The Golden Plover Award 2016

The Golden Plover Award is seeking the best upland sheep farmers in 2016!

The Heather Trust and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (Scotland) have announced applications are open for the 2016 Golden Plover Award for Moorland Management and Lindsays are proud sponsors of this coveted award.

Now in its fourth year, the Golden Plover recognises progressive, practical and sustainable moorland management in Scotland.  This year the Award's theme reflects sheep farming's role as a major upland land use. 

Adam Smith, Director (Scotland) of the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust said “The judges will be looking to identify the best integration of farming enterprises with conservation, sport and other business interests. The award is open to farms, estates, individuals and syndicates, or any other individual or group who can demonstrate their interest in sheep grazing contributing to high quality moorland management. Striking such a balance isn’t easy, needing attention to habitat quality, parasite control, lambing, and a collaborative work strategy with neighbours and local keepers, so we are very keen to applaud those who have managed to pull it off!”

Michael Yellowlees, Head of Rural Services at Lindsays, said: “Our rural team understands the realities of modern rural life and we are delighted to support this award which celebrates the enthusiasm and commitment required to manage Scotland’s uplands. 

“We are extremely proud that we have worked with generations of the same family on numerous Scottish estates and farms, many with a strong sheep enterprise. Our enduring relationship with rural clients reflects our in-depth knowledge and genuine expertise in specialised areas such as agricultural law, crofting law, renewable energy, telecommunications, forestry, minerals, sportings and feudal dignities.”

Previous winners have included Edinglassie Estate on Donside for their support for scientific research into grouse management and Finzean near Banchory for their dedication to community and  conservation. 

Simon Thorp, Director of the Heather Trust, said: “We hope 2016 will build on the success of the last three years of the Golden Plover Award, which has really helped to highlight the hard work and dedication involved in managing Scotland’s uplands. This year, we aim to demonstrate the really positive impact that shepherds and farmers can make on our hills and moorlands, complementing a range of different interests, from sport and conversation to peatland and renewables.”

Applicants are invited to submit their entry by 12 noon on 23 March 2016 and winners will be presented at the Scottish Game Fair at Scone Palace on Friday 1 July.  You can download an application form from the Golden Plover Award website

Prize Draw Winners 2015

The story of the Heather Trust Prize Draw winners 2015, who won a day's stalking with Hunting Experiences and two nights at the Buccleuch and Queensberry Arms Hotel in Thornhill, Dumfries and Galloway.

“What an experience”

When my son in law Charles invited me to join him on a deer-stalking trip he had won in the Heather Trust Prize Draw, I had mixed thoughts; how kind of him to invite me, but could I shoot an animal? As a complete novice to stalking I had never intentionally killed an animal before.  How would I feel about taking the life a deer?

I accepted with some reservations and started looking forward to a boys' weekend in the wonderful Scottish countryside. Part of the prize was to stay for two nights in the ‘Buccleuch and Queensberry Arms Hotel’ in Thornhill. We each had a room in the courtyard, and first impressions were very good indeed; warm welcome, spotless room and modern décor.

Our two stalking guides Woody and Craig met us and took us to the range to test our shooting abilities and assess our safety with a rifle. It was over 30 years since I fired a live round, the last time was during my army short service commission. I really enjoyed the range and felt very safe in the knowledge that Woody and Craig were watching over me. As it turned out, I managed two 5cm groupings at 100 metres, and I was quite relieved that I had not shown myself up. More importantly, I was reassured that if I could get eyes on a buck, I would most likely have a kill.

We had a most delicious meal at the hotel with our two guides. Over dinner we discussed the next day and what to expect. We really enjoyed their company and the tales they told - the great wine also helped.

4.30am the next day we were up, packed and off in the 4x4. We arrived at the stalking drop-off at 5.00am just as dawn was breaking. Charles went with Craig to the next valley and I was with Woody. We made a start looking for my first buck, and I felt the sense of excitement; back to nature the hunter and the prey. We stopped at a number of locations viewing the stunning countryside. We saw a number of does and young but no bucks.

Before we knew it, the first stalk was over - no bucks, but what a three hours despite the rain - I had thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It was back to the hotel for a very well received breakfast and day exploring the Scottish coast with Charles.

By 6.00pm we were back stalking again in a new area, and this time we had to find a buck. Five minutes in we saw him in the trees - the adrenaline was pumping and I was ready, rifle on the sticks, waiting for a shot, but then the wind changed, he smelt us and was gone!

We stalked for another 3 hours and saw many does and young, but unfortunately no bucks. Although we didn't know it at the time, Charles was more successful elsewhere. I did not mind at all - I enjoyed every minute of being in the countryside, anticipating a potential bucks movement. For me it was the challenge, the fact that we saw a buck and could have taken a shot if he had just come out one more metre. It was nature at its best - the animal against man and the animal won in my case. Maybe next time he would not be so lucky...

But could I have pulled the trigger? The answer is yes for two reasons - Woody explained to me the damage the deer do to the forest if they are not controlled. The sport is a humane and well regulated and the animal has the upper hand.

Will I go again? Most definitely! Charles and I are arranging to return to the Buccleuch in the doe season, this time introducing my two sons to the sport. If you are a novice and want to experience deer staking I could not recommend a better package than the one we experienced with Woody and Craig and the Buccleuch hotel.
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Charles Densham runs Cotswold Country Pursuits sporting agency

Heather Beetle 2015

A view of 2014's beetle damage at Hedleyhope Fell, Co Durham

The Trust has been as busy as ever over the past few weeks, and it has been interesting to get out and have a look at some heather beetle damage in Scotland and England.

Much of this damage has been strangely prolonged this year, meaning that beetle larvae have been found above ground and damaging heather for much longer than usual. Interestingly, reports from Langholm Moor have described a kind of gradual, slow erosion of heather by beetle larvae over the course of almost three months, rather than the customary few weeks. This has been borne out elsewhere, and it seems that hopes that a cold spring would waylay beetle numbers have been dashed by this strange and unexpected response.

Elsewhere, we were asked to carry out a heather beetle advisory visit to Hedleyhope Fell at the bottom of Weardale in County Durham, where a large area of heather was destroyed by beetles in 2014. This area of mid-altitude heathland is owned by the Durham Wildlife Trust and provides an important habitat for black and red grouse, as well as short eared owls.

A year after the outbreak, most of the mature heather plants are totally dead and have begun to fall to pieces. Since the death of this heather canopy, new plants have responded nicely from seed and a flush of resurging crowberry gives the dead ground a refreshing splash of colour, but complications in grazing management mean that few of these plants will avoid some pressure from the local sheep during the winter.

While it is tempting to get stuck in and carry out some management on the damaged heather, unfavourable grazing arrangements mean that any regeneration from fire or cutting will become a magnet to passing livestock, and the overall effect could well be worse than doing nothing at all. It is very useful to keep an eye on beetle-damaged areas like Hedleyhope, particularly since they represent a challenge to management in a real-life environment where some issues are much harder to remedy than others.

Elsewhere, we have received reports of damage in North Wales and Perthshire, as well as a scattering of observations from across Britain - have a look at our Heather Beetle survey map 2015 to see how the year is shaping up for beetle.

Heather Beetle Season

Beetles at Langholm, August 2015

The heather beetle season is now well underway, and reports are coming into the Trust about beetle outbreaks across the British uplands. Worryingly, some of the excellent work carried out as part of the Langholm Moor Demonstration Project to restore beetle damage caused in 2009 and 2010 has been struck by beetles again, and large areas of Middlemoss where the road crosses from Langholm to Newcastleton have turned red. 

Beetle larvae were present in large numbers when the Trust visited a fortnight ago to visit the study areas at the South end of the moor, and the most likely theory is that the damage has simply been postponed by the late spring, rather than inhibited by it as was hoped.

Elsewhere, large outbreaks have occurred in the North Pennines near Croglin and further East towards Durham, and there are signs of more damage in the North York Moors, with worrying evidence that heather is possibly being damaged by an outbreak of phytophthora. If this is the case, it will be one of the first confirmed large-scale outbreaks of phythophthora in heather, and we are hoping to confirm or allay fears about this as soon as possible. 

The Trust is gathering as much information as possible about beetle damage this summer, so please don't hesitate to let us know if you see signs of heather that is red and does not flower - we can usually confirm the presence of beetle damage by examining photographs, but we are always available to carry out advisory site visits to offer bespoke consultancy on heather beetle issues. Contact us for more details, and if you do find beetle damage, please take the time to fill in a survey form from the Trust's website.

Golden Plover Award 2015

Golden Plover Award finalists 2015 at the Scottish Game Fair (pic: Rob MacDougall)

It was a busy weekend for the Heather Trust at the Scottish Game Fair, where the finalists for 2015's Golden Plover Award for Moorland Management attended a ceremony hosted by Savills to celebrate the work of this year's winner, Mar Estate.

Last winter, Mar Estate restored an area of 1.95ha of bare peat and 4,530m of eroded hags and gullies as part of a wider peatland restoration project undertaken by Dr. Jane Barker of Barker and Bland Ltd, peatland consultants and contractors based in Cumbria. The work was also greatly supported by Stephen Corcoran of the Cairngorms National Park Authority. 

When presenting the award, GWCT Scotland chairman Andrew Salvesen said: “The three finalists represented the amazing variety of moorland management across Scotland, from Aberdeenshire to Shetland.  “However Mar’s efforts have been outstanding.  The estate has successfully integrated game and deer management interests with conservation, commercial forestry and natural woodland regeneration and is a worthy winner of this year’s award.”

Estate owner Mark Nicolson was presented with a framed special edition print kindly donated by artist Colin Woolf at the 2015 Scottish Game Fair. The print is taken from a commissioned watercolour portrait of a golden plover.

The Golden Plover Award was founded in 2013 to celebrate and promote the very best of integrated upland management in Scotland, and this year’s applicants have been asked to demonstrate an engagement with peatland conservation. Savills have again played a key role in supporting the award, which has received praise and backing from a range of bodies and organisations involved in land management.

The judges carried out site visits and interviews with the land managers to identify this year’s winner.  Previous Golden Plover Award winners have been Edinglassie Estate (Donside) in 2013 and Finzean Estate (Deeside) in 2014.

For information about the Golden Plover Award in 2016, which will be presented at next year’s Scottish Game Fair, please email info@heathertrust.co.uk or visit the Golden Plover Award website at www.goldenploveraward.co.uk                            

Golden Plover Award 2015

Peatland restoration at Mar Estate impressed the judges

The Heather Trust & Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (Scotland) announced last week that the winners of the 2015 Golden Plover Award for Moorland Management would go to Mar Estate after a difficult decision for the judges.

The 6,000 ha Mar Estate lies in the heart of Upper Deeside, integrating game and deer management interests with conservation, commercial forestry and natural woodland regeneration.

Between November 2014 and April 2015, the Estate has restored an area of 1.95 ha of bare peat and 4,530 m of eroded hags and gullies within a 164 ha block of moorland. This has involved re-profiling corroded hags and gullies with low impact machinery; spreading heather brash and reseeding bare peat areas form the final stage of the project. The project will prevent further erosion, improve water quality, develop the habitat for both grazing animals and ground nesting birds whilst enhancing the carbon sequestration ability of the moor.

Mar is also heavily involved in the conservation and monitoring of golden eagles and ground nesting birds. The Estate maintains extensive local community links and there is a community-led hydro scheme at an advanced stage.

Several designations exist on the Estate, including SSSI, National Scenic Area, SAC and National Nature Reserve, as well as the Cairngorms golden eagle SPA. Capercaillie continue to breed in the Knock Wood, as well as blackgame along the woodland edges. These important bird species and their leks are protected through predation control, the management of plant species and the use of soft net fences to reduce bird strike.

The estate's extensive forestry areas are managed with amenity and deer shelter in mind, along with the production of high quality timber. The judges were impressed with Mar's commitment to peatland conservation, particularly in terms of the estate's ability to integrate this priority into the estate's wider management.

Cunningsburgh apportionment on Shetland and Gordonbush Estate in Sutherland were both congratulated for their excellent work on peatland management, and all three finalists demonstrated the huge amount of work being put into this kind of management across Scotland.

Mar Estate will receive a print by renowned Scottish artist Colin Woolf at a ceremony sponsored by Savills at the Scottish Game Fair on the 3rd July 2015.

Find out more at www.goldenploveraward.co.uk -

Heather Beetles 2015

Heather beetles in Dorset last week (image: Charles Hartley)

The last few weeks have been warm enough to wake up hibernating heather beetles across the U.K., and the first reports have started to come in to us about the mass dispersal of adult beetles. Thousands were spotted on the wing in Brownsea Island and Studland in Dorset, and customers at the House of Bruar near Pitlochry reported beetles flying en masse towards the end of last week. 

Heather beetles hibernate deep in the undergrowth during the winter, and they emerge when the average daily temperature exceeds around 8°C. Heather beetles have well developed wings and muscles, but they tend to let the wind do most of the work when it comes to dispersal. Depending on the prevailing conditions on the day, they can travel over long distances in search of new breeding habitats. While there is no precise information relating to how far beetles can travel, it is likely that they can fly for a several miles if the wind is behind them. 

Once settled in their new habitats, beetles will mate and lay eggs. Most of the adults will die by the time that the eggs hatch in June or July, and the real heather damage is caused by the larvae towards the end of the summer.

The Heather Trust is leading the way on research into heather beetles in Britain, and our projects in the Peak District and at Langholm Moor aim to provide gamekeepers and land managers with practical, hands-on answers to help them manage the effects of heather beetle damage. We have run a survey of heather beetle damage for several years, and we are now looking for information about heather beetles in 2015.

If you notice adult heather beetles dispersing over the next few weeks, please let us know by sending us an email or getting in touch by phone. More information on recognising beetles is available on the Trust's beetle page. We will be circulating our heather beetle survey forms to gather information about damage caused over the summer as the year progresses, and the results from these surveys help us to piece together more information about the nature of beetle outbreaks. 

Survey returns are plotted on a map, and we have just received one of the last returns from 2014; a mixed year for heather beetle damage from Cornwall to Wester Ross.