Well worth noting in brief that the burning season finished on Tuesday. Having kept a close eye on the ground on the Chayne and on the syndicate ground in Galloway since Christmas, I must report than in four and a half months of legal burning time, it would only have been possible to have a Continue reading

These past few mild days have brought the heather beetles back out of hibernation, and we’ve been receiving reports about beetles “on the move” at the Heather Trust. I made a point of checking the Chayne for beetles two days ago, focusing my finger-tip search on the heather which was so badly damaged during the Continue reading

The tractor has been lying motionless for three months, since the fuel return pipe crumbled into dust and sprayed the engine with half a tank of diesel. Some concerted support from friends and family has seen the rusty leviathan return to pride of place once more, this time decked out with dual wheels and a Continue reading

As the Spring continues to develop, I spotted the first fresh cottongrass flowers on the Chayne yesterday afternoon. The value of these shoots to grouse and blackgame makes their arrival a bit of a milestone in itself, and combined with the ever growing stack of pugnacious larks, the character of the moor is taking on Continue reading

Just worth mentioning that I had a fantastic visit to Croick Estate in Sutherland over the weekend. This post is brief because there will be an awful lot more to come on the subject of Croick in due course, but the trip was excellent and the experience of seeing a North Highland deer forest in Continue reading

Having just returned from a trip to SNH’s Nature Reserve at Cairnsmore of Fleet, I have some mixed emotions. On one hand, the ever-present damage wrought by commercial forestry plantations continues to take its toll on the area, and a hill that should be wriggling with wildlife lies more or less vacant after thirty years Continue reading

Amidst the ongoing misery and upset of continuous sleet, snow and rain, I found a moment  yesterday to pace out and plan my “big” woodland project for 2014. Having finally wrested control of 3Ha of the hill back from my farming tenant, I am keen to see that it is put to good conservation use. Continue reading

While walking the dog and checking some traps on the Chayne in the rain this afternoon, I wandered past some of the cuts I put into the rushes in September with the tractor. So much of the cutting theory designed to be used on heather for grouse also works for waders in wet pasture, and Continue reading

Looking back at the last five winters, we’ve had quite a spread of variety. 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 were both characterised by fierce cold, extended periods of snow and bans on shooting wildfowl and waders. By comparison, 2011/2012 was a soggy, mushy affair that never really came to anything, stumbling uncertainly into spring after a few Continue reading