Golden Plover Award Winners 2013: Edinglassie, Donside

The presentation: Heather Trust Chairman Malcolm Hay, GWCT Scotland Chairman
Andrew Salvesen, Dunecht Estate owner Charles Pearson, Edinglassie Head Keeper Derek Calder
and Factor Stuart Young.

The first Heather Trust and GWCT Golden Plover Award for Moorland Management was presented

to Edinglassie Estate on Donside last weekend at the Scottish Game Fair. 

Part of Dunecht Estates, the 15,000 acre Edinglassie Estate has been involved in a wide range of

scientific research activities over the past twenty years while simultaneously functioning as an

outstanding and productive grouse moor. Having contributed to the work of the Joint Raptor Study

based at Langholm during the 1990s, Edinglassie also helped to blaze a trail for peatland restoration,

blocking ditches and “re-wetting” moorland long before it was considered to be standard

conservation practice.

In recent years, Edinglassie has helped scientists to understand a great deal about the management

of ticks, and annual “ticks on chicks” counts demonstrate that trial control measures are bearing

fruit. Perhaps the key to the success of these measures has been the estate’s ability and willingness

to work as a single unit, even incorporating neighbouring tenants to manage the threat posed by

ticks.

Over the past few years, Edinglassie’s use of flubendazole grouse grit has reduced worm burdens in

the grouse stock to such an extent that the estate is now trialling a “grit holiday” under close

observation by scientists from a range of organisations and institutes. This “withdrawal” research

assists grouse managers across the country as we consider the future of medicated grit.

Alongside these central research themes, the managers of Edinglassie are currently planning the

overhaul of existing commercial forestry. These woodlands will be allowed to regenerate with native

species to the benefit of a diverse flora and fauna. A strong and healthy population of black grouse

thrives at Edinglassie, along with a range of waders not only associated with heather moorland but

also upland pasture and farmland.

The winners were presented with a framed print of a golden plover by GWCT Scotland Chairman
Andrew Salvesen at a ceremony on Saturday 6th July.

Having made a start to the new Golden Plover Award, it is hoped that Edinglassie will not only 

become an  example for others to follow but that also it will stir a sense of competition when 

applications for next year's award are being taken.

The Golden Plover Award

The 25th anniversary of the GWCT Scottish Game Fair will see the inaugural presentation of the Golden Plover Award for Moorland Management. 

This award is being made jointly by the Heather Trust and the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust to recognise and promote progressive management of Scotland's heather moorlands. 

The aim is for a winner that is an example for others to follow. In making our choice, consideration was not only given to sporting and farming interests (the key traditional land uses), but critically included management for a range of other purposes, such as conservation and improvement of ecosystem services. 

A wide range of entrants were considered, including land owners, estates, land managers, farmers, gamekeepers, sporting tenants, syndicates and individuals and groups with an interest in high quality moorland management. 

The first award will be presented by the Trust's Director, Simon Thorp, and GWCT Scotland Director, Adam Smith, at the Scottish Game Fair on Saturday, 6th July.

The State of Nature Report

The recently published “State of Nature” report has attracted a great deal of press interest thanks to the sheer enormity of its scope. A collaboration between twenty five conservation charities from across Britain, the report looks at a range of different habitats from cities to forests, documenting a variety of case studies which ultimately tells quite a sorry story for many species.

In relation to the uplands, the report mentions that out of 877 species associated with the British uplands, 65% have decreased to some extent during the past fifty years, and 35% are described as having decreased “strongly”.  Fourteen upland species have become extinct altogether in the U.K., and a number of plants and insects are gravely threatened.

The report links these declines to largely to intensive grazing and burning, as well as commercial afforestation and habitat fragmentation. There are some positive outcomes, such as a successful initiative to conserve the Twite on upland farms, but the predominantly downward trend is clear to see.

As with all conservation issues, there are some elements of controversy to the report. Rather than accept the impressive array of statistics and case studies as the definitive “last word” on modern British conservation, the report serves an even more important purpose by generating discussion and helping people to look ahead to the future of Britain’s countryside.

Click here to download a copy of the State of Nature Report

Black Grouse Breeding

Lek surveys across Scotland showed an appreciable increase in black grouse numbers during the spring of 2012, but the subsequent wet summer last year has surely had knock-on effects on successful reproduction.

Like red grouse, black grouse chicks are extremely vulnerable to periods of cold, wet weather, particularly in their first two or three weeks of life. There are already anecdotal reports of blackcock numbers struggling to hold their own, and some smaller leks have vanished altogether. It remains to be seen what the survey results will reveal for the 2013 season.

Broods of black grouse in Scotland tend to be made up of more chicks than broods in England, meaning that the birds could soon bounce back from last year’s disastrous weather given a mild, dry summer. 

Interestingly, birds in Scotland tend to live only half as long as their English counterparts – a sorry statistic apparently linked to more intensive gamekeeping south of the border. A blackcock in England might well live up to seven years in the wild, whereas a Scottish bird will struggle to make three years.

In some areas, increases in black grouse numbers are being linked to the expansion of native woodland. While there is no doubt that some trees are an advantage to the birds, it is hard to deny that sensitive upland agriculture, predator control and the sound management of heather moorland are the foundation for healthy black grouse populations.

Heather Beetle 2013

Having received the first sighting of heather beetle for 2013, the new beetle survey map is now up and running.

The first beetles of 2013 were spotted in Blackheath in Surrey on the 8th April. This is early for adult beetles to be up and about, although adult beetles were spotted in the Inner Hebrides in March last year.

The Heather Trust is planning a big push on beetle surveys for 2013. The information gathered in previous years has been extremely helpful and some themes and patterns are beginning to emerge in outbreaks, but without a constant flow of reports and surveys coming in, it's hard to keep an eye on what the beetles are doing.

Along with the survey, our research project in the Peak District is now underway, and we are making progress not only towards identifying some key causes of large scale heather beetle outbreaks but also to restoring beetle damage as quickly and as simply as possible after an outbreak.

With your help, we can continue to build a vital store of evidence around beetle outbreaks so that in the future, the destruction caused by attacks is easier to manage.