I work as a Ranger in Aberdeenshire, where much of my time is spent delivering environmental education programmes in which I take school children out into semi-natural habitats (we don’t really have any natural habitats in the UK, hence we use the term semi-natural) and teach them about different aspects of Scotland’s ecology.
In the photo I am standing in a grouse butt at an elevation of 400m in the Cairngorms National Park, the summit of Lochnagar is behind me to the south (this should give you a clue as to whose estate I am on!). Notice the bare burnt patch in the heather on the right behind me. If I were at the same elevation and latitude (570N) in Scandinavia, Russia, or North America there would be a natural treeline higher up the hill and I would be surrounded by birch forest or small pines and spruces. In much of highland Scotland, however, we have an un-natural, devastated ecological wasteland, made largely as a result of historical overgrazing by sheep and deer, and now maintained by muirburn, a management practice with the sole aim of artificially increasing the numbers of red grouse at the expense of natural ecological succession and to the detriment of habitats such as montane woodland and other species such as ring ouzels, black grouse, wheatears, reptiles, invertebrates, mosses and higher plants other than Ling heather.
As a young and naive biology student many years ago, I was shocked to learn in an introductory ecology lecture that there was considered to be less than 1km of natural treeline left in Britain. This was to be found at 600m at Creag Fhiachlach near Loch an Eilein on the other side of the Cairngorms. I’d grown up with the romantic notion of Scotland’s natural grandeur, so this revelation came as a bit of a surprise. Happily, since then, field trips and holiday travel have taken me to North America and Scandinavia where I have been able to experience a relatively more intact natural boreal forest ecology.
Today, thanks to conservation bodies and some far-sighted landowners, these valuable upland woodlands are regenerating in places like Glen Feshie, Abernethy, Creag Meagaidh and Ben Eighe. It is wonderful to think that the next generation of ecology students won’t get taught that depressing statistic of the lack of natural treeline in Scotland. However far too much of the Scottish uplands are still not managed with conservation as a priority and driven grouse shooting is a major reason for this lack of progress. It is time to ban it.
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Good to hear that some uplands are regenerating.
All this continuing destruction of the natural vegetation of Scotland’s hills and mountains is carried out for the benefit of relatively few estate owners and people who want to shoot wildlife. I know of at least one shoot where many birds they kill are unwanted, and dumped. They do not shoot these birds for FOOD but for SPORT, and the time for this is long past. Far more folk would be attracted to the hills, without the risk of disturbance to wildlife (there would be thousands more acres that the wildlife could live their lives in) and it would end the persecution of Scotland’s mountain hares and birds of prey, to name a few. The whole of Scotland would benefit hugely from an influx of wildlife tourists. And these tourists wouldn’t be restricted from large upland areas during the shoots. Come on Scotland, get out of the dark ages where kings and noblemen roamed the hills killing everything in sight – let the common man enjoy the spectacle of the vast range of wild animals and birds … the country would be a far better place.
I don’t understand it either Sue. I am not against shooting, but I am against managing huge swaths of our uplands for the artificial rearing of ‘surplus’ birds for ‘sport’ at the expense of a naturally functioning ecology. If you want to shoot willow grouse or ptarmigan in Norway you have to understand the ecology and behaviour of the birds, you have to walk quietly through the forest with your pointer or climb the mountain to find your quarry. That requires a lot of effort and skill and in my view is ‘proper’ shooting.
Brilliant blog Douglas! Bit by bit we’re winning, but it can’t come quick enough.
Thanks Les
We will win one day.
Douglas
Great blog…..just wish some others would read it!……..“If the heather clad uplands are not effectively managed, the heather becomes long and rank, creating a sterile wilderness, that in turn becomes a dangerous wild-fire risk” says Gareth Dockerty of BASC. So that’s that then. Maybe send the fool a link? (‘Sterile wilderness’….give me strength)
I say ban driven grouse shooting, but encourage the ecocidal morons who do it to take up more deer shooting instead. On the condition that it isn’t trophy stalking, of course. Shoot first the fawns, then the pregnant does, the young does, and the first year bucks. Lets get the number of deer in the UK right down too.
Martin WW, heather grows in such a range of environments , that it is pointless to generalize about the best method of management.
On the hills above Creag Fhiachlach, and elsewhere, it is stunted by winds and poor soils etc: never exceeding a few inches in height , whereas on some moors in the Peak District, for example, it is indeed long, rank, and a fire risk.
Although I would hesitate to call this ground sterile, it has certainly lost some of its attraction to a
variety of breeding birds.
Incidentally, at least one (formerly managed) grouse moor, in the Peak, is now experimenting with cutting its vigorously growing heather.
I completely agree it’s ‘pointless to generalise’. That’s why I didn’t. I quoted an ill-informed comment, along with my incredulity that someone who represents a ‘conservation’ organisation could come out with such tosh.
I apologise if it didn’t come across like that but perhaps a more considered reading of my post would have revealed its true intention.
While were on about trees..everyone should be watching the actions of Lowther Estate in Cumbria and Buccleuch Estate in South Scotland – both have started taking over farmland for commercial forestry..[Buccleuch is doing this by evicting tenant farmers in a repeat of the 18th century enclosures] this is a direct result of what they see as the impending loss of farm subsidies when we come out of the EU. Now..maybe they are about to plant huge swathes of native hardwoods..but somehow I doubt it!
So important to continue raising awareness of this basic ecological fact. I grew up believing the reason there were no trees up the hills in e.g. the Lake District and the Highlands was because they were “above the tree line”. Much the same as I thought that golden eagles were limited to Scotland because that was the only good habitat for them.
Coming back from last years’s HH Day event in Boat of Garten, my daughter and I went through Glencoe and spent some time walking about and taking photos. We particularly noticed the number of trees growing up some of the craggy valleys, showing that they’re perfectly capable of establishing if only they weren’t all nibbled to death.
Of course we all know why moorland managers wouldn’t want ‘raptor perches’ growing on their patch and interfering with their carefully constructed grouse zoos.
It is really encouraging to see woodland regeneration isn’t it John. I remember the ‘new’ A9 being made in the 1970s through a treeless landscape. The roadside regeneration today is impressive.
What chance for other marginal agricultural areas ( non grouse moor of course), not in SPA’s or similar.
More loss of wader habitat, and more vermin to prey on what remains.
“Vermin”?
Indeed. The only vermin on our uplands are wearing tweed.
I get and agree with nearly everything Douglas says apart from the “we don’t really have any natural habitats”. If he was to walk downhill rather than uphill he would hit the coast. Spread out a bit and he would find some fine natural habitats. Dunes, salt marshes, beaches of all kinds. Scotland in particular has many fine natural habitats. Let’s celebrate what we have as well as identifying where the gaping holes are!
I would agree Phil, I take classes to the wonderful Aberdeenshire coast to Forvie NNR and to Loch of Strathbeg to learn about dune and estuarine ecology. However this article is somewhat polemic to support a ban on DGS as well as restoration of montane habitats (I have a fondness for Ring Ouzels) and I didn’t want to write more than a page of A4. I completely agree with you about celebrating what nature we have and in fact I have recently produced a short video to celebrate nature in North East Scotland, filmed by Scotland the BIG Picture. The official launch is in April, after which it will be freely available. Maybe Mark would allow me to put a link on this blog after the official launch?
Good answer Douglas. I have a fondness for Ring Ouzels too, but tend to see them in the dunes of the Lincs coast on migration! The tree line is not an issue round here, though lack of ancient woodland is.
In S Wales, reduced grazing pressure is allowing natural regeneration ( ie, scattered, random trees not serried ranks) of Rowan, Sitka,Larch etc to take place in rough Heather/ Molinia moorland that is clearly well below the treeline but has been treeless for decades, Notwithstanding the non- natives, a far more natural landscape than before – will be interesting to see how wildlife adapts. For a really dramatic example of what happens when you keep out the sheep and allow regeneration then look at Crag Y Llam NNR on the S side of the pass to Tal y llyn,
Martin WW, fair point.
From the tone of your post, I gained the impression (rightly or wrongly),that you were of the opinion that Heather management was unnecessary and tried to give an alternative opinion, citing a couple
of differing circumstances. I did not make a very good job of it.
I agree that Gareth Dockerty was generalizing too much in his statement, something both sides in the Grouse debate are occasionally prone to.
As an aside, i sometimes wonder about the use of the like /dislike buttons, i only use the dislike when I disagree with an opinion.
If my Five dislikes were from people who agreed with you, over my misinterpretation, fair enough.
However, every point made in my comment was established fact, and I sometimes think that people do not like what they hear, even if it’s the truth, and act accordingly, with their buttons.
Think I’ve gone on long enough now.
Douglas ( if you are still watching this), an interesting post.
I would hope you could do another one someday, to expand your thoughts a little, as you say, this
one was kept short for a reason.
The Pinewoods that straggle round from Einich to Feshie, and the hills above, are particular favourites
of mine. Glen Feshie is much improved, and a large area between that glen, and Tromie, is being
re – tree’d with a nice mix.
I agree with your thoughts on the A9, I particularly like the stretch from Crubenmore, North through Etteridge and the Phones estate.
Some of the, formerly driven ,moors here have been abandoned and allowed to regenerate, or been
planted in a not too intensive way.
I have photographs of crumbling grouse butts, wìth Birch and Pine growing atop them, a sight to
gladden the heart of many reader’s of this blog.
Thanks for your reply Trapit. I am encouraged by a lot of what I see over the hill in the Speyside area of the Cairngorms, and would love to see more regeneration over here on the eastern side. Mar Lodge, Invercauld, Balmoral, Glen Tanar and Birse are all doing good things in some parts, but the efforts are not as joined up as over on Speyside. It is a long, slow process and our great-great-grandchildren will hopefully see a very different Cairngorms National Park!