The National Trust for Scotland is still counting the costs of last week's ferocious winds, as the Met Office once again issues yellow warnings for high winds over the weekend. Properties in the charity's care all over the country sustained damage in the severe weather that raged all over Scotland over Wednesday night and into Thursday last week. Expert conservation staff are still counting up the costs of the clean-up which is expected to be approaching £75,000 across the country, if not more. Trees were uprooted, roofs damaged, and in one case, torn off and paths were washed away. Amongst…

Dog walkers have responded positively to a campaign aimed at preventing disturbance of capercaillie during the breeding season. The woods at Boat of Garten in the Cairngorms National Park are a breeding site for the rare and endangered birds, which are sensitive to disturbance by people and dogs. The work was carried out to examine walkers’ behaviour following an innovative community-backed campaign to promote responsible dog walking. Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) and the community, with Seafield Estate and SNH, have put in place measures aimed at reducing disturbance to the protected species. A community ranger, signs and newsletter articles…