmoan) a cuimhneachadh mar a bhiodh muinntir Luis a
falbh a-mach don eilean airson mine fhaighinn, agus thathar a mneachadh Innis
Chonachain (Inchconnachan) mar eilean Clann a Chombaich.
Tha grunn eileanan beaga air Loch Laomainn nach eil ainmichte le innis, agus
tha dil gu bheil na h-ainmean sin nas ire na n fheadhainn eile ach tha ts
Gidhlig aca uile. S iad A Cherdach (Ceardach), far an robhar a danamh obair
le meatailt uaireigin, Eilean a Bhth (Island I Vow), Eilean Darach (Ellanderroch),
Fraoch Eilean (Fraoch Island) agus Eilean an Tairbeirt (Tarbet Isle).
Among the meanings of the widespread

Gaelic place-name element innis
(pronounced IN-ish) are island, riverine
meadow or clearing in a forest. It is
usually anglicised inch or insh as in
Inchinnan, Inchmarnoch, Inshes and
Loch Insh. Its likely original meaning of
island in water is no longer active in
the language, having been superseded
by the Norse-derived eilean. Island
names with innis are therefore very old.
Perhaps the best place to see Innis
island names is the southern end of
Loch Lomond where there are a dozen
in close proximity, the best known of
which is probably Inchcailloch, off
Balmaha; this is Innis Cailleach, island
of nuns, named for the monastery
established by St Kentigerna (died
734 AD). Two other islands bear
religious references Inchmurrin (Innis
Mearain), named for St Mirren (who
has strong connections to Paisley), and
Inchtavannach (Innis Taigh a Mhanaich)
the island of the monastery, which is
connected to St Kessock.
Four islands derive their names from
their shapes or profiles. Inchcruin is
Innis Chruinn round island, named for a
peninsula on its eastern side, Clairinch
is Clr-Innis flat island, Torrinch is
Trr-Innis, named for a high rock on its
south-western end and Inchfad is Innis
Fhada long island. The names of three
islands have links to nature Inchlonaig
(Innis Lnaig) island of the small bog,
Bucinch (Boc-Innis) island of billy
goats and Creinch (Craobh-Innis) tree
island.
Inchmoan (Innis Mna) peat island
reminds us that this was a source of
fuel for the people of Luss in olden
times, and Inchconnachan is thought to
mean isle of the Colquhouns.

An sealladh gu tuath
Innis Cailleach thairis
air an Innis Fhada gu
Innis Lnaig agus
ceann a tuath Loch
Laomainn. Air an taobh
dheas, tha Beinn
Laomainn a thug a
h-ainm don loch fhin.
www.snh.gov.uk

Looking north from
Inchcailloch over
Inchfad to Inchlonaig
and the northern end of
Loch Lomond. To the
right is Ben Lomond,
which gave its name to
the loch.
21
NEWS
NEWS
Plant tracker
Invasive non-native plant species are
a threat to native wildlife in the UK.
The first step in tackling this problem
is accurately determining where these
plants are. Now a brand-new app is
able to help build a comprehensive
picture of the UKs invasive, non-native
plant species.
Spreading quickly across
the country, invasive non-native
plants displace native species and
detrimentally affect the ecology of many
vulnerable habitats. Some even pose
a considerable threat to human health.
These plants also present a large
financial cost to the UK economy with
the annual cost of all invasive, nonnative species totalling some 2 billion.
The PlantTracker app, available free
from the iTunes App Store and Android
Market, shows you how to identify
each species and enables you to easily
The Isle of May is one of our most interesting National
submit geo-located photos whenever
Nature Reserves. It provides not only a wonderful visitor
experience but also a haven for a whole host of seabirds and you find one. The app now features 14
invasive plant species and also includes
researchers. As such its often a useful barometer on the
a Confusion Species gallery for each
fortunes of some of our seabird species.
We are still gathering our statistics and comparing them one, to help you separate some of
the similar-looking plants you might
to previous years but the early signs are reasonable for our
encounter.
45,000 or so puffins. Many readers will recall the puffin
One potential bonus of the new
wreck in spring when 3,500 dead puffins were found along
app
is an increase in our knowledge of
the east coast. However, by the end of the breeding season
species
distribution. A recent Sealife
the population is about the same as five years ago. Puffin
Tracker
app
resulted in species being
breeding this year was about three weeks later than normal,
recorded
in
new
10km squares and this
but incredibly compressed into just a few busy weeks.
has
already
happened
countless times
Sadly our kittiwakes have endured a very poor year, with
with
PlantTracker.
fewer birds breeding. The reasons are not entirely clear and
You can see how PlantTracker is
perhaps down to a combination of factors, but the bottom
peforming
by following the Nature
line is that the kittiwake population on the May has dropped
Locator
Facebook
page www.
in the last 20 years from 8000 pairs to 2000 pairs and
facebook.com/NatureLocator
and
this season is a big disappointment after they enjoyed a
Twitter
account
(@NatureLocator)
productive year in 2012.
Kittiwake concern
22
Clean up Scotland
Keep Scotland Beautiful is an
independent charity which campaigns,
acts and educates on a range of
environmental issues which affect
peoples quality of life. It is committed
Lots of us already know where to go to enjoy the great
to making Scotland clean and green.
outdoors and appreciate nature, but because of barriers,
Clean Up Scotland is their newly
such as budget, culture and confidence, many dont. A
launched
campaign which aims to
recent SNH project, Simple Pleasures within Underquickly
remove
litter and mess so
Represented Communities, has started to change this.
Scotland
shines
when the world
SNHs funding always benefits the natural heritage,
is
watching
in
2014.
By gradually
but funding projects directly for people can make a huge
changing
behaviour
littering
should
difference, not just to their knowledge and appreciation of
become
as
unacceptable
in
future as
the natural heritage but also to their lives.
drink-driving
is
today.
Open Aye was commissioned to facilitate work with
Scotland is famous worldwide
groups from six under-represented communities. Becky
for
its
scenery and landscape and by
Duncan of Open Aye uses participative photography to bond
taking
pride in how it appears we can
groups, empower people, share the wonders of nature and
show
it
to its best advantage. Litter also
explore new and wild places.
poses
a
hazard to wildlife, and detracts
Her approach was simple: to teach photographic
from
local
parks and greenspaces
techniques to the participants, starting close to home but
where
people
can enjoy nature.
outdoors, regardless of weather! Gradually she ranged
Keep
Scotland
Beautiful is putting
further from home with her groups, exploring Local and
together
a
national
coalition of
National Nature Reserves and a National Park, taking in
supporters
for
Clean
Up Scotland,
seascapes, woodland, hills and lochs.
including
politicians
and
government,
The results indicate that being exposed to the
public
bodies
and
charities.
combination of inspiring landscapes and an expert facilitator,
How can you help? Clean Up
sees participants grow in ability and self-confidence.
Scotland
is asking people across
Some of the participants were recovering from mental
Scotland
to get involved by helping
health illnesses and described experiencing new beauty,
to
free
their
communities of litter
balance and tranquillity in their lives. Their attendance and
and
graffiti,
reporting
incidences of
interest grew and developed, with some seeing the course
flytipping
and
abandoned
vehicles, and
as a creative lifeline in their recovery process.
responsibly
disposing
of
litter.

To celebrate the project, Becky arranged an exhibition
So
far
this
year
over
70,000
people
of the participants photos in Kelvingrove Museum, and on
have
joined
the
campaign
and
taken
its opening about 50 of the participants came to share their
part in litter-picks across the length
enthusiasm, as well as to see each others creations. Their
of Scotland why not join them? You
enjoyment and appreciation of our natural heritage shone
can register for free kit and back the
through in every image.
campaign at www.cleanupscotland.
com.
Open Aye opened eyes
www.snh.gov.uk
23
NEWS
NEWS
Ferry good news

The Blomers rivulet, a moth not
previously recorded in Scotland, has
been spotted for the first time by
members of Butterfly Conservation at
Lochaline.
The discovery came from a group
whiling away the hours waiting for a
ferry to Mull. The delicately patterned
grey and rusty brown moth wasnt
thought to be present in Scotland and
indeed is classed as nationally scarce
in England and Wales too.
The moths identity was confirmed
by moth expert Roy Leverton, who
noted that This is a most unlikely
find. I could just about have imagined
it turning up in the Borders, or even
Dumfries and Galloway, but not this far
north.
Highland branch member Margaret
Currie, of Culbokie, had the presence
of mind to take some photographs, and
said the moth was spotted low down in
a hazel tree. The moth takes its name
from 18th century naturalist Charles
Blomer, and is thought to only be on
the wing from June to July.
Paul Kirkland, director of Butterfly
Conservation Scotland said; This
is a very exciting find, and it shows
that there are corners of the country
where new moth colonies can still be
discovered.
24
Five go wild camping
Marine Protected
Areas consultation
The Scottish Government is asking for peoples views on a
proposed network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
Susan Davies, Director of Policy and Advice for
Scottish Natural Heritage, said: This consultation is an
important opportunity for people to have their say on how
Scotlands seas should be managed in the future. Our seas
are biologically rich, special and an important economic
resource. The right balance between interests such as
renewables, fishing and recreation and the management of
these special places can be achieved.
The consultation will last for 16 weeks until 13 November
2013. Marine Scotland and SNH are hosting a series of
events around Scotland including drop-in sessions in coastal
communities close to the possible MPAs. These events
provide an opportunity for the public to get to know more
about their local seas and discuss the proposals.
Times and dates of events are available on the Scottish
Government website at - http://www.scotland.gov.uk/
Topics/marine/marine-consultation/events
Information about the possible sites in Scottish
inshore waters can be found on the Protecting Scotlands
Nature pages of the SNH website at www.snh.gov.uk/
protecting-scotlands-nature/protected-areas/nationaldesignations/mpa-consultations/
To submit a consultation response visit the Scottish
Government website at www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/
marine/marine-consultation
The African word Imbewu, meaning seed in Zulu,

symbolises the potential for growth from small
beginnings. This is the basis for an exciting new
rural skills initiative, Imbewu Scotland, being run
jointly by Wilderness Foundation UK and Scottish
Land & Estates across Scotland, with funding
support from SNH.
Imbewu Scotland aims to increase
understanding of ecological issues and
sustainable land management, enabling young
people to develop an awareness and love of
nature and the outdoors, while opening their eyes
to future career opportunities within the rural
sector.
In early summer, five young people set out
on the very first Imbewu Scotland journey, which
took them from the comfort of their urban homes
into the wild heart of the Scottish Cairngorms.
With wilderness guides, they navigated their way
through remote areas, wild camping and following
Leave No Trace principles.
Learning first-hand from those who live and
work in Scotlands beautiful countryside, they
were able to tap into knowledge of land use and
management acquired over many generations.
The group spent time with the head stalker
of the National Trust for Scotlands Mar Lodge
Estate, learning about field sports and deer
management, and found out how to spot wildlife
crime with the local Wildlife Crime Officer.
With Estate Rangers they discovered local
wildlife and took part in a practical conservation
task repairing brash fencing to protect native
trees from deer. They heard about the wide
www.snh.gov.uk
range of employment, training and volunteering

opportunities in the rural sector, from
gamekeeping to wildlife tourism and guiding. Each
participant was awarded a John Muir Discovery
Award and Leave No Trace accreditation in
recognition of their achievements.
Contact with nature undoubtedly inspires our
young people, developing in them a respect for
the natural world and a deeper understanding
of the interdependence of humans and nature;
hopefully this will ensure that they continue to
enjoy and protect our wild places in the future.
Nature provided them not only with aesthetic
enjoyment but a classroom in which they learned
the value of balancing nature conservation ideals
with economic land management goals.
In this Year of Natural Scotland, John Muirs
clarion call to come to the woods is being
answered by more and more of us as we seek
respite from what can be a frenzied modern
world. Imbewu Scotland is hopefully sowing the
seeds of a new generation of environmentalists
who, assisted by land managers, can help bring
Muirs conservation message to an increasingly
urbanised society disconnected from nature and
wild places.
In partnership with Scottish Land & Estates,
the Wilderness Foundation is running Imbewu
Scotland as a two-year pilot approach to reconnecting young people to the land.
Further information from:
Fiona@wildernessfoundation.org.uk
www.wildernessfoundation.org.uk
25
Wild Scotland
Chris West, chief executive
of the Royal Zoological
Society of Scotland, sheds
light on the developing links
between his organisation
and Scottish Natural
Heritage.
An organisation whose profile is
more closely associated with a
pair of black and white bamboochomping bears than native
species conservation may seem
an unusual bedfellow for SNH.
But the Royal Zoological Society
of Scotland (RZSS) has been
quietly working in partnership
with SNH for a number of years,
offering support and expertise
derived from over a century of
captive breeding and scientific
research.
Somewhat intriguingly, we are

part of an international award-winning
breeding programme for the Partula
snail, which is now completely extinct
in the wild. Hidden away in a small
off-show area of Edinburgh Zoo due
to the conditions they require in order
to survive and thrive, we house a
collection of tiny, exotic snails.
Closer to home however, native
species conservation is very much
a priority for us, hence the need for
collaboration with SNH and others.
aspect of the overall plan which is being

led by SNH. Our extensive knowledge
of managing animals and our success in
captive breeding make us the obvious
choice for this work, which will involve
a facility purpose built for the breeding
and reintroduction of wildcats of known
genetic make-up.
More recently, our pioneering
Wildgenes Laboratory in Edinburgh,
which provides DNA analysis services
to zoos worldwide, has been analysing
scat samples to provide a rapid means
of distinguishing wildcats from cats of
Flagship projects
domestic ancestry and ultimately help
in determining a true picture of what the
We are working on a number of
wildcat population looks like.
projects
in
Scotland.
One
of
our
Aside from our skills and expertise
As we continue at RZSS to expand our
flagship
projects
is
the
Scottish
Beaver
however,
an area where I believe we
credentials as a serious player in the
Trial
(where
we
are
applying
our
skills
can
truly
make
a huge difference is
conservation arena, this relationship
in
animal
husbandry
and
ecological
via
mass
public
engagement which
has stepped up a gear, most recently
monitoring)
in
partnership
with
the
owning
the
Zoo
and HWP presents.
witnessed by the Scottish Wildcat
Scottish
Wildlife
Trust.
These
two
sites
see almost a million
Conservation Action Plan launched
The
first
of
its
kind
in
Britain,
the
visitors
a
year
pass
through their doors
on 24 September where RZSS will
trial
is
exploring
whether
or
not
the
and
therefore
the
chances
to educate,
act as lead co-ordinator of the captive
reintroduction
of
beavers
is
feasible
and
inspire
and
encourage
huge
numbers of
breeding aspect of the plan.
beneficial to nature conservation. SNH people with conservation messages are
has been co-ordinating an independent immense.
Scottish-based global reach
scientific monitoring programme to
In addition, we have extensive
assess
the
effect
beavers
have
on
social
media opportunities afforded by
To those not entirely familiar with our
the
local
environment.
Monitoring
will
our
websites,
Facebook, Twitter and
organisation, we are a Scottish-based
conclude
in
May
2014,
with
findings
YouTube
outlets.
We are reaching quite
conservation charity with a global reach,
presented
to
the
Scottish
Government.
literally
millions
of
people around the
established in 1909. We also own
A
decision
on
the
future
of
beaver
world
with
our
news
and information.
and manage both Edinburgh Zoo and
reintroduction
in
Scotland
is
expected
This
is
an
exciting,
defining time for
Highland Wildlife Park (HWP). Our
in
May
2015.
Although
not
part
of
the
the
environment
in
Scotland.
We are
conservation work abroad includes
licensed
reintroduction
programme,
determined
to
be
contributing
to the
managing the Budongo Conservation
members
of
RZSS
staff
are
also
using
future
of
wild
Scotland,
hopefully
in
Field Station in Uganda, where our
their
experience
to
monitor
the
health
of
a
positive
way,
working
in
partnership
work supports chimpanzees; and the
the population of beavers on the Tay.
with organisations such as SNH.
Pantanal Conservation and Research
The
Scottish
Wildcat
Conservation
Its good to be friends.
Initiative where our research is
Action
Plan
identifies
RZSS
as
the
lead
being used to promote conservation
co-ordinator in the captive breeding
throughout Brazil.
26
www.snh.gov.uk
27
Tackling Wildlife Crime

Wildlife Crime Prevention is best achieved through improved education and
awareness. Andy Turner became a Wildlife Crime Education Officer in July 2010
and reflects on his experiences in this challenging area of work.
28
I joined Scottish Natural Heritage

in 2001 and for several years
I worked as Reserve Manager
at Forvie and St Cyrus National
Nature Reserves. However,
I developed an interest in
wildlife crime and in July 2010
I was appointed as the UKs
first Wildlife Crime Education
Officer, working within the then
Grampian Police Force Wildlife
Crime Unit.
While the concept of the post was
borne from the police, the development
was achieved very much in partnership,
with funding from Grampian Police,
Scottish Natural Heritage, LEADER
(European Funding for Community
Projects) together with some private
funding.
The primary aim of the Wildlife
Crime Education Officer post was
simple to reduce the incidence of
wildlife crime in Grampian through
a programme of education and
awareness raising.
Before I could deliver any sort of
meaningful programme I had to gain
a thorough understanding of wildlife
crime investigations, land management
conflicts, and the intricacies of
legislation. And so I was encouraged
to become a Special Police Constable.
After attending interviews, exams and
training I was sworn in and ready for
action in July 2011.
Involvement in police investigations
has really helped me. For one thing it
showed me how to distinguish between
legal countryside practices and illegal
activity, a fundamental element in
ensuring effective delivery of the post.
As a Wildlife Crime Officer I
focused on five areas in particular :
creation of an education programme
for school children,
delivery of seminars and training,
visible presence at shows and events
development of a proactive media
approach, and
improved crime prevention and
reporting measures.
Id like to think that three years of
the post have delivered the above. For
www.snh.gov.uk
example Ive overseen the development

of an education pack for schools, which
is soon to be hosted on the Scottish
Government Partnership Against
Wildlife Crime Scotland website, and
developed an iPhone app to report
wildlife crime. It will ultimately be free to
download on iTunes.
Not everything has had a technical
element however. Ive delivered
seminars to over 1800 people from
60 organisations, including regular
lectures at Scotlands Rural College,
attended 26 shows and events with
over 100,000 members of the public,
and had 50 news items featured locally
and nationally.
In addition to the above Ive helped
install measures to improve and
promote reporting of wildlife crime
using a national reporting card, created
RiverWatch posters, and organised a
successful rural crime conference.
No matter how much effort you
put in it remains notoriously difficult to
quantify the success of such a post. On
the one hand you could suggest it is
measured through increased reporting
of wildlife crime incidents resulting
from improved detection, on the other a
quite different measure might be seeing
a decrease in reports due to more
accurate or educated reporting.
Stonehaven success
A number of wildlife crimes have
been reported as a direct result of the
Education Officer post. Perhaps the
best example is that of a hare coursing
incident that occurred in spring 2013
near to Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire.
The level of detail provided by
the witness was exceptional. Upon
identifying the ongoing offence, the
witness immediately contacted the
police and provided an accurate
account of the locus, the suspects,
suspects dogs, vehicle number
plate, and direction of onward travel.
Remarkably, and encouragingly, the
witness was a 15 year-old school pupil
who had attended a wildlife crime
presentation by the Wildlife Crime
Education Officer.
The post has succeeded in
increasing awareness of wildlife crime
issues among all stakeholders and

brought increasing media awareness of
the issues.
It would be fair also to suggest
we have seen an improvement in the
standard of reporting, and delivered
in terms of increased networking with
improved working between key partner
organisations.
Funding for the three-year post
has now expired. However, I will be
continuing as a Special Constable
in Grampian in a post developed
by Scottish Natural Heritage, while
retaining close links with Police
Scotland. Id like to think it is worthwhile
work both for the present and the future
in tackling wildlife crime.
2
1
Roe deer have been
victims of wildlife
crime around the
fringes of urban areas.
2
Andy (right) pictured
with the winner of a
schools wildlife crime
poster competition.
29
1
Tentsmuir is an
important winter
foraging site for the
woodcock.

The art of the matter

A wildlife artist celebrates Tentsmuirs delights
30
www.snh.gov.uk
31
Early in 2013 Derek Robertson was invited by Scottish Natural Heritage to be artist-inresidence at Tentsmuir National Nature Reserve. He set to work studying then sketching
the wildlife and landscape around this coastal reserve in Fife, and the result is a
celebration of Tentsmuir like nothing that has gone before.
For Derek, one of Scotlands most noted wildlife
artists, the invite sparked an intensely busy
creative period. I have been completing a brand
new body of work, he explained, which has
mostly consisted of field studies and paintings in
which I have gathered material reflecting the varied
and exciting wildlife of the Reserve. Highlights
have included otters, sea eagles, seals, long-tailed
ducks, and jays.
Using trail cameras around the Reserve Ive managed
to gather some great footage of roe deer, badgers, red
squirrels, otters, woodcock and more, and Ive been able to
32
use this footage to produce new sketches especially of

badgers, which I hardly ever see in daylight on the Reserve.
A major element of the project has been construction of
an online art trail. Walk around the trails at Morton Lochs and
nearby Kinshaldy (which is a Forestry Commission Scotland
site) and you can see plaques featuring some of Dereks
individual sketches of species that inhabit that particular
part of the Reserve, and in the corner of each plaque is a
helpful QR code (a Quick Response code that looks like
a square barcode). If you have a smartphone or tablet you
can scan the code and it will take you to an individual page
on the Memory of Tides website (www.memoryoftides.
com) showing all the drawings and paintings he has created
of that particular animal near the spot where the reader is
standing.
Accompanying the imagery is text about the animal

and also a piece of video taken with trail cameras around
the reserve. This means you can see some of the hard-tospot, shy and nocturnal animals that live there even if
you are there in a large and noisy crowd. The resource has
already been used by educational groups so children can
see recognisable, individual animals that actually live near
that spot the otter with a small scar on its nose or the red
squirrel with the very dark fur for example.
Whilst Derek captures the art, his findings and
observations are contributing to building a more accurate
picture of the wildlife seen at Tentsmuir. He has been
sending records and sightings to the Reserve Manager, Tom
Cunningham, and filling in forms on the BTO BirdTrack site.
A good example of the value of this work came in the
winter when Derek, whilst having a look around the marshy
dunes near Tentsmuir Point, discovered large numbers of
woodcock around 30 at a time which showed that this
was an important winter foraging site for these birds in Fife.
It was known that woodcock were present, but not in these
numbers.
Derek takes up the story of how his studious method
of preparing for painting is reaping dividends across the
seasons. I did a BTO breeding woodcock survey in the
nearby forest and had a huge count of 32 birds in just over
an hour, suggesting that the reserve doesnt only provide a
winter feeding area but is a major habitat for breeding birds
as well.
In the spring I did a survey of Morton Lochs for the
elusive water rails. They are notoriously difficult to observe
because they rarely leave dense cover and are almost never
seen. My friend, Steve Moyes, and I developed a way of
counting them in the Tay reedbeds using audio playback.
The method is increasingly adopted as a standard survey
technique for the species.
Interestingly at Morton, I located three pairs and heard
the characteristic tic-tic call of a bird giving an alarm call
for its young. The trail camera footage has perhaps identified
the reason why badgers. There are cubs at a nearby
badger set and at least five recognisable, individual adults.
There are jays too, and although Ive never seen more than
three at any one time, there are regularly between five and
seven in shot on the cameras!
Looking ahead, Derek will be working up some larger
paintings from the sketches he has completed and
attempting to set up a substantial, cross-disciplinary project
that brings together scientists, environmental managers and
artists using many mediums to produce collaborative work at
the end of the year. Those involved have all been working on
their own projects at Tentsmuir including dance, poetry, film,
storytelling, geography, biology, conservation ecology and
more.
Paintings from the project have already been on display
to groups and in exhibitions around Scotland and Derek has
a series of solo shows planned towards the end of 2013 and
into 2014 including one at The Piggery outdoor exhibition
space at Taynish National Nature Reserve in Argyll.
www.snh.gov.uk
2, 3 & 4
A selection of studies
from Dereks
sketchbook.
5
Artist Derek Robertson
has made a huge
contribution to our
understanding of the
wildlife at Tentsmuir.
33
He has created portfolios for the local towns of Dundee

and St Andrews, as well as arranging on-site displays, open
studio days and sketching demonstrations and guided walks
with the artist.
The publicity attracted by the project has been
substantial, with articles in local press and features on STV
news, BBC Radio Scotlands Out of Doors programme, and
BBC Countryfile. This, allied to articles on blogs, newsletters
and social media sites, has extended the reach of work that
originated in Tentsmuir to well beyond Fife and Tayside.
The final word from Derek is that it has been a great
experience being an artist-in-residence at such a dynamic
Reserve. It has struck me how much local visitors value and
treasure the Reserve and surroundings. Ive really enjoyed
meeting the many people who have come up, introduced
themselves and asked about the project. I just want to say
a huge thank you for the tremendous support I have been
given by everyone at SNH and all the Forestry Commission
staff at Tentsmuir too.
Anyone fortunate enough to view Dereks work can hardly
disagree that he has made a telling contribution to Year of
Natural Scotland and left behind a beautiful celebration of a
hugely popular Reserve.
6
The detail in this
stunning painting of a
pair of garganey
typifies Derek's
studious approach
34
www.snh.gov.uk
35
Revival Reserve
Pioneering conservation work is delivering a stunning
transformation on Creag Meagaidh National Nature Reserve
Creag Meagaidh National Nature

Reserve sits on the spine of
Scotland, straddling the west
and east Highlands, and the
translation of its Gaelic name
to bogland rock or crag of the
boggy place hints at the variety
of landscapes encountered here.
It provides a good example of the
types of habitats to be found in the
Highlands, taking in lochshore and
river flats, birch and alder woodland,
open hills and moors, cliffs and corries,
and culminating in the high summit
plateau of the tops. That mix of habitats
and scenery have long made Creag
Meagaidh a truly inspirational place to
of woodland and heath. But from the

1700s, heavy grazing by sheep and
deer meant few trees could survive and
much of the wildlife that depended on
them was lost.
However, in 1986 Creag Meagaidh
became a National Nature Reserve
and this signalled a new era. Grazing
pressure was reduced and lost plant
and animal communities were gradually
restored. Now wildlife abounds here.
From the golden eagles, dotterel and
ptarmigan of the high tops, to the black
grouse, small pearl-bordered fritillaries
and dragonflies of the lower slopes
there is much to see and enjoy. Look
more closely and you might glimpse
rare alpine speedwells, saxifrages and
hawkweeds as well as a host of native
trees.
visit and enjoy, but there were times

when it was less inviting than today.
Ice sheets and glaciers once lay
heavily on the land here. Again and
again, over the last two and a half
million years, the deep freeze of the Ice
Age has smothered Creag Meagaidh.
Sometimes glaciers covered the whole
mountain, other times they filled only
the corries and glens with a glacier or
two. But each big chill left its mark. The
results have been striking; hummocks
of glacial rubble, gravel terraces and
of course great corries and cliffs
were formed. Perhaps most strikingly,
glaciers scooped out the great bowl of
Coire Ardair.
When the ice sheets retreated
they left a bare rocky landscape that
was gradually covered by a mixture
Meall an
t-Snaim
Carn Liath
Srn a Gharbh Choire
Coire
Chrannaig
3
Na Cnapanan
4
2
6
Coire C
hom
ha
r
An Cearcallach
nn
ai
gT
ha
rs
eag
Cr
B h ea
1
To Newtonmore
(A86)
Am Meall
Cr
ea
Moy Corrie
in
Meall Coire
Choillearais
ire Choillearais
Reserve focus
Aberarder
sa
Our suggested
walk is along the
red dotted line,
the numbered
stops 1 to 6 point
out what you can
see from the
walk.
Co
36
Srn a
Ghoire
Puist
Coire
rdair
Aberarder Forest
Key
an
gg
a
L
ch
Lo
Limited parking
Picnic area
Trail
Toilets
Information
Creag Mhr
Start of trail
Viewpoint
To Fort William
Ashworth Maps and Interpretation Ltd 2010.
Based on Ordnance Survey mapping. Crown copyright
and database right 2010. All rights reserved.
Ordnance Survey Licence number SNH 100017908.
www.snh.gov.uk
0
0
kilometres
miles
Reserve boundary
2
2
Wheelchair access
37
1
Regeneration has seen
the return of mixed
woodland communities
to the area.
2
Siskin feeding on alder.
3
The zone between wood
and moor changes
gradually and is
important for wildlife.
4
The spectacular black
grouse is a resident on
this popular Reserve.
3
Creag Meagaidh, in the heart of

the Highlands, is well known as a
great high-level walk with its three
Munros. The route we have featured
is less challenging, but the walk from
the shores of Loch Laggan into the
magnificent Coire Ardair gives you a
real feel for its natural highlights.
The walk starts on the flat land where
the burns flowing from Creag Meagaidh
meet Loch Laggan. This would have
been valuable farmland to past human
inhabitants, and we are cultivating
the fields again, sowing conservation
crops to provide a winter food source
for farmland birds such as chaffinch,
brambling, linnet and twite. The alder
trees along the river here are some of
the Reserves oldest inhabitants and
have grown here for hundreds of years.
Look out for large flocks of siskin and
redpolls feeding on alder cones and
also visiting our bird feeding station.
38
As the path climbs higher, beyond

the Reserve base at Aberarder, you
pass through a thriving young birch
woodland. Birch trees can live to 80 or
100 years but most of these are much
younger. They date from the time that
Creag Meagaidh became a National
Nature Reserve. In past times the birch
woods would have cloaked much of
the lower slopes of the hills here, and
we are trying to restore them to their
former glory. The woods are a summer
home to willow warblers and tree pipits
and plants like wood cranesbill and
globeflower grow among their shelter.
As summer gives way to autumn and
winter the birches provide colour
their leaves changing to gold and then
dropping off to reveal bare purple twigs.
Birch woodland gives way to open

moorland, and in autumn the russet
hues of heather and deer grass add
colour to any walk. This zone, where
woodland meets moor, is the favourite
place for the beautiful black grouse.
Numbers of black grouse here have
been increasing as their habitat
expands and you can see them roosting
in birch trees. In spring time they gather
on traditional courtship areas, or leks,
where males compete for the chance
to breed with hen grouse. Be sure to
plan a visit in the spring to see this
spectacle. In autumn the rowan trees
will be laden with berries look out for
migrant thrushes such as fieldfares and
redwing, as well as our locally breeding
ring ouzels. These migrants will be filling
up before heading for the mountains of
North Africa to spend the winter.
www.snh.gov.uk
39
Essential information
Creag Meagaidh NNR lies roughly
half-way between Fort William and
Newtonmore on the A86 by Loch
Laggan. The reserve is open all year.
There are toilets, a picnic area, car park
and trails for different abilities.
OS maps
Explorer 401 (Loch Laggan & Creag

Meagaidh)
Landranger 42 (Glen Garry & Loch
Rannoch)
Trail lengths
Creag Meagaidh is a good place to

spot the bigger birds of mountain and
moorland. Look out for ravens soaring
high in search of deer carrion and listen
out for their prukpruk call. Golden
eagles nest on the rocky crags of
Creag Meagaidh, and, as for ravens,
deer carrion is an important source
of food for them in winter. In February
the eagles start breeding, and will be
building up their nests in preparation.
Red deer are the most common deer

on Creag Meagaidh and keeping the
numbers in balance with woodland
regeneration is the main management
we need to carry out. In the summer the
deer tend to graze the higher ground
on the Reserve, while in the winter
they come down to the woods and low
ground for shelter. During the autumn
the stags challenge each other for the
right to mate with the hinds, and their
bellowing roars over open hillsides are
one of the most exciting sounds of the
Scottish autumn.
Eventually the path reaches Coire

Ardair. This dramatic horseshoe of
sheer cliffs was carved during the last
ice age by a huge glacier. Its towering
cliffs are in shade for most of the
winter and attract hordes of intrepid
ice climbers in cold weather. The shady
security of the crags shelters special
plants such as alpine speedwell and
rare mountain willows.
5
Stunning Coire Ardair
is one the most
impressive features on
the Creag Meagaidh
National Nature
Reserve.
Waymarked trails make it easy

to explore Creag Meagaidh. The
Alderwood Trail is suitable for all
abilities. Situated next to the car park
and about 1.1km or 0.7miles long this
is a superb place to see alder trees and
owls, redpolls and siskins are resident
here. Allow 30 minutes.
The Allt Dubh Trail takes you to the
edge of the hill land where you can
glimpse great views of the reserve.
There is a poem by Sorley MacLean
carved into stones by the path.
Surfaces are good but there are some
steep steps and slopes and stout
footwear is essential. 1.8 km or 1.1
miles long, please allow about one hour.
The An Sidehean Trail is1km or 0.6
miles long, and skirts the fields you can
see from the car park. Watch for black
grouse and woodcock along the way.
You may see Highland cattle too as we
plough and farm these fields, keeping
the environment close to what it would
have been like when people farmed this
land.
Terrain
The walks are on hard surfaces, but

40
www.snh.gov.uk
there are some steep climbs and

steps involved. Youll need good
walking shoes, and warm clothes and
waterproofs.
Dogs
Please follow the Scottish Outdoor

Access Code and local guidance at
the reserve. Please keep your dog(s)
under close control or on a short lead
at sensitive times and comply with any
notices you see. A short lead is taken
to be two metres, and under close
control means that the dog is able to
respond to your commands and kept
close at heel.
Nearby natural attractions
Heading from the reserve towards Fort

William you will have an opportunity
to visit Glen Roy. Travellers and local
people alike have long been fascinated
by the Parallel Roads of Lochaber
which are striking horizontal lines on the
hillsides of Glen Roy, Glen Gloy and
Glen Spean. In the 19th century, the
Parallel Roads attracted the attention of
many of the founding fathers of modern
geology, including the Reverend William
Buckland, James Geikie, Charles
Darwin, Charles Lyell and Joseph
Prestwich. This interest ensured that
the Parallel Roads, and Glen Roy in
particular, featured prominently in the
development of geological science.
Further information
You can contact SNH on 01528

544265. You can also download a
leaflet about the reserve at www.nnrscotland.org.uk/creag-meagaidh/
publications
41
SNH Area News
SNH Area News
Northern Isles and North Highland
Forth
Correspondents: Karen Reid, Christine Skene, Juan Brown
Correspondents: Sarah Eaton, Caroline Crawford, Dave Pickett
Fossils of the far north
In search of Orkneys Big 5 The sounds of Shetland
Fifes knitted nature
Local surveys
May opportunity
For a small country, Scotland has an

amazingly varied geology. To celebrate
Year of Natural Scotland, we stepped
back in time to explore the fossils of
Caithness and Sutherland.
Palaeontologist Professor Nigel
Trewin of Aberdeen University talked
about our fossil heritage at the
Environmental Research Institute,
Thurso, and at Timespan, Helmsdale.
These events were followed by fossil
forays at Achanarras Quarry and
along the Helmsdale Coast. Professor
Trewins new book, Scottish Fossils,
has just been published by Dunedin
Academic Press.
Achanarras Quarry and the
Helmsdale Coast are both geological
Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
Achanarras is a disused Caithness
flagstone quarry and world renowned
for its well-preserved fish of Middle
Devonian age (c.385 million years
ago). The Helmsdale Coast in east
Sutherland is important for its fossilised
marine creatures from the Jurassic
period (c.150 million years ago).
Over 50 people attended the
outdoor events. A number of different
fossil fish species were found
at Achanarras and a sunny walk
along Helmsdale beach at low tide
revealed fossil corals, belemnites and
ammonites.
Scotlands Big 5 has been a flagship

campaign in Year of Natural Scotland.
As part of our celebrations in Orkney,
we were keen to give our wildlife the
fame it deserves by putting our own five
special species in the limelight.
Area staff chose their top five for
Orkney and then promoted these at
local events:
hen harrier,
fulmar,
Scottish primrose (Primula scotica),
curlew,
seals.
Although we thought our five
species would be strong candidates as
Orkneys Big 5, we wanted to get local
folk involved in choosing a final Big 5
for the islands.
At Orkneys County Show we asked
the public to vote for their favourite five
from amongst our range of stunning
wildlife. This sparked a lively debate and
a steady stream of people filling in their
voting cards.
After the show a grand total of
1,191 votes were recorded and these
were for over 120 different species!
The final Big 5 was announced at
the Orkney Science Festival in early
September and the chosen five were,
in order of popularity; seal, puffin, hen
harrier, Scottish primrose (Primula
scotica), and curlew.
To mark Year of Natural Scotland, Fifes

rich natural heritage is being celebrated
through an ambitious knitting project.
Bringing together knitters from
across the county, the project is
the result of collaboration between
members of Fife Councils Biodiversity
Team and staff at SNHs Cupar office.
From a list of animals, plants,
birds, fungi and invertebrates which
are iconic, threatened, or play an
important role in Fife, the talented
group produced some wonderful items,
everything from earthworms to dolphins,
fly agaric toadstools to seaweed. Greatcrested newts, bluebells and kingfishers
also feature.
Launched in May, the knitted plants
and animals are now on tour around
the Kingdom. Theyve already appeared
at the Fife show and landed at the
Earthship visitor centre in Kinghorn.
They have served as clues in a treasure
trail at Tentsmuir National Nature
Reserves Open Day and sailed across
to the Isle of May for a Year of Natural
Scotland Arts Festival.
Everywhere they go, they
attract plenty of attention, providing
opportunities to raise awareness of
Fifes non-knitted nature!
If youd like to see more of the
knitted plants and animals, check out
the photos on Fifes Knitted Nature
Facebook page.
A major volunteer recording project,

supported by an SNH grant and
co-ordinated by the Forth Naturalist
and Historian (FNH), is documenting
changes over time in the biodiversity
of the Forth Valley area. FNH was
founded in 1975 and aims to promote
understanding of the natural and
cultural heritage of the area.
FNH publishes a journal and is a
repository for biological records. The
2013 What's Changed project has
been repeating surveys published in
earlier volumes to see how things have
changed.
Eight surveys are being undertaken,
including monitoring changes in giant
hogweed populations along the Allan
Water; pond ecology at Tailend Moss;
sticky catchfly on cliff ledges in the
Ochil Hills; and hoverflies of the Stirling
area.
Surveys have been led by local
organisations including Stirling Council
Ranger Service, Buglife Scotland and
Stirling University Nature Society. Each
survey has involved training volunteers
from students to retirees. Thousands
of records have been collected and
will be made available on the National
Biodiversity Network.
The results of these surveys will be
displayed at the FNH Conference on
16 November which all are welcome to
attend. See http://ow.ly/oJfzl for more
information.
The Isle of May National Nature Reserve

is well known as a spectacular place to
see seabirds and seals.
The islands interest doesnt end
there, however, as it also has a rich
cultural and historical story to tell. Over
5,000 or so years it has been a base for
monks, pilgrims, fishermen, the military,
and even smugglers.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect
of the islands history is its lighthouses.
Scotlands first ever lighthouse the
Beacon built in 1636 is on the
island, while the main lighthouse, which
resembles a castle, was designed in
the early 19th century by renowned
engineer Robert Stevenson.
Another interest is the elaborate
foghorn system, which stretches from a
central engine room via air compressors
to two large foghorns at either end of
the island.
You can view the outside of these
buildings at any time, but once a year in
September these and other buidlings,
including a smaller lighthouse and the
keepers cottages, are opened up to
the public for the day as part of SNHs
contribution to Fife Doors Open Days.
Follow the Isle of May blog online for
details of the 2014 event.
42
At the beginning of June a crowd

of people gathered in the darkened
auditorium of Shetlands new arts venue
Mareel and sat or lay on the floor
in silence while weird and wonderful
natural sounds including stridulating
ants, drumming snipe and popping
pistol shrimps played all around.
This free public event was the
culmination of a three-day soundrecording course led by Chris
Watson and funded by SNH as part
of our celebrations of Year of Natural
Scotland. Chris Watson is a leader in
his field and his work has won BAFTAs
for a number of David Attenborough
series. He was also a founding member
of seminal electro-pop band Cabaret
Voltaire!
As well as being impressed by
the state-of-the-art sound facilities at
Mareel, Chris was also taken by the
lack of noise pollution in Shetland,
something he said was exceptional in
the UK.
The sound course and performance
was the first of a host of events in
Shetland as part of Year of Natural
Scotland, including the highly
successful Shetland Nature Festival
held in the first week of July.
www.snh.gov.uk
43
SNH Area News
SNH Area News
Argyll and Outer Hebrides
Southern Scotland
Correspondents: Mags Russell , Stan Phillips, Johanne Ferguson
Correspondent: Trevor Godden
More than bricks and mortar Bryophyte bliss on BBC
Machair fun day
Nature on the trails
The Big Event
Tetrapods splash out
Taynish Mill, nestled within the

oakwoods of Taynish National Nature
Reserve by the shores of Loch Sween,
has been given a new lease of life.
Restoration work using traditional lime
mortar to stabilise the stonework has
now been completed and the Reserve
team are considering how to use the
Mill and tell the story of Taynishs
people and wildlife.
At present it has no roof, but
suggestions to use this magical space
as an interpretation area have been
made. If you have any ideas on this,
wed love to hear them. Email your
suggestions to taynish@snh.gov.uk.
The mill has a long history and is
first mentioned in 1724 in an obligation
of the MacNeills Taynish estate. This
water-powered mill was a hub of activity
in its working years and continues to
be a hub with a different nature in the
present day.
The Mill attracts a wide variety of
species including dragonflies such
as the Highland darter which bask in
sunshine on the stonework of the Mill.
Recent visitors to the Mill have also
included otters. Go to our website
to view images of before and after
restoration. www.nnr-scotland.org.uk/
taynish.
SNH staff in Uist celebrated Year of

Natural Scotland (YNS) with a Machair
Fun Day at Lionacleit, Benbecula. There
was a scavenger hunt, a guided walk, a
Big 5 Vote, a sand castle competition,
face painting, story-telling and craft
session, tours around the Sustainable
Uibhist garden, an ice-cream van and
barbeque.
Nets and insect boxes were
provided for the scavenger hunt we
were so impressed with the range
of mini-beasts the children caught,
including belted beauty caterpillar,
great yellow bumblebee and even a
dragonfly! Highlights from the guided
walk were the six-spot burnet moth (a
vivid day-flying moth), and a group of
pyramidal orchids.
The local library ran one of their
popular story-telling and craft sessions
as part of their YNS celebrations. They
covered a different wildlife theme each
week during the school holidays.
We had perfect weather for the
day, there was a good turnout and
everyone enjoyed themselves. We
would like to thank all those who
supported us including: the library staff;
Maria Scholten (community garden);
Brannigans face painting; the Barra
ice-cream van; the Dark Island Hotel;
and Stephen Peteranna and Andrew
MacKinnon, who gave us permission to
use their land.
Three new trails all in Southern

Scotland have been added to the
national network of long distance
routes, known as Scotlands Great
Trails. Suitable for multi-day journeys
as well as shorter trips, they offer great
opportunities to get close to nature.
The Romans and Reivers Route
from Ae Forest to Hawick follows old
Roman roads, forest tracks and quiet
lanes through the heart of Reivers
country. While you no longer need
to keep an eye out for the notorious
livestock raiders, do look out for birds of
prey such as short-eared owl, buzzard
and goshawk.
Starting from the Pentland Hills,
the 52-mile Cross Borders Drove
Road follows the route used by drovers
taking their beasts to market. Offering a
great variety of scenery, this trail takes
you over rolling hills, through hidden
valleys and across the glorious Borders
countryside to Hawick.
If youre fond of seascapes and salty
air, sand-dunes and seabirds, the Mull
of Galloway Trail in the far south-west
offers plenty of wildlife sights all year
round.
These well-marked, high quality
paths through some of our finest
scenery are a great way to explore
some of the regions best landscapes
and nature.
For further information, visit www.
scotlandsgreattrails.org.uk.
Cairnsmore of Fleet NNR hosted

the very best of traditional Scottish
folk music and an outdoor theatre
extravaganza as part of its Year of
Natural Scotland celebrations. The Big
Event provided a wonderful afternoon of
free entertainment in one of south-west
Scotlands wildest and most dramatic
landscapes.
The talented Fis Rois musicians
entertained visitors with their
beautifully-crafted songs and tunes,
including many with a nature theme.
They were part of the National Ceilidh
Trail tour, a professional development
opportunity for outstanding young
musicians to hone their performance
skills and experience life as touring
artists. Organised by Fis Rois, one
of Scotlands leading youth arts
organisations, the tour was supported
by SNH as part of its initiative to have
greater Gaelic representation in Year of
Natural Scotland events.
Acclaimed performance company
Oceanallover amazed onlookers
with their theatrical creation Pollen.
Inspired by the marvellous shapes and
connections in the microscopic forms
of pollen, the production explored
the rich links between art and nature
through dance, music and spectacular
costume.
The event was funded by Creative
Scotland and SNH, and was part of
the first-ever Environmental Art Festival
Scotland.
Newly discovered fossils in south-east

Scotland could provide vital clues to a
crucial period of evolutionary history. The
finds have been made near Coldstream,
along the Burnmouth coast, and on the
banks and bed of the River Whiteadder
near Chirnside.
The fossils date from the Early
Carboniferous period between 360 and
340 million years ago when four-limbed
vertebrates (tetrapods) first moved from
water onto land.
Although this was an important step
in the evolution of life on Earth, the fossil
record for this period was almost nonexistent. Little is known therefore about
how the tetrapods evolved and adapted
to a life on land.
A new research project has now
brought together an expert team of
scientists to study the finds and continue
work in the field. As most of the fossil
localities have statutory protection as
Sites of Special Scientific Interest, the
work has to have consent from SNH
before it can be carried out.
Like amateur collectors, the
professional palaeontologists will be
following the best practice as set out in
the Scottish Fossil Code. The Code was
prepared by SNH and launched in 2008
to safeguard Scotlands fossil heritage.
44
With the visual extravaganza of our

summer machair flowers fresh in the
memory, its easy to forget that our old
oak woodlands on the west coast are
home to a huge diversity of less well
known species of plants.
Mosses, liverworts and lichens
carpet the ground, rocks and trees in
these woodlands, forming one of the
most diverse places on the planet for
these plants.
This was the key message of a
BBC Landward programme being
filmed in Kintyre.
Operations Officer Stan Phillips
discussed the rich moss and liverwort
flora of Claonaig Wood, on the east
coast of Kintyre, with Landward
presenter Dougie Vipond. The north
of Kintyre is a special place for rock
fingerwort, Lepidozia cupressina, a
liverwort that Stan likens to a handful
of small green worms. This is a species
which enjoys our west coast damp,
humid conditions a little more than we
do at times.
It was difficult for the Landward
team to get a real close-up of the rock
fingerwort, but Colin MacLure, the
cameraman, expertly improvised Stans
magnifying lens to reveal the complexity
and detail of this miniature plant. The
programme is due to be shown on the
BBC in October 2013.
www.snh.gov.uk
45
SNH Area News
SNH Area News
South Highland
Tayside and Grampian
Correspondent: Lesley Watt, Anne Elliot, Kenny Nelson
Correspondents: Sandra Penman, Shona Smith, Ewen Cameron
Thanks for the Manx
River makeover
International connections
Seen Scotlands Big 5 yet? Woolly climb for MSP
Something for everyone
Visitors to Rum National Nature

Reserve experienced a guided walk
with a difference this year, in the shape
of a night-time visit to a mountainside
colony of a very special seabird.
The island is home to Scotlands
largest population of Manx shearwaters,
making up almost one-third of the
worlds population.
Although they are most often seen
at sea, the shearwaters nest in burrows
high in the mountains, and only return
to their nests at night. They spend the
summer on Rum, rearing their single
chick, before undertaking an incredible
winter migration, flying along the coast
of South America to the Falkland
Islands, before returning to Rum by way
of the African coast a round trip of
more than 13,000 miles.
The expedition, led by the Isle of
Rum Community Ranger Service and
SNH, took people up to the colony on
the slopes of Hallival, to observe the
birds as they return to their burrows
under cover of darkness.
It was a great experience for people
to hear the distinctive, eerie call of the
returning adults and catch a glimpse of
the fledging young as they prepare for
their first transatlantic migration.
A Highland river has received a

makeover as part of a project to restore
wildlife habitats and improve flood
management.
The Allt Lorgy, in the catchment of
the River Spey, was modified many
years ago to stop flooding of farmland
gravel was dredged from its channel
and some rock armouring installed in
the banks.
As part of the Spey Catchment
Initiative all of these artificial barriers
were removed with the aim of improving
the ecological balance, both in the
water and the surrounding area. Gravel
from the banks was put back into
the river and logs and woody debris
introduced in the channel to create
eddies and pools, all of which helps
produce a variety of in-stream habitats
and will benefit salmon.
With time the river will find its own
course again and be able to spill onto
its natural flood plain in heavy rain. This
helps to conserve salmon spawning
and reconnects the river with its flood
plain.
Minister for the Environment and
Climate Change, Paul Wheelhouse,
visited the site earlier this year and
helped local children from Carrbridge
Primary School plant native trees.
Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve

helped celebrate Year of Natural
Scotland this August by hosting an
International Arts residency - Ceangal
(Gaelic for connections).
The participating artists travelled
from Poland, France, Japan, India and
other parts of Scotland. This is the
second of these residencies to run
in Wester Ross and is organised by
Gairloch artist Lynn Bennett Mackenzie
in collaboration with Somu Desai from
India. Lynn studied at Grays School of
Art in Aberdeen and has exhibited at
several community projects including
The Big Picture and Wild Wood.
The artists all stayed in the Scottish
Natural Heritage field station at
Kinlochewe and spent the first few days
on excursions to familiarise themselves
with the local area before creating
artwork around the reserve inspired
by their experiences. All the artists
worked in a range of different media.
Community involvement is a strong part
of the project and local people provided
donations of baking, meals and put on a
ceilidh for the visitors.
Local people were invited to come
along and meet the artists and take
part in workshops on mosaics and
ephemeral art. The project finished with
a public show in Kinlochewe village hall.
For more information check out:
http://ceangalart.blogspot.co.uk
There have been many sightings

of Scotlands Big 5 in Tayside and
Grampian this year. They were seen
having afternoon tea at the Turriff Show
with local MSP Alison McInnes. They
were in the grounds of SNHs Perth
office at Battleby during the Celebrating
Nature Day.
They were even seen running in a
number of fun runs throughout Scotland
including the Perth Kilt Run. This event
had 1300 runners, including John
Swinney, MSP and Pete Wishart, MP.
Also featured was a 10-man Chinese
Dragon and this helped secure the
official record for the worlds largest kilt
run!
The Scotlands Big 5 campaign
is using five of Scotlands most
recognisable wild animals to encourage
more people to get out and enjoy
Scotlands fantastic wildlife. And so
much of that wildlife is on your own
doorstep. The SNH website has lots of
advice on where to look for Scotlands
Big 5 - and you can even vote for your
own favourite. So what are you waiting
for
www.snh.gov.uk/enjoyingthe-outdoors/year-of-naturalscotland-2013/scotlands-big-5celebrations
When we encourage people to Enjoy

the Outdoors, most people get out their
bird books, walking boots or mountain
bike. But there are other ways to
appreciate Scotland.
A photography competition for
Aberdeens secondary schools is
a great way of discovering some of
natures fascinating details.
We support community art classes
on our National Nature Reserve at
Forvie and have an artist in residence
at Loch Leven, helping visitors create
their own pieces inspired by the
Reserve. The blog has more. http://
lochlevennnr.wordpress.com
Weve also supported a community
music project, inspired by the National
Nature Reserve at Dinnet: http://
musicforcommunities.blogspot.
co.uk/2013/03/burn-of-sound.html
North East Scotland Biological
Records Centre run wildlife
identification courses, but also this
year the intriguingly titled Look
what the cat brought in! With so few
small mammal records, this is a way
of ensuring little feline presents make
a positive contribution to scientific
knowledge.
www.nesbrec.org.uk/modules/
whatsnew/index.php
Scotlands outdoors has something
for everyone. Our nature reserves are
a good starting point, with free events
throughout the year. http://ow.ly/
p2RKG
46
www.snh.gov.uk
Graeme Dey, MSP for Angus South,

accompanied by SNHs chief executive,
Ian Jardine, and local staff, visited
Corrie Fee National Nature Reserve
this summer. Graeme visited the Angus
Glens to learn more about the rare
woolly willow.
So-called because of its hairy
leaves, its critically endangered in
the UK due to grazing, changing land
use, and declining snow cover. Of
13 remaining populations, only four
have more than 100 plants the total
number is probably fewer than 1800
plants.
Edinburghs Royal Botanic Gardens
grew willow plants from Corrie Fee
seed, and SNH planted the tiny
plants in Corrie Fee with the help of
volunteers. SNH and neighbouring
landowners have been managing deer
to reduce grazing and trampling on
upland vegetation, greatly improving the
woolly willows chances of survival in
the area.
Earlier this year, Graeme lent
his support to the threatened plant
species by choosing to become
Species Champion for woolly willow.
The Species Champion initiative www.
scotlink.org/public/work/specieschampions.php is led by Scottish
Environment LINK and invited all MSPs
to choose from a list of 93 species
currently facing significant threats to
their future, and champion their survival.
47
SNH Area News

Strathclyde and Ayrshire
Correspondents: Debbie Skinner, Claire Paterson (CMRP), Fiona Fisher
The Lanark office
Last rhododendron cut
Arran show
The Lanark office has relocated to

Hamilton after over 20 years in the
town.
Aside from the former Lanark
office building being susceptible to
flooding and allegedly haunted, the
move was driven by the need for us
to become smaller, smarter and more
efficient under the Efficient Government
Initiative.
In our search for a new office we
unfortunately couldnt find suitable
premises in Lanark. Luckily enough
the Scottish Governments Agriculture
Food and Rural Communities
Directorate: Rural Payments and
Inspections Division and the Animal
Health and Veterinary Laboratories
Agency had space for us in their watertight office in Hamilton! Sharing with
these government departments has
allowed us to make substantial savings
in office running costs and has reduced
the amount of energy we use, making
us a greener office.
We are now only a stones throw
from the South Lanarkshire Council and
Forestry Commission Scotland offices.
This means we can walk to many of our
meetings, helping us to further cut our
CO2 emissions and also get fitter!
We can now be contacted at
Scottish Natural Heritage, Cadzow
Court, 3 Wellhall Road, Hamilton ML3
9BG. Telephone: 01698 421668.
Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park (CMRP)

is celebrating the removal of its last
rhododendron. The park has been
plagued by the quick-growing alien
species which out competes native
plants since it was introduced to the
area as an ornamental species in
Victorian days.
The last rhododendron was cut
down by Park Authority Chairman Cllr.
Chris Gilmour, who said Removing
the rhododendron will make the area
more biodiverse as native plants and
wildflowers will be able to recolonise
the area, providing food and new
habitat for invertebrates and birds.
While some people appreciate
the pink bloom of the rhododendron
ponticum, the dangers far outweigh
any aesthetical value. The plant can
make the surrounding soil acidic, toxic
to other species, and can also carry
disease, such as sudden oak death,
passing it on to the surrounding trees.
Under the 25 year Woodland
Plan developed for Muirshiel with the
Forestry Commission, the planting
of new trees gives a good mix of
species and complements the existing
woodland. The thick canopy formed
by the evergreen rhododendron leaves
previously blocked out light meaning
it was impossible for young trees and
plants to survive.
Scottish Natural Heritage was kindly

invited along to participate in the
annual Arran Farmers Society Show at
Glenkiln, Lamlash again this year.
The event is a showcase of the
islands produce and culture and is a
chance for the locals to get together
and for visitors to learn about what
Arran has to offer, including this years
SNH topic the Big 5.
Red squirrel, red deer, otter, harbour
seal and golden eagle are a huge
attraction for tourists and Arran is the
ideal place to find them.
The forestry plantations are host to
the red squirrel which thrive here in the
absence of its grey cousin. Red deer
are abundant on the hillsides and will
often venture down to the coast line
and even into local gardens!
Seals can be seen sunning
themselves on the coastal rocks
somewhat oblivious to the watching
public provided people dont get too
close!
Otters too can be seen feeding
and playing on the coast and will often
set up home in a rocky crevice. The
golden eagle can be best spotted from
the island's whisky distillery as it soars
through the air in search of a meal.
48
Scottish ospreys in Spain

Twelve young Scottish ospreys have been
released on the north Spanish coast near
Bilbao, as the first stage of a five-year
project to restore breeding ospreys to the
Basque country.
and were able to feed them en route to Spain at the Animal

Reception Centre at Heathrow Airport.
Later that night, they reached the specially-built cages
overlooking Urdaibai estuary to the north of Bilbao. Three
birds were placed in each cage and were fed by the bird
centre staff on fresh fish delivered through openings in the
back of cages. The young ospreys were unable to see the
people feeding them and during July they grew to full-size,
The project follows on from an earlier project in Andalucia
learnt to fly and were able to watch activities on the estuary.
which helped Spain restore breeding ospreys to the
The birds were released at Urdaibai estuary, which is
mainland of the country and involved birds from Germany,
regularly used by migrating Scottish ospreys travelling to
Finland and Scotland.
and from West Africa in spring and autumn. In fact, it was
Last year, the Biscay Regional Council and the Urdaibai
the temporary home in spring 2008 of the famous osprey,
Bird Center asked Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) for
Logie, tracked by Roy Dennis using the first GPS satellite
permission for the project. SNH issued a special licence to
transmitter fitted to a British osprey. At that time, Dr Galarza,
Roy Dennis of the Highland Foundation for Wildlife to collect who is now involved in the osprey reintroduction, found and
12 young ospreys from nests with more than one young in
photographed Logie. This resulted in a partnership between
the Scottish Highlands and Moray.
Scotland and the Basque country to restore breeding
Susan Davies, SNHs Director of Policy & Advice, said:
ospreys.
Ospreys are doing well in Scotland, so were in a terrific
Dr Galarza, the project director, said, We are so pleased
position to be able to help reintroduce these wonderful birds. that we have young ospreys flying in Urdaibai Biosphere
A population of breeding ospreys in the Basque country
Reserve at the start of an exciting project. There is huge
should make the overall population in Europe stronger.
public interest and we are most grateful to Scotland for their
In early July this year, suitable nests were visited
support.
between Caithness and Strathspey and 12 young birds
were selected. Birds were inspected by Jane Harley of the
1
Grantown-on-Spey vet practice on 8 July and at dawn the
Young ospreys from
next day they were taken to Aberdeen airport and flown by
Scotland are helping
re-establish
British Airways to Heathrow.
populations in the
Roy Dennis and Dr Aitor Galarza from the Biscay
Basque region of
Spain.
Department of the Environment accompanied the ospreys
www.snh.gov.uk
49
Mousa brochs isolated

position makes it a
perfect breeding
ground for storm
petrels.

works in tandem with various
organisations to look after
Scotlands precious environment,
and a key relationship is with
Historic Scotland. Whilst Historic
Scotlands main concern is
architectural and archaeological
heritage, it is to Scotlands
advantage that we clearly
appreciate that monuments
can be best understood in their
natural setting.
Although our status is soon to change,
Historic Scotland is currently an
Executive agency within the Scottish
Government, responsible to Ministers
for safeguarding the nations historic
environment. Our remit includes
scheduling monuments and listing
significant buildings and taking into
care some of the most significant
historic sites.
Historic Scotland currently has
more than 340 properties in care.
These represent a wide-ranging crosssection of Scotlands monuments,
from Neolithic settlements to major
fortifications and royal residences; from
ecclesiastical structures to more recent
industrial sites.
The presentation of these sites to
visitors through interpretation is one of
the main ways of fulfilling our statutory
requirement to promote understanding
and enjoyment of the historic
environment.
The management of sites obviously
centres on their cultural significance;
however, the natural heritage is also an
important consideration. Twenty years
ago, Historic Scotland began a process
of surveying the flora and fauna at the
properties in its care. These surveys
have identified many sites where there
is wildlife of local and even national
importance. They have also identified
plants which have cultural significance
and provide evidence of the sites
history.
History and nature in harmony

Many people recognise Historic Scotland for its care of castles, abbeys and
stone circles, but as Bob Tevendale explains there is a careful balance to be
struck between historic and natural heritage concerns.
50
www.snh.gov.uk
51
A home for storm petrels
The tiny island of Mousa in Shetland

about 10 miles south of Lerwick has
the most perfectly preserved broch
tower in Scotland. Mousas isolated
location not only preserved its structure
but has also made it the ideal nesting
site for storm petrels. Thousands of
these birds nest in the cracks and
crevices within the 2000 year-old broch
walls.
Other sites are important owing to
the lack of human intervention in the
form of agriculture. Some sites have
always been special and left alone
for example the Ring of Brodgar on
the Orkney mainland. The wildflower
meadow surrounding the ring is full of
birds-foot trefoil, a favourite food of
the rare great yellow and moss carder
bumblebees.
Auchindoun Castle in Speyside
is located on an isolated limestone
outcrop. It is surrounded by banks and
ditches, which may well be the remains
of an Iron Age fort. These earthworks
have mixed the underlying limestone
with the soil, giving a very alkaline earth
that has fostered an interesting array of
wildflowers including bloody cranesbill,
frog orchid, eyebright and thyme.
But human intervention can also
create habitats for wildlife. The cellars
at Doune Castle, for example, are used
as a roost all year round by pipistrelle,
Daubentons, Natterers and long-eared
bats.
Many sites have plants associated
with their history. Craigmillar Castle
in Edinburgh used to have formal and
vegetable gardens. Within the grounds
there are wallflower, common and dwarf
mallow, hedgerow cranesbill and wild
celery non-native plants probably
grown for their aesthetic appeal. Some,
such as black horehound, feverfew and
again wild celery, may have been grown
as medicinal plants, whilst Good King
Henry was grown as a vegetable similar
to spinach.
Palace, just north of Elgin, is home

not only to bats, but also to nesting
barn owls. Here, the mowing plan was
altered to allow much of the grass to
grow. This provides a suitable habitat
for invertebrates and small mammals,
which in turn provides food for the owls.
It also allows the grass to set seed.
Other plants and animals can

become a problem for the management
of historic sites. Trees and burrowing
animals are not good for archaeology:
both can cause artefacts to become
displaced, making it impossible to
understand the site and interpret the
evidence properly.
Some plants and

animals can be a
problem for the
management of sites
The Caterthuns
In recent years there have been

changes in the agriculture of Scotland.
For example, a combination of foot
and mouth disease and changes to
subsidies has dramatically reduced the
number of sheep. The impact of this
Some historical planting can create has been seen at the Brown and White
problems. Castle Campbell stands at
Caterthuns, two large prehistoric hill
the head of Dollar Glen, a Site of Special forts in Angus. The White Caterthun
Scientific Interest, which now has a large is still grazed by sheep, whilst the
number of Rhododendron ponticum.
Brown, which is a grouse moor, is not.
This invasive species is spreading. This
This has resulted in the appearance
is a problem in itself, but in addition
of ash and rowan seedlings at the
rhododendron is susceptible to the
Brown Caterthun, which will have to be
sudden oak death pathogen. We are
removed to safeguard the archaeology.
therefore looking to eradicate it here and
Rabbits are also a problem at
from the wider Historic Scotland estate. the Caterthuns. Their burrows not
Find out more at www.historicscotland.gov.uk/

Follow our blog for updates
from our Natural Heritage Advisor.
Discover what we do to protect and
improve wildflife at our sites at http://
yearofnatural.historic-scotland.gov.
uk/
2
Storm petrels nest in
the 2000 year-old
broch in Mousa,
Shetland.
Helping barn owls

At many of our sites we have tried to
improve biodiversity by introducing
new management regimes. Spynie
52
only cause damage and destabilise

the remains, but their burrowing can
remove artefacts along with the soil.
Extreme cases can alter the nature of
the site, making it difficult to explain to
visitors, and leaving it open to further
erosion by wind and rain.
So Historic Scotlands main
concern will always be with
architectural and archaeological
heritage, but visitors can rest assured
that we recognise and cherish the
natural environment in our care.
Achieving a balance between our
statutory duty to conserve Scotlands
properties in care and the interests of
the natural environment at those sites is
an endless and fascinating challenge.
3
The barn owl is a
welcome resident in
some older properties.
www.snh.gov.uk
53
1
Atlantic salmon face
many challenges;
numbers returning
from the ocean to
spawn have declined.
Lost at sea?
Understanding the Atlantic salmons ocean odyssey
The Atlantic salmons migrations

have fascinated mankind for
generations but the numbers
returning from the ocean to their
natal rivers have been declining.
Rivers all around the North Atlantic
have been affected to varying degrees
but until recently relatively little was
known about the salmon during its
ocean odyssey.
Dr Peter Hutchinson, of the
Edinburgh-based intergovernmental
North Atlantic Salmon Conservation
Organization (www.nasco.int) and
Dr John Baxter, of Scottish Natural
Heritage, provide an overview here of
some fascinating new insights.
With approximately 400 of the
2,500 salmon rivers flowing into the
North Atlantic, Scotland is a major
stronghold of wild Atlantic salmon that
is a source of considerable economic
benefits.
On a North Atlantic-wide basis,
scientists estimate that the number
of salmon, prior to any fisheries, has
halved since the 1980s, due largely
to a marked decline in survival rates
at sea. The most severe declines
have been for salmon stocks in North
America and southern parts of the
species' European range (including
the UK and Ireland) and particularly for
salmon spending more than one winter
at sea.
54
www.snh.gov.uk
55
temperatures in rivers may result

in earlier migration to sea at a time
when ocean conditions may be less
favourable for post-smolt growth and
survival.
Further changes in the climate of
the North Atlantic are anticipated, but
predictions of the nature and extent
of these changes are uncertain. There
will be challenges for both managers
and the salmon in adapting to the
new and uncertain conditions. Since
management options in the ocean are
limited, it will be important to maximise
the number of healthy, wild salmon that
go to sea.
Salmon managers however, have
valuable new information and tools at
Extensive research has revealed

much about the factors affecting
juvenile salmon production in fresh
water. However, with the exception of
information obtained from the distantwater fisheries at Greenland, around
the Faroe Islands (up to 2000) and
in the Northern Norwegian Sea (prior
to 1984), very limited information
was available on where salmon go at
sea and the migration routes used.
Research at sea is expensive and many
factors may affect salmon during their
marine phase. So the challenges facing
scientists in better understanding
the cause or causes of their decline
were substantial and the need for
international cooperation was great.
comprehensive overview of the

migration and distribution pattern of
salmon in their first year at sea (postsmolts) within the vast area of ocean
available to them, allowing the factors
influencing them to be investigated
and potentially for the number of fish
returning to spawn to be predicted
more accurately. The salmons
migration and distribution pattern has
been shown to be closely linked to
ocean currents, and initial investigations
suggest that annual differences in wind
strength and direction, and thus the
surface currents, alter the migration
pathways followed by the young fish.
Major differences in migration
routes between southern and northern
European salmon stocks have been
Recent studies
identified and important factors
influencing their survival have been
Taking advantage of recent advances in noted.
marine sampling, genetic techniques for
By reading salmon scales (similar
stock identification, electronic tagging
to the approach used in ageing trees)
technology, analysis of salmon scales,
scientists were able to investigate
and other innovative approaches,
variations in growth of post-smolts in
an international programme of
the North-East Atlantic. Marine growth
cooperative research on salmon at sea rates varied annually but generally
was launched in 2006 and included
growth rates and the condition of the
freshwater, estuarine, coastal and
young salmon declined during the
offshore components. The priority
period studied. Growth rates during the
was to investigate the distribution
first few months at sea, which are linked
and migration of salmon in the ocean
to oceanic conditions, were lowest for
through marine surveys, see www.
salmon of southernmost origin and it is
salmonatsea.com.
these stocks that have seen the most
Scientists now have a more
marked decline in abundance.
56
The diets of salmon, herring and

mackerel were also studied and,
although the three species feed in
close proximity, their diets differed,
suggesting little direct competition
for prey between salmon and these
abundant species, although herring
and mackerel may consume food items
important to the salmons prey.
Research has also shown that larger
salmon can dive to extraordinary depths
and migrate to the edge of the ice
sheets.
Other recent research has provided
evidence that salmon stocks are being
affected by changing environmental
conditions at sea, with climate change
effects cascading through the marine
food chain and affecting salmon.
There has been a widespread
increase in sea surface temperature
in the North Atlantic over the last
three decades. This shift to a warmer
regime has been accompanied by
marked changes in the abundance and
quality (energy content) of the prey of
the salmon. A northward movement
of some other fish and plankton prey
species of salmon has been detected
and some prey have been replaced by
species of lower nutritional value.
Factors operating in fresh water
may also have an impact on salmon
populations at sea and manifest
themselves as increases in marine
mortality. For example, higher water
their disposal. Improved understanding

of the distribution and migration of
salmon at sea, and predictive computer
models, should improve assessments
of the scale of incidental catches of
salmon in the large-scale fisheries for
mackerel and herring, and the need for
measures to protect salmon.
New genetic tools have significant
application, e.g. in the management of
mixed-stock fisheries. Genetic studies
also indicate that stocking could reduce
the ability of wild salmon to adapt to a
warming climate and both the costs and
benefits should be carefully considered.
Advances in tracking individual
salmon allow survival to be estimated
along the migration route and can assist
managers in considering the potential

impacts of human activities, such as
renewable energy schemes, in coastal
waters.
If knowledge is the key to rational
management, then recent scientific
advances should improve North
Atlantic-wide conservation efforts to
ensure that future generations can
continue to enjoy and benefit from this
iconic and highly prized species.
Find out more: The Royal Society
of Edinburgh is holding a discussion
forum on the evening of 26 November
2013 entitled Lost at Sea? The Atlantic
Salmons Ocean Odyssey see www.
royalsoced.org.uk/events.
Larger salmon can

migrate to the edge
of ice sheets
2
Scales provide
valuable insights into
the marine growth of
salmon and how this is
affected by oceanic
conditions.
3
Inspecting the catch
from a research survey
trawl.
www.snh.gov.uk
57
1
The non-native
American mink is a
prolific hunter.
School of thought
2
Four of the winning
pupils from Cromarty.
Earlier this year SNH ran a schools competition

that focused on non-native species in Scotland.
The results were judged at the Celebration of
Science organised by the Scottish Council for
Development and Industry. First prize went to
Primary 6 and 7 pupils from Cromarty Primary
School, and their teacher Cath Milne explains how
the project gripped the imagination of her class.
At Cromarty Primary School on the Black Isle (just north
of Inverness) we relish the opportunity to take learning
outside, so this competition seemed perfect. The P6/7s
use the nearby Links (a large grassy common) and shore
regularly for a range of activities from across the curriculum.
These include measuring and mapping, animal and plant
identification, problem solving, tree planting, environmental
art and litter picks.
This competition, however, was an exciting chance to
involve the children in a real research project, engaging with
the local area and community. The brief stated that we had
to research the non-native species present in the Highlands
before focusing on one species, then look at distribution
and monitoring data, and use this information in a public
awareness campaign.
The importance of outdoor learning is recognised and
valued by the Scottish Government. In fact, the Curriculum
for Excellence through Outdoor Learning states that the
journey through education for any child in Scotland must
include opportunities for a series of planned, quality outdoor
learning experiences.
Initially we brainstormed the meaning of non-native and
native, before identifying the main non-native species in the
Highlands. The class were quick to decide that they would
like to study the mink, particularly when they realised that
four of the other non-native species were plants (Himalayan
balsam, Japanese knotweed, rhododendron and giant
hogweed).
Initial study of the mink was on the internet researching
the lifestyle and habitats, along with the environmental
problems associated with them. The children asked
questions at home and discovered that several parents had
seen mink in Cromarty and that there had been a mink farm a
few miles away in Munlochy.
58
www.snh.gov.uk
One of the class phoned Lyn Brydon from the Mink

Initiative, who was extremely helpful. She visited the school
bringing a stuffed mink, with which the children posed for
photos and she leased us a mink raft which we (with great
excitement) deployed in a local burn. We visited the raft
regularly checking for footprints in the wet clay pad and
controlling surrounding vegetation (as well as guddling for
beasties, crawling under the bridge and generally having a
splashing time!).
Luckily, however, we didnt find signs of mink, as the
children presumed that if we caught one it would be sent
First Class back to America to live happily ever after.
The class chose to work in three groups on different
public awareness campaigns. One group wrote a rap in
the style of Brett Domino, which premiered in front of
the judges, another made a TV commercial, and the third
created a webpage for the school website. All of which were
fantastic, and the project clearly showed what a great deal of
knowledge the children had picked up.
It was very hard to choose only four of the class to
take to the event at Eden Court Theatre in March 2013
they had all been so involved and motivated. The selected
four created a PowerPoint presentation, gathered all their
resources, tested each others knowledge, and then headed
for Inverness. They did very well indeed and were delighted
to win the first prize of 200.
On the way home they talked of purchasing chocolate
fountains and hot tubs! However, the money has been spent
on identification books and spare outdoor clothing ready for
our next project.
59
1
A queen garden
bumblebee, Bombus
hortorum, feeding on
bluebells.
Bumblebees are resilient little creatures. This

spring was one of the coldest on record, and new
queens emerging from hibernation were faced
with temperatures not much above freezing right
through April. This must have led to the demise of
many, and as a result there were few worker bees
to be seen through the spring, but as soon as the
warm weather finally arrived in July their numbers
bounced back, and thereafter there were plenty of
the common species to be seen in our parks and
gardens.
We shouldnt be surprised. Bumblebees have been around
for 30 million years or so, and have seen ice ages come
and go, so they ought to be able to cope with a cold spell.
Indeed, they can probably cope with cold weather better
than most insects for they can fly when the air temperature
is close to freezing by using heat from their flight muscles to
keep themselves warm.
Future climate change is likely to result in increasingly
extreme and unpredictable weather events, but if this was
the only problem bees faced then they might cope with it
pretty well. Unfortunately this is not the only issue. Modern
farming leaves little room for flowers, and so their food
supply was massively reduced in the twentieth century as
hay meadows and hedgerows were swept away, and crop
rotations involving clover leys were abandoned. The ability of
bumblebees to remain active in cold weather is dependent
on an abundant supply of sugar-rich nectar to fuel them;
without enough flowers, they become torpid, unable to fly,
and are doomed.
Factory-reared bumblebees
Bumblebees in the balance
In addition, tens of thousands of factory-reared bumblebee

nests are shipped into Scotland from Europe each year for
raspberry and strawberry pollination, and recent research
has shown that these nests carry a range of infectious bee
diseases. Movement of domesticated bees has resulted
in the accidental introduction of new parasites such as
Nosema ceranae from Asia, a disease that affects both
honeybees and bumblebees.
In 2006 Professor Dave Goulson founded the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, a charity
devoted to reversing bumblebee decline. As he explains they face many challenges but
we can give them a helping hand.
60
www.snh.gov.uk
61
2
The very rare great
yellow bumblebee,
Bombus distinguendus,
survives only in the
most remote regions of
Scotland.
3
Apples are one of many
crops that benefit from
pollination by wild
bees.
On top of this, systemic

neonicotinoid insecticides have
become widely used in the last 20
years, and are now suspected of
causing all sorts of sublethal effects in
bees including impairing their ability to
navigate and learn how to gather food,
and making them more susceptible
to diseases. Bees living on farmland
are simultaneously exposed to small
amounts of dozens of different toxic
chemicals, with poorly understood
consequences for their health.
If all this were not enough, the Asian
hornet (Vespa velutina) is probably on its
way to Britain this large wasp, which
feeds primarily on bees, was accidentally
introduced to Bordeaux from Asia in
2004, and has been advancing steadily
across Europe ever since, arriving
in Paris in 2012. Perhaps Britains
inclement and unpredictable weather
will help to repel this new invader.
62
Given all this, the fact that there

are any wild bees left in Scotland is
a testament to their toughness. Halfstarved, infected with disease, battered
by the fickle weather, and disoriented
by poisoning with insecticides, it is a
miracle that there are any left at all.
Alarming declines
Sadly, although some bumblebee
species remain reasonably common,
others have declined. Some have
gone extinct in the UK, while others,
such as the great yellow bumblebee
(Bombus distinguendus) cling on in
remote regions such as the Hebrides
where farming is less intensive. This is
alarming, because of course we need
bees. Bumblebees are major pollinators
of many crops, including, for example,
raspberries, blueberries, tomatoes,
apples, runner beans and so on.
Globally, three-quarters of the crops

we grow are pollinated by insects of
one sort or another, predominantly
bees, and the large majority of this
pollination is delivered by wild bees, not
by domesticated honeybees or factoryreared bumblebees. And of course the
majority of wild flower species depend
on wild bees for pollination. Bees need
our help, and we need them, so it is
time to act.
Bumblebee
food supply was
massively reduced
in the 20th century
you will immediately provide your

local bees with a food boost.
Even plants in a windowbox
The biggest single problem is a lack of
will
attract and feed bees. Of
flowers for them to feed on, and we can
course
dont spray your flowers
all help. Gardens have already become
with
pesticides
if you have a few
a hotspot for bumblebees, providing a
aphids,
live
with
it before long
haven from the flowerless, pesticidea
ladybird
or
lacewing
will come
treated farmland. There is evidence that
along
to
eat
them.
If
you
havent
suburban populations of bumblebees
got
a
garden,
badger
your
local
are far more dense than those on farms,
council
to
stop
cutting
road
verges,
and that bumblebees spill over from
roundabout
and
parks
every
five
suburban areas to boost pollination of
minutes.
Encourage
them
to
sow
farmland crops. However, we can make
some
wildflowers
the
On
the
our gardens better.
Verge campaign in Stirling has so far
For a start, forget annual bedding
created nearly 50 such patches of
plants such as busy lizzies and
begonias they are useless for insects, flowers on publicly owned land.
If we give them enough food,
lacking nectar and pollen or having an
our
wild bees will stand a chance of
unnatural structure which makes their
coping
with everything else that we
rewards inaccessible. Instead, grow
throw
at
them. There is plenty that
some old-fashioned cottage garden
we
can
all
do, right on our doorstep,
plants such as lavender, aquilegia,
and
the
time
to start is now.
sage, thyme, comfrey and so on, and
How we can help
www.snh.gov.uk
Arrival of the
tree bumblebee
By chance, in 2001 Professor
Goulson caught the first
tree bumblebee (Bombus
hypnorum) recorded in
Britain, at a site in the New
Forest, Hampshire. This
species loves gardens it
particularly favours nesting
in tit boxes, and can even
oust nesting blue tits. It has
been spreading north ever
since, and in June 2013 the
first one was recorded in
Scotland, in Lennoxtown, East
Dunbartonshire. So far as we
know, this is a natural range
expansion and is doing no
harm, other than to the poor
blue tits.
63

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Scottish Natural Heritage

Autumn / Winter 2013

The Nature of Scotland

12 The John Muir Way

15 Choosing our tree

49 Scottish ospreys in Spain

50 History and nature in harmony

60 Bumblebees in the balance

Scotlands nature blog

You can contact SNH by

Argyll & Outer Hebrides

Editor: Jim Jeffrey

A full list of our offices

Cover photo: Tree sparrow

Inside cover photo: Winter trees

Printed by: J Thomson Colour Printers, Glasgow

Great Glen House,

The Nature of Scotland

Kenny Taylor gives some

The Nature of Scotland

Hurrah for hips

Places which are beautiful throughout

Theres something beautiful about the

Dark until mid-morning, dark by

Six sides and no

Some other things to look for in autumn:

The Nature of Scotland

The snow bunting is the hardiest

Sometimes wider than the whole

Old leaves in winter woodland can

The Nature of Scotland

Some other things to look for in winter:

The popular Scotlands Big 5 campaign

The Nature of Scotland

How did you celebrate the Year

between a range of organisations from

the launch of the John Muir Way during

route suitable for bikes, push-chairs

Marking John Muirs legacy

John Muir Festival

It is a surprisingly little-known fact that

as it rolls through woodlands, meadows

through the leafiest and most scenic

major opportunity to recognise his

From 17 April through to 26 April there

route will be a fitting celebration of his

Our forests and woodlands are

nations trees and woodlands highly

Loch Shiel typifies the

during and after this internationally

The Nature of Scotland

How can we help nature

And of course, healthy ecosystems

only grow in shallow water. This in turn

where they had all but disappeared.

loss. Shallow freshwater pools at the

Climate changes see

Ask any Scottish police officer about Norman Morrison

The Nature of Scotland

Ruairidh MacIlleathain guides us through the fascinating Inches

Loch nan Innsean

Loch of the Inches

Tha am facal innis a nochdadh ann an grunn riochdan ann an ainmean-tre na