Bid to make Glen Affric Scotland’s next beaver release site

 

A community consultation that will help decide whether beavers are reintroduced to Glen Affric has been launched in the Scottish Highlands, led by Trees for Life.

 

The rewilding charity is carrying out the consultation on behalf of four private landowners and Forestry and Land Scotland, who all manage land that has habitat capable of supporting a beaver population. 

 

If the proposal is successful, it would be the first official release of beavers to the north-west Highlands since the species was driven to extinction some 400 years ago.

 

Trees for Life has long campaigned

Vision for collaboration to make Glen Affric forest reach from coast-to-coast

Glen Affric National Nature Reserve could be at the core of an unprecedented collaboration between landowners and communities to create an unparalleled forest corridor stretching from Scotland’s east to west coast, says a new film from Forest Enterprise Scotland and conservation charity Trees for Life.  

Narrated by acclaimed cameraman and filmmaker Gordon Buchanan, the five-minute film – ‘Glen Affric: A landscape worth restoring’ – celebrates 60 years of

Boost for Scotland’s international reputation for wilderness and wildlife

Glen Affric © Ron Bury

Scotland’s international reputation as a key destination for experiencing world-class wild landscapes and outstanding wildlife is to be boosted by Trees for Life joining a prestigious and growing European association of rewilding projects.

The conservation charity was invited to become a member of the European Rewilding Network – placing its restoration of the globally unique Caledonian Forest in the Highlands, especially in Glen Affric and Glenmoriston, firmly on the European map.

A key focus of the network is to show how rewilding – the restoration of damaged natural ecosystems – can benefit economic development, including through

Threat to new beaver family in the Highlands of Scotland

A family of beavers found living on a river in the Beauly area in the Scottish Highlands are to be trapped and put into captivity following a decision by Scottish Government Ministers. Trees for Life, the charity which discovered the group, says the family should either stay where they are or be relocated locally.

Film from camera traps set by the conservation experts from the charity in mid-June clearly show the presence of a mother and at least two

Emergency tree rescue appeal launched for West Affric woodlands

Trees for Life team inspecting a section of
damaged fence in West Affric

Conservation charity Trees for Life has launched an emergency rescue appeal to protect tens of thousands of young trees on West Affric from grazing deer.

A new generation of trees – many planted by Trees for Life volunteers – has become established on West Affric over the past 20 years, after Trees for Life and the National Trust for Scotland created a series of 10 fenced exclosures. The exclosures – areas from which large grazing animals are excluded – were designed to boost the recovery of native woodland by preventing the pressure of browsing deer.

But recent damage to the fences has left many of these trees vulnerable to grazing by deer, and Trees for Life

Filmmaker backs bid to transform derelict bothy into wilderness base

Athnamulloch Bothy in Glen Affric

A leading wildlife filmmaker is backing a bid by Trees for Life to transform an iconic but derelict mountain bothy into an eco-friendly weather-tight base that will be used to launch a quarter century of forest restoration in one of Scotland’s great wildlife wildernesses.

Glasgow-based cameraman and filmmaker Gordon Buchanan – well known from television programmes such as Big Cat Diary and Springwatch – is supporting the conservation charity’s appeal to raise £30,000 to renovate Athnamulloch Bothy in Glen Affric on the Forestry Commission Scotland managed

Planting Scotland’s wee trees!

Trees for Life volunteers plant Scotland’s wee trees in Glen Affric

News from Trees for Life which I should have posted in December.

A group of hardy volunteers braved the cold and ventured to Coire Sneachdta in Glen Affric National Nature Reserve to take part in conservation charity Trees for Life’s ‘wee trees’ planting day on 27 November.

 

This project – part of Trees for Life’s award-winning restoration of the Caledonian Forest in the Highlands to the west of Loch Ness and Inverness – was made possible thanks to a grant through the CSV Action Earth scheme, which supports volunteers across Scotland in making a positive difference to their local

Iconic and rare Highland birds in spotlight for new Conservation Week

Roy Dennis with Osprey

Conservation charity Trees for Life is running a new ‘Iconic Birds of the Highlands’ Conservation Week from 25 May to 1 June 2013 – offering people the chance to see and learn about the area’s magnificent and rare bird species, and to take part in hands-on habitat restoration work.

Highlights include a day trip to the Isle of Skye to see white-tailed eagles, the UK’s largest bird of prey, and to discover more about the programme that has successfully reintroduced these stunning birds to Scotland’s

Dog Falls and Loch Beinn a' Mheadhain in Glen Affric

Dog Falls

A happy Kathy with the dogs, under an old Scots Pine

A week last Friday, Kathy and I decided to take the dogs round to Dog Falls in Glen Affric and walk up to a view of Loch Beinn a' Mheadhain.

The day was overcast and threatening rain but only managed wind and a light drizzle. From the viewpoint I took a shot of Loch Beinn a' Mheadhain (pronounced - ben a veyan) under a dark sky and then we diverted up the hill into some sheltered Pines for a brew up before returning.

We saw Woodcock which migrate here for the winter and somewhere on the hill above we heard a deer whistle an alarm call.

Happy days.

Loch Beinn a' Mheadhain looking west from above the dam

New Red Squirrel survey area west of Tomich

I'm playing catchup after the laptop problems and if the weather forecast for this weekend is accurate, it will be a good time to bring the blog up to date.

Three weeks ago I started to look at the forest to the west between Tomich and Glen Affric. Squirrel signs look promising after the first few short excursions and without going into detail, here are some shots of what the area looks like.

Glen Affric Squirrel Survey Map Update

I've just loaded this updated map to the
Glen Affric Squirrel Survey Page

My initial aim is to establish presence/absence of Red Squirrels across the area which is currently under recorded and officially listed as sparsely populated.

This is clearly not the case as shown by the areas that I have so far covered. In February I searched further south west beyond Hilton and Plodda Falls, and everywhere there is suitable habitat and food supply I have found recent evidence of occupation.

In the last couple of years there has been considerable felling of trees to the east of Hilton which has dispersed Squirrels into surrounding areas, particularly the mature Norway Spruce to the east of Plodda Falls.

2010 was my first year in Glen Affric so I can't make comparisons with previous observations but in this area Red Squirrels are predominately feeding on Norway Spruce and Larch.

Seasonal crops are Hazel and Beech in the autumn, plus green Norway Spruce, Douglas and Scots Pine cones throughout the summer.

Fungi, fresh shoots etc. are eaten when available and occasionally Sitka Spruce cones.



Squirrel presence is governed by suitable habitat, food availability and lack of disturbance and I believe that further observation will prove them to be present across the whole of the Glen Affric area where these conditions exist.

Unfortunately, because they spend a large proportion of their time in the crowns of Norway Spruce they are not often seen and Dreys are mostly invisible. They become more obvious in the autumn when there are young Squirrels dispersing and also when there is a general movement towards roadside hazel crops.

Images: Middle - Larch
            Bottom - Norway Spruce