Video- PAWS survey work around Pitlochry

Videos are a great way of demonstrating the work we do and the sort of situations and sites that we work with.

If you are feeling lazy and cant be bothered keeping notes, they are also a great way of recording useful information that you can easily refer back to. These three sites are in and around Pitlochry in Highland Perthshire.

Video- Another site

Video- A Sea of Dog's Mecury.

Dog's Mecury is a woodland indicator plant, and denotes soils of high pH, often associated with ash or other very fertile sites.

Sunshine & shade

It was very, very hot today. Thankfully getting some shade in the woods near Pitlochry while doing some PAWS survey work. Trees do come in handy....!

Dwarf Birch

Out in the Cairngorms I came across a lovely area of dwarf birch (Betula nana) amongst the wet heath. This native species with its small dark green leaves, can be found growing in our mountains up to 800m above sea level. In these exposed conditions dwarf birch achieves a maximum height of one metre and is an important species in the restoration of our montane woods in Scotland.

New volunteer

This wild cat was camera-trapped at Highland Aspen Group's tree nursery near Kincraig. It has been kindly helping keep down the local rabbit population.

Making a tree nursery - from this...

This school had a raised bed, the perfect size for a tree nursery, if it wasn't for the fact that someone had planted them up with Cypress which were now about 10 feet tall.

It looked like it would be impossible to take them out by hand....

...to this

..but it wasn't. Conifers such as these Cypresses only have shallow roots so they came out quickly. (This is also why conifers are prone to being blown over, and can't stabilise the soil like native broadleaf trees can.)
We then put in posts and netting to keep out the rabbits. (The mesh should be not more than 25mm)

The tree nursery was now ready to be planted up.

Enter the children

Once the tree nursery was ready the children were able to put in their tree seedlings, which had been in a cold frame till now. It was well over time for them to be in the ground, especially over the summer holidays.

The trees were a mixture of Oak, Rowan, Elder, Ash and one Yew (Can you find it?)

Natural regeneration at work

This is a really interesting area of natural regeneration on Deeside, with a mixture of birch and Scots Pine coming up within a Scots Pine plantation which has been progressively thinned out over 15 years or so. Although it was a plantation, the regen is all (or nearly all) of native species and the wood now has tree-mendous amenity and biodiversity value, as well as being successfully restocked. The remaining mature trees are also putting on girth very quickly now. The area is a good example of Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF) at work.

A sea of birch

You can see a European larch on the left, and also some scattered Scots Pine seedlings as well. There are 20- 50,000 seedlings per ha throughout this area..... way too many for the local deer population to hold in check.

Young Scots Pine

There is a 20-30% cover of Scots Pine among all this birch.

And again

A sea of green

At first glance, this looks like a swath of bracken, but the majority of what you see here are Scots Pine seedlings that have arisen after a fire in the Forest of Birse in 2003, probably the most dramatic and dangerous fire there has been on Deeside for a very long time. The seedlngs are exceptionally dense in this area, and the resulting woodland will likely be more dense than what was destroyed at the time. It looks as though this lot will get away from the deer. The more trees you have, the better their chances.

So, what looked like devastation in 2003 now looks a good deal more healthy. You can expand the image simply by clicking on it.

A different view

Hiding in the heather

This Scots Pine seedling has taken hold at some point after fire seven years ago.

Schiehallion

Lime flowers

Water flowing by.......

The Falls of Moness

VIDEO- The Falls of Moness

As always, quite an impressive site.

A Toast to the Elder Tree

The elder trees are in full flower in the North East and their clusters of sweetly scented flowers stand out along this woodland edge. These flowers can be used to make a refreshing summertime cordial, which I looked forward to partaking of after a hot day surveying this wood!

Compared to the Springtime when a number of trees and shrubs are in flower, elder provides an important nectar source for insects at this time of year.

These fragrant flowers will develop into striking dark purple berries in the autumn which are relished by birds and mammals. These berries are also favoured by some enthusiasts for making another more warming drink elderberry wine.

CHEERS!

Surviving Wych Elm

A familiar sight to many are the bare, leafless tree branches in summer of elms which have died as a result of Dutch Elm disease. However there is hope, as within this same wood a wonderful specimen of wych elm is still surviving. Its knotty burrs and fissures in the bark providing a haven for invertebrates and bats.