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.