Country Market and Sporting Sale 2015

Malcolm Hay and Duncan Grant outside Old Croick Manse with stalker Alasdair Sutherland.

Preparations are now underway for next year’s Country Market and Sporting Sale after the success of 2014’s event raised a record sum to fund the Heather Trust’s important work across Britain. We have already had some great feedback from happy bidders who won lots during the Sale which was held during the Spring, including a report from our new Chairman Antony Braithwaite, who enjoyed a trip to Wales fishing for sea trout in August. We’ve also heard news of a successful driven grouse day on Speyside and an exciting day of fishing on the River Ettrick, both from generous bidders who won Lots during the Sale.

The first Heather Trust Prize Draw was well supported across the board, and the holder of the winning ticket took his trip up to the stunning Croick Estate near Bonar Bridge on the 22^nd November for a week of sport and relaxation in Sutherland. Duncan Grant thoroughly enjoyed his week at the estate, which he shared with his wife and the former Heather Trust chairman Malcolm Hay. A day's woodcock shooting was laid on under the supervision of stalker Alasdair Sutherland, and two hinds were culled by the winning party. Reviews for the estate were glowing, particularly in relation the warmth and comfort of the manse itself.

Plans are already in motion for a new Prize Draw in 2015, and this will build on the success of the first, which attracted widespread attention to the Sale after coverage in the sporting press.

We are now looking for supporters of the Trust to give the Sale an extra boost and drive 2015’s Country Market on to new heights. Whether you have been a donor, a bidder or a sponsor in the past, we’d like to hear your ideas and suggestions for possible Lots as the Sale begins to take shape.

Our new Country Market and Sporting Sale Secretary Samantha Harrison is masterminding the proceedings for 2015 and is very keen to hear from members and well-wishers as the plans start to come together for next year. Lots can be as varied and diverse as stalking and fishing to food, drink and artwork, so if you think you can help to donate something to the Sale, please let us know by emailing info@heathertrust.co.uk

Golden Plover Award 2015

The Heather Trust and The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (Scotland)  will be presenting the Golden Plover Award for Moorland Management for a third time after an extremely successful year in 2014. For a second year, Savills will be the lead sponsor.

The Golden Plover Award was launched in 2013 to celebrate the very best in sustainable and progressive moorland management which balances a number of different enterprises. The inaugural winner was Edinglassie in Strathdon, an estate which has supported some of the most advanced and groundbreaking research into grouse production during the past twenty years.

In 2014, Finzean Estate on Deeside was presented with the Award at the Scottish Game Fair at Scone after a close fought struggle with two other runners up from Angus and Sutherland. Finzean Estate impressed the judges with a wide spread of balanced, sustainable enterprises spanning a range of interests from grouse shooting and capercaillie conservation to a successful farm shop and a thriving forestry concern.

Heather Trust Director Simon Thorp said that working with the GWCT to run the Award was an opportunity to showcase the very best that moorland management has to offer in Scotland. “The Golden Plover Award celebrates balanced and integrated management in which a number of goals are achieved by the careful, sensitive use of our uplands. The award in 2015 will have a particular focus on peat and peatland conservation, and this is a great opportunity to highlight some of the best land management devoted to what is increasingly seen as a crucially important habitat”.

Adam Smith, the GWCT’s Director for Scotland, welcomed the collaboration with The Heather Trust that brought two independent organisations together who are both working to improve the standards of moorland and upland management throughout Scotland. “The Award will highlight the role that applied research has in improving the quality of moorland management in Scotland. This allows the best management practices to be identified and transferred to other land managers.”

Applications for the 2015 award will be are welcomed from any owner or manager of land in any part of Scotland who can demonstrate a real commitment to sustainable moorland or upland management. Applications from the remoter parts of Scotland are encouraged, as are applications from individuals; this is not just an award for estates.

More information is available on the Golden Plover Award page, and application forms are available by request. Applications close on 27th February 2015, and the Award will be presented at the Scottish Game Fair on 3^rd July 2015.

Advisory Visit to Corehead

Black grouse are a key species at Corehead

The Heather Trust was recently invited to visit Corehead Farm, one of the Borders Forest Trust's (BFT) properties North of Moffat. The farm includes the spectacular Devil’s Beeftub, an iconic feature of the Southern Uplands which lies at the top of Annandale where the hills run together to form a deep and extremely steep sided hollow.

The Borders Forest Trust bought Corehead in 2009 and began to plant up large areas of the site in a bid to recreate the historic Ettrick Forest which once lay right across the Southern Uplands. Using native tree species, a huge amount of planting has taken place during the intervening years and a major part of the process has involved stock-proof exclosures to protect the young trees.

Relieved from grazing, some interesting things have been happening to the heather where it still survives after centuries of sheep, and we were called in to consult on progress with the project so far, as well as provide some advice for the future of the heather. The site also provides a home to a small population of black grouse, and while the project aims to improve biodiversity across the board, these birds provide a useful focus for habitat work.

After several years without any grazing, some parts of Corehead are looking excellent and an area of steep ground we visited could soon provide some excellent habitat for ring ouzels, which already breed in the area. Encroaching bracken will need to be controlled, and the nature of the ground is such that helicopter spraying may be the only workable solution.

Elsewhere, there are potentially serious problems with under-grazing within the exclosures, and much of the heather which has recovered as a result of excluding livestock now risks being smothered by molinia grass and star moss, both of which can dominate vegetation. In an ideal world, these plants could be selectively grazed and controlled by native hill breed cattle, but the trees must get precedent and any attempt to control the grasses would surely come at the expense of the new trees.

Corehead is a fascinating project, and while the farm will never be dominated by heather, low heather coverage is sure to be a key issue in the project’s future. During our walk, we discovered a juvenile black grouse feather which suggests that there has been successful breeding in 2014, and while the local population of birds has been badly suppressed by habitat fragmentation, commercial woodland and overgrazing, there is some sign of promise in the new plantations. 

With some judicious predator control and ongoing habitat management, this area of the Borders could support a healthier population of birds, and the potential for heather recovery gives the hill a sunny outlook, despite being steeped in thick cloud on the day of our visit.

The Finzean AGM

Presentations at Finzean House.

The Heather Trust enjoyed fantastic weather for its AGM and discussion meeting at Finzean Estate near Banchory on the first of October.

Finzean was presented with the Golden Plover Award in 2014, and the estate has a fantastic reputation for modern, forward-thinking and integrated moorland management which encompasses everything from grouse production and beef farming to forestry and capercaillie conservation.  The estate seemed like an obvious choice for our AGM, and Finzean house was extremely welcoming for the guests and delegates who arrived mid-morning for the presentations.

The Heather Trust usually attracts a broad church of interested bodies, and this meeting was no different. Land agents, scientists, conservationists and gamekeepers were all in attendance, and this diversity of participation remains one of the Trust’s key strengths.

Estate partner Andrew Farquharson provided a useful overview of Finzean’s management, and after several questions relating to the conservation aspects of the estate, the morning moved on to a presentation by Dick Birnie, one of Scotland’s leading peat experts and management consultants. Simon Thorp followed with a quick overview of the Trust’s work across the U.K, and there was a lively discussion on a range of topics before lunch, after which all were loaded up and driven to look at some of the forest regeneration work on the estate.

There was a fascinating presentation which looked at some of the theory and practice behind natural forest management, and then another move up the hill to look at ground that is being specifically managed for capercaillie, where targeted work aims to conserve birds in this isolated Deeside pocket. The number of capercaillie at Finzean has risen and fallen in recent years, but the population has remained relatively stable despite harrowing declines elsewhere.

Discussion ranged from human disturbance and predation to heather cutting techniques and the means of conducting surveys for a bird that can be surprisingly elusive, despite its size. The beautiful clarity of the day meant that the view was unobscured for miles in all directions, and in accordance with the first day of October, plumes of smoke rose up from neighbouring ground to suggest that the keepers were taking advantage of the dry conditions.

We were delighted with the turn-out and felt that the discussion meeting had been thoroughly useful. With salmon plopping in the Feugh and the evening sun lighting up the distinctive shape of Clachnaben, we could have hardly asked for a better day out.

Heather Trust AGM

Finzean estate undertakes management for capercaillie

The Heather Trust is delighted to announce that its AGM will be held this year at Finzean Estate near Banchory on the 1^st of October. Finzean was presented with the Golden Plover Award for Moorland Management by the Heather Trust and GWCT (Scotland) at the Scottish Game Fair in July on account of its well-integrated management. The estate runs a number of different enterprises to a commendably high standard, from forestry and grouse production to an extremely well-received farm shop, and the various interests are balanced to complement one another.

The event will be held at Finzean House, with speakers including Heather Trust Director Simon Thorp, Finzean Estate Partner Andrew Farquharson and Dick Birnie, a leading consultant on the management of peatland. A limited number of places are still available for the discussion meeting and subsequent visit to some of the estate’s forestry, where customised management techniques are being employed to conserve capercaillie in their last major stronghold on Deeside.

Please contact Anne Stoddart if you would be interested in attending this event - anne.stoddart@heathertrust.co.uk

Heather Beetle Season

One of the first beetle larvae of 2014

Let this Talking Point serve as a timely reminder that heather beetle larvae are very much on the move as we approach the end of July, with some early signs of damage starting to show in the hills overlooking the Heather Trust office at Dumfries.

There is a certain knack to spotting the beetle larvae in situ, but as Langholm Moor headkeeper Simon Lester pointed out at the Scottish Game Fair, there is a certain smell to beetle damage which is a giveaway. Perhaps sap is oozed out because the beetles fray the growing stems, and a trained nose can identify the familiar odour of bashed heather which accompanies normal cutting or mulching operations. Although this was initially taken with a pinch of salt, it turns out that it really is possible to "smell the beetle".

Judging by smell is one way of identifying beetle damage in progress, but it is not the best way for someone who has not seen the work of the larvae "in action". Sudden, dramatic reddening of heather is the best indication, although this is slightly confused after a very long, scorching summer when many patches of heather (particularly on shallow soils) are beginning to look a little tatty and sad.

If you do encounter beetle damage this summer, please let us know. Our survey form is easy to download, from our Heather Beetle webpage, and there is plenty more information on our site, including the latest news on our beetle research projects in the Peak District and at Langholm Moor.

Finzean Estate - Golden Plover Award Winners

Finzean Estate receives the Golden Plover Award at Scone Palace.

The Heather Trust and GWCT Scotland have announced the winner of the second Golden Plover Award for moorland management. Lying in central Deeside, Finzean estate encompasses farmland, moorland and forestry. It is managed as an integrated family business with a keen interest in conservation and the preservation of a viable, thriving community. 

The Estate comprises 4,000 hectares, with moorland representing just over a third of this area. Game and wildlife management is undertaken to support a wide range of species, including black grouse, golden eagles, merlin, curlew and lapwing.  Red and roe deer are managed on both the open hill and in woodland.

Wildcats have been recorded at Finzean, and a real focus for conservation work has been the remnant population of capercaillie on the estate. Targeted management has seen the creation of mown woodland rides to regenerate blaeberry and other valuable foodplants beneath the forest canopy, and this is repaid by the birds which continue to thrive on the estate amidst dramatic national declines.

Until the 1980s, the moor produced bags of six hundred brace of Grouse a season, but then suffered a steep decline in fortunes. Since then, considerable effort has been put in to improve the upland habitat alongside other conservation initiatives. This has resulted in a steady recovery.

Balancing commitments to biodiversity across farmland, woodland and upland is a very complex and delicate task, and it is the key to all that the Golden Plover Award was intended to promote and support.

The final decision was extremely close, and Gannochy was announced as a runner-up for their commendable progress and hard work during the course of the past decade.

Finzean’s owner Andrew Farquharson and keeper Allan “Hedge” Shand were presented with the award by Heather Trust Chairman Malcolm Hay at a ceremony held at the Scottish Game Fair on the 4^th July. A specially commissioned print by wildlife artist Colin Woolf was also presented to the winners, and Andrew Farquharson dedicated the award to his father, who he described as the pioneer of the thriving community which now revolves around Finzean.