The Cairngorms Nature BIG Weekend 12-14 May is a celebration of the fantastic wildlife of the Cairngorms National Park. With over 50 activities taking place across the Cairngorms National Park the organisers say there will be something for everyone, from families to the more seasoned nature lover. TV naturalist Nick Baker is the special guest again in 2017 and you can join him on a ‘Minibeast safari’ or hear him talk about his life as a wildlife presenter in Blair Atholl. Take your little ones to explore the fairies and trolls at Ryvoan, enjoy a wild sleepout with the rangers…

Environmental charities have welcomed today’s publication of the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee’s Report on Deer Management in Scotland. The Scottish Wildlife Trust, John Muir Trust and RSPB Scotland fully endorse the key findings of the report, including that the current system of deer management is failing to protect important habitats, and that Scottish Natural Heritage appears to have insufficient resources to enforce legislation. The charities also welcome a key recommendation to establish an independent working group to provide clear advice on the way forward for deer management in Scotland. Dr Maggie Keegan, Head of Policy, Scottish Wildlife…

RSPB Scotland has today issued an appeal for information following the disappearance of a satellite tagged golden eagle near Strathdon in Aberdeenshire. The young male eagle was fitted with a transmitter by a licensed raptor study group member, before it fledged from a nest in Deeside in the summer of 2016. Data received from the tag allowed conservationists to study the movements of the bird, known as “338”, as it explored north-east Scotland’s countryside. As with most young eagles, the bird spent the first few weeks after fledging in the area around its nest, before moving further away as it…

RSPB Scotland is asking for public support to secure funding from the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) to restore an important site in the Flow Country, the Dyke plantation near Forsinard in Sutherland. The project is one of five nature projects in the running for EOCA funding, with the final decision being made by public vote between 9th and 23rd March on the EOCA website. The Dyke plantation was planted with non-native sitka spruce and lodgepole pine trees some thirty years ago and the trees have caused significant damage to the peatlands on which it was planted, and which forms…

An army of 800 volunteers will help secure the long-term survival of major red squirrel populations in three key areas after the Scottish Wildlife Trust secured a grant of £2.46 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels – Developing Community Action project. Over the next five years the project will enlist volunteers from communities in three key regions to carry out practical work to protect and strengthen red squirrel populations in their local area, and in turn safeguard squirrels across Scotland. The project aims to provide high quality training and support to hundreds of…

Surveys at Trees for Life’s Dundreggan Conservation Estate near Loch Ness have revealed a range of rare species, including a midge never recorded in the United Kingdom before – underlining the site’s growing reputation as a ‘lost world’ for biodiversity. The discovery of the non-biting midge (Chironomus vallenduuki) by entomologist Peter Chandler brings the total of UK biodiversity firsts found at the estate in Glenmoriston to 11. Other key findings during the charity’s 2016 survey season included two rare gnats whose larvae feed on fungi. One of these (Sciophila varia) is only known from four other UK sites. The other…