Having just spent a glorious week in the Highlands, it seems very timely to turn the blog spotlight on some of the brilliant project work going on across Scotland. Because there's so much going on, I'll be posting a series of updates over the next few days. Today, we'll kick off with what's going on in the North of Scotland where we're not only working with farmers and crofters to do lots of good stuff for waders, but bumblebees, corncrakes and corn buntings too. Three projects are up and running to support this work in specific areas:
Strathspey Wetlands and Waders Initiative
The Strathspey Wetlands and Waders Initiative (SWWI) was established in 2009 with a remit to prepare agri-environment plans for the benefit of breeding waders across Strathspey.
The area has one of the largest breeding wader populations on mainland UK with over 3,600 pairs recorded in the baseline survey in 2000. This survey covered over 9,000 ha of farmland.
Since then, however, declines have been severe. Lapwing numbers have fallen by 60% and redshank by 55%. Overall declines across the five wader species of farmland waders; lapwing, redshank, snipe, curlew and oystercatcher, stand at 42%.
Image: Young lapwing by Chris Tomson
In the early years, the SWWI submitted over 50 agri-environment plans. These were done collaboratively by initiative partners; RSPB Scotland, Scotland’s Rural College, SRUC (formerly SAC), the Cairngorm National Park Authority, CKD Galbraith, Agroecosystems and independent agents. Initiative meetings are also attended by the NFUS and the Speyside Catchment Initiative, and are chaired by Scottish Natural Heritage.
Recently, the SWWI has embarked on ‘hands on’ delivery. In the last couple of years, it has done a number of extensive farm habitat surveys, followed by carrying out rush control, scrub removal, scrape creation and ditch profiling on many of the survey sites. Many of these actions are showcased at farm demonstration events. Advice on management is backed up by a series of area specific leaflets. In addition, the SWWI owns a rush topper, which is administered from the RSPB Insh Marshes reserve and is loaned free to farmers.
Image: Scrape creation by Bridget England
It is hoped that more specific actions for waders may be incorporated into the forthcoming agri-environment scheme in Scotland e.g. scrape creation and the SWWI engages in policy and advocacy work around these types of issues as well as providing training to agri agents and case officers
The initiative is increasingly involved with research projects, currently with a focus on predator control and soil improvement for waders through liming.
Caithness Wetlands and Wildlife Initiative
The Caithness Wetlands and Wildlife Initiative (CWWI) was set up on the model of the Strathspey project. Caithness also has an important population of breeding waders across extensive farmland but the CWWI remit takes in the great yellow bumblebee and overwintering twite in addition to waders.
Image: Great yellow bumblebee by Mike Edwards (rspb-images.com)
To date, the fortunes of the breeding wader population in Caithness is unknown as the first extensive baseline survey was done in 2009. This recorded 464 pairs across 3,100 hectares of wetland fringe. However, in light of declines across the rest of Scotland, it is assumed that this will be a diminished population. A repeat survey is being carried out this year, 2014.
Overwintering Twite has suffered a long term decline in Caithness, between 66% and 80% in the last ten years, and the great yellow bumblebee is rare species now only found in some parts of Scotland, primarily on the Hebrides and on the northern coast of Caithness and Sutherland.
The CWWI is a smaller partnership than the SWWI but has a particularly strong partners from Scotland’s Rural College, which is the organisation that does most of the agri-environment work in Scotland, and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. The NFUS also lends its support.
Like the SWWI, primary actions for waders include preparing agri-environment plans collaboratively; carrying out farm habitat surveys, rush management, scrape creation and ditch profiling; holding on-farm training events, producing advisory leaflets, and lending out a rush topper to farmers. The topper has been particularly successful, both as a land management tool and as a means of engaging farmers in discussion on wader management.
Image: Softrak at work by Bridget England
Like the SWWI, the CWWI engages in policy and advocacy work.
The Uists
Our work on The Uists covers the wildlife rich landscape of crofted machair systems. Crofts in the area are small scale, and managed at low intensity with some traditional practices still surviving such as the spreading of seaweed, shallow ploughing and the building of corn stacks. Wild flowers benefit from the low input system and the practice of maintaining two year fallows.
Advisory work has been key to species recovery in this area for the last two decades. Key species include corncrake, corn bunting, breeding waders and the great yellow bumblebee. Actions carried out include preparation and submission of agri-environment plans by RSPB staff (over 50 to date) as well as input to plans submitted by other agents. In addition, the RSPB has management agreements with crofters for the creation and maintenance of corncrake cover, and provision of winter food for corn buntings.
Image: Corncrake habitat by Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)
Species are monitored annually. Currently, the species of greatest concern is the corn bunting. Numbers of territorial males have dropped from over 250 in the mid 90’s to as low as 47 in 2013. Some recovery was seen in the population when conservation efforts started in after 2005 but that has not been maintained. Efforts to provide winter food have been stepped up over the last year.
There is no formal partnership in the Uists but staff regularly collaborate with Scotland’s Rural College, the Scottish Crofting Federation and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. That collaboration has included a placement of RSPB staff in the SRUC offices.
Over the last few years, the Machair LIFE project has also been working on the islands. Projects that will be continued as part of the focus area once Machair LIFE comes to a close include a collaboration with the University of the Highlands and Islands to set up a crofting course, the provision of a seaweed spreader through a local contractor, use of a suite of educational and advisory materials. In addition, short term funding has been provided to expand the advisory service in Lewis and Harris.