Bark Britain

We ran our Bark Britain sponsored dog walk today. We couldn't ask for better weather, lovely and sunny, but not too hot for the dogs. Thanks to everyone who took part, we raised more than £500 for Macmillan Cancer and Medical Detection Dogs today. Special congratulations to Cara, a border collie with only 3 legs, who still managed to complete the 10 mile route.

Look carefully - I've only got 3 legs!

Black Grouse Count

Last weekend we finished off our black grouse surveying for this season. Black grouse (Tetrao terix) are an upland species, usually found somewhere between 250 to 500 meters altitude on heath and farmland, usually near trees or other forestry which they use for shelter. The males display to compete for the attention of females and gather together on areas of open ground to show off their prowess. The site where the grouse congregate and display is known as a 'lek.' Females also gather at these leks and will select the top male to mate with.

Two Black grouse males lekking on Atholl Estates.
Photo: C. Gilhooley

Although black grouse are not considered to be threatened as a species, numbers of black grouse have declined in the UK and the bird is now completely gone from many of the sites where it would have formerly lived. The decline of the species in the UK is largely due to habitat loss and disturbance as well as predation from foxes and crows, etc. Perthshire and the Cairngorms National Park however remains a stronghold for the black grouse and the numbers are thought to have been increasing in recent years.

The surveying that we carried out meant that we had to be up to observe the lek sites and count the number of males in attendance in the very early morning, at around dawn. The highest number of grouse that we counted at an individual lek site was 30 but leks of 8 to 12 were also common. In Russia, gatherings of 150 are not uncommon - this must be a very noisy congregation as the loud, bubbling call of the male  can carry for up to a kilometer and appear very noisy in the quiet of the early morning. During the display the cock (male bird) crouches down and fans his lyre-shaped tail to display his striking white under-tail feathers while partially spreading his wings and inflating his vivid red wattles (the red protuberances above the eyes).

Our count data will be collected by the Perthshire Black Grouse Study Group and when everyone involved has submitted their figures we will be able to get an accurate picture of how the population is doing this year. The reason that we won't know for sure until all the numbers are in, is because the lek sites and the sites that individuals attend can vary each year.

If you'd like to find out more about the studies of black grouse, or know of black grouse in your area and would like to get involved with counts there's plenty of information available at the Black Grouse UK website.

Songs of Spring

The migrant birds are fast returning from their winter homes. Last weekend willow warblers returned to Blair Atholl. Chiff chaffs have been around for a good while. These 2 birds look very similar, and their song is the easy way to distinguish them. they are both a yellowy, green, brown colour and quite hard to see, but the chiff chaff advertises his presence singing Chiff Chaff, Chiff Chaff, Chiff Chaff... endlessy. The willow warbler manages a lot more of a tune, with a lovely song that slowly descends in tone.


Spot the difference, the chiffchaff is the one on the right!

photo credit: Hans Hillewaert

We are eagerly awaiting the first swallows. They have already been back in Pitlochry for quite a few days so they should be here any day.

The good weather earlier in the spring has also meant that a lot of birds got a good headstart breeding and we have already seen a lot of birds' eggshells on the ground. Hopefully a sign of hatching rather than predation.

Really Wild Cats?

Yesterday was the closing conference for the Cairngorm Wildcat project. After four years of intensive study and working with landowners to champion the plight of the Highland Tiger, the project is coming to an end. But that won't be the end of the work aimed at saving the wildcat from extinction in Scotland. There was a real sense of positivity at the conference. A feeling that the close of this project  was really the beginning of a new phase, one where something might really start to be achieved, building on the knowledge, experience and relationships that the project has helped to develop.

Wildcat - the highland tiger sneaks through a hole in the fence

There were many interesting things discussed but one of the most immediately startling was the reminder that one of the greatest threats to the 400 or so 'true' wildcats still in the wild remains the threat from hybrid and domestic cats. A staggering 90% of the wild-living cats that inhabit the Cairngorms National park are thought to be either domestic or hybrid cats, only the remaining 10% are 'true' wildcats.' These feral and hybrid cats are a threat to the wildcat because they compete for the same resources (food, habitat, den sites, etc.) as well as transmitting diseases but they can also compete for mates meaning that there can be a reduction in the 'wild lineage' if the 'true' Scottish Wildcats are prevented from breeding with each other. As there are about 17,000 people living in and around the National Park and 1 in 6 of us own a cat, responsible cat ownership is perhaps more relevant than ever before. Have a look at the pictures of the wildcat (above) and hybrid (below) and see if you can tell the difference.

Hybrid cat - the white 'socks' are a dead giveaway.  

So the hopeful outlook of the conference will, with luck and more than a little hard graft, translate into an optimistic outlook for the wildcat. Certainly, there is a lot of goodwill for the Scotland's last wild feline. Now we have to turn its recovery into reality.

Earth Day

Today is Earth Day. It started in 1970 in the USA and has steadily gained force, becoming a worldwide event during the '90s though it's still not that well recognised in the UK. The idea behind the day is an attempt to "Mobilize the Earth" into doing more to celebrate and benefit the environment - if we all take one day where we think about how our actions are affecting the Earth, maybe it will be in our consciousness more often.

Here's a thought provoking Earth Day video from the US Environmental Protection Agency that has a message equally relevant for over here:

The littering issue isn't too bad here on Atholl Estaes as we're happy to see that most of our visitors seem to respect the landscape and take their rubbish away with them. That said, we do have to deal with the occasional trouble hot-spot and keep on top of things in the busier areas. But thank you to everyone who does their best to take their litter away and keep Scotland clean for everyone!

Logierait Woods is teeming with primroses at the moment. Every sheltered bit of bank seems to have some yellow flowers growing on it. Primroses are one of the first of our flowers to be seen in the spring - its name comes from 'prima rosa' - the first flower. They flower early to take advantage of the lack of competition for the sunlight, before other plants grow up around them. They need damp conditions so are usually found in woodland and banks tucked out of the direct sunlight.

Primroses appear to be declining in East Anglia, proabably because the climate has become somewhat warmer and drier, and it simply isn't damp enough for them anymore. This is not a problem that we are having in Scotland!

Primroses are one of the species that Plantlife are monitoring to look at changes in British wild flower populations. If you would like to help them by counting primroses in your area, find out more from: http://www.plantlife.org.uk/things_to_do/wildflowers_count/

Out with the old and in with the new

The recent warm weather of last week seems like a distant memory with the current cold snap. It was a chilly  -7°C this morning and the damp air made it feel even colder. But the day brightened up a little this afternoon and there are still see plenty of signs of spring on show - it's all about change at this time of year! 


The red deer stag in the deer park at the castle has recently lost his antlers. He will be without them for a while although it won't be too long before they start growing again, to be ready for the rut in autumn.

Discarded Red Deer antler (© David Perez)

Red deer (Cervus elaphus) digesting their lunch. But which one is the stag?
Answer: he's the larger, lighter coloured one with stubby 'nobbles' on his head

The sheep are lambing and there are little lambs starting to run about, worrying their mothers as they play and explore.

April lambs exploring

Also happening this spring: the pony trekking center at the castle is open again for riding. If you're interested in having a go then look on the website but remember that you will need to book in advance. We had a go recently and think it's good fun!


BBC Springwatch (the modern-day herald of spring?) won't be on until May but there are plenty of signs to look out for in the month between now and then! See what you can spot for yourself if you come up to the castle for a visit, or in your own garden and surrounding countryside. You can comment below to let us know what you've seen!

The Plight of the Bumblebee

What a lovely week of weather. Summer really is here. Much of the insect life that we wouldn't normally see for several weeks yet has warmed up and got going. Small tortoiseshell and peacock butterflies are flying around as are queen bumblebees. These ladies have been hibernating through the winter and are now looking to start a new colony. But before they can do this they need to feed up enough to lay eggs from where the first worker bees will hatch.

A small tortoiseshell enjoying the sun

A white-tailed bumblebee queen trying to work out where the nectar is!

Although the early good weather is great for us, the bees and butterflies can struggle to find enough nectar to feed, as there aren't many plants flowering yet. Willow trees are really important and their catkins are often shrouded with bumblebees. You can help too by planting some early flowering, nectar rich plants in your garden. Cherry trees, flowering currant bushes, daffodils and rosemary are all great for bumblebees. French marigolds are great for butterflies, and don't mow all your daisies and buttercups - these are good too.

Remember that helping the bumblebees is helping your garden too. We need them as pollinators.

Village Litter Pick: 10am, 27th March

We will be holding a litter pick through the village of Blair Atholl this coming Tuesday, the 27th March. If you would like to come along and help clean up in the community, we will be meeting outside the Village Hall at 10am. You can stay and help out for as long or as little as you like and we will provide everyone with gloves, rubbish bags and litter pickers.

With a bit of help from a few willing hands it won't take long to have the village looking clean and neat, ready for the springtime. Any time that you can spare will be greatly appreciated, so come along and join us!

Ranger picking up leaf litter

Red Squirrel Photos

We haven't had much luck capturing any images of wildcats recently and were starting to think that there might be something the matter with our trail cameras. So to check that they were working properly, we put them where there was sure to be some animal action - at one of the 3 squirrel feeders that we have around the castle grounds. As you can see from the pictures below, the trail cameras work fine but it looks like we will have to keep trying before we see some wildcats!

A bushy-tailed red squirrel sitting on our squirrel feeder

You can see that this squirrel has a bald patch on it's back,
perhaps it had a close encounter with a bird of prey or a pine marten?

Red squirrel nibbling a nut!

And this fearsome beastie? An escaped sheep coming to
investigate our wildcat bait!



Red Romance

It's that time of year again! I spent some time this morning watching 2 squirrels at one of our feeders. One, which I presume to be the female, was taking food from the feeder and trying to eat it, while getting constant harassment from the other (I guess the male). Occasionally she would have a wild chase round the trees with him for several minutes, but then went back to her nuts and ignoring him. The male did lots of flirting to try and interest her, which generally didn't work. All very entertaining.

Red squirrels do mate pretty early. This allows them to have a second litter later in the summer if conditions are good. The first litter of kittens are usually born in late April or May up here, but won't be out and about until after mid summer.

Chasing through the trees is common courtship behaviour

We wish the squirrels great success and I hope the female gets more interested in the male's attentions because we have lost a fair number of squirrels here over the winter. Although the weather has been kind, the roads have not, and we also lost 2 squirrels that got blown out of a tree whilst asleep together in their drey.

Non-Stop

It has been a busy couple of weeks here at AERS!

Last week we went to the Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels conference to find out about the conservation effort for this charismatic wee creature. There was a lot of interesting discussion and it was heartening to hear that the control measures that are being implemented though the work of the project and volunteers are having an impact on the numbers of grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) and so far preventing them from spreading north to encroach upon and displace red squirrels (Sciurius vulgaris) from their territories. Have a look at the SSRS website to see what's happining in your area!

We also had a trip to Balmoral Estate. The Queen wasn't at home but the Cairngorn National Park Rangers were! This was a chance for all of the Ranger services across the National Park to get together to share information and management practises with each other, as well as learn about the site specific management that goes on at Balmoral and how it might relate to other areas of the park. I think it's safe to say that we were all impressed with the dedication of the Balmoral staff, particularly their efforts at habitat management for Cappercaillie and several rare plants!  These Ranger Gatherings are a brilliant opportunity for rangers to get together and share information and experience with each other, especially when in a place like the Cairngorms National Park we all work with a very diverse and different range of areas.

Today was an important day too. The official start of work on the visitor information centre in Blair Atholl. John Swinney MSP came to cut the first turf for the commencement of work and various dignitaries from the local area came along to celebrate the work of the local Tourist Association, Council, the Cairngorms National Park Authority and more besides. It was fantastic to see the whole of the local primary school out to support the occasion too! We don't have any photos just yet but we may well give another update next week and let you know how the work is progressing when we do.

For now, here's a picture from Tuesday morning when there was snow on the ground. Although it had all melted away by about 11 o'clock. What a contrast to just now, with the bright warm sunlight shining in through the office window!

Tulach Hill seen from the Atholl Estates Rally Park on Tuesday morning

Timid Tigers?

It's been a little while since we promised an update on the wildcat cameras. Although the trail cameras been out for almost two weeks, we still haven't managed to capture even a glimpse of a Highland Tiger or even of any other wildlife so far.

Wildcat (Felis silvestris) image: Michael Gäbler

On the face of it this is a little disappointing as the cameras both appear to be working correctly and the bait that is used to attract in the cats, and which you might assume to be equally as effective towards other animals, remains relatively untouched. However, always looking for a positive, we can at least speculate as to what the absence of any wildlife appearing in front of the cams does tell us. We were hoping to look for cats in suitable habitats within previously unsurveyed locations so we can assume that either: 1) the locations we have the cameras at are beyond any local wildcats' current range; or 2) the mild winter has been beneficial for the wildcats' food supply and they have not needed to move to the edges of their range to seek additional sustenance; or lastly 3) any wildcats that do use the habitat near these locations just haven't been out there, or at least past our cameras in the last few weeks.

Of course, the above is all really just reasoned speculation. The only thing we know 100% for sure is that we have not recorded any pictures of any cats. However it is also important to celebrate the benefits of finding negatives - we all like to see exciting pictures of wildlife in its native habitat but in this case the absence of pictures can be just as significant, giving us information about where wildcats are not to be found and helping us decide where to relocate the camera traps to for a better chance of finding one. Put together, information about presence and absence can contribute to the larger picture of mapping out the range of the wildcat as a species, not just spotting individuals.

So our next move will be to reposition the camera traps. This time a little closer to where we know there have been sightings. If at first you don't succeed...

In the meantime, have a look at the update on the Highland Tiger blog where you can see the results of a more successful camera trapping session.

Thursday 23 February

The oystercatchers are back!
Every year at about this time, they move back up the rivers from their winter homes at the coast. They usually move at night in large crowds, so we are very aware that they are here - the last 2 early mornings have been filled with their piping calls.
This area was one of the first places that oystercatchers started to move inland for the summer, instead of staying at estuaries and coasts. Their long bills are just as useful for probing soft fields and grass as they are for estuary mud.
It's certainly cheery to see their clolours at this time of year.

Waiting for Wildcats

We very recently received some camera traps from the Highland Tiger project, aimed at conserving wildcats within the Cairngorms. They hope that we can use the cameras to capture photographs of wildcats in locations that have not been studied before. They are particularly interested to see if any cats we do find are individuals that have already been found elsewhere.

Camera trap set up across a trail, poised to capture some wildcat action!

Camera traps are a very useful tool for the conservation of a species like the wildcat. They can be used to record the distinctive markings of different individuals and then to begin to establish information about the territory of the animals. They also allow for capturing natural behaviour when no one is around to disturb it.


The wildcat has been identified by Scottish Natural Heritage as one of the most important species currently threatened by both man-made and natural environmental pressures and has been a protected species since 1988. They are the only remaining member of the cat family native to Britain but the most serious threat to their future is from mating with domestic cats and creating fertile ‘hybrid’ offspring. These hybrid cats are damaging because they weaken the wildcat populations and make it less likely for two ‘pure’ wildcats to breed and have ‘true’ wildcat offspring.

If you think that you’ve seen a wildcat yourself or want to be sure of how to identify them, check here to make sure you know what to look for. If it is a wildcat don’t forget to report it to the project so they can get as much information as possible about these elusive animals.

We’ve put the camera traps out today and are hoping they will capture some photographs of wildcats over the weekend. We’ll let you know the results here! In the meantime, why not check out the Highland Tiger YouTube channel or visit their facebook page.

Saturday 4 February

Yesterday was one of those stunningly beautiful winter days that take your breath away. The white mountains, blue sky, deep blue lochs and white frosted trees all combined to make Highland Perthshire look like a fairy tale.

Treecreeper - look in middle of picture

Now at bottom of wall, trying again in its search for insects

Although they looks stunning, deeply frosty days like this are especially tough on birds. They expend a lot of energy, most small birds need to eat half their body weight every day, and when it's colder they need to eat more to stay warm, and the food is harder to get. Many birds get help from us at this time of year, but there are some species that you never see at the bird feeders. A treecreeper is one of them. They are insect eaters, and feed by slowly spiralling up a tree pecking insects out from nooks and crannies in the bark. Then they fly down and start again on another tree. This treecreeper was trying its luck on a wall today, and I don't suspect it was having much luck. They often supplement their diet with seeds from cones in winter if they can't find any insects.

Friday 27 January

Musical mornings!
Quite suddenly, yesterday, the bird song has started up again in the mornings. Although robins have been singing their doleful song throughout the winter, now the blackbirds have joined in, and spring doesn't seem so far away.

The tawny owls have been 'singing' for quite some time, and a brilliant night-time sound it is for those of us who get to hear it. As one of the earliest birds to breed, they start their courtship before Christmas and the 'keewicks' and 'twoos' of the female and male birds reverberate around the woods and farm.

Tawny owl chick at Home Farm - what all the noise is for!

Cally to Polney Path
This path got hit very hard in the December gales with a huge number of trees, some huge ones, coming down over it. The estate wants to sell the timber from the larger trees, which is why we haven't been and cleared it all. However, we have now been up and cleared away the smaller trees, and taken all the branches off the bigger ones. So it is much easier to get through if you don't mind a bit of ducking and clambering. Otherwise you can use the road to get round.

Saturday 21 January

Life is easy just now for our resident red deer next to the Castle. They get generous rations of hay, and if the ground is feeling a bit chilly, well they can lie on it as well as eating it.

Things are somewhat tougher for the wild herds out in the hills and glens. The wild weather through December has taken its toll and we have some mortalities. The red deer find the wet and windy weather harder to survive than the really cold weather of the last two winters. They have a winter coat with crinkly and hollow guard hairs which trap lots of air for warmth, but this is much less effective when it gets wet.

Our new ranger events programme for 2012 is posted on the website now, with old favourites such as Wet and Wild and Red Squirrel walks together with some new ideas such as a Kite Making Workshop and pond Dipping at Polney Loch.

Thursday 12 January

We are hearing stories from all over the country of plants flowering and insects flying, seemingly oblivious to the fact that it's the middle of winter. We too can contribute to this trend. Snowdrops are appearing and have even started to flower up the Castle drive. This doesn't normally happen until February / March, although in 2005 we were seeing snowdrop shoots on 15 January (but no flowers). The extremely mild weather is obviously the cause for this, although the forecast suggests it is going to get much colder over the next week. It's lucky that snowdrops are very tough - in fact their shoots are strengthened with protective sheath covers  to allow them to push up through frozen soil. The sap in their cells also contains extra sugar which acts as an anti-freeze.

Snowdrop shoots. This picture was taken on Monday. Some of these plants are already in flower today.

Blair Castle have a Snowdrop Trail around the Gardens and Grounds which is usually opened in February. However, we are bringing it forward to the 21 January as the snowdrops are already here.

Wed 4 January 2012

It is now official that last year was the wettest year on record in Scotland. This does not come as a surprise to us - when you are working outside a lot, you definitely notice. It has also made our paths and trails wetter and muddier than they should normally be. We are doing what we can to improve things, but if you come for a walk in the area at the moment, wear boots or other good footwear. And if you come for some mountain biking, the landrover tracks are not too muddy, but any singletrack is very very wet - some parts are best avoided just now to prevent long-term damage.

Digging in a new drain (in the rain!)

Some wildlife such as the greylag geese which visit each winter will enjoy the soggy conditions. It also keeps the ground soft for worm-eating birds. Even buzzards will go 'worming' in the winter if they are hungry.