Scottish Nature Notes

Nature's larder: making the most of spring greens

Leianna — Mon, 20 May 2013 09:12:00 GMT

An introduction to foraging from James Reynolds, Head of Media & Communications for RSPB Scotland.

Nature's larder: making the most of spring greens

For the forager, the winter months offer extremely lean pickings. It is a time to hunker down and savour the goods that one invested time and energy in seeking out and then preserving for the leaner times: sloe gin, elderflower wine or port, dried mushrooms or some wild nuts and preserved berries. But it is a simple fact that there will be a distinct paucity of greens on the shelves. Apart from wintercress and wood sorrel, both not at their best but nevertheless still available in winter, there is little chlorophyll-rich herbage to supplement the diet from nature’s larder.

So it is that the arrival of Spring is always an eagerly anticipated event for the wild foody. And when it arrives, and the green shoots begin to emerge, it makes that simple, primal delight of hunting for one’s dinner all the more rewarding. Any humble walk or outdoor pursuit is suddenly enhanced as one looks out for something to munch on the move or pick and take home to transform into a delicious meal.

Amongst the first of such plants to announce themselves – more often to the nostril before the eye - is wild garlic, or ramsons, as they are often known (Allium ursinum). For anyone new to foraging, it is a good first plant to learn to positively identify. Belonging to the same family of plants the onion, it is quite unmistakeable if its smell together with its habitat of damp or shady hedgerows and woodlands, and its appearance, are all taken into account. It has long, lanceolate leaves that taper at both ends, and umbels of small, white, star-shaped flowers that emerge in April.

The leaves are the best part to collect, and are at their very best just before these pretty flowers bloom. Their taste is a little milder than the bulbs of their commercial counterpart, and are fantastic in salads, made into a wild pesto, or combined with spinach to make a delicious quiche.

There are some fascinating facts and folklore surrounding this plant. Though bears have been absent from the British countryside for a very long time, interestingly the second part of wild garlic’s Latin name gives reference to the fact that it is favoured by them as a food plant. However, apart from ourselves, bears are fairly unique in the animal world for finding this plant both palatable and non-toxic. Most animals avoid it, with the occasional exception of grazers, and if they do ingest it can be poisoned by the volatile oils that give it such a potent pong! As John Wright points out in his book Hedgerow: “most dog and cat owners know not to give their animals onions in any form – a compound n-propyl disulphide causes serious anaemia and deaths have occurred.”

Surprisingly, wild garlic wasn’t always thought worthy of picking for the pot, and it seems that even the gathering of wild foods is subject to the vagaries of fashion too. Maude Grieve, in her seminal book A Modern Herbal, first published in 1931, described it thus: “(It) has a very acrid taste and smell, but it also has very small bulbs, which would hardly render it of practical use. But for its evil smell, (it) would rank amongst the most beautiful of our British plants”. She continues: “Many woods are places to be avoided when it is in flower, being so closely carpeted with the plants that every step taken brings out the offensive odour.”

I rather disagree with Maude. The smell is a welcome indicator that the foraging season is upon us again, and a signal that it is time to grab your basket, get outside and see what’s on offer.

A new career in a new town

Leianna — Mon, 20 May 2013 08:59:00 GMT

Brand new blog from RSPB Scotland Trainee Ecologist, David Freeman. Find out more about the fascinating Bryophytes found on our reserves!

A New Career in a New Town

Back in March, I was delighted to be offered the position of Trainee Ecologist based at RSPB Scotland's Edinburgh HQ. The role is a fantastic opportunity to build on and develop a range of Ecological skills as well as a chance to undertake some real conservation work and make a real difference.

Conocephalum conicum by Li Zhang via bryophytes.plant.siu.edu

In particular, I am focusing on Bryophytes a group of tiny plants commonly known as mosses, liverworts and hornworts. These often-overlooked plants are some of nature’s most beautiful creations and display a range of deep colours and fascinating growth forms. They are also of incredible ecological importance. Their reliance on ambient humidity for water means they are often vulnerable to atmospheric pollution and the production of peat from the sphagnum mosses is one of the most important ecological processes in the world.

My calendar for the next few months is already filling up with fieldwork planned in Abernethy, Glenborrodale, Forsinard, Strathbeg, Orkney and Corrimony. Additionally I am being sent on numerous training courses both internal and external in places Like Geltsdale, Loch Leven and Raasay. These represent a fantastic opportunity to learn new skills as well as increase the amount of work I am able to undertake in my current role.

Thuidium delicatulum via bryophyteportal.org

So far, I have been out briefly to Loch Leven and Loch Lomond each time gathering a range of samples. At both of these reserves I have only scratched the surface of what must be present, but when you consider how overlooked bryophytes are, any addition to the records is a step forward! Highlights so far have to be seeing Conocephalum conicum a common but distinctive plant, Thuidium delicatulum that provided me with a fantastic opportunity to practice some microscope ID skills and the Bonsai tree-like Thamnobryum alopecurum. Spotting an osprey fishing on Loch Lomond was a nice moment too.

Thamnobryum alopecurum

Over the next few months, I intend to contribute a blog entry regularly to the website. I hope that this will paint a picture of some of the amazing work undertaken by the RSPB and draw attention to the fascinating world of Bryophytes.

Island living: searching for twite in the Hebrides

Leianna — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:26:00 GMT

RSPB Scotland Research Assistant, Davide Scridel, is out searching for an elusive bird in the Outer Hebrides. Find out more about his experiences and check out his fantastic photos below!

Island living: searching for twite in the Hebrides

The subject of the 2013 Statutory Conservation Agency/RSPB Annual Breeding Bird Scheme is the twite! The first survey, in 1999, produced a population estimate of 10,000 pairs with the majority of the breeding birds located in Scotland, then England and only a few pairs remaining in Wales. Due to the severe decline that this species experienced since the 1800s, twite are of the highest conservation concern in the UK. It is therefore vital we to reassess its population trends fourteen years after the previous national survey.

Twite perched on rock by Davide Scridel

Twite breed on unenclosed moorlands, hills coast and islands especially near farmland, with nests occurring on heather moor, sea cliffs, in gorse and, more rarely, in conifer plantation. They primarily feed on seeds found in grassland and cultivated habitats such as pasture, meadows and young fallows.

In Scotland twite breed most commonly in the Western and Northern Isles, in the Inner Hebrides and along the coast of West & North Scotland where these habitats are particularly widespread.

I feel very privileged because I have been assigned to survey this understudied species within a series of randomly selected 1x1 km² in the Outer Hebrides (Uist, Harris & Lewis), some of of my all-time favourite places. These islands are extremely beautiful and are the stronghold for breeding twite in the UK. Such preferences can be partially explained by the fact that the islands offer coastal and moorland habitats as well as the unique, small-scale farming practice called crofting.

Here fields are low-intensively managed to produce cereals or foraging grasses for livestock and the interaction of these human activities and the natural occurrence of a unique calcareous landmark Machair, formed by windblown shell sand, provide enough fertility to support cereal-based livestock production.

This is particularly true in the island of Uist, where I am based. Here cereals are grown using limited pesticides and low fertilizers with fields left fallow traditionally on a biannual basis, allowing very rare plants but also ruderal plants, such as dandelion and common sorrel, to emerge. These are the twite’s absolute favourites and part of our task here is to record the presence of this species also in relation to the amount of flowers we can see in the surroundings.

Golden plover on freshly ploughed machair by Davide Scridel

Small scale-low intensive agriculture practises are very rare nowadays and only persist in isolated areas but they are truly a heaven for orchids, invertebrates and for rare and declining farmland birds such as corncrake and corn buntings. Twite are much more than just “brown” birds. They are true indicators for changes in the way we live and how our needs affect our landscape. It is therefore very important to assess how the twite population is responding to human and non-human changes fourteen years after the previous survey.

08/05/2013

It is now a week since I took the ferry from Uig (Skye) to reach North Uist. The journey was remarkable: surreal landscapes and plenty of wildlife, with highlights such as golden and white-tailed eagle and hundreds of razorbills floating around a motionless sea. It was so unbelievably still that even the boat crew were capturing it with their cameras while approaching the Outer Hebrides - such rare moment for this part of the world.

Lochmaddy at dusk by Davide Scridel

I spent the following two days meeting local RSPB colleagues working on the site as well as partners SNH and MACHAIR LIFE+. The latter organisation is of particular interest to me as they are truly dedicated people, with the focus of increasing awareness and protection for this rare habitat full of biodiversity and very important not only for twite but also for rare invertebrates such as the Great yellow bumblebee, confined to a few spots in the whole of Britain.

The first day of the survey involved visiting a 1x1 km² located in South Uist. We didn’t see any twite but spotted stonechats, ravens, kestrel, whimbrel, wheatear and plenty of meadow pipits amongst others. An excellent introduction to the Western Island wildlife! But things got even more exciting towards the last transect when I noticed in the far distance a female hen harrier emerging from a spot in thick heather while whistling piih-eh to an approaching food delivering male. That made my day...and it was only the first one I’ve seen in the field. After seeing the female returning to the same spot I was then sure I had found a nest and decided to walk off immediately to avoid potential disturbance to the breeding pair.

Stonechat by Davide Scridel

Despite such excitement, I was quite disappointed to have not seen any twite. The weather forecast for the following day was typically Hebridean- rain and winds up to 40 mph which suggested a boring day indoors. Suddenly, those strong winds that brought rain in the morning also cleared away the cloudy sky and a splendid, but still windy afternoon, allowed a visit to a second square.

Similar to the first one, this square incorporated a combination of moorland/coastal habitat and after a few transects and point counts I detected the unmistakable “twit” and a later rambling song or “chortle”. Five TWITE amongst two pied wagtail and a few meadow pipits were confidently feeding on a white sandy beach energetically seeking for seeds amongst the washed up seaweed.

Twite searching for seed by Davide Scridel

No rings on legs but 4 out of the5 birds showed clear signs of pairing. The “chortle” is in fact a reliable indicator of breeding activity and my excitement did not stop when two birds decided to leave the feeding spot and fly towards the grass/moor mosaic cliff less than 100m away from the beach.

One of the birds remained perched on a stone, guarding the mate disappearing into a small crevice. I decided to wait and visit that crevice when both birds went back to feed on the shore. There was a nest there, carefully lined with grass and some sheep’s wool at the bottom of the cup. It was my first ever twite nest containing three light blue eggs with tiny black marks. I left the site quietly and checked for the safe return of the incubating female. It was a confirmed breeding site for twite and a very exciting day for me!

Male twite by Davide Scridel

Taking the slow road: surveying fungi on the banks of Loch Lomond

Leianna — Wed, 08 May 2013 10:22:00 GMT

Brand new blog from Chris Knowles, RSPB Scotland Nature Counts Trainee Ecologist.

Taking the slow road: surveying fungi on the banks of Loch Lomond

This end of a frosty spring is about as far from being mushroom season as you can get, and yet that’s what I had high hopes of finding on one of my first outings as a ‘Nature counts trainee ecologist’.

With the recent weather in mind, I set out on a surprisingly dry and not-particularly-freezing kind of morning to survey woodlands at the RSPB Loch Lomond reserve.

1. Ring Wood, RSPB Loch Lomond

As I took my first few steps into Ring Wood I glanced around at the dominating beech and birch, cast a hopeful eye over the copious standing and fallen dead wood and then spent the next 20 minutes in pretty much the same spot. I had stepped into a wonderland of diversity as each trunk, log and fallen branch revealed more of the toughest fungi left hanging on since last autumn like the Birch Polypore (also known as the Razorstrop fungus due to it being used in the past as a tool sharpener) and some of the woody perennial fungi like the Hoof Fungus (also known as the Tinderbracket due to it being used to carry tinder for firelighting still to this day).

2. Hoof fungus (Fomes fomentarius)

In fact due to the large number of species found, by noon I had barely moved 20 metres from where I started. So although it was with some reluctance that I had to drag my eyes from the ground in my search for fungi, I was rewarded over lunch by a sight in the skies. As I sat on a bank of the loch munching a sandwich, an osprey with similar thoughts in mind repeatedly swooped down over the water catching its own lunch – it was wonderful to watch, and something I had never observed before (neither an osprey, nor an osprey’s lunch).

Soon enough it was time to get my head out of the clouds, and back into the woods for more fungi; no difficult task on a site like this. I was particularly impressed with how many species had colonised the same host plant together... with the best exhibiting no less than four visibly fruiting in close proximity on the same dead tree.

I’ll be returning to the same woods for another survey this autumn, but next time I think I’ll be bringing the kids along for a fungal lesson in sharing.

Greetings from the STAR (Seabird Tracking And Research) team on Colonsay!

Leianna — Mon, 06 May 2013 14:47:00 GMT

Introducing a new series of blogs from RSPB Scotland Conservation Scientists. First up is Emily Scragg, Senior Research Assistant with the Seabird Tracking And Research team on Colonsay.

Greetings from the STAR (Seabird Tracking And Research) team on Colonsay!

It is our fourth year here on the island (and my first) carrying out seabird tracking work with the previous three years tracking carried out as part of the Future of the Atlantic Marine Environment (FAME) project. This research aims to find out where UK seabirds are foraging in order to help inform the Marine Protected Area (MPA) designation process. Previous years tracking data is freely available to the public, policy makers and renewables companies at webgis.spea.pt/FAME. We encourage everyone to explore our ground-breaking results for themselves.

We are one of four STAR teams collecting data this year, with the others based on Orkney, Fair Isle and Rathlin (in addition to collaborating with people on the Isle of May, Skomer and Puffin Island).

Tessa and I are based on Colonsay for the next three months, a small island in the Southern Hebrides which is home to around 100 people, a general store, a bookshop and a brewery...what more could you want!? The landscape is comprised of a wide range of habitats from heather moorland to dunes, machair, sandy beaches and sea cliffs, and consequently has exceptionally rich biodiversity. Along with Islay it is the only place you can find breeding chough in Scotland.

We arrived here two weeks ago and have spent the time preparing for the field season ahead – this has involved a wide variety of tasks from re-acquainting ourselves with the locals (and the local cakes!) to cleaning and sorting equipment, reccing sites, and preparing the GPS tags we use on the birds.

The tags take quite a bit of sorting before they are ready: each must be charged and discharged at least twice, and then run through a series of tests to check that it is in full working order. We have over 150 tags so this is no mean feat! Fortunately we've been able to intersperse this with trips to the cliffs to re-familiarise ourselves with the sites and find out what the birds are up to – the short answer has so far been 'not much'. Shags are the first species we tag on Colonsay but we have to wait until they are settled on their nests incubating, and this year the onset of breeding for the shags appears to have been delayed. This could be due to the high winds and waves we've been experiencing. When breeding, When breeding, shags forage in shallower waters close to the colony and can find it difficult to feed when high winds cause turbulent waters.

On Monday we visited the local school to talk to them about our project and to try out the 'FAME game'. This involves sending the children to 'forage' for Sandeel fact cards whilst carrying one of the tags. We can then download the tracks from the tags and show them where they've been. With a class size of 3 (2 were off sick) it was a little intense but I think all of them had fun and learnt something about us and about the birds we study.

Aside from preparing for the field season we have been having fun at the island's Spring Festival. There have been a lot of talks and workshops on offer and we have been taking advantage of our relative free time to explore these fully! Spring is well underway on the island – we saw our first Cuckoo of the year last week and a Corncrake was heard yesterday in one of the fields near where we live. There are lambs gambolling everywhere you look and the Primroses are in bloom, as SpringWatch would have it “Spring has sprung”!

Our other teams have also been working hard: Team Rathlin has already tagged 3 birds on Great Saltee, team Orkney has been preparing for their first off-island trip and team Fair Isle have been playing it easy as their equipment only arrived on the ferry a few days ago! The advantage (or disadvantage) of once-a-week post. We will all be keeping you updated throughout the season with our progress.

Countdown to Scottish Birdfair!

Leianna — Thu, 02 May 2013 10:21:00 GMT

Countdown to Scottish Birdfair! May 11-12 at Hopetoun House near Edinburgh

With a little over 1 week to go before the second annual Scottish Birdfair, it’s all go in the office as we finalise plans for the big weekend.

The award-winning festival* attracted some 5,000 visitors in 2012 and is expected to be even bigger and better this year.

The Scottish Birdfair will host over 100 exhibitors showcasing everything from the very best in optics to outdoor clothing, books, arts & crafts, garden accessories and more.

An exciting programme of expert talks, guided walks, demonstrations and workshops ensures there is something for everyone whether you are new to birdwatching or an old hand.

For those of you who like to take advantage of a full day- Set your alarm clock for a guided Dawn Chorus Walk around the beautiful grounds of Hopetoun House. Enjoy a coffee and the sounds of songbirds greeting the day.

There’s also an opportunity to discover the remarkable birdlife of the Firth of Forth on a special seabird cruise. Experts will point out the diverse range of species found right on Edinburgh’s doorstep from puffins to gannets and terns. You may even spot seals, dolphins and jellyfish!

And it’s all for a good cause! Proceeds from the Scottish Birdfair will go to support our efforts to protect and conserve corncrake, a rare and elusive bird and a real Scottish conservation success story.

There’s also a range of fantastic activities including bushcraft, foraging, cookery demonstrations and a fantastic line up of local folk bands throughout the weekend.

There’s lots for the little ones too from storytelling and puppet shows, to pony rides and arts & crafts. The Scottish Birdfair is a great day out for the whole family.

For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit: http://www.scottishbirdfair.org.uk/

*Scottish Birdfair was named Best Small Festival at the Scottish Event Awards 2012.

Photo by Ed Mackey

In search of the Golden bog moss

Leianna — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:15:00 GMT

RSPB Trainee Ecologist, David Freeman, tells us more about his work at Forsinard Flows.

In search of the Golden Bog Moss

Sphagnum pulchrum

Before arriving at Forsinard I had already decide to try to use some of my spare time constructively by improving my knowledge of the Sphagnum Mosses, commonly known as the Bog Mosses.

When most people think of bog mosses I’m sure the image that springs to mind is of something dank and snot green. While it is true, some species do fit this description, it is far from the whole truth. For example, there is the deep glittering crimson of Sphagnum warnstorfii, Sphagnum caplliifolium can have the colouring of raspberry ripple ice cream and Sphagnum teres has a head of striking ginger, however there is one bog moss in particular that stands out from the crowd, the golden bog moss Sphagnum pulchrum. This is a relatively rare moss in the UK and as well as being distinctively gold in colour it is also remarkably symmetrical in structure. Looking at this moss close up reminds me of 1920’s art deco and geometric shapes.

I decided to dedicate a surprisingly bright and warm March weekend to search for a range of intriguing mosses, all the time keeping an eye out for S.pulchrum. Trekking across an expanse of undulating moorland, it was not long before I came across area peppered with icy lochans. These pools had a surprisingly diverse moss flora and on the edge of one of these pools I spotted S.pulchrum. It was not the distinctive golden sheen of the plant, which first grabbed my attention, but rather the distinctly ordered structure setting it apart from the surrounding vegetation. I was ecstatic to say the least.

This was a fantastic find and certainly one of the highlights of the weekend. I believe my exeprience at Forsinard proves the best way to learn about any plant or animal is to go out and start looking for them. Over those couple of days, utilising the samples I had collected, I was able to make a real improvement on my understanding of the bog mosses. This was just as well as that Monday I was delighted to be offered the position of Trainee Ecologist at RSPB Scotland's HQ, focussing on mosses and liverworts.

Photo by Sharon Pilkington.

A trip to the far north

Leianna — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:09:00 GMT

RSPB Scotland Trainee Ecologist, David Freeman, on his first trip to Forsinard Flows.

A trip to the far north

The Flow country of Scotland is one of the most important and dynamic landscapes in the world, its deep peats have built up over thousands of years locking away masses of carbon and preserving forests from ages past. The Lochs and Lochans that collect on the peat form a strange patterned landscape that reflects the metallic greys and crystal blues of the Highland sky. This majestic landscape has long been high on my agenda to visit.

When the opportunity to spend a month volunteering at Forsinard arose, I leapt at the chance. Forsinard Flows is a reserve that covers huge areas of this landscape stretching from the Caithness/Sutherland boarder in the east to loch Druim a’ chliabhain in the west. I arrived at the reserve on a clear and crisp February night. Immediately I was struck by the scale of the landscape. The vast undulating moorlands and the horizons of snow-capped peaks combine to make one of the most spectacular landscapes in the UK.

The next morning after a brief introduction to the other volunteers and staff, we headed out to undertake some essential habitat management tasks. During this first day I was amazed by how peaceful the surrounding landscape is. I was also surprised at the abundance of wildlife present. Even though it was still early in the year there was still plenty to see. Routinely we would stumble across herds of red deer (Cervus elaphus) on the open moorland. Amongst the pines the bright orange of male crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) could often be glimpsed flitting about in the higher branches. Of particular interest to me was the rich carpet of mosses, like the rich burgundy of Sphagnum capillifolium, the bog pools edged with the shining gold of Sphagnum pulchrum and the ever present glossy green creep of Hylocomium splendens. However, the highlight of that first day has to have been a nocturnal visit from a highly inquisitive pine marten (Martes martes). I was certainly pleased to be calling this Landscape home for the next 4 weeks.

Photos 1 & 2 by Eleanor Bentall. Photo 3 by Karl Stevens.

Countdown to the Scottish Birdfair

Leianna — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 10:14:00 GMT

Scottish Birdfair team member, Stacey Maden, on preparing for the big day.

Countdown to the Scottish Birdfair

With just 1 month to go before the Scottish Birdfair, it’s all go in the office as we finalise plans for the big day.

This year we are excited to welcome even more exhibitors showcasing the very best in optics, clothing, arts and crafts, books and bird food (just to name a few) and we are looking forward to browsing the stalls ourselves.

One of the perks of being a Birdfair team member, aside from being issued with a walkie talkie, is the opportunity to meet so many people who share our love for wildlife and Scotland’s natural environment. We have a dedicated team of volunteers who help us with every aspect of the event, from marketing to traffic marshalling and we really couldn’t do it without them.

We are looking forward to welcoming a diverse range of conservation organisations, all with a commitment to protecting and enhancing our natural environment. Be sure to visit our friends and find out more about what they do and how you can help.

For those of you who like to take advantage of a full day- Set your alarm clock for a guided Dawn Chorus Walk around the beautiful grounds of Hopetoun House. Enjoy a coffee and the amazing sounds of songbirds greeting the day.

There’s also an opportunity to discover the remarkable wildlife of the Firth of Forth on a special seabird cruise. Experts will point out the diverse range of species found right on our doorstep from puffins and gannets to seals and jellyfish.

There’s lots to keep the little ones entertained too with pony rides, storytelling, puppet shows, nest box building and more!

And let’s not forget the truly important things...the food and beverage options! Our friends at the Duddingston Arms are back this year to offer a range of specially brewed beers and our very own ‘Birdfair Best’ beer brewed by Tryst Breweries. Fantastic coffee from Steampunk coffee will help you start the day right. A wide range of delicious lunch options including risotto, burgers, hog roast, and traditional Cullen skink will keep the entire family happy.

So, if you enjoy nature, wildlife, the outdoors, delicious locally sourced food and fun for the entire family- The Scottish Birdfair is the perfect event for you! We look forward to seeing you there!

You can view the full event programme and purchase tickets on the Scottish Birdfair website.

Photo: Ken Jack Agencies

Check out the Scottish Birdfair video to find out what it's all about: (Please visit the site to view this video)

How do you see us?

Leianna — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:35:00 GMT

Stuart Benn, RSPB Conservation Manager, on the Year of Natural Scotland.

How do you see us?

It’s been the usual series of highs and lows with Scottish sport in the last couple of weeks – our women curlers were crowned world champions and Andy Murray ground it out in the Miami heat to become the second best tennis player on earth. But the national football team continued their slide into the lower regions of the FIFA rankings and we now sit below the Cape Verde Islands and Jordan (the country, though given our recent form, Katie Price would have had a decent chance of beating us too).

So, as ever with Scotland, it’s been a mixed bag and these sports stories will no doubt help shape people’s opinions about us just as they do with other countries (think Brazil and football or New Zealand and the All Blacks). But those opinions are formed through all sorts of other things too including the natural environment (Brazil - Amazon rainforest , New Zealand – kiwi) and two recent initiatives are asking us to think about Scotland’s nature just a little bit differently.

Golden eagle talons

2013 has been designated The Year of Natural Scotland , a celebration of our scenery and wildlife, and the Big 5 have just been announced. These are five of the most iconic Scottish species – golden eagle, otter, red squirrel, red deer, harbour seal - and they will be the focus of efforts to inspire people to get out and see Scotland’s wildlife for themselves. We might think that the RSPB would just concentrate on eagles and the other birds but not so – a huge range of animals, insects, plants and the like benefit from our activities and we want to tell people about and involve them with this work too.

I guess that we will all have our own ideas on what these species and any other aspect of Scottish nature means to us, shaped by our own experiences and what we’ve read or heard. But have you ever thought of expressing them in a different way because this is what we are being asked to do through Imagining Natural Scotland. The idea behind this is to form collaborations between science and the creative arts to highlight Scotland’s natural environment and wildlife, and come up with projects to showcase them in ways that go beyond what we might expect. And there’s possibly money available too!

(Please visit the site to view this video)

Any regular readers of my blog will know that I’m fascinated by the connections between nature, music and art (for example here, here, here and here) so I think this is a great opportunity and I would love to get involved in a joint Imagining Natural Scotland project. If anyone is interested then please get in touch with me at stuart.benn@rspb.org.uk. Look forward to hearing your exciting ideas!

Update on puffins washed up along Scotland's east coast

Leianna — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 11:48:00 GMT

Over the last week, we’ve received reports of hundreds of seabirds, mostly puffins, as well as smaller numbers of guillemots and razorbills, washing up on beaches along Scotland’s east coast and on down to Northumberland.

These seabird ‘wrecks’ are thought to be the worst in several decades and may be the result of the ongoing harsh weather we’ve been experiencing. The exact causes are still unknown.

Despite their small stature, puffins are hardy birds and it is particularly concerning to see them washed up showing signs of starvation and exhaustion.

After fledging from our seacliffs in late summer, these birds travel long distances and spend the winter months at sea, before returning to our shores for the breeding season in late spring.

There are concerns that the scale of this wreck may have an impact on the upcoming seabird breeding season as many species are already facing steep declines. Conservationists will be monitoring populations closely throughout the summer season.

We are working with the Centre of Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) to monitor the situation and learn as much as possible about the cause of the wrecks. Recovery of the birds along our beaches for post-mortem examination is currently underway. You can help by reporting any sightings to us or the CEH.

Renowned seabird expert Mike Harris is on the scene and wrote an informative blog update yesterday. Keep an eye on this blog for further updates.

Wrecks have been reported at the following locations:

Panbride, Angus

Carnoustie, Angus

Warkworth, Northumberland

Balmedie, Aberdeenshire

Cambois, Northumberland

Beadnell Beach, Northumberland

Crowd Atlas

Leianna — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:18:15 GMT

New blog from Conservation Manager Stuart Benn.

Crowd Atlas

There’s really nothing else quite like it.

Every 20 years or so, all of Britain and Ireland’s birds are counted and mapped, and the results put out in a Bird Atlas. This info, when added to other more regular counts, is absolutely vital to organisations like the RSPB - it is one of the key building blocks for much of our conservation work but these counts are an almost inconceivably massive undertaking. Think how long it would take you to count the birds in your local park and then scale it up. All those fields, islands, moors, towns, cliffs, hills and coasts need to be visited and not just where there is a good road network - it’s the whole lot. One person couldn’t do it alone, a hundred people couldn’t do it but combine the efforts of thousands of volunteers and all those individual counts add up and that is exactly how this huge task is broken down into little bits and achieved.

Breac

On Saturday, I was delighted to give a talk at an event celebrating the latest Bird Atlas run by the organisers of the count, the Scottish Ornithologists Club, the British Trust for Ornithology and BirdWatch Ireland. The book itself isn’t due to come out until this autumn but we were treated to a sneak preview of some of the maps and each one tells its own story - the big increases of nuthatches and buzzards, the large declines of cuckoos and curlews. Unfortunately, those on the way down outnumber those on the way up and this story is the same for much of our once familiar wildlife from hedgehogs to butterflies. We need to start reversing these losses but the first step is knowing the scale of the problem and that’s why these counts and the volunteers who do them are so vital.

So, my talk at the Conference was to give a flavour of how rewarding and fun it was to be one of those 17270 volunteers giving up some of their spare time to do the counts. Being a lover of the Scottish hills, a fair amount of my effort was spent getting into and then surveying some pretty wild places with Breac, our Border collie. Equally dramatic were the couple of weeks we spent helping out the Irish in Donegal away in the far north-west – striding along the top of those huge coastal cliffs with the surf pounding below and the ravens and choughs wheeling above was unforgettable.

North Donegal coast

But, just as enjoyable was getting to really know our local area near Inverness as we went out exploring, looking for new species. It sounds daft but we found brilliant places for walks and wildlife within minutes of our house that had remained undiscovered and unknown to us for the previous 17 years.

I know that when I get to see all of the maps I’ll be able to pinpoint some of my own records and there is certainly a lot of satisfaction to be gained from that. But that’s not the main point. The big picture is that it’s a massive joint effort and it’s everyone’s individual records added together that count. And I guess that’s what volunteering is really all about – lots of contributions adding up and making a big difference, together.

Vote Abernethy! Support our project to restore Scotland's Caledonian pine forest

Leianna — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:59:00 GMT

Exciting news! We have been shortlisted by the European Outdoor Conservation Association for a potential award of nearly 20,000 Euros. Our project will re-connect Abernethy to its neighbouring Caledonian forest, Glenmore, through the planting of 30,000 native trees, re-establishing a huge wildlife corridor. The stunning Caledonian forest once covered large parts of Scotland, but today just 1% remains. The RSPB’s Abernethy National Nature Reserve includes the UK’s largest remnant of Caledonian forest, home to 4,500 species, 20% of which are nationally rare. This project will be a vital step towards our 200 year vision to expand the forest to almost twice its size. Please vote for “Restoring Scotland’s Caledonian Forest” http://www.outdoorconservation.eu/project-voting-category.cfm?catid=5.

Beacons: Stories for our not so distant future

Leianna — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 11:40:00 GMT

Jim Densham, Senior Land-Use Policy Officer (climate) at RSPB Scotland, tells us about a new short story collection exploring the impact of climate change.

Today a new short story book will be published. Beacons: stories for our not so distant future is a collection of fictional stories penned by some of the UK’s most well-known authors (including Adam Marek who used to work for the RSPB). Their theme, in the specially commissioned stories, is visions of our future and how we will live in a world where the climate is changing but it won’t be all doom and gloom, or science fiction. On the face of it, this book sounds like an interesting read but buying it has an added benefit as the royalties are going to the Stop Climate Chaos coalition in the UK (SCC) and Scotland (SCCS).

The RSPB is an active member of SCC and SCCS, adding our voice to 100 other member organisations to make it the UK’s largest group of people dedicated to action on climate change. With a combined supporter base of more than 11 million people, Governments in Westminster, Edinburgh and Cardiff tend to sit up and take notice when SCC speaks on climate issues. You might remember the impact of The Wave marches, the recent Green is Working campaigning in London or the Get Your Act Together lobby of the Edinburgh Parliament.

Here’s a bit of the blurb from the book’s publisher:

Never we been so uncertain about what the following years, decades and centuries might bring. This riveting and provocative collection of short fiction throws down the gauntlet to award winning writers, challenging them to devise original responses to the climate crisis. From Joanne Harris' powerful vision of a near future where venturing outside becomes a dangerous habit, to Nick Haye’s beautifully illustrated tale of the bond between man and nature. Here, our authors have created provocative, funny, sometimes satirical, and at times deeply moving stories that bring an immediate reality to the problems at hand. Beacons warns before have and inspires by offering stories that are as various as our possible futures.

So why not buy yourself a copy...and one for a friend...and a spare as a present for someone. Beacons is available at good bookshops and online here.

The eagle has landed

Leianna — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 11:09:00 GMT

Weekly update from Stuart Benn, RSPB Conservation Manager in North Scotland.

The Eagle has Landed

I had to paint a ceiling at the weekend but, whilst it took Michelangelo four years to manage that with the Sistine Chapel, I was done in a couple of hours. And with the days drawing out, that still left plenty of time to get out on to the hill to see how the eagles were doing.

Although my observations are interesting, they become much more important when added to everybody else’s efforts and it all helps to build up a picture of how eagles are doing across Scotland. And people giving up their time and expertise like this is replicated not just across birds but other wildlife and habitat management too- not to mention the million and one other ways that folk get involved with volunteering.

Getting info and work like this done just wouldn’t happen if it all had to be paid for. Fortunately for us, people volunteer because they enjoy it and a big part of that is the social dimension. I love hearing about everyone else’s eagle experiences, their joys and frustrations and you get to see some great images too. How about this one that I was sent at the start of the week?!

Pic of Golden eagle and rising moon by Ronan Dugan

Unfortunately, Golden eagles are still largely hill birds in the UK – restricted to the places where they are left alone. The situation is slowly improving but we’ve got a long way to go and a look to the continent shows how things could be.

Last autumn, we spent a couple of week’s holiday in Southern Scandinavia and Northern Germany and one of things I wanted to see most was the breeding Golden eagles of Denmark. Yes, Denmark – flat, agricultural and seemingly as far away from our idea of what eagles need as it is possible to imagine.

But it’s true, Golden eagles now nest in Denmark and we watched them hunting across fields – it was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen and it completely changed my view as to where birds and other wildlife can live if we just give them the chance.

Golden eagle habitat – Denmark style

So, if you were a volunteer at Denmark’s Lille Vildmose you would be able to look up from sea level and see Golden eagles and Cranes flying overhead. Cranes are increasing in numbers in the UK and are moving north under their own steam so we just need to couple that with a more enlightened view towards eagles and, hopefully, it won’t be too long before we can look up and see them both in the lowlands of the Scottish Highlands! What a sight that would be!