The Falls of Moness in the Birks of Aberfeldy

The Birks of Aberfeldy

Robert Burns wrote his famous poem about Aberfeldy while sitting here on a short visit to the town. You can imagine people everywhere wanting him to write a poem every time he visited somewhere.........I wonder if it ever became a chore, or did this sort of poem only take a matter of seconds to some-one who was as practiced as this.

"While o'er their heads the hazels hing,

The little birdies blythly sing.

Or lightly flit on wanton wing,

In the Birks of Aberfeldy."

Going up........

Some of our native wildlife like this red squirel will use a mixture of native and non-native trees to supply their various needs, depending on what is available in a given area. This red squirrel is climbing up a non-native Wellingtonia, a substitute in this instance for the native Scots Pine.

Photo submitted by Kristina Hayward.

Walk along a hedgerow

Many of our native trees and shrubs can be found growing in hedgerows. The small % of our land area that is covered in native trees is widely documented, but trees and shrubs in these linear features are often forgotten about, yet they add significantly to the overall resource. Crucially, they often link together other woodland habitats, and provide a rich source of food for birds throughout the winter as they provide protection from grazing to a wide variety of flowering and seeding plants.

All the trees, shrubs and woody plants below were recorded in a walk along a 100 metre stretch of hedgerow.

Part of the landscape........

These hedges have been allowed to grow up and mature. Typically, those alongside roads are cut back on an annual basis on safety grounds, to maintain lines of vision. These mature hedges are an excellent source of firewood, and shelter for animals, as well as providing stock-proof boundaries, defining field and ownership boundaries, and providing a whole host of food supplies for birds and other animals.

Hawthorn

Most hedges are predominantly formed from hawthorn because it provides an effective stock-proof barrier. The fresh growth here is a red colour, and is very good to eat if you are out and about and feeling peckish. You often see farmers chewing on a fresh twig of hawthorn.

Hazel

Hazel leaves unfurling........

Distinctive reddish colour on fresh leaves

Well grown hazel bush

This hazel bush has escaped the head trimmers.........!! It was planted about 15 years ago.

Elder flower

And again........

Ivy

Honeysuckle

And again.......

And again.........

Brambles.......lots of brambles

Bramble flowers

The blackberries will be forming shortly, and will probably be ready to eat in 6 weeks or so.

Scotch thistles

Thistles off course grow in open farmland, but this one is well protected within this hedge.......you can see a bee on the flower in the middle.

Freshly unfurled ash leaves.........

And again......

Looking through some ash trees

Wild cherry

Vetch??

And again.......

Blackthorn

Wild roses

Wild roses again.....

Controlling Himalayan balsam

Scottish Native Woods is managing a project to reduce the presence of invasive non-native plants in Glenurquhart, Highland. In particular, Urquhart Bay Woods SSSI harbours significant colonies of Japanese knotweed, Himalayan balsam and White butterbur. Knotweed and butterbur are perennials best tackled by spraying, but balsam is an annual. We are aiming to prevent it from flowering and setting seed this summer. We hope to eradicate it from the catchment by 2011.

Grazing balsam

Cattle are being used to control balsam in part of the woodland

Another volunteer

Glam girl posing for the camera

Cutting balsam

Sparse colonies of balsam and small isolated stands are being removed by uprooting the plants, but this is not possible in extensive dense stands. Cutting with a light weed slasher is proving relatively fast. A team of up to 10 contractors have managed to clear over 20 hectares in 4 weeks.

Before ...

This stand was chosen for a small trial. The area was divided into 3 sections. One was cut at about ankle to knee height (very quick), the next below the first node, i.e. close to the ground (a bit slower), and the third by pulling (very slow). The site will be visited again in a couple of weeks to assess the results. Watch this space!

Bye bye balsam

The cutting begins ...

During ...

The balsam falls away to reveal a wee group of alder trees. I do believe I heard them breathing a sigh of relief. But maybe it was just the wind.

And after ...

All clear, just in time before the rain.

Wanted .... Help!

Part of Urquhart Bay Woods is owned by Woodland Trust Scotland. There is a network of paths which are used by local residents and holidaying visitors. This presents a perfect opportunity to raise awareness of the problem with invasive non-native species. Within a week of putting up these signs, almost all the balsam along the footpaths had been uprooted and placed in the containers we provided. People power!

Volunteer day - building a tree nursery

These keen volunteers from a local company had a great day out, learnt new skills and provided a tree nursery for a primary school.

Growing Up With Trees - Weeding the tree nursery

When you have a tree nursery it's most important to keep the ground free from other plants, then cover it with carpet, cardboard or bin-liners to prevent them growing again. This should be done before the tree seedlings are planted.

Barley in the middle........

This is a bit of a trick-shot, with a field of barley surrounded by mature oak woodlands, with the odd mature conifer and a few other species to break things up. This landscape is typical of the Tay valley between Aberfeldy and Ballinluig. The photo is taken from just above Grandtully castle.

Looking up the Tay to Ben Lawers and Drummond Hill

Looking up to Faragon

The landscape in middle Strathtay is dominated by broadleaved woodlands with a high proportion of oak, and very fertile farmland. This view is taken from above Grandtully Castle

Mixture of woods and farmland

The farmer in the middle here is turning his hay.

And again.......

Cows in the shade under an ash tree

honeysuckle

The honeysuckle is flowering now, and in the west midges are taking advantage of the sweetness. Honeysuckle can be a very vigorous climber, and when you see trees covered with it you are reminded that Argyll's native woodlands are Britain's temperate rainforests.

What's this......??

Scotland's forests used to be home to this animal, the European bison, pictured here at the Highland Wildlife Park near Kincraig. They were hunted to extinction, surviving only in captivity in collections and zoos. The last wild European bison was shot in Poland........the last in Scotland was shot about 700 years ago. The Eurpean bison is slightly smaller than the American one, also virtually exterminated in the 19th century.

Was it because they are so ugly......??

Red deer at the Highland Wildlife Park

shelter from the heat

About a dozen cows all clustered together in the shade of an old parkland tree: it's hot on the west coast, and only the youngster in the foreground is happy in the sun (or maybe just pushed out by the adults).